There are over 330 million deities in the Hindu religion, which may seem like a daunting number at first, but myths help with understanding that the many are the same. Valmiki’s Ramayana, one of Hinduism’s two great epics, holds great value in Hindu literature, religion, and society. Vishnu’s avatar, Rama, is sent down to defeat the demon king of Lanka, Ravana, who has received a boon which allows him to be invisible to all beings except humans. Rama, being a human avatar, is able to see and slay the demon, who has become a “cruel, proud and invincible tyrant” (Bose Summary, 100). In these series of events, he upholds his varna dharma over his individual dharma. This myth illustrates the importance of dharma and is used in secular and religious …show more content…
Rather than disobeying Kaikeyi, who claims her promised boons and has him exiled, tells her “I would have willingly gone” (ACK, Valmiki’s Ramayana, 21). This behavior is that of a Hindu family’s model son. By upholding his dharma as a son, he is also able to show the common folk of Ayodhya that he can keep promises he may make as a king. Similarly, Sita is also a model wife because she is committed to Rama and forces him to uphold his dharma as a husband. She follows Rama into exile, telling him, “without you, even the palace will be hell” (ACK, Valmiki’s Ramayana, 24). This instance demonstrates the way a Hindu wife should act towards her husband. Later on, Rama enlists the help of Hanuman in the search for Sita, but when Hanuman finds her, she refuses to go with him, providing Rama a chance to “vindicate her honour” (ACK, Valmiki’s Ramayana, 71) and therefore fulfill his dharma as her …show more content…
They teach Hindus that sometimes sacrifices are made in order to uphold the cosmic order. It can be argued that Sita’s final decision in refusing to do the second fire ordeal is not following her stridharma, but her actions seem to be dharmic on a larger scale. The Ramayana can also be used in teaching that “the many become one again” (Lecture, 9/23/15) when Sita asks to be returned to the earth, which evidently like dharma, maintains the cosmic order. Although she does not show that she is commited to her stridharma in this act, she is following her varna dharma in freeing Rama from the suspicions of his people. This emphasizes her duty to society is more important than her duty as a
“Ramayana.” The Language of Literature Ed. Arthur N. Applebee, et al. Boston: McDougal Littell, 1983. 130-140. Print.
When dissecting motifs, themes, and archetypes within mythology it is effortless to analyze one select culture, instead of several different cultures simply, because of the fact that same cultures would have more similarities and therefore differences would be pointed out immediately. Almost everything about them is different except for their topic: creation. Although selecting which myth to analyze is what posed to be a challenge as well as comparing their differences. While some myths gave too much detail, others gave too little. At least in my opinion and after a lengthy elimination process I finally chose to compare myths within Hinduism. “The Vishnu Purana” from the creation myth section and “Kali Beheaded” a reading from the feminine divine section. With little knowledge of the culture my plan is to analyze these two myths with the best of my abilities, compare them to what I know about the culture from previous knowledge and find/address and misinterpretations, as well as comparing the two to find similar themes and structures.
A mythology is an important feature of many cultures. A myth is a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humankind assumed their present form. In a broad sense, it can refer to any traditional story. A myth’s function is to provide a model for behavior and to provide a religious experience. By reenacting myths societies bring themselves closer to the divine.
As human beings, we are designed to belive in something. Although the belief in a higher power or religion is diverse, many theologies share common themes. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the Hebrew book of “Genesis” are seemingly polar opposites. Christianity, demonstrated in Genesis, is monotheistic, and the Hebrews base their faith on their relationship with God. On the other hand, Sumerian philosophy, found in Gilgamesh, is polytheistic, and the Sumerian people base their theology on fear. Ancient polytheistic literature forms an archetypical pattern of the mortals trying desperately to please the gods. A mortal’s entire existence rests in the hands of the sometimes childish gods. In spite of this, these two stories
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
Religions of the ancient world were in a state of constant flux. Karl Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, “great changes took place in all the civilized world” (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, “after these great thinkers the world was never the same again” (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the “axial period” (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paper—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—are considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
Rosenburg, Donna. World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. Third Edition. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. Text.
The Bhagavad-Gita teaches many things, and amongst these, morality and moral law are developed for the Hindu religion. What Krishna, the primary Hindu god, declares in this somewhat epic poem to be the "basis of good in this world" (stanza 3, pg. 620 of text) is for people to take action. Action, as he goes on to state, is within the very nature of our beings to do. Krishna even states that "without action you even fail to sustain your own body" (stanza 8, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna feels that action is very important and key. To take this concept as a relation to ethics, Krishna tells Arjuna, the warrior he is talking to in this poem, that "Action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice; freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice!" (stanza 9, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna is prescribing that, in order for an action to be considered good, the good that he already declared to be the basis of all good in the world, one must detach himself from the action being performed and perform the action sacrificially. The detachment aspect is incredibly important to Krishna, for he proclaims that in "performing action with detachment, one achieves supreme good" (stanza 19, pg 620 of text). By doing this, Krishna believes that the world is preserved, for other people will follow the warrior's actions and imitate them in their own lives. A leader, such as a warrior or king, "sets the standard for the world to follow" (stanza 21, pg. 621 of text), as Krishna says and thus must take whatever action is necessary for the world to not be destroyed, to set examples of goodness and right in his own actions. By separating himself from these actions, thus becoming detached, he can achieve this. Another main reason that Krishna feels detachment is necessary is this: "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty." (Bhagavad-Gita 2.47). Thus, so long as one does not profit from his own actions, the action itself is good. And, this is Krishna's prescription for leading a life of morality and duty is the moral law to follow in order to achieve this.
The epic hero’s journeys hold the hopes for future of ordinary people’s lives. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in approximately 2000 B.C.E which is highly enriched with Ancient Mesopotamian religions, and The Ramayana was written by ancient Indians in around 1800 B.C.E. The stories were written in two different parts of the world. However, these two stories etched great evidence that show people from generation to generation that different cultures and religions are interconnected; they share ideas with each other. Both Gilgamesh and Rama traveled long journeys in these tales. These epic journeys played a role in the creation of different archetypes. We can clearly see that these two tales share similarities between these archetypes. Although
Nina Paley 's version had a more modern and comical approach of the film while “Ramayana the Epic” was more serious and followed a constructed storyline. In “Ramayana the Epic,” Lakshmana was portrayed throughout the film as a center of strength to Rama but in “Sita Sings the Blues” he was not perceived as an important character. The way Sita was portrayed in “Sita Sings the Blues” acts as an eye opener to some who aren 't familiar with the entire story of the Ramanya. It shows that although Rama pushed Sita away because of other people 's words and his own disbelief of Sitas purity, Sita continues to love and respect Rama. She doesn 't speak ill of him to their kids that were born. She creates an image that Rama is a perfect human and that he does no wrong. This shows that Sita is an ideal wife because in many Hindu cultures the wifes are suppose to always take the husband 's side and be with him through everything. She does her best and doesn 't hurt his
Classical Hindu Mythology. Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buitenen. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978. 38-40. Print.
The idea that some people are strong enough to be completely independent of others might seem true at surface level, but further examination of this concept proves otherwise. Through analyzing the journey of Rama as well as those around him, The Ramayana becomes proof that all characters are relevant in accomplishing big-picture tasks. Characters in The Ramayana which seem to have varying levels of relevance or show antagonistic behavior all have large roles in accomplishing big-picture dharma; this fact becomes clear as their dependencies on each other are recognized, demonstrating that all individuals must rely on others.
Mythology: used in numerous religions to rationalize the unexplainable. The creation of the universe remains unknown to this day. Greek and Norse mythology concluded their own philosophy of how the earth came into existence. The creation of gods allows people to identify with their religion through shared characteristics. Brave tales of heroes represent the best qualities of man-kind: courage, wisdom, and devotion. Mythology allows people to feel a sense of belonging while also describing the creation, origin of gods and goddesses, and the heroic deeds of mankind.
Hindu mythology has interesting theories on how the Earth was created and the reincarnation of people, Hinduism is very different to many other mythologies and has some unique key features that make it stand out from the rest. History tells that there are over 330 million gods in Hindu mythology. There are six main gods in Hinduism. Hindu’s have an interesting belief of what happens to them after death, the afterlife Hindus believe in must be met by accomplishing a goal. Hinduism is a unique belief in many gods, the life cycle and reincarnation of its people.
Rama doesn’t let married women tempt him. When he reflects upon his initial attraction to Sita he “realized that if she were married he would instinctively have recoiled from her” (Narayan 25). By contrast, those who covet married women suffer because of their desires: Indra becomes cursed and covered in female organs and Ravana’s infatuation with Sita is what leads to the poor decisions that eventually culminate in his destruction. Violating a woman against their will is something else that is considered unacceptable. One of the reasons why Rama sides against Vali is that Vali violated his brother’s wife. Rama tells him, “Guarding a woman’s honour is the first duty laid on any intelligent being” (Narayan 102). Rama devotes himself to his wife, Sita; however, a common theme of the story is that being too devoted to one’s wife can be a bad quality. Rama’s desire to please Sita indirectly causes her kidnapping and his failure in fulfilling his duty as Rama laments, “I have failed to protect my wife . . . and I have failed her woefully” (Narayan 96). Dasaratha’s demise is another example of why a king shouldn’t be so devoted to a wife; Dasaratha’s dependence on Kaikeyi allows her the opportunity to manipulate and ultimately, destroy