Comparing the Iconography and Mythology of Two Major Hindu Deities
In Hindu tradition, Brahma created the universe, Vishnu maintained it
and Shiva destroyed it. These three gods comprise the Hindu trinity
(the trimurti) and are considered to be the leading gods of the
religion, especially Brahma, who is the oldest of all the gods. This
point is questionable though as the Visnu Purana talks of Brahma
emerging from Vishnu's navel to maintain the world after Vishnu has
created it and then he returns to the navel after Shiva has destroyed
it. If this is the case then Vishnu's position as a god is elevated
from merely the maintainer to the creator. This essay intends to
compare and contrast the iconography and mythology of the two major
Hindu deities Vishnu and Shiva with reference to their relationship
with Brahma as part of the Hindu trinity.
The Hindu god Vishnu is very powerful to his followers, the Vaishnavas,
and he is found as an icon in many temples although he is also
believed to dwell in the heart of all beings. Vishnu is said to be
young compared to the other gods and blue in colour. He is depicted as
having four hands holding a lotus, symbolising purity, mace, a conch
shell to blow and a discus as a weapon. Vishnu is married to the
goddesses Sri and Laksmi who were initially individuals but eventually
merged into one being. Vishnu has a curl of hair on his chest given to
him by his wife Sri to show her devotion and in this particular
depiction, is seen wearing the jewel kaustubha which arose from the
ocean of milk after being churned up. Another image of the deity
Vishnu is of him "lying asleep upon the coils of the great cos...
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... symbolises his purity and the fire Shiva encircles is representing the
life cycle of the universe. However, this essay does not attempt to
deny the importance of the scriptures, as without them, the pictures
are merely pictures and not visions of spirituality. In conclusion,
although this essay has looked at Vishnu and Shiva individually as
separate deities, the focus must be left on them as one, for that is
what they are, existing only with each other. The cycle of the
universe relies on all of them, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, to continue
for if one were to disappear, the chain of the creation, destruction
and recreation of the world would be broken. "Germination creates the
tree, destroys the seed and preserves the species; the joiner creates
the table, destroys the tree and preserves the wood" (Larousse,
1965:211).
Hinduism and Christianity are two religions that have been around for thousands of years. Both of these religions have developed many philosophies on different aspects that can be compared to show their similarities and differences. The Hindu and Christian religion agree on many things. Based on humanity, our society follows some of the rules also because of the religion and laws. From the holy literature, there have been many different concepts that have been pledged but they all are supposed to lead you to the same effects such as a happy, healthy life, contribution to the world around us humans, and some kind of freedom after death. Some of the main subjects that can be reflected upon after learning of the history and fundamentals of these religions are the paths to enlightenment and/or salvation, the style of treating women through religions aspects, and the afterlife. This paper will give an analytic comparison of these two religions relating to the topics.
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism gained importance and popularity during a time of great religious exploration. While these religions have some similarities, they also have some distinct differences. The key to all three of these is enlightment. Let’s look at some other similarities between them.
Throughout the ages religion has been a very important part of history. It shaped many cultures and allowed us to further understand numerous civilizations. Through art we have been able to interpret the beliefs, and value of each culture. Two of these cultures include the Christians and Greeks. Both which had many similarities and differences in their beliefs and their depiction of God/gods.
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.
given a holy like look as the top of his head is cut short like a
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
Greek Mythology played a monumental role in the structural development of ancient Greece, not only as a society, but as individuals. Surprisingly, their religion was not exactly one of originality. In fact, their religion was loosely based on earlier cultures’ religions. It bears many strikingly similar resemblances to some of the oldest recorded religions in history. Ancient Greek religion is a type of polytheism called “Monarchial Polytheism.” That is, they believe in several different gods and deities but there is a supreme ruler above all of them. In order to fully understand how similar the mythological systems of religions have been throughout the years, you must look back towards the earliest of recorded civilizations. Polytheism dates back to the Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian religions, around the 4th millennium BC and possibly before that.
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
Have you ever wondered where things in our everyday lives get their names from? Well the answer could be from Greek or Roman gods. So many things are indeed named after the gods. Like the car company Mercury or the shoe company Nike. There are many gods in both mythologies but this essay will talk about 12 of them, six gods from Greek mythology and six gods from Roman mythology. Each god will have their own corresponding god from the other mythology. Although they might be from different mythologies in essence they are all very similar.
The artworks of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Aegean cultures, and Ancient Greece have similarities that not only reflect objects and images, but also the media, style and representation. These countries were not always wealthy, clever, creative and powerful enough to gain supplies, but they all find a way to create art with what they had. They have all influenced on each other’s cultures and belief through their artistic values and ways, ranging from the materials and tools they use, position and representation of their monuments and their religious intent.
Zeus hurls his thunderbolt and the world trembles. Odin invites fallen warriors in the halls of Valhalla for a drink. Jesus Christ spreads the words of his father and gathers disciples. Buddha sits and meditates the meaning of the universe. Across the world there have always been mythological stories. From the first civilization to modern times, mythologies help explain the vents of the world and attempt to provide answers for unanswerable questions. Though every mythology appears different, if one looks close enough, commonalities appear. Joseph Campbell spent his life studying mythologies and religions along with compiling the commonalities amongst them. This study on the works of Joseph Campbell focuses on the following areas:
How did the world begin? Have you ever wondered this most likely yes. Everyone has been asking this question for millions of years. The explanation of this is called Mythology. By looking at What Mythology is, the categories of Mythology, the regions of major myths, some of the key players of myths, and finally the similarities of the cultures. With that I will start my paper and by the end of it you will have a more in depth knowledge of Mythology.
Hundreds of years ago people did not have the technology to explain different forces of nature. They created gods, each with separate powers, to rule their domains. Some of the gods were merciful, some were wicked, and others were merely servants of more powerful gods. Looking at the gods, it is easy to tell what the civilization most valued. I am going to look at the Greek and the Norse gods to compare what was most important to their societies.
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.
India is a very ancient country, the country which has been known to the world since ages because of this the country has been known with many names i.e. Bharath, Aryavarta, Jambudvipa, Hindustan, Bharathvarsha etc. Many historians believe that oldest remains have been found of the era more than 55,000 years back! The Vedas (Oldest Indian Scripture) has been composed during the period of 2000-500 BCE. The Indian subcontinent was many distributed alone the lines of river Ganges. The northwestern plains were divided into many ruling states called "Mahajanpadas" The was flourished in culture, are and literature. There were many ancient scriptures were written as the country has spread its culture upto the distance south India. Gupta Empire has been known as the most important for the growth of classical Sanskrit literature, Indian Science, Medicine and mathematics. The Indian Mythology which has now been called as mythology is not actually a mythology, there is a greater significance of historical data and other evidences based on the ancient scenario of the understanding of the people, their values, culture, knowledge, strategic aptitudes and their society as whole.