Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent

Description

The Hindu spiritual landscape is populated by multidimensional characters whose embodiment of both positive and negative aspects finds no parallel within the good versus evil mythology of the Western world. From the goddess Kali to the mysterious elephant-headed Ganesha, "Indian Mythology" explores the rich tapestry of these characters within ninety-nine classic myths, revealing the essence of the Hindu worldview and demonstrating how these ancient stories can inform a contemporary generation. Devdutt Pattanaik examines the meaning behind the metaphors of the classic myths in symbolic art and in a multifaceted tradition of ritual practices. Fifty artistic renderings of important mythological figures (from seventeenth-century temple carvings to twentieth-century calendar art) illustrate the complex polytheistic Hindu tradition and show how central these figures are to the Hindu conception of the world.;Ch. 1. Mythology : studying myth -- Myth and mythology -- Expressions of myth -- The function of myth -- Coping through mythmaking -- Ch. 2. Mythosphere : comparing myths -- The idea of God -- Devils and demons -- Creation with a difference -- Heaven or hell -- Ch. 3. Mythopoesis : transforming myth -- March of the Vedic hymns -- The ascetic ideal -- The birth of God -- Invasions and immigrations -- Ch. 4. Mythography : interpreting myth -- History and prehistory -- Strategic charters -- This in terms of that -- Metaphors of the mind.