Interesting stuff Jayshree. I truly appreciate you taking the time to create a piece on this subject.
For me, I find it difficult immerse myself in ancient Vedic texts. Not only are some of the words and expressions completely alien, but many do not have a unified spelling (see: Stambha or Skambha). I'm exhausted after trying to work through the Swami Vivikananda/Paris Congress text.
I also fully support the Swami's (it was his idea, right?) idea that scholars' suggestions that India was somehow influenced by the Greeks is simply not true, and neither is the other Western fallacy that Shiva's form is somehow phallic.
I will point out, however–and I actually learned this from an Indian scholar, Dr. Uday Dokras (The Hellenization of India) –that there are MANY names and events appearing in the Mahabharata which are eerily similar in legends and myths told in regions as far away as Scandinavia and Iceland. In fact, these similarities exist everywhere where Indo-Europeans have been, including Greece. The war between the Asuras and the Devas has been told the world round, and this event particularly interests me, because there is a little known Middle Eastern myth that discusses the same event, but ALSO mentions an immense pillar/column of fire that drove away the 70 reigning gods. This column actually existed, as my co-author has found its remnants, which means another aspect of Shiva and the Shiva lingam–which speaks of "proof,""evidence,"" and "symptom" of god's power are almost frighteningly real and should be regarded as such.
As to your retelling: what a joyous read! I do not doubt that it says much more than it lets on, especially the idea of not being able to decide between three gods. I hear a conflict between monotheistic cultures and polytheistic ones, but I'm sure other interpretations are possible.
Thanks Jack for the feedback and the detailed share. Interesting to learn but yes, there are commonalities, and I leave it to the scholars to interpret the timeline! Agree on the names being difficult for most cultural mythology stories, and the ancient texts are tongue twisters, hence I try and leave them out as these are only an introduction to the stories anyway with deeper links in each story.
the letter may be tougher because someone else translated it from the original. Perhaps, better to go direct to source then - at the same link, the entire complete works are posted free as written or spoken in English.
There are many stories, but yes, the origin of this story is an ancient mythological tale on why three main Gods are worshipped in these forms even today. Thanks for the feedback.
Interesting stuff Jayshree. I truly appreciate you taking the time to create a piece on this subject.
For me, I find it difficult immerse myself in ancient Vedic texts. Not only are some of the words and expressions completely alien, but many do not have a unified spelling (see: Stambha or Skambha). I'm exhausted after trying to work through the Swami Vivikananda/Paris Congress text.
I also fully support the Swami's (it was his idea, right?) idea that scholars' suggestions that India was somehow influenced by the Greeks is simply not true, and neither is the other Western fallacy that Shiva's form is somehow phallic.
I will point out, however–and I actually learned this from an Indian scholar, Dr. Uday Dokras (The Hellenization of India) –that there are MANY names and events appearing in the Mahabharata which are eerily similar in legends and myths told in regions as far away as Scandinavia and Iceland. In fact, these similarities exist everywhere where Indo-Europeans have been, including Greece. The war between the Asuras and the Devas has been told the world round, and this event particularly interests me, because there is a little known Middle Eastern myth that discusses the same event, but ALSO mentions an immense pillar/column of fire that drove away the 70 reigning gods. This column actually existed, as my co-author has found its remnants, which means another aspect of Shiva and the Shiva lingam–which speaks of "proof,""evidence,"" and "symptom" of god's power are almost frighteningly real and should be regarded as such.
As to your retelling: what a joyous read! I do not doubt that it says much more than it lets on, especially the idea of not being able to decide between three gods. I hear a conflict between monotheistic cultures and polytheistic ones, but I'm sure other interpretations are possible.
Always enjoy your work, Jayshree!
Thanks Jack for the feedback and the detailed share. Interesting to learn but yes, there are commonalities, and I leave it to the scholars to interpret the timeline! Agree on the names being difficult for most cultural mythology stories, and the ancient texts are tongue twisters, hence I try and leave them out as these are only an introduction to the stories anyway with deeper links in each story.
the letter may be tougher because someone else translated it from the original. Perhaps, better to go direct to source then - at the same link, the entire complete works are posted free as written or spoken in English.
Thanks for the advice-I just might do that. Great work, again.
thank you!
Jayshree, The se stories are fascinating. D
Glad to hear that, Dave. I have lined up a few more on Shiva.
Is this the real story behind the gods of India. It's very interesting.
There are many stories, but yes, the origin of this story is an ancient mythological tale on why three main Gods are worshipped in these forms even today. Thanks for the feedback.