Names, Places, Events, Things: Ruminations and Essays on Hindu Mythology

Speaking of timeline, this is a tale I found, for a change, that has a specific time period associated with it. It is about the origin of one of most well-known and rather contemporary gods of the Hindu pantheon - Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha I found it in a book that was written about 150 years ago (first printed in 1882) by a Britisher -- W. J. Wilkins -- while India was just one colony for them, and as such, one can disregard most of the comments made by the author, since he made them with the clouded eyes of a colonizer p*** about his 'subjects' (in his own words!). Moreover, Prof. Wilkins seems to rely heavily on a few other Western writers (Kennedy, Muir, Wilson etc.) rather than going through the actual Hindu texts, and so if there is any glow of light in his book at all, it is more the 'reflective glory' type rather than one with any original burning flame. Anyway, I recite this tale here more for its ingenuity rather than its originality. The tale is...

Vishnu Dashavataras The problem - rather, one of the problems, for there are several many as I have mentioned earlier too - one of the problems with reading and contemplating about the Hindu mythology is the circular nature of time (see my earlier posts on this subject ). Agreed that this gives an excellent opportunity for poets and other creative beings to twist and turn the story line, and to have characters from different eons pop suddenly out of nowhere and spice up the narratives. And that is how you suddenly have Bhima from Dwapar Yuga picking up Hanuman's Treta Yuga-old tail in Mahabharata. You also have Vishnu and Indra sharing the spoils of a sport once in the vedas as two brothers (as sons of Aditi , daughter of Daksha , who is himself the son of Brahma ), and then afterwards a later-dated puranas declaring vehemently that Vishnu is the creator of all, including Brahma, Daksha, and Indra. Beat that! Yet, with all these creative freedoms, you will agre...