365bet娱乐

To understand ancient myths of India it is necessary to deal with the nature of myth itself. Myth has a general human or superhuman mind in every age, and it has close relation with history and religion. Myth authorizes socio-cultural patterns, and sometimes validiates and creates new ones. It embodies the rights, duties and obligations of man in relation to his environment and the physical world. It is connected with history of man, depicting the present as well as the past. The difference between myth and history is that, history is the objective record of accurrances, whereas, myth incarnates the subjective world of reality. In another words, myth is a major expressional mode of collective consciousness in its cultural endeavours. It also derives its form from historical and pre-historical material consisting of major events described in the holy texts of ancient India. In contrast with the basic and authentic understanding of the nature of 'Myth', Macdonell argues thus: "A myth actually arises when the imagination interprets a natural event as the action of a personified being resembling the human agent. Thus, the observation that the moon follows the sun without overtaking it, would have been transformed into a myth by describing the former as a maiden following a man by who 880 008

2 rejected. Such an original myth enters on the further stage of poetical embellishment, as soon as it becomes the property of people endowed with creative imagination. Various traits are now added according to the individual fancy of the narrator, as the story passes on from mouth to mouth."1 But this idea is unsound. The futility of this opinion stands subverted in the following words of Macropadia. "Myth is a collective term used for one kind of symbolic communication and specifically indicates one basic form of religious symbolism, as distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (such as temples and icons). Myth (in the plural) are specific accounts concerning gods or superhuman beings and extra-ordinary events or circumstances in a time that is altogether different from that of ordinary human experience. The original Greek term for myth (mythos) denotes "word" in the sense of a decisive, final pronouncement. It differs from logos, the word in which validity or truth can be argued and demonstrated."2 Traditionally the word "myth" may be understood as 'Katha' in Sanskrit. Defining the term 'Katha', a famous rhetorician states that it is a narration of events in a significant and sweet language. ³ On the 1. 2. 3. A.A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1974, p-1. Macropadia, The New Encyclopadia Britanica, William Benton Publisher, Johansburg, 1943, p-793. kathayam sarasam vastu gadyaireva vinirmitam | com: kathayam katha ssvye gadyakavya iti bhavah | gadyaih eva | vinirmitam | sarasam srutimadhuramarthatasca madhuram | vastu iti vrttam | bhakti visesah || Visvanatha's Sahitya Darpana with the com. of Rucira by Shivadatta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, Varanasi, 1973, VI 630, p - 543.

3 contrary, it is said that 'Katha' is a collection of imaginary legends.4 'Katha' is also meant as collection of legends expressing the truths of 5 human life. However, the etymological meaning of the word is 'In what way?' 'how ?' (Ka+tha; Ka being from Kim, 'what?'). The word 'Katha', in its earliest stratum had the sense of inquiry. Another term, that is closely associated with 'Katha', in the Hindu tradition is Itihasa, which means 'History' in its popular sense. However, etymologically 'this is (iti) indeed (ha) it was (asa). The term Itihasa was often used along with the term 'Purana' from the later Vedic period.6 4. prabandhena kalpana athava prabandhasya abhidheyasya kalpana svayam racana iti sarasundari || prabandhasya kalpana racana banka nrtastokasattyam | iti bharatah | Syar Raja Radhakantdev. Bahadur, Shabdakalpadruma, Vol. II, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1961, p- 17. 5. prabandhakalpanat lokasatyan prajnah katham viduh | | parasparasraya yasyat sa matakhyayika budhaih iti vakralaksane loka satya prabandharupe vakye || Taranath Bhattacharya, Vacaspatyam, Vol. III, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1991, p-1639. 6. i] tamitihasasca puranam ca gathasca narasam siscanuvyacalan | Atharva Veda XV. 6.4. ii] are'sya mahato bhutasya niscisitametadyadrgvedo yajurvedah samavedo'tharvangirasa itihasah puranam vidya upanisadah slokah sutranyanuvyakhyani vyakhyananyasyaivaitani niscasitani || iii] 1) Brhadaranyaka Upanisad II. 4. 10. atha ye'syodancorasmayasta evasyodicyo madhunadyo'tharvangirasa eva madhukrta itihasapuranam puspam ta amrta apah || Chandogya Upanisad III.4.1. 2) te va ete'tharvangirasa etaditihasapuranambhyatapastasyabhitaptasya yasasteja indriyamviryamannadya raso'jayata | Ibid., III.4.2.

4 7 The term 'Katha' was not used in the sense of 'story' or a 'tale' in the early Vedic literature. Further the term 'Katha' is found in the Rgvedic hymns, wherein, the meaning of it is just 'In what way' as already noted above. 8 So also the Chandogya Upanisad reads the term 'Katha' in the sense of a discussion for the purpose of inquiry.9 During the age of Ramayana and Mahabharata the term 'Katha' came to mean a 'tale' or a 'story'. Yet the original sense of the Vedic tradition cannot be denied. Further, interpreting the Rgvedic hymn, the commentator (Sayana) refers to Satyayana Brahmana wherein the word 'Itihasa', indicates the traditional meaning given above. Thus, the point to be understood here is that, a tale can secure the status of a myth in the background of tradition. In this connection Dr. S.S. Dange's remark is noteworthy. "A traditional tale involving non-artful expression of a wonderful experience, or of a problematic situation, is faithfully accepted by a society or a tribe."10 Myth is thus, preserved and perpetuated in many ways. 7. Sadashiv A. Dange, Understanding Hindu Myths, Aryan Book International, New Delhi, 1996, p - 4. 8. katha ha tadvarunaya tvamagne katha dive garhasekanna agah | 9. katha mitrayamiladuse prthivai bravah kadaryamne kadbhagaya || Rgveda Samhita with com Sayana Vol. II, Vaidik Samsodhana Mandala, Pune, 1936, IV.3.5., p-514. tatha ca tadvidyasamvade viparitagrahanaso'purva vijnanopajanah samsayanivrttisceti | atastadvidya samyogah kartavya iti cetihasa prayojanam | drsyate hi silakadinam || Ghanashyamdas Jalan, Chandogya Upanisad Geeta Press, Gorakhpur, 1994, I.8.1. p - 82. 10. Sadashiv A. Dange, Understanding Hindu Myths, p - 6.

5 A myth may be analysed into its basic elements called 'mythemes'. These are ramified into many inter-related disciplines of culture, anthropology, sociology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics. They are knit together to form a homogeneous and harmonious whole. With more introspection as a novelist R. Satyanarayana quotes from Benedict "Myth is a tale of supernatural world closely related to religion."¹¹ Obviously, ancient Indian literature imbibing the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Puranas, etc. has rich heritage of conveying Indian religion through myths. It means the religion and the myths are closely related to each other. A step going further it may be said that, myth is dynamic in origin, philosophic in purpose and is the premitive phase of metaphysical thought. In this connection, it is said, "Myth becomes meaningful through their inter-relationships and gains individuality through their specificity. Eagleton says, "Myths are devices to think with, ways of classifying and organising reality and this rather than recounting of any particular tale is their point."12 More specifically it may be said that, myth is a type of a story in which the central characters are gods and spirits wielding enormous power over nature, who have been created in human likeness and materialize the vision of an omnipotent personal community beyond an indifferent nature. On the basis of unique features of myth, one can say that, 'a myth narrates a past event of which the period can not be certained', it 11. R.C. Mehta, Music and Mythology, Indian Musical Society, Bombay, 1989, p -2. 12. Ibid., p 3. -

6 propounds the truth of human life which is not directly understood but conveyed through a special interpretation. According to Merrium and Webster, the term myth means, "fable, tale, talk, speech of uncertain origin. A story, a origin of which is forgotten that ostensibly relates to historical events, which are usually of such character as to serve to explain such practice, belief, institution or natural phenomenon." Myths are especially associated with religious rites and beliefs. So that, mythology is generally reckoned a part of religion; a nonreligious story of mythical character, which is generally called a fable or a folk tale. Among the classes of myths, commonly distinguished are cultural myths, comprising stories in which some hero (man, god or animal) is said to have imparted the arts of life to man; 'nature myths' in which phenomenon of nature are factively described, as to their origin, theogonic myths, narrating the origins of gods, etiological myths stories of factive events given as causes of given rites or customs. a) A similar story invented as a veiled explanation of a truth; a parable or allegory. b) The theme or plot of a mythical tale occurring informs differing only in detail. c) A person or thing existing only in imagination or whose actual existence is not verifiable. A myth deals with the actions of gods or conceivable divinity attributes to a legend; though it may include supernatural incidents, concerning human beings and often with some definite locality." 禄 13 13. Merrium and Webster, Dictionary of English language, p - 1622.

7. According to Kautilya Itihasa includes Purana (old legends), Itivrtta (factual narrations), Akhyayika (episodes) and Udaharana (illustrative stories). 14 During the period of Yaska, aitihasika's were known to be a class of intellectuals. 15 Also Yaska refers to the term Itihasa in the sense of fact element. 16 It is stated that, "the fact element Itihasa grew in proportion and was then recorded in the epics and Puranas. Therefore the words Itihasa and Purana became synonyms and were either used separately or in compounds. 17 In his commentary on the Visnu Purana, Sridhara uses the word Akhyana in the sense of myth and defines that, the Akhyana is the narration of events just heard of. 18 In other words, the Akhyana is more reliable and authentic, as it is seen or experienced by the person concerned. Therefore, the supernatural element formed an indispensable element of the myths. The heroes of the narrative possessed superhuman strength and achievements, either because, of their lineage or owing 14. puranamitivrttamakhyayikodaharanam dharmasastramarthasastram cetihasah | Arthasastra, I.5. 15. tat ko vrtrah | megha iti nairuktah | tvastro'sura ityaitihasikah | I Yaska, Nirukta II.16. 16. tatretihasamacaksate | devapiscarpisanah samtanusca kauravyo bhratarau babhuvatuh | sa samtanu kaniyabhisecayamcakre | devapistapah pratipede | I tatah santano rajye dvadasa varsani na vavarsa || Ibid., II.10. 17. Lalye P.G. Studies in Devi Bhagavata, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1973, p - 216. 18. svayam drstarthakathanam parahurakhyanakam budhah | srutastharyasya kathanamupakhyanam pracaksate || The Devi Bhagavata p - 227. -

8 to the boons of the sages or deities. Their rivals and their hostiles were conquered not because of their lack of strength or army but because of the adverse disposition of the deities towards them. "An examination of Puranic legends shows that, they have fivefold purpose: i] "To give the historical account (as understood by the ancients) of the acts of the deities or the sages possessing supernatural powers. ii] "To give accounts which are supposed to be absolutely true (as they are concerned with the realities) and sacred, because, they are the deeds of supernatural beings. iii] "To describe certain creation. A legends tell how some illustrious personality or some deity came into existence, or how a particular code of conduct, pattern of behaviour like a sect or manner of worship was established. Therefore, legends constitute the paradigms for all significant human acts. iv] "To enable one to know ritual and also to have the knowledge about a deity. It is often said in the Puranas, in the form of phalasruti, that by constantly reading or propagating a particular story, one gets material as well as spiritual prosperity. The knowledge of a myth is not purely external but also ritualistic. One can have the glimpse of a particular deity or propitiate that deity by feeling its divine presence, while going through the ritual.

9 v] "To enable one to 'live' the myth, in the sense that one is seized by the sacred, exalting power of the events recollected or re-enacted. The functions of a myth (legend) are aptly summarized by Malinowski: "Myth fulfils an indispensible function in primitive culture." "It expresses, enhances and codifies beliefs, it safeguards and enforces morality, it vouches for the efficiency of ritual and contains practical rules for the guidance of man These stories are to the natives, a statement of a primeval, greater and more relevant reality, by which the present life, fates and activities of mankind are determined. 19 The myths of the Puranas have thus, a cultural function and are not mere ballads, eulogizing the deeds of certain heroes. Though they have got certain entertainment value, they are invaluable manuals of 'good conduct'. They are also, at the same time, "epitomes of the Indian genius, its possibilities and short comings and triumphs - actual and possible. All this material outshines the pure story interest of the reader, and he begins to consider them as an invaluable source of cultural history of an ancient India. However, the myths in general, can be classified into two sections, one being a mass of records found in the epic and Puranas, and other being a group of elements concerning ancient tribes found in the ancient historical works like, Manusmrti, Arthasastra, etc. 19. P.G. Lalye, Studies in Devi Bhagavata, Bombay, 1973, pp. 223-24.

10 Evidently the epics and Puranas in Indian literature, consist of the mixtures in mythical language with special purpose of upholding the righteousness in the society at large. The myths of ancient tribes give a pen-picture of the society in its socio-political and religio-cultural perspectives. Dr. Graves calls a myth 'a narrative short hand of ritual mime' associated with public festivals and performances of rituals. Infine, by studying the nature and significance of the myth in Indian tradition, the myths can no longer be discarded as allegory, satire fable, or fiction; rather they have their own ungrudging and magnificient facts and truths of the heritage of ancient Indian culture.