Hindu and Judeo-Christian myths Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Hindu and Judeo-Christian myths - Research Paper Example In all of the creation myths, there is the birth of the world and the birth of humans. In many of the creation stories, there is also a deluge – this means that the creator thinks that He or She made a mistake in creating the humans, so sent them back to the chaos of the Flood. The waters of the flood may also be a source of new birth. The archetypal characters who may appear in the creationism myths include the creator, who makes order out of chaos, sometimes by using his own bodily fluids, sometimes by conjoining with an equal and opposite natural power; the trickster, who is the negative force; the first man and first woman; and the flood hero, who looks for a new beginning after the great flood (97). The Hindu myths and the Christian myths diverge significantly, however, in how creation began. How are the two creation stories from different regions of the world inter-related? Hindu Myths   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hinduism is an extension of Veda, which i s the source of many Hindu rites and speculation (Renou, 105). Since this religion, which essentially â€Å"fed† Hinduism, is the source of mythology, this is a religion which may be explored to determine the creationist myths of Hinduism. In Veda, there are gods which function as represented, much like in Greek mythology. Among the gods worshiped by the Vedas, was Arya, who was the god of war; Agni, the god of fire; and Soma, the god of plant and liquor (105).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the myths for how the world began, according to the Veda, is the creation of the world from the soul (Renou, 107). In this myth, there was a soul that was in the form of the person. Because this soul was alone, he desired a second, and his self was split into two pieces – a   husband and a wife. From this husband and wife’s copulation, humans were reproduced. She then became a cow, and he a bull, and they reproduced. She became a mare, he a stallion, w ho reproduced. And so forth, on down to the ants. Whatever was moist in the world was created from semen, and was called Soma. He created his superiors, the gods. Therefore, according to this myth, the world was populated from one soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Rg Veda has another telling of how life was created, and that was through primeval incest. In this story, which may be simply an anthropomorphic retelling of the earlier myth about the One who creates a Second, which is the myth told above, a father impregnates his daughter. According to this story, when the father shed his seed in his daughter, his seed was spilled upon the earth (Doniger O'Flaherty, 167). Doniger O’Flaherty states that the Brahmanas also had a version of creation, as did the Upanisads. In this version of creation, there is also incest. The incestuous father’s name in this myth is Prajapati. In this story, Prajapati approached his daughter, who was alternatively the sky or the dawn. She was in the form of a doe, he as a stag. The others did not approve of this, and Prajapati was pierced, and flew upward as a deer. The arrow was in three parts, and was known as the tripartite arrow. Prajapati also had a chance to spill his seed, and his seed spillage became a lake. Cattle sprang up from the seeds when the Marutttsss blew upon it. Doniger O’Flaherty states that this is one version, and other versions have the sons of Prajpati committing the incestuous act with their own sister. In these other versions, the Rudra is born from the seed, and, in some versions, the Rud