Hindu mythology are narratives found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, the regional literatures like Periya Puranam. Hindu mythology is also found in widely translated popular texts such as the Panchatantra and Hitopadesha, as well as Southeast Asian texts.
Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same myth typically appears in various versions and can be represented differently across socio-religious traditions. These myths have also been noted to have been modified Hindu epic shares the creative principles and human values found in epic everywhere. However, the particular details vary and its diversity is immense, according to Doniger. The Hindu legends embed the Indian thought about the nature of existence, the human condition and its aspirations through an interwoven contrast of characters, the good against the evil, the honest against the dishonest, the dharma-bound lover against the anti-dharma bully, the gentle and compassionate against the cruel and greedy. In these epics, everything is impermanent including matter, love and peace. Magic and miracles thrive, gods are defeated and fear for their existence, triggering wars or debates. Death threatens and re-threatens life, while life finds a way to creatively re-emerge thus conquering death. Eros persistently prevails over chaos. various philosophical schools over time and particularly in the Hindu tradition. These myths are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and have been given a complex range of interpretations.
The Hindu epics integrate in a wide range of subjects. They include stories about how and why cosmos originated (Hindu cosmology, cosmogony), how and why humans or all life forms originated (anthropogony) along with each's strengths and weaknesses, how gods originated along with each's strengths and weaknesses (theogony), the battle between good gods and bad demons (theomachy), human values and how humans can live together, resolve any disagreements (ethics, axiology), healthy goals in stages of life and the different ways in which each individual can live (householder, monk, purusartha), the meaning of all existence and means of personal liberation (soteriology) as well as legends about what causes suffering, chaos and the end of time with a restart of a new cycle (eschatology).
The Hindu epics were written to create moral ideals for followers to aspire to. These epics were written in Sanskrit and in their essence described the power of the Hindu gods in poetic verse. The most popular of these poetic epics are the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Ramayana is a magnificent narration of the story of Rama. It chronicles the life of Rama from his birth in the kingdom of Ayodhya to his decisive victory over his evil nemesis Ravana. The epic speaks volumes on the virtue of true brotherhood, love, and the nature of sacrifice one has to make to defeat evil.
The Mahabharata is the longest epic ever written and gives an in-depth insight into the rise of Hinduism between 400 BC and 200 AD. In fact, its entire narration is seven times the length of the Illiad and the Odyssey combined. Apart from its glorious narration of the fight between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, it also details the scripts of the Bhagavat Gita. From beginning to end, it describes the great battle that pit brother against brother. In time, the Bhagavat Gita went on to become the epitome of Hinduism’s sacred scripture.
