According to the Oxford Dictionary, 'Myth' is a story from ancient times, especially one that was told to explain natural events or to describe the early history of a people. It also means something that many people believe but does not exist or is false. 'Mythology' is the field of scholarship dealing with myth but also a particular body of myths.
The term 'Mythology' refers to a body of stories that attempt to explain the origins and fundamental values of a culture. In modern usage, the term can also mean stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural elements to interpret natural events. Mythology reflects humankind's quest for meaning of the Universe and humanity.
Indian religion and mythology are closely interwoven and cannot be separated, moreover both are so vast and confused that any generalization is likely to oversimplify. Most Indian myths have been derived from the ancient Hindu texts such as Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana. The ancient stories, gods, goddess and epic battles of Hindu mythology have shaped the cultural and spiritual landscape of the country and for millennia. There are so many books that were written to explore the vast and captivating tapestry of ancient Hindu mythology, but the 'Myth=Mithya : Decoding Hindu mythology' is one of the remarkable one, which is written by renowned mythologist Devdutt Pattnaik. Through this book Pattnaik introduces a fascinating way of reading mythology.
In the prefatory note of 'Myth=Mithya' the author makes it clear that 'Myth' directly not means the falsehood, but it is a truth which is subjective, initiative, cultural and grounded in faith. Pattnaik states, "In Greek philosophy, mythos, distinguished from logos. From logos came science and mathematics; "logic" is etymologically from logos. mythos gave rise to the oracles and the arts. Logos explained how the sun rises and how babies are born. But it never explained why a baby is born, why does man exist on earth? For answers to these we turn to mythos. Mythos gave purpose, meaning, and validation to existence."
In 'Myth=Mithya', author Devdutt Pattnaik depicts almost all the aspects of Hindu philosophy. The book is divided into three parts, describring the tree Trinity of Hinduism- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. These chapters explain the nature of the Universe, the evolution of cultural codes, and the self-realisation of the soul. The author takes references from the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata to elaborate the idea. In the book, the first chapter 'The Circle of Brahma' discusses about the creation of life, it's nature, the law of Karma, and destiny. The author explains the masculine and feminine powers according to the description of Hindu scripture. The male forms such as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are associated with- creating, sustaining and Saraswati, Lakshmi and Sati are associated with knowledge, wealth, power.
'The square of Vishnu and Lakshmi', the second chapter talks about the evolution of culture by comparing the two great epics- Ramayana and Mahabharata, Pattnaik describes how order was brought into the world by the two leaders- Lord Ram and Lord Krishna- While Lord Ram follows the rules in a strict manner, Lord Krishna breaks many rules and tries to create new ones.
In the third chapter 'The point of Shiva & Shakti' Shiva and Shakti are represented by a Dot, around which the universe and all other shapes are centered. The chapter talks about the objective truth-sat which is 'permanent, absolute and unconditional'. The purpose of one's life is to discover this truth. And as Pattnaik writes, "the only way to go about it is by engaging with the world."
In such a fascinating manner, mythologist Devdutt Pattnaik depicts the various concept of Hindu philosophy in this book. Every reader who are curious about mythology should definitely read the 'Myth=Mithya'.
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