Don't Know Much About Mythology - Kenneth C. Davis [162]
Over time, as the myths of India evolved, Indra was reduced in rank, and many of his functions and powers were then taken over by Vishnu (see below). In a brief story symbolic of this transfer of power, Vishnu lifts an entire mountain with a single finger and uses it like a parasol to protect the people from Indra’s torrential rains. Clearly bested by Vishnu’s power, Indra assumes his lower station as a rain god.
Soma A certain American beverage calls itself the “king of beers.” Soma might be the “god of beers.” A most unusual god, Soma is the name of both a deity—the Vedic moon god—and a sacred beverage. As a deity, Soma is said to be the creator and father of the other Vedic gods—a sign of the importance of soma, the beverage of the gods.
In its liquid form, soma was evidently an ecstasy-inducing potion. Judging from its frequent mention in the Rig-Veda, soma was obviously a significant, if not indispensable, element of the ancient Vedic ritual. Either highly intoxicating or hallucinogenic, the “active ingredient” in soma has been the subject of considerable conjecture. In The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances, author Richard Rudgley catalogues many of the possible candidates for the source of this powerful party punch—including cannabis, ginseng, opium, some sort of “magic mushroom,” and a plant called Syrian rue. Most of these, according to Rudgley, have been rejected, and the truth behind soma remains a mystery.
If “soma” sounds vaguely familiar, you may recognize it for two reasons. It is the brand name of a modern muscle relaxant, and it is also the narcotic widely used in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the English writer who was both a student of Hinduism and a noted experimenter with hallucinogenic drugs.
Surya Another of the oldest among Indian gods, Surya is the sun god, a dark red man with three eyes and four arms, who rides in a chariot. In the ancient hymns of the Rig-Veda, Surya is a god of almost unbearable intensity who causes the great heat of India’s dry season. When Surya’s intensity becomes too much for his wife, Sanjina (“conscience”), to bear, she transforms herself into a mare and goes to live in the forest. Surya follows her, transforms himself into a horse, and they mate, giving birth to the warrior Revanta and twin sons who are the ever-young and handsome messengers of dawn.
When Sanjina’s father later comes on to the scene, he cuts away some of his son-in-law’s brightness and these blazing fragments of the sun god fall to earth. These “sun-drops” are transformed into the weapons of the other gods—the discus of Vishnu and the trident of Shiva.
Together with Surya, Sanjina also produces the underworld god Yama.*
Yama Originally thought of as the first man in Vedic lore, Yama has a twin sister, Yami, who desires her brother. For resisting the incestuous desire, Yama is immortalized and comes to judge those who enter the underworld. As the god of the dead, he represents judgment, bringing happiness to the virtuous and righteous but bestowing suffering on sinners.
Part II: The Second Generation/Later Gods
Brahman Set aside notions of God as a white-bearded man on a throne. Or any of the many other tangible forms that gods take in myths. Prepare for a separate reality. The most absolute, abstract form of God, Brahman is a concept—the soul of the universe, the essence of life, and the divine force that sustains the entire cosmos. Glorified in the Upanishads over all other forms of God, Brahman (“One that is multiple”) is the absolute godhead—infinite, changeless,