Mythology

Mythological lore among the Hindus is voluminous. For those fed on the escapades of Walt Disney characters and the Superman there is enough material to thrill and whet the imagination in the mythological lore of the Hindus. The evolution of life on this planet, our earth, is beautifully illustrated in the form of a mythological narrative, Bhagavatha.

Each stage in the development of multi-cellular life to the human form as we know it today, is depicted as an avathara of God. Starting from the aquatic (Matsya) to the amphibian (kurma) and then to the vertebrate (varaha or the boar) followed by a half-human and half-beast (Narasmha) and then a pigmy (Vamana). The earliest pastoral man, the tiller of the soil after clearing the jungle with his axe (parasu) was Parasurama. The seventh incarnation was Rama who ushered in a rule of law, exemplifying the noblest concepts of benevolent kingship. Rama Rajya is identified as the golden age where peace and prosperity reigned.

This is followed by Krishaavathara.

Krishna, a charismatic personality is depicted as playing multi-faceted roles as a cowherd, a romantic play-boy, an astute diplomat, a superb tactician in battle, a master of human psychology and, above all, as the narrator of Geetha with its various chapters on different forms of yoga. The ninth incarnation is identified with an ascetic and contemplative personality trying to find answers to the conflicts in human mind and seeking release from bondage or the cycle of birth and death. (Bhudda or Bhoudavathara).

The last incarnation, Kalki, is yet to come and is supposed to have as its mission the elimination of all the evil in the world and finally the destruction of the world itself in a deluge (pralaya). We are now in the first pada; or beginning of Kaliyuga and all signs of ultimate annihilation, preceded by untold evil, is already in evidence. The proliferation of destructive weapons, terrorism and catastrophes like the Bhopal gas tragedy and the present sweep of the coronavirus are ominous signs that as He has said in the Geetha “Sambhavaami yuge yuge.”

He may soon incarnate as Kali.