Topic Brainstorming: The beginning and the end

Vishnu rests on the serpent Ananta while Brahma appears within a lotus flower emitting from Vishnu's navel

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

I like starting things at the beginning. Anything with more than one episode or book I refuse to begin unless I can start where the story does. The wild array of characters, gods, goddesses, demons, people and places found in Hindu mythology was bewildering, and so I chose to try starting at the beginning. That did not work as well as I had hoped, but I learned quite a bit more than I intended.

Creation and Recreation
I quickly discovered that the Hindu origins of our world were every bit as complex and detailed as the rest of Hindu mythology. Rather, the world as we know it belongs to a cyclic existence and has been created and destroyed many times over, each cycle referred to as a Kalpa, or aeon, and lasting 4.32 billion years in length. In each Kalpa there is a new creation, which is why there are so many creation stories present in Hindu mythology. Trying to focus on just one was almost impossible, but I finally settled down enough to do so. I was very intrigued by the measurement of time as well, and I included a breakdown of time units for future reference.

Time Units in Hindu Cosmology

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

In this Hindu Creation Stories tale, the universe is created by Vishnu napping on a serpant in the Causal Ocean, which is essentially the void that surrounds all things. He sprouts a lotus flower from his navel, and Brahma rests upon it. Vishnu orders Brahma to create the universe, and after meditating for eons, Brahma creates the world from three petals of the lotus, representing sky, water, and earth. I would enjoy researching more creation stories and identifying common links present.

The Existence of Vanaras
After reading about Hanuman, a heroic Vanara, I chose to learn more about this tribe of monkey people. Some argue that vanaras are exclusively mythological, with no basis in real life, while others have likened them to actual tribes, such as the Sora people, and even Homo erectus. The word Vanara can be construed to mean not only "forest-dwelling," "forest-man," but also "is it a man?"

The Vanaras appear in many texts, most notably the Ramayana, but also the Mahabharata. They are described as birthed from monkeys and bears, created by gods and rising to god-like status. I would be quite excited to read more about this tribe, especially because they are depicted to possess humanity's best qualities. The historical aspect of their origin would also be fascinating to research.

Adam's Bridge or Rama's Bridge? 
The Ramayana details a legendary story of the Vanara building Rama a bridge to Lanka; this bridge has caused no small amount of consternation as historians today argue whether it is in fact man-made or natural. The story details that the bridge was constructed in only five days, allowing the transport of Rama's army to Lanka to rescue Sita, his wife. The scientists argue the bridge is natural, while the historians argue that not only was it man-made, but also proof to justify the existence of Rama, also bolstering tourism for both India and Sri Lanka. I would like to read more about the legend of its creation and the factual basis for its argument as man-made.

Eroded bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka

Image Source: Google Maps

The End: Kalki appears and Kali Yuga ends
I am always curious regarding the end-of-the-world legends in other cultures, and I am always amazed by how many similarities appear in prophecies across the world. A theme of decay is prominent in many cultures, and the age of Kali Yuga is no different. The disappearance of Lord Krishna marked the opening of this age, and the appearance of Kalki will mark the ending.

This all details only the ending of this age. Others are said to have ended previously, and many more still to come; this is completely in keeping with the cyclic existence which defines Hindu mythology. I particularly enjoy the relation of a universe proceeding from a state of perfect order to total chaos, which echoes the second law of thermodynamics. This may not be perfectly aligned with the overall picture of the continuous regeneration of an ordered state by a higher power, but the Kalpa progression is fascinating.