Mahabharata: La leyenda de Bhisma

El sexto libro del Mahabharata es el “Libro de Bhisma”. En este libro se describen los 10 primeros días de la batalla de Kurukshetra, entre los Pandavas y los Kauravas.

En el noveno día, los Pandavas reflexionan en la forma de matar a Bhisma, el comandante de los Kauravas. Como no encuentran solución, deciden preguntarle directamente a Bhisma. Se presentan sin armas en su carpa, y Bhisma los recibe y les dice que aceptaría ser matado, sin embargo como combatiente entrenado no dejará la batalla.

Bhisma les sugiere que pongan a Sikhandin en frente a él durante la batalla, ya que Bhisma juró nunca luchar contra él. Los Pandavas siguen esta recomendación y después de poco tiempo, cae mortalmente herido por tantas flechas que forman una cama a su alrededor.

De repente todos los combatientes de los dos lados se detienen para rendirle homenaje a Bhisma.

Mahabharata: La leyenda de Savitri y Satyavan

El libro del Mahabharata trata de la guerra entre los clanes de Kaurava y Pandava para acceder a la sucesión al trono de Hastinapura.

La primera parte cuenta el exilio de 13 años de los Pandavas en el bosque Kamyaka. Uno de los episodios mas conocidos del “Libro del Bosque” es la historia de amor entre Savitri, una princesa, y Satyavan, un ermitaño.

Se conocen y se enamoran. El sabío Naraba informa a Savitri que Satyavan tiene un defecto que lo tiene que matar en el año. Sin embargo, Savitri acepta casarse con Satyavan y decide seguirlo a todas horas y a todos lados sabiendo que el tiempo con el podría ser corto.

Un día, Savitri sigue a Satyavan al bosque donde va a recoger madera. Como lo había dicho Naraba, Satyavan muere en esta ocasión. Yama, el dios de la muerte, aparece frente a Savitri para llevarse el alma de Satyavan. Savitri, muy enamorada de su esposo, decide seguir a Yama. El dios de la muerte trata de consolarla y de disuadirla de seguirlos. Pero Satrivi se niega a escucharlo y sigue Yama y el alma de su esposo. Viendo su insistencia, Yama acepta soltar al alma de Satyavan y él regresa a la vida.

Mahabharata: La leyenda del colmillo roto de Ganesh

El libro Mahabharata es un extenso texto escrito en el siglo III que describe la mitología de la India. Se considera como una clave del hinduismo y es cuatro veces mas extenso que la Biblia.

Existen varias leyendas alrededor de la escritura del texto. Entre otras, la primera sección del Mahabharata afirma que Viasa, el heredero de la tradición oral por la que se transmitía el texto, acepto dictarlo a Ganesh para que se tenga una versión escrita. Ganesh puso como condición a la redacción que Viasa nunca haga pausa en la recitación. Viasa aceptó, solamente si Ganesh podía asimilar lo que le estaba dictando. De esta forma, Viasa podía hacer pausas mientras Ganesh estaba asimilando.

También dice la leyenda que en la prisa de escribir, falló la pluma de Ganesh, y que entonces rompió la punta de su colmillo para usarla como pluma. Por eso Ganesh tendría roto el colmillo izquierdo en la mayoría de sus representaciones.

Hindu Divinities: Shiva

Shiva is a complex and contradictory God. He is the God of destruction, but the true objective of destruction is the creation of a new World. His eyes are half-opened, as he opens them for the creation of a new World and closes them to terminate the universe and start a new cycle.

Shiva is represented sometimes as a dancer in the middle of a fire-ring, meaning that he burns desires with fire. In this representation, Shiva has four arms, with the upper right hand holding a drum representing the rythm of the universe, the lower right hand making a sign of protection, the upper left hand holding the light of knowledge and the lower left hand showing the ground. The right foot is crushing the demon of ignorance and the left foot is is the dancing position.

This representation of Shiva represents the universal and eternal energy. This dance creates the days and the nights, the seasons cycle and the life and death cycle. At the end, his energy will cause the end of the universe and will make it reborn.

Hindu Divinities: Krishna

Krishna is one of the most important Gods of Hinduism. In most of the hindu traditions, Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. He is also the most worshiped God in India and he is often represented as a child.

One of the legend of Krishna is strangely very similar to the Greek mythology:

As an adult, Krishna is informed by the Gods that he needs to leave the city where he is living with all its inhabitants, or his lineage will disappear. At one stop made on the road, the men get drunk and start to fight each other. In order to bring peace back, Krishna and his brother Balarama go into the forest to meditate and try to find a solution.

Unfortunately, while meditating Krishna is hit by the arrow of a hunter who mixes him with a deer. He is hit in his heel, the only part of his body that is vulnerable, and dies, without even getting a burial place.

Later, his bones are found and a reliquary is prepared by Vishvakarma, the God’s sculptor. However, Vishvakarma is disturbed in his work and never finishes the work. This is why Krishna is often represented in a rudimentary way.

Hindu Divinities: Vishnu

Lord Vishnu is considered to be the Supreme God in Hinduism, who governs the universe and masters everything within it.

According to the tradition, Vishnu becomes incarnate when the World is threatened by chaos. His most famous incarnations on earth (called “Avatars”) are Rama and Krishna. However, the Bhagavad-Gita (one of the most fundamental texts of Hinduism) talks about 10 avatars, inluding Buddha:

1. Matsya, the fish
2. Kurma, the turtle
3. Varâha, the wild boar
4. Narasimha, the lion-man
5. Vamana, the dwarf
6. Parashurama
7. Râma
8. Krishna (meaning “dark” or “black”)
9. Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha (representing the wisdom)
10. Kalkî who is an apocalyptic figure. Obviously this last avatar is still to come…

Hindu Divinities: Ganesha

Ganesha is one of the most worshipped Gods of Hinduism. He has a human body and an elephant head.

According to one of the legends, Shiva’a wife Parvati conceived Ganesha to protect her door while she was taking a bath. When Shiva arrived, Ganesha (that didn’t know Shiva) didn’t let him pass and Shiva cut his head.

Then Shiva seeing his wife so sad, promised her that he would replace the newly born’s head with the head of the first living creature that would pass in front of the door. And this creature happened to be an elephant!

Hindu Divinities: Brahma

In Hinduism, Brahma (meaning “evolution” in sanskrit) is the God Creator of the universe and member of the Tri-Murti (“three shapes”) composed by Brahma (God that creates), Vishnu (God that preserves) and Shiva (God that destroys).

One of his specificities is to be represented with 4 heads and 4 arms. The legend says that when he was creating the universe, Brahma engendered a female divinity called Shatarupa and fell deeply in love with her. In order to be able to follow her in all the directions where she was trying to go away from him, he grew five heads: one for every cardinal direction and one to see above.

In order to control this God, Shiva cut the head looking above and declared that it was inconvenient to Brahma to be in love with his own daughter. Shiva decided that Brahma would not be venerated anywhere as a punishment.

And in fact, despite being the God Creator, Brahma is almost completely ignored and only a few temples are dedicated to him.

Hindu Divinities

Are you interested in Indian spirituality? This week India Chez-Moi will bring you more knowledge about Hindu Divinities.