Love, Pride, Virtue, and Fate

The Egg Came First

BEFORE THE CRASHING waves of the oceans shaped mountains of every size and held the sea’s creatures in their embrace, these bodies of water held the gods themselves. The Brahman, the supreme being of infinity, used to rock his child, Vishnu the Preserver, to sleep amidst the waves. Such was Vishnu’s fondness of the waters that even his skin was blue. One day, Vishnu woke up and discovered an egg at his side. Cracking it open with childlike wonder, he created the world.

The two halves of the egg’s shell became Heaven and Earth. From the egg itself emerged Brahma the Creator, the first god of what would become a Holy Trinity. Brahma emerged fully formed and used the goop and goo of the egg to form the continents and skies and all beauty our people know. And on the seventh day of creation, he closed his eyes to meditate.

From these meditations, other magic occurred. Ten gods were born of Brahma’s will, emerging from his head, including one of particular note-Saraswati, Goddess of Knowledge who rode upon a swan from the very waters that birthed the world. The ten children of Brahma would go on to marry and procreate themselves, and establish a rich tradition of hundreds of gods and goddesses that perseveres to this day...but Brahma’s actions also brought ill will into the world. Good breeds bad and bad breeds good and so it will ever be. As the egg split in two, so it is with humanity–a light side and a dark.

Brahma’s children were mischievous in their youth and would trouble their father at times, nipping at his ankles. Who could blame children for wanting to play games? For craving attention? Brahma would slap his thighs in frustration as they ran around him, and such was the force of his blows that his legs bruised. And out of these bruises came many demons. Brahma’s body was no longer his own, and so he abandoned his lower body to become the Night. Now, the demons thrived in the nighttime and so Brahma abandoned his upper body to become the Day and restore balance to the world. He loved his children so much that he repented for their mistakes and gave his life, unable to protect them at all times but leaving them the daytime to succeed. His children could thrive in the light, imbuing humans with the power to succeed and rule justly. But darkness was never far away.

Why I included this story: I actually didn’t know the Hindu origin myth until I researched it for this book. I think it’s important to connect the dots to Christianity here, with both Brahma and Jesus sacrificing their bodies for their children, and you’ll find over the course of this book that a lot of these myths are incredibly similar to tales told in other religions. However, unlike Christianity, Brahma giving up his body meant that he isn’t really worshipped in Hindu society today despite being known as the Creator.

The Trinity Formed

THE BRAHMAN WAS MANY things, but he was not a god as gods are formed in man’s image and man can not comprehend the supreme being. Thus, Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver were now given domain of the universe. They competed, as all brothers do, and one day came across a large, slanted pillar leading towards the unknown. The pillar stretched upwards farther than their eyes could see, making the brothers all the more determined to climb it.

Last one up is a rotten egg! Vishnu shouted behind him as he transformed himself into a boar to race up the narrow path.

Not cool! Brahma squawked after turning himself into a bird. He would always remember emerging from the egg that shaped the world and all its beauty, and the thought of it rotting struck him in his chest as painfully as a sword would.

The two raced higher and higher and higher up the pillar until the stars remained distant memories behind them. When they reached the top, they saw a man with ash on his forehead and a trident in his hand.

Who dares challenge me? Has the time come for my trident to taste the blood of the guilty at last?

This was Shiva the Destroyer. The god had a cobra wrapped around his neck as a pet, and his skin was ocean blue. His bare chest was marked by the lines of age and experience, and his forehead gleamed with what looked like a third eye. Though currently closed, Lord Shiva could open it at any time needed to bring light into the world and snuff out any darkness that dared lure his friends.

As Brahma created the world and Vishnu sought to preserve it, this warrior god would keep the world in balance. He would eradicate evil from the lives of not just men but also gods. And so, the three of them formed a trinity.

Why I included this story: Brahma and Vishnu were already gods, but their arrogance was such that they wanted even more. In doing so, they found their match – Shiva the Destroyer. His place in mythology guarantees that no one god of the trinity can be defeated by the other. Similar to the gods’ arrogance here, mankind’s arrogance in building the Tower of Babel ensures that they will never see the heavens together. Of course, both man, Brahma, and Vishnu endure these fates at the end of a large climb. Speaking of which, the mountain home of Shiva is Mt. Kailash – a real range that is in current-day Tibet. Finally, the three points of Shiva’s weapon – a trident – symbolizes the completion of the original trinity.

Brahma’s Temptations

THERE CAME A DAY WHEN Brahma’s daughter, Saraswati, grew into a beautiful young woman. With four hands, she plucked at the strings of a veena better than anyone else and serenaded the other gods often. With a voice as sweet as honey and a melody as pleasant as the sun’s rays, even the humans on Earth heard Saraswati and called her the possessor of knowledge. When humans bathed in the Ganges river, they heard her sing to them and left their baths committed to build statues and temples in her honor.

Such was Saraswati’s beauty that even her father Brahma began to lust after her. One day, as the two walked through the forests built from the remnants of Brahma’s home, she left his eyeline to examine a lotus flower nearby.

Daughter, do not leave my side! he thundered. I cannot stand to be away from your beauty.

Aggravated that Saraswati had left, Brahma grew another head to see her. Covering her mouth with a hand in horror, she walked behind him and found a third head had emerged at the back of his neck. Running in fear to the last side of his body, she saw Brahma now had a fourth head to watch her there as well.

Saraswati was no victim; she was a goddess with considerable skill of her own. Launching herself over her father’s body, she jumped on to a tree and sat on a branch. She laughed at him, holding a lotus flower to protect her from his lustful thoughts.

These trees exist by your actions, and now I shall use them to shield against your transgressions.

Moments later, though, Saraswati witnessed a fifth head emerge from Brahma’s shoulders to gaze at the sky. Her terror was such that she would have fallen off and into his arms if not for her extra arms to stabilize her. She closed her eyes, but could not block out this fifth head’s voice.

It is fitting that you sit as high as the sky because your beauty knows no bounds, the fifth head of Brahma hissed with a forked tongue.

At that moment, Shiva the Destroyer arrived to restore balance and tell Brahma once more that what he was doing went against natural law. Four of Brahma’s heads agreed to see reason, but the fifth one became wild and hissed its displeasure. Revealing his trident, Shiva spun it so fast that none of Brahma’s heads could see it before the three blades carried out Shiva’s will. The fifth head of Brahma was no more, and with it Shiva had cleansed not just Brahma’s body but his spirit as well.

Why I included this story: A forked tongue carrying ill intentions is not an original idea. You see it here, and you see it in the story of Adam and Eve.