Hindu Mythology

South Asian 140

Summer 2012
July 2-August 9
MTuW 12-2, Th 12-1
Room: 203 Wheeler
Luis Gonzlez-Reimann
Office hours: Monday 2-3 and Thursday 1-2, or by appointment.
Office: 2125 Dwinelle Hall.
E-mail: reimann@berkeley.edu (please make SA 140 the subject of your message).
Requirements: Students are responsible for the material in all of the assigned readings and
class lectures. There will be a midterm (25% of the final grade), a final examination (25%)
and 2 short research papers (25% each). Regular class attendance is important, and
participation in class is strongly encouraged.
Syllabus
Week 1 (July 2-5).
Introduction to the course. What is myth? The Indus Civilization. Indo-European and IndoIranian religion and mythology.
Readings: The Problem of Defining Myth, Reader 1: 39. The Harappa culture
and the Aryans, Reader 1: 1131. Indo-Iranian Religion, Reader 1: 3340.
Additional readings: The Avesta and Comparative Mythology, Reader 1: 4247.
g Vedic mythology: cosmogony, Yama and death. ta. Uas. Time in the Atharva Veda.
Vc; the riddle of the sacrifice.
Readings: OFlaherty, The g Veda: 23-58, 179-181, 59-83.
Additional readings: The Rigveda and the Aryans, Reader 1: 4956. Vedic
Cosmology and Cosmogony, Reader 1: 5862.
g Vedic mythology: Agni, Soma, Indra, the Maruts.
Readings: OFlaherty, The g Veda: 97-176.
Additional readings: Interrelation of the Gods, Reader 1: 6468. The Great
Gods: Terrestrial, Reader 1: 7079. The Great Gods: Celestial, Reader 1: 8195.
Week 2 (July 9-12).
g Vedic mythology: the Sun, Earth and Sky, Varua, Rudra and Viu. Dicing. Women.
Readings: OFlaherty, The g Veda: 177-227, 239-242, 247-274.
Additional readings: The Great Gods: Aerial, Reader 1: 97-111.
Late Vedic mythology: Indras loss of prestige. Prajpati and Brahm as creator gods. The
turtle and the boar.

2
Readings: Selections from the Brhmaas and the Upaniads, Reader 1: 143150,
175-180. OFlaherty, Hindu Myths: 28-35.
Additional readings: The Philosophy of the Veda, Reader 1: 113141.
Late Vedic mythology: The legends of Cyavana and unaepa. The battle between gods
and demons.
Readings: Reader 1: 151159 (Cyavana), 160-174 (unaepa). OFlaherty, Hindu
Myths: 270273. Introduction to Indian Mythology, Reader 1: 182188.
Week 3 (July 16-19).
Monday, July 16. Review.
Tuesday, July 17. Midterm examination.
Wednesday, July 18. Paper 1 due.
Introduction to the epics. Epic mythology: the Mahbhrata. The story and its mythological
background. The origins. Genealogy. The dice game. The churning of the ocean in
the Mbh.
Readings: Introduction to the Epics, Reader 2: 222. Summary of the
Mahbhrata, Reader 2: 2634. Smith, The Mahbhrata: 10-21, 25-27, 121156. Selections from the Mahbhrata, Reader 2: 3542.
The Mahbhrata, cont.
Readings: The Bhagavad Gt, Reader 2: 4451. The last three Books, Smith, The
Mahbhrata: 756-791.
Week 4 (July 23-26).
Epic mythology: the Rmyaa. Introduction. The story.
Readings: Introduction, Reader 2: 56-84. Selections from the Blak_a, the
Ayodhyk_a and the Arayak_a, Reader 2: 85182.
The Rmyaa. The story (cont.). Different versions and their cultural importance.
Readings: Selections from the Kikindhk_a, the Sundarak_a, the
Yuddhak_a and the Uttarak_a, Reader 2: 184304.
Week 5 (July 30 - August 2).
Puric mythology: cosmogony and cosmology. The flood story, Brahms egg, the
churning of the ocean in the Viu Pura.
Readings:"Cosmic Cycles, Cosmology and Cosmography," Reader 1: 190207.
Reader 2: 306310. Classical Hindu Mythology: 15-58.
Puric mythology. Vaiavism.
Readings: Dimmitt & van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: 59-99. OFlaherty,
Hindu Myths: 175-188, 232235.
Puric mythology. Vaiavism: Ka.
Readings: Dimmitt & van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: 100-130.
OFlaherty, Hindu Myths: 204-231.

3
Puric mythology. aivism.
Readings: Dimmitt & van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: 147-218.
OFlaherty, Hindu Myths: 116-174. Reader 2: 311323.
Week 6 (August 6-9).
Puric mythology: the Goddess.
Readings: Dimmitt & van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: 219-242.
OFlaherty, Hindu Myths: 238-269. Reader 2: 325354.
Tuesday, August 7. Paper 2 due
Wednesday, August 8. Review
Thursday, August 9. Final exam