Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
TRIFUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS IN THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE HINDU TRIMURTI * G. M. BAILEY It is no exaggeration to suggest that the bulk of the mythology found in the Hindu epics and Puranas is about Visnu, 8akti, Brahma and the group of gods closely associated with them. The divinities of the earliest strata of Vedic literature-Indra, the so-called group of thirty-three gods and the various groups of demons-play a role in many of these myths, but they do not dominate, as they did in Vedic mythology. This is not to say that the main themes of Vedic mythology or the images occurring in it are necessarily absent from myths which occur in post-Vedic literature. Indeed, the richness and variety of epic and Puranic mythology is in part a result of the trans- formation of Vedic images and themes under the influence of socio- religious values not current during the early Vedic period (till about 800 BC), or, if current, not represented in the extant literature. Of these values, the most important have been those associated with the rise of asceticism as a creative and abiding force within Indian religions and bhakti. The trimurti of Brahma, Visnu and ?iva first
Numen – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 1979
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.