Publisher's Synopsis
The lofty triad - Brahma, Visnu and Siva - which is frequently stated to be three facets of the same supreme being, is the subject of this book. The result of ten years of research, The Indian Theogony traces the historical development of Indian mythology and its connection with parallel mythologies elsewhere. In the first part of the book, the Vedic Brahmanical and epic-Puranic components of Siva are discussed with a view to delving into the god's Vedic, non-Vedic, Aryan and non-Aryan composition. The processes of this growth, change and development are traced with reference to similar gods in other mythologies. The second part studies the rise of Visnu. The component gods - the vedic solar gods Savitr, Surya, Vivasvat, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Amsa, Daksa, Martanda, Indra and Visnu, together with the epic-Puranic incamations of Visnu (with their Vedic precursors) are also examined. With Brahman, in the third part of the book, the picture is quite different. In the Vedic-Brahmanical gods we do not get a very tangible figure, far less that of a sectarian god. The last part dwells on the general characteristics of the Puranic pantheon.;Here, on the other hand, there are innumerable regional, functional divinities, tutelary gods and goddesses, village- or disease-gods, and also gods for different occasions in life. This new edition will be a boon to both the scholar and the general reader alike.
