hindu creation stories

[MochaRadha]

I've hear there are a few but so far I've only found the one where brahma is born from the navel of vishnu.

 

[Madhuri]

So far where have you looked?

 

[MochaRadha]

in books online.stuff like that. i may have come across another one just cant remember but i know almost everysite or book ive seen definatly has the brahma vishnu one. i was just curious about the other stories.

 

[Madhuri]

This is an interesting one, very metaphorical and very poetic:

Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 10: HYMN XC. Puruṣa.

 

[MochaRadha]

cool thanks

 

[TenjikuZero]

Hinduism does not have a definitive Creation story. According to Hinduism (And also according to modern astrophysics) there are an Infinite Number of universes in existence..furthermore Infinite universes are coming into being/ceasing to exist this instant. In other words, You, me and others live in an Infinite number of parallel worlds (even if the chances of having an identical self in a parallel universe is infinitesimaly small, by the mere fact that there are infinite universes ensure that there are an infinite number of "us" out there)

This is why Sanatana Dharma(I prefer this instead of the term Hinduism) and other Dharmic paths(Buddhism) do not put much importance on the story of creation. Naturally this is in direct contrast to the Abrahamic religious concept of creation. But then again for the Abrahamic religions, there is only one universe, and only one world with sentient beings. Dharmic philosophies on the other hand posit that even this universe has many other sentient beings...and Humans are by no means special. Thus we have some Purana(mytholgical lore) fables about creation and such, but definitely no story of creation that is considered important. The lack of importance given to creation is underscrored by the fact that the creator of this universe(Brahma) is but a very minor deity in Hinduism...so minor that there are no temples in existence and he is always considered a person of little import. OTOH the god of the Abrahamic religions is the creator of Everything and is venerated to this day in those religions.

Here is a pertinent verse from the Rig Veda regarding creation.



"Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards*, with the creation of this universe. [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]Who then knows whence it has arisen?[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]Whence this creation has arisen[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]- perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not - [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]the One who looks down on it,[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]in the highest heaven, only He knows[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]or perhaps even He does not know."


~Rg Veda, book X, Song CXXIX


:namaste

 

[iamfact]

I've hear there are a few but so far I've only found the one where brahma is born from the navel of vishnu.

There is a saying: There are as many flavors of Hinduism as there are Hindus.

This means that there is no one creation story within Hinduism, with multiple people and multiple schools of thought pondering their own explanations to describe how all this came to be.

Regardless, creation stories have very little value within the Dharmic religions. For modern practitioners like myself, such a topic does not interest philosophy but empirical science.

 

[Maya3]

Hinduism does not have a definitive Creation story. According to Hinduism (And also according to modern astrophysics) there are an Infinite Number of universes in existence..furthermore Infinite universes are coming into being/ceasing to exist this instant. In other words, You, me and others live in an Infinite number of parallel worlds (even if the chances of having an identical self in a parallel universe is infinitesimaly small, by the mere fact that there are infinite universes ensure that there are an infinite number of "us" out there)

This is why Sanatana Dharma(I prefer this instead of the term Hinduism) and other Dharmic paths(Buddhism) do not put much importance on the story of creation. Naturally this is in direct contrast to the Abrahamic religious concept of creation. But then again for the Abrahamic religions, there is only one universe, and only one world with sentient beings. Dharmic philosophies on the other hand posit that even this universe has many other sentient beings...and Humans are by no means special. Thus we have some Purana(mytholgical lore) fables about creation and such, but definitely no story of creation that is considered important. The lack of importance given to creation is underscrored by the fact that the creator of this universe(Brahma) is but a very minor deity in Hinduism...so minor that there are no temples in existence and he is always considered a person of little import. OTOH the god of the Abrahamic religions is the creator of Everything and is venerated to this day in those religions.

Here is a pertinent verse from the Rig Veda regarding creation.



"Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards*, with the creation of this universe. [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]Who then knows whence it has arisen?[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]Whence this creation has arisen[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]- perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not - [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]the One who looks down on it,[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]in the highest heaven, only He knows[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]or perhaps even He does not know."


~Rg Veda, book X, Song CXXIX


:namaste

This is just my personal take on it. But I see it as beginning as a very quiet sound of OM, it keeps vibrating as it becomes a small Shiva Lingham, then after being a very intense Shiva Lingham for a while it explodes and new planets and stars etc are formed.

As far as I know this is similar to the Big Bang, we are all stardust after all and everything is made of the same stuff.

Then the question, that I'm not sure of myself, is was there consciousness in a pure energy form BEFORE this? Probably, but that is THE question.

Maya

 

[En'me]

This is just my personal take on it. But I see it as beginning as a very quiet sound of OM, it keeps vibrating as it becomes a small Shiva Lingham, then after being a very intense Shiva Lingham for a while it explodes and new planets and stars etc are formed.

As far as I know this is similar to the Big Bang, we are all stardust after all and everything is made of the same stuff.

Then the question, that I'm not sure of myself, is was there consciousness in a pure energy form BEFORE this? Probably, but that is THE question.

Maya

Mmm, nice. I like explosions.

Hinduism does not have a definitive Creation story. According to Hinduism (And also according to modern astrophysics) there are an Infinite Number of universes in existence..furthermore Infinite universes are coming into being/ceasing to exist this instant. In other words, You, me and others live in an Infinite number of parallel worlds (even if the chances of having an identical self in a parallel universe is infinitesimaly small, by the mere fact that there are infinite universes ensure that there are an infinite number of "us" out there)

This is why Sanatana Dharma(I prefer this instead of the term Hinduism) and other Dharmic paths(Buddhism) do not put much importance on the story of creation. Naturally this is in direct contrast to the Abrahamic religious concept of creation. But then again for the Abrahamic religions, there is only one universe, and only one world with sentient beings. Dharmic philosophies on the other hand posit that even this universe has many other sentient beings...and Humans are by no means special. Thus we have some Purana(mytholgical lore) fables about creation and such, but definitely no story of creation that is considered important. The lack of importance given to creation is underscrored by the fact that the creator of this universe(Brahma) is but a very minor deity in Hinduism...so minor that there are no temples in existence and he is always considered a person of little import. OTOH the god of the Abrahamic religions is the creator of Everything and is venerated to this day in those religions.

Here is a pertinent verse from the Rig Veda regarding creation.



"Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards*, with the creation of this universe. [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]Who then knows whence it has arisen?[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]Whence this creation has arisen[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]- perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not - [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]the One who looks down on it,[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]in the highest heaven, only He knows[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]or perhaps even He does not know."


~Rg Veda, book X, Song CXXIX


:namaste

I find this verse very interesting. It's very agnostic, which is very curious. Anyone have any idea why that would be so?

 

[iamfact]

Mmm, nice. I like explosions.



I find this verse very interesting. It's very agnostic, which is very curious. Anyone have any idea why that would be so?

I believe it's because the later Vedic culture was not monotheistic but pantheistic. Also, there was definitively an influential group of atheists/agnostics whose influence was felt more in the Upanishadic age. Look at the Upanishads themselves; if you look at properly translated versions, many of them are surprisingly silent on the issue of a theistic God unless you take to mean that Brahman = God. The modern theistic God in Hinduism largely comes from the later Puranas.

 

[Madhuri]

Don't forget Purusha.

 

[Maija]

In the Rigveda, Purusha is described as a primeval giant that is sacrificed by the gods (see Purushamedha) and from whose body the world and the varnas (classes) are built. He is described as having a thousand heads and a thousand feet. He emanated Virat, the female creative principle, from which he is reborn in turn after the world was made out of his parts.

In the sacrifice of Purusha, the Vedic chants were first created. The horses and cows were born, the Brahmins were made from Purusha's mouth, the Ksatriya from his arms, the Vaisyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from his feet. The Moon was born from his mind, the Sun from his eyes, the heavens from his skull. Indra and Agni emerged from his mouth.

I'm also found of the story about Krishna and his mouth, though I'm not sure if you'd consider this a creation story; it's very beautiful indeed..such beautiful imagery.

And the Lord who had become a human child out of sport, without
any loss of His divine powers, now opened His rosebud mouth. She bent forward to peer more closely and lo! she felt herself to be whirling in space, lost in time, for inside the baby mouth was seen the whole universe of moving and unmoving creation, the earth and its mountains and oceans, the moon and the stars, and all the planets and regions. She was wonderstruck to see the land of Vraja and the village of Gokula, herself standing there with the child Krishna beside her with a wide-open mouth, and within that mouth another universe, and so on and on and on.

Who knows if these are supposed to be taken literally or have a deeper meaning..

 

[Maya3]

Mmm, nice. I like explosions.



I find this verse very interesting. It's very agnostic, which is very curious. Anyone have any idea why that would be so?

I think it speaks to the fact that we cannot really know for sure. To me it's very humbling to express that even if we believe THIS, we really do not know for sure.
It takes away the potential for zealousness. And that to me is something that is very important to express.

Maya

 

[iamfact]

I'm also found of the story about Krishna and his mouth, though I'm not sure if you'd consider this a creation story; it's very beautiful indeed..such beautiful imagery.



Who knows if these are supposed to be taken literally or have a deeper meaning..

I know that the Purusha Suktam is meant to be taken metaphorically. After the gods sacrifice Purusha, many things that were important to or recognized by the Vedic people are born showing that all things have their origins in Purusha and depending upon your viewpoint, all things are purusha or all things are a part of purusha.


(Purusha Suktam 2-1)
"Purusha evedam sarvam"
Purusha = Purusha, Eva = Truly, Idam = This, Sarvam = All
"Purusha is truly all this"

 

[AmerikanZen]

I guess that is one of the several translations of a Hindu bible that we could come up with.