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There
are many different versions of the Creation of the World in Indian
history. We will summarize
some of the more popular myths below: Version
1:
Before the earth had anything on it, there lived Shuzanghu and his
wife Zumaing-Nui. In this myth, Zumaing-Nui gave birth to a girl (earth)
and a boy (sky). Sky and
Earth mated and gave birth to the mountains. Then they produced two frogs
who married and made humans. These
humans had thick hair, and when they mated they gave birth to regular
humans. Version
2:
This particular myth comes from a very old, sacred Indian text
called the Rig-Veda. According
to this source, there was a giant named Purusha, and he had powers greater
than all others. He was a
“primal man” that was sacrificed by the gods in order to “create”
the world. This myth states
that the sky comes from his head, the sun is really one of his eyes, the
moon is from his mind and the earth comes from his feet.
In other words, his body was dismembered to create the world! Hindu society is made up of four “caste” systems.
These were very strict orders in the Hindu society, and you had to
stay within your group to marry and fulfill your purpose in life.
Purusha’s mouth became the highest order in the caste system, and
it was called the Brahman’s – they were the priests and leaders.
The second highest order was the Kshatriyas who were the warriors,
were formed from Purusha’s arms. Next
came the Vaishyas, or farmers and merchants, and they were supposedly
formed from Purusha’s thighs. Finally,
his feet were used to form the lowest group in the caste system order: the Shudras. The
Shudras were created to serve all of the groups above them on the caste
system. It is also
interesting to note that the birds and the animals come from the fat which
dripped from Purusha during the sacrifice. Version
3:
Much later in Indian history, yet another story talks about the God
Brahma as the God that created the world.
This myth says that Brahma began as nothing and over a very long
period of time, he created everything we have now, including himself!
First, he made the waters, just by imagining them with his
thoughts. In the waters he
deposited his seed which later grows into a golden egg.
Brahma is born from this egg!
After about a year, again, just by using his thoughts, the egg is
split into two halves, which later become the heaven and earth.
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