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| {{Hinduism}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Historical Vedic religion#Vedic mythology]] |
| '''Vedic mythology''' refers to the mythological aspects of the [[historical Vedic religion]] and [[Vedic literature]], alluded to in the hymns of the [[Rigveda]]. The central myth at the base of Vedic ritual surrounds [[Indra]] who, inebriated by [[Soma (drink)|Soma]], slays the dragon (''ahi'') [[Vrtra|Vritra]], freeing the [[Rigvedic rivers|rivers]], the cows, and [[Ushas|Dawn]].
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| Vedic lore contains numerous elements which are common to Indo-European mythological traditions, like the mythologies of [[Persian mythology|Persia]], [[Greek mythology|Greece]], and [[Roman mythology|Rome]], and those of the Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic peoples. The Vedic god [[Indra]] in part corresponds to [[Dyaus Pita]]r, the Sky Father, [[Zeus]], [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], [[Thor]] and [[Tyr]], or [[Perun]]. The deity [[Yama]], the lord of the dead, is [[Jamshid|Yima]] of Persian mythology, and very near the [[Ymir]] of [[Norse mythology]]. Vedic hymns refer to these and other deities, often 33, consisting of 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 12 Adityas, and in the late Rigvedas, [[Prajapati]]. These deities belong to the 3 regions of the universe / heavens, the earth, and the intermediate space.
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| Some major deities of the Vedic tradition include [[Indra]], [[Surya]], [[Agni]], [[Ushas]], [[Vayu]], [[Varuna]], [[Mitra (Vedic)|Mitra]], [[Aditi]], [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], [[Soma (deity)|Soma]], [[Sarasvati]], [[Prithvi]], and [[Rudra]].<ref name = AAM>{{cite book |author=[[Arthur Anthony Macdonell|Macdonell, A.A.]] |title=Vedic Mythology |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=Delhi |year=1995 |isbn=81-208-1113-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7Meabtj8mcC& |via=Google Books}}</ref>
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| ==The Vedas in Puranic mythology==
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| {{Main|Puranas}} | |
| The [[Vishnu Purana]] attributes the current arrangement of four Vedas to the great sage [[Vedavyasa]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Vishnu Purana |translator=[[Horace Hayman Wilson|Wilson, H.H.]] |year=1840 |chapter=chapter IV |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp078.htm}}</ref> Puranic tradition postulates a single original [[Veda]] that, in varying accounts, was later divided into three or four parts.
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| According to the [[Vishnu Purana]] (3.2.18, 3.3.4 etc.) the original Veda was divided into four parts, and further fragmented into numerous shakhas, by [[Vishnu]] in the form of [[Vyasa]], in the [[Dvapara Yuga]]; the [[Vayu Purana]] (section 60) recounts a similar division by Vyasa, at the urging of [[Brahma]]. The [[Bhagavata Purana]] (12.6.37) traces the origin of the primeval Veda to the syllable [[Om|aum]], and says that it was divided into four at the start of ''Dvapara Yuga'', because men had declined in age, virtue and understanding. Another view is that the original veda was called Pranava Veda and is attributed to Brahmarishi Mayan, the great architect. This Veda is held by Vaastu Vedic Trust. In a differing account, the Bhagavata Purana (9.14.43) attributes the division of the primeval veda (''om'') into three parts to the monarch [[Pururavas]] at the beginning of [[Treta Yuga]].
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| Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva constitute the "Four Vedas".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Four Vedas |website=About.com |url=http://hinduism.about.com/cs/vedasvedanta/a/aa120103a_2.htm |access-date=7 Nov 2012}}</ref>
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| The [[Rig Veda]] (mantras) is a collection of inspired songs or hymns and is a main source of information on the Rig Vedic civilization. The [[Sama Veda]] (songs) is purely a liturgical collection of melodies (saman). The hymns in the Sama Veda, used as musical notes, were almost completely drawn from the Rigveda and have no distinctive lessons of their own. The [[Yajur Veda]] (rituals) is also a liturgical collection and was made to meet the demands of a ceremonial religion. The [[Atharva Veda]] (spells) is completely different from the other three Vedas and is next in importance to Rigveda with regard to history and sociology.
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| ==See also==
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| *[[Vedic deities]]
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| *[[Hindu eschatology]]
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| *[[Hindu mythology]]
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| *[[Historical Vedic religion]]
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| * [[Proto-Indo-European religion]]
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| * [[Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]]
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| *[[Wars of Hindu Mythology]]
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist|25em}}
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| ==Further reading==
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| # {{cite book |author1=van Buitenen, J.A.B. |author2=Dimmitt, Cornelia |year=1978 |title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A reader in the Sanskrit Puranas |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia, PA |isbn=0-87722-122-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBUHAAAAQAAJ&}}
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| # {{cite book |author= Wilkins, W.J. |year=1882 |title=Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic |publisher=Thacker, Spink & co. |url=https://archive.org/details/hindumythologyv00wilkgoog}}
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| # {{cite book |author=Williams, George |year=2001 |title=Handbook of Hindu Mythology |publisher=ABC-Clio Inc. |isbn=1-57607-106-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzLTWow0EgwC&}}
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| {{HinduMythology}}
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| | [[Category:Culture of India]] |
| [[Category:Hindu mythology]] | | [[Category:Hindu mythology]] |
| [[Category:Vedas|Mythology]] | | [[Category:Vedas|Mythology]] |
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