Rig Veda India Rig Veda Oldest Literary work of India c 1700 1100 BCE Early form of the Sanskrit Preserved orally for centuries then written down Rig Praise Veda Knowledge Knowledge in the praise of gods Came to become a sacred text to Hindus 1028 hyms to gods in 10 books Sanskrit Indo European Language Hinduism an ancient language of India the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism Related to English ancient Greece Latin and German The Rig Veda was the earliest form of Sanskrit language Vedic people Composed the Rig Veda Think they called themselves Aryans Agni Fire Heat Light Vedic god of Fire Bi natural God Thing God Natural Fire Fire Lighting Sun Domestic Hearth Ritual Fire Sacrifice Funeral Cremation use fire to cremate the dead Poetry Light Soma Deified sacred drink who is also a god Bi Natural Thing God Hallucinogenic properties Unknown plant that made up the drink but it grew high up in the mountains Drank by Gods and Priests By drinking Soma it reinforces their immortality Vitality Effects It can actually Cause fear exultation Indra Storm God King of the Gods God of thunder and war Connected to rain and fertility Is an avid drinker of Soma because Soma enables him to do what he needs to do Indra is kept in the womb her mother does not want her born Bursts out of her mothers side Kills father when born Dragon Serpent who seems to be male Holds back all the fresh water in the world All rivers are released to the world Is attacked by Indra and is defeated by the thunderbolts Vritra Tiamat Sea god who battles a storm god and her waters are released to create rivers similar to Vritra The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are created out of her eyes Sarama Tracks down the cattle that Panis has stolen obeying the Indra s Dog and loyal companion orders of her master Does not give into the bribe given by Panis Panis River Rasa Demon that lives beyond the river Rasa Stole cattle from Angirases Family of sages Tries to bribe Sarama to not tell Encircles heaven and earth where gods and humans live Panis or Demons live beyond it Cf Okeanos Golden Embryo Unknown creator god Given the title not the name as the Golden Embryo Referred to as Hiranyagarbha There are a lot of internal contradictions with the golden embryo Gold Hirany Womb seed embryo egg Garbha Creator God arises from the Primordial waters but then the creator god creates the waters Internal contradictions how can you rise from and create waters Creator God separates earth and sky but then creates earth and sky Hiranyagarbha Unknown creator God referred to by this name A K A golden embryo Prajapati Creator God God named this but some scholars think it was a later addition to assist the question on who is the creator god Purusha Cosmic Giant Medieval Male which is not a human being Dismembered by the creator god His body is used to create the universe which shows just how big he really was Earth sky gods human s animals When the creator god kills him he becomes the first sacrifice Aditi Daksha Female creative force connected to infinity Gives birth to earth which holds up the sky We believe she is the mother of Indra Bears Gods 8 Gods Male creative force Aditi gives birth to him and he gives birth to Aditi Martanda Sun Is one of the 8 sons of Aditi but is rejected because apparently he dies every night so Aditi shuns him In this poem to sun is found in water Yama King of the dead First mortal to reach the death realm in heaven Is a path maker for humans you want to be like Yama because you want to make it to the death realm as well Has two four eyed dogs which guard the path to the death realm Three Days of Soma After death there is cremation then there is fire burning for 3 days and then Soma is offered to the gods For those 3 days that s how long it takes your souls to travel the path to the afterlife realm Chinese Creation and Flood Chinese Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China Distinguished by its high level of internal diversity From earliest historical period Shang Yin Our sources from later periods Sources influenced by philosophical views Shang or Yin Dynasty Earliest historical period Chou Dynasty Second historical period in Chinese history Divided into two dynasties West Chou and Eastern Chou which was divided into the spring and autumn Era Warring States Era Ch in Dynasty and the Han Dynasty Han Dynasty Part of the Eastern Chou Dynasty which is a split of the Chou Dynasty Is the Golden age of Chinese history Questions of Heaven Part of the Ch u Tz u Consists of 186 Poetic verses Warring states era Chou Dynasty Earliest comprehensive collection of chinese myths Poses question about creation Ch u Tz u Songs of Ch u Poses questions about creation Ch u Yuan Author of the Ch u Tz u First named Chinese poet c Homer Not sure if they even existed Was possibly a high ranking Official of the Ch u court Ch u Ch u is a region Is a state in the Ch u dynasty Hun Tun First element in the creation of the cosmos Reading 1 Empty Space Dark and wet Reading 2 Images no forms Dark Misty Reading 3 Shapelessness and Chaos Empty space Chaos Hun Tun Originally Hun Tun meant Empty Space but later over time meant Confusion Disorder Cf Wonton Soup Dumpling Hun Tun Hun Tun Primordial Soup Imagined as a cosmic egg with Yin earth and Yang sky in the egg along with P an Ku Yin Heavy Female Yin becomes the earth Also associated with darkness Yin and Yang are a pair of opposites Yang Light Male Associated with the light light colors Becomes the Sky P an Ku Primeval Giant God Man Coiled antiquity Grows for 18 000 years until earth and sky fully form Body of P an Ku becomes part of the universe when P an Ku dies Left eye becomes the sun Right eye Moon Blood Semen Rivers water Flesh Land of earth Hair Beard Stars Body Hair Trees plants Mites on body Humans Nu Kua Chinese creator goddess Creates humans just like Mami Nintu Aristocrats starts out by creating out of yellow earth to create the best people but runs out Commoners so creates people out of mud for normal people Fu His God Culture hero Marries Nu Kua Serpentine lower bodies Kun Invents writing hunting fishing music fire and cooking with fire Gods have sent a flood Trickster god He steals hsi jang from the gods Before he can use this soil the gods kill him But as he is dying from Kun s belly is born a son Yu Hsi jang Breathing earth Self renewing soil Yu Kun s son born from his belly Culture hero Uses hsi jang to stop the flood Travels world Fixes and repairs it
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