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College Hindu Mythology Hindu mythology is a collection of Indian myths and stories that relate to their Hindu culture and traditions. The myths always have a characteristic of bringing out the diverse culture of Hindus, their beliefs, taboos and needs. Most of the myths relate around animals and their interaction with man in this case the Hindus themselves. The myth has moral lessons and in most cases the people who do wrong end up being punished for their wrong deeds. The myths can b traced back to the Vedic civilization; these are the myths that were developed during the rise of the Vedic religion in India.

Most of the philosophies and characters that are used in the Indian mythology are directly linked to the Indian culture and religion. The myths can be grouped into psychological, sociological, and historical (Sivananda 78). The psychological myths address the fears and needs that people may face when they get into a certain situation. These may include death, hunger and drought. The myths are meant to educate people on how to face this situation. Sociological myths are meant to study the social interactions of humans these interactions can be scientifically studied.

Historical myths are meant to preserve the rich Indian history that exists in India the history is classified based on time. The Indian mythology is therefore meant to help educate, entertain and correct Indians both socially and religiously. Indians have always been known to love and care for animals. It is even noted that most of the Indian religion revolve around animals. It is for this reason that every Indian is expected to love and treat animals in a kind manner without harming them or causing pain to them since they are creatures of god.

In the story fish avatar, Manu a holly man that lived a long period of time ago was faced with a difficult situation of taking care of a small fish protecting it to the last minute and then depositing the fish back to where it belonged all in the hope of protecting him during the time of the floods. Few people would have considered this since Manu was supposed to eat the fish. However he decides to protect the fish all the way till the fish is large enough to survive in the sea. The kindness of Manu towards the fish is rewarded when he is the only one who survives the floods that come and wash all living creatures off the planet.

Indian gods are also known to take many forms, for example they may come as a cow, a dog or even a fish. This story clearly brings out the Indian belief that their gods can take any form. Indians believe that it is the work of god to protect the righteous from trouble. Manu was protected from the floods and all other creators swept away, this clearly shows that those gods felt that it was their responsibility to protect Manu from trouble. All these points show the deep connections that the Indian culture has with animals and how these animals influence their lives (Williams 345).

The story of the king of Yayati is one story that explains how selfishness is disregarded in the Indian culture. Indians believes that a selfish man must suffer bitterly at the end. The story of selfishness starts with Devayani a princess of the preceptor of Asuras and how she selfishly made the princess become her handmaid after a minor disagreement. She never considered forgiving her even though she was the one who started the argument. However in the end of the story, the princess takes the husband Yayani and bores with him three sons unlike the two that he has with Devayani.

This is a clear indication that the princess soon became the second wife to Devayani without her knowledge and hence she was hurt a lot. Had she left the princess alone, she would never have been married to her husband (Williams 45). The Yayani king is also one selfish man who does not consider other people apart from himself. First, he exchanges the curse that he got from his father in law and gives it to his son. This is a clear act of selfishness since yayani had lived his life and he was supposed to let his son live a normal and long life as he had done.

At the end of the story, he returns his sons age and goes into the forest to live a short life of solitude. This clearly depicts that any person who shows any character of selfishness shall be punished (Kosambi 100). Work cited Williams, George M. Handbook of Hindu Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Sivananda, . All About Hinduism. Tehri-Garhwal, U.P., Himalayas, India: Divine Life Society, 1993. Print. Kosambi, D D. Myth and Reality. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1962. Print.