Myth = Mithya:
A Book Review

“Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology” by Devdutt Pattanaik is a lucid guide to navigate the vast, sprawling and seemingly contradictory world of Hindu mythology. Published by Penguin Random House India in 2006, this book serves as both, an introduction to the Hindu mythology and a decoding of the mythologies of Hinduism. Devdutt Pattanaik, a trained medical doctor, describes himself as “Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator”.

Mythos (Mithya) vs Logos (Sat)

Pattanaik begins with an important exposition of both myth and mythology; what they in essence are, the purpose they serve and the world they create and sustain. Because, as he points out, “everybody lives in myth”. Religious, social, secular, we all live in them and by them because they create a shared framework – of values, of culture, of social mores, of behaviour and custom. It’s an uncomfortable realisation because we tend to think of myths as that which is fantastical at best and false at worst.

The Greeks distinguished between Logos (from which we get the word logic) and Mythos (from which we get the word myth). Logos encompasses knowledge like science and mathematics while mythos gave rise to the arts and oracles. In the subcontinent ancient Hindus differentiated between Mithya (the Hindu equivalent of mythos) and Sat (Truth). But even though Mithya is the opposite of Sat, it is not the same as a lie or deception. Rather, Mithya “was truth seen through a frame of reference. Sat was truth independent of any frame of reference”. But while Mithya gives a limited version of reality and was open to change and corrections, Sat is an absolute truth, often beyond the grasp of minds limited by time, space and mortality. Thus, it eludes communication; it cannot be conveyed through words and symbols in its entirety. It can only be indicated towards, sought at, aspired towards. And that is the role of Mithya for the Hindu Rishis, “the delusion of mithya served as an essential window to the truth of Sat.”

Myths are shared in a society and across generations through mythology, which gives us the kernel of eternal truth (Sat) wrapped in stories, symbols and rituals. And the Hindu world is a rich, densely woven tapestry of myths and their mythology; they can inscrutable, fantastical, contradictory, confusing and even convoluted. But in all of Hindu mythology, the essential understanding of the fundamental principles – the cosmos, of creation, of the world, of what it means to be born human, of consciousness, of destiny, of choice, of good and evil… remains the same. If we can but decode them and understand them. And that is what this book does so lucidly and simply. In Pattanaik’s own words, “This book explores Hindu mythology. Behind the mythology is a myth. Behind the myth a truth: an inherited truth about life and death, about nature and culture, about perfection and possibility, about hierarchies and horizons.”

The Circle, Square & Bindu

What is particularly interesting about Pattanaik’s decoding of the Hindu mythology is the freshness of his perspective without forwarding a particular agenda. He is not passing a value-based judgement on this worldview, merely showing us the framework of this worldview and the truths or beliefs upon which it rests. The worldview itself comes across as fascinating; display a depth of understanding of both the physical world and metaphysics. There is profound observation of nature and natural phenomenon, and a nuanced understanding of what civilisation is and what sacrifices and onerous yokes it entails. There is a deeply philosophical understanding of nuances.

Thus, there is even a distinction between Gods and Goddesses such Vishnu and Shiva, Lakshmi and Saraswati and gods and goddesses such as Indra and Annapoorna. “God is self-created or svayambhu and self-contained. A god is obliged to participate in the wheel of life; God, on the other hand, has the choice to step in and out. God may submit to the law of the Brahmanda but does not depend upon it for existence.”  In this worldview they have pondered over matter itself and the nature of reality. There is understanding and indeed acceptance of decay and entropy. There is a sophisticated understanding of both nature and civilisations, thus there is Manava Dharma (the duties of being Human) and Matsya Nyaya (the justice of fishes or the law of the jungle). And the Hindu world is populated not just by the humans and the Gods. It includes Asuras, Rakshasas, Yakshas, Gandharvs, Apsaras and even the Nagas. Each has an assigned role and part to play.

The book is divided into three distinct sections. In “The Circle of Brahma and Saraswati” the “nature of the universe is explored”. It deals with the creation myths of the Hindu worldview and the nature of the universe and reality. It explores the concepts of Purusha and Prakriti and how they inform and complement each other.

In the section titled “The Square of Vishnu and Lakshmi”, the “cultural codes are distinguished from nature laws”.  There is a constant push and pull between nature and culture and Vishnu, as the sansara-chalak (sustainer of the world) must constantly ensure a delicate balance between Lakshmi (abundance, fertility, “the auspicious wave of nature – the day, the waxing moon, the high tide, the spring, the rains and the harvest”) and Alakshmi (the barren, inauspicious trough of nature – the night, the waning moon, the low tide, the hot, the dry summers and the bitter-cold winters”).  Thus, Vishnu is the holder of the predictability, of the rhythm that allows civilisation and society to function and thrive. Each avatar of Vishnu is a course correction when the balance tilts too much towards one side. “Culture needs to thrive but not at the cost of nature. Dharma must not only domesticate nature, it also needs to ensure there is harmony between nature and culture.”

In “The Point of Shiva and Shakti”, the “soul is realised and matter validated”. The Bindu or Point best represents the soul, “the formless divine within us. Just as the existence of a circle presupposes the existence of its centre point, the existence of the world presupposes the existence of a witness to the world – the soul”. If Vishnu is the world and all that it offers, Shiva is the complete renunciation of all sensory inputs, his is the indifference that erases value and classification – there is neither purity not pollution, there is neither action nor reaction or even a response. Only the supreme bliss, the Sat-Chitta-Ananda of a pure consciousness that is fully realised. He is the Purusha who needs Prakriti to agitate him into engaging and thereby creating the cosmic dance.

“Myth = Mithya” is a deeply satisfying and even delightful read. In decoding Hindu mythology Pattanaik provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of what is otherwise a rather vast and sprawling worldview. He simplifies it and allows us to appreciate both the depth and breadth of this fascinating and fantastical world. For me personally the most fascinating aspect of this worldview is how limitless, infinite and eternal it sees the cosmos as.

“Everything in the Hindu world is reborn. Men die and are reborn. Societies die and are reborn. The cosmos dies and is reborn. Everything goes and comes back.”