Puraana and Ithihaasa: The age of imagination and innovation

What is the difference between 'creativity' and 'innovation' ? (Don't google it, yet!) . These words are commonly used as synonyms. As you know, both these words refer to producing something new, physical or non-physical. And, both require a mind that is able to think outside of what is obvious. However, though we would call a Michelangelo or Da Vinci as creative, we would rather describe an Edison or Marconi as innovative. So, what is the difference?

Innovation is creativity that has a purpose. Purely creative efforts  are done for the sake of the creation or the process of creation itself and carries with it an element of beauty which is appreciated. Most works of art are great examples of this. In the case of innovation, it is not beauty but its intended purpose and associated utility that are primarily appreciated. For example, an iPhone may have great aesthetics, but it's ease of use and convenience are more appreciated, right?

The Hindu puraana and ithihaasa texts, commonly referred to as the Hindu mythology, are highly acclaimed for their rich creativity. Over the many centuries, they have acted as an undiminished source of inspiration for great works of fiction in India's many languages. However, what is less known is the fact that the Puraana and Ithihaasa were also products of a great innovation; an innovation that made it possible for India to discover a lasting unity among its vast diversity.

In the Indian city of Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh., we find the great confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. The Kumbh Mela, which is the world's largest religious gathering, happens in the sprawling sand dunes of this confluence. The city of Allahabad was known in the Vedic times as Prayaag. Just as the dark blue waters of Yamuna and light blue waters of Ganga came together in Prayaag, the culture of the Hindu civilization that moved into the heartlands of Indian subcontinent and the indigenous civilization that had existed prior to its arrival also had come together in these plains. What resulted was more likely a gradual fusion of two great cultures than a violent invasion of one over the other. How can we say that? The clues for this are hidden in the Puraana and Ithihaasa framework.

The Hindu civilization of Vedic time was predominantly a hunting culture where as the indigenous civilization was more agrarian. The Hindu civilization had the Vedic divinities, who were  super humans or symbols of various principles. As we have seen earlier, these divinities were propitiated through the Yaaga rituals. The indigenous civilization contrarily had no structured rituals but were full of myths, folklore and deities who were worshiped using icons or images.  Every indigenous population in the world have had this collection of myths. The interesting fact about myths and folklore is that they encapsulate the learnings of a society, allowing for that knowledge to be transferred from generation to generation in an unwritten fashion. Most of such myths also have heroes who set examples for the society to emulate. The myths and folklore were thus another kind of Veda, expressed in stories and not injunctions or rituals.

As we saw earlier, the Yaaga rituals were a way of expressing the underlying Vedic philosophy. Could there be another way to express the same Vedic philosophy, may be by using stories and folklores in the way of the indigenous? The Puraana and Ithihaasa were most likely born from this thinking. The brilliant innovator of the framework of Puraana and Ithihaasa was Sri Veda Vyasa, the author of a number of first Puraanas and the epic story of Maha Bharatha. He also happens to be the organizer of Veda texts into the four books. Through this framework of Puraana and Ithihaasa, Veda Vyasa invented a means to not only bring two very distinct cultures together but also enable assimilation of many more cultures into the future. As the religion of Hinduism spread through the continent, the stories that expressed the Vedic philosophy in stories of Gods and heroes simply resonated with  everyone. And, through these stories, the culturally diverse civilization preserved the same great Vedic philosophy, sometimes unknowingly.

The story of Veda Vyasa, whose original name is Krishna Dvaipayana, is very interesting and connected to the cultural confluence we discussed above. He was born to a fisher-woman, Satyavati who was an indigenous, and the Sage Paraasara who was a great Vedic Rishi. Vyasa was dark skinned (krishna) and was born from the 'journey in an island' (Dvaipayana). He was supposed to have been conceived by his mother in an artificial island that the Rishi created right in the middle of Ganga! I hope you are catching on to the symbolism here. Ganga, the river of knowledge, had for its banks the Vedic interpretation of the knowledge on one side and the myth based interpretation of the same knowledge for the other. And, Sage Paraasara created this island in between the two that Krishna Dvaipaayana claimed to be his birthplace. Coming from this 'island', he organized the Veda into the four books, wrote a number of Puraanas and then completed the great Ithihaasa of Maha Bharatha. The brilliance of Sage Veda Vyasa is that he had managed to express the same philosophy in these three ways, so different from each other! There are a number of later works like Brahma Sutra and Srimad Bhagavatha that are attributed to Veda Vyasa, but they are very unlikely to be the works of the same person who wrote the Maha Bharatha and organized the Vedas.

 Just as the Ganga flowed down from the northern plains, the civilization of the Hindus flowed to the south and east of India, nurturing the land and letting the population quench their thirst for knowledge. These were the times when imagination literally caught fire and a number of works with excellent stories came into being. In total, there are 18 puraanas including Vishnu Puraana, Siva Puraana, Padma Puraana, Skanda Puraana etc. They are complemented by the two Ithihaasa, Maha Bharatha and Ramayana. The path of Bhakti or devotion took its initial roots at this time though it came to its culmination much later, closer to 10th century CE. 

But there was another greater Sun that had stated shining in India at the time, one who brought back philosophical thinking into prominence once again, though in the name of a different religion. More on the times of philosophy including Budhism in the next post. Meanwhile, please find some good puraana stories to read and enjoy. I can bet that they will beat the Harry Potter stories any day!