[Book Review] Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook by Wendy Doniger

Doniger, Wendy. Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook Translated from the Sanskrit (Penguin Classics) . Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook by Wendy Doniger is a collection of myths about Hindu gods from various primary sources, right from the early Vedas of the 2nd millennium BCE all the way to the late Puranas of the 2nd millennium CE. Rather than re-telling, re-writing, or summarizing the myths (as many modern authors — e.g. R.K. Narayan — have done), Doniger simply cuts and pastes the myths directly from the primary sources, allowing the myths to speak for themselves and allowing the reader to interpret them for himself. The primary sources, in chronological order, are: the Vedas, the Brahmanas, the Epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana), and the Puranas. The chronology is as follows: Ŗg Veda (c. 1200 B.C.); Atharva Veda and Brāhmaņas (c. 900 B.C.); Upaniṣads (c. 700 B.C.); Mahābhārata (300 B.C. to A.D. 300); Rāmāyaņa (200 B.C. to A.D. 200); early Purāņas (Brahmāņda, Harivaṃśa, Mārkaņḍeya, Matsya, Vāyu, Viṣņu: A.D. 300– 500); middle Purāņas (Agni, Bhāgavata, Devī, Garuda, Kūrma, Liṅga, Saura, Vāmana, Varāha: A.D. 500– 1000); and late Purāņas (all others, A.D. 1000– 1500).

The book is organized into seven sections. Each section devoted to a specific god, and presents a cross section of myths about that god from various sources in chronological order. For example, section 5 is about the god Visnu, and it contains 16 myths in total: 3 from the Vedas, 6 from the Brahmanas, 5 from the Epics, and 2 from the Puranas. This chronological organizational structure does a good job of clarifying two questions: (1) What are the differences between myths about different gods — e.g. myths about Visnu vs. myths about Indra? And (2) What are the differences between myths from different eras — e.g. myths from the Vedic era vs. myths from the Epic era? We see that each god has a unique flavor, and also that each era has a unique flavor. Moreover, we see the ways in which the stories of each god are retold in different eras with a different flavor and emphasis. For example, the Vedic era emphasized the warrior ethic and the myths were focused on concrete stories of war and conquest. Therefore, in this era, Visnu was a very minor god and Indra is the most important god. However, by the time we get to the Epic and Puranic eras, abstract moral and philosophical concerns take priority over the warrior ethic. Consequently, the importance of Indra is diminished, and Visnu becomes the most significant god.

I think this book was extremely valuable as an introduction to Hindu mythology. Previously, I had only read modern day retellings of the myths, and I had never read the original sources. I was able to get a feel of what the original stories were like. However, I must confess that I found them extremely difficult to read. Most of the myths (especially from the early eras) feel like reading the Old Testament. They seem like mere sequences of events strung together rather than a proper story with narrative and character development. However, the myths do get progressively more readable as we progress through the various eras, and I think they reach their apex of storytelling in the Epics — the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

I think Doniger has done a great job of structuring and organizing the book in such a way that the reader can get a feel of the various gods and the various eras. I am in no position to evaluate her sourcing, because I have no expertise in this area. However, one criticism I have is that she does not live up to her aspiration of encouraging the reader to “discover his own patterns and meanings directly from the texts” by keeping introductory material to a minimum. She often provides lengthy introductions to each myth (often lengthier than the myth being introduced), wherein she includes a lot of interpretation, conjecture, and her own personal views. Nowhere is this more evident than in her introduction to myth 56 about Rama, where she says “Rāma’s delusion is evident from his cruel, selfish, pompous treatment of Sītā.” While this is certainly a reasonable view to hold about Rama, it is not supported by a close reading of the text, and it certainly has no place in an introduction whose purpose, in her own words, is to “[supply] the essential factual background, establishing the context of each myth.” I feel that this merits the deduction of one star from an otherwise five star book. 4/5 stars.