Editing Hindu mythology (section)

== Origins and development ==

=== Indus Valley Civilisation ===
{{See also|Religion of the Indus Valley civilization}}

According to [[Joseph Campbell]], the [[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley]] (2600–1900 BCE) may have left traces in the beliefs and traditions of Hinduism. Artefacts have revealed motifs that are also employed and revered by Hindus today, such as primary male deities worshipped by a ruling elite, mother goddesses, nature spirits, [[Nāga|snake]] worship, as well as the reverence of other theriomorphic (animal-shaped) beings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Opler |first1=Morris E. |last2=Campbell |first2=Joseph |date=January 1962 |title=The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=75 |issue=295 |pages=82 |doi=10.2307/537862 |jstor=537862 |issn=0021-8715  }}</ref> These themes would be maintained by the [[Dravidian folk religion]] even after the decline of its parent civilisation around 1800 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1300 BCE) |url=https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/decline-of-the-indus-river-valley-civilization-c-3300-1300-bce/ |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=Climate in Arts and History |language=en-US |archive-date=31 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731074042/https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/decline-of-the-indus-river-valley-civilization-c-3300-1300-bce/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Vedic Period ===
{{Main articles|Historical Vedic religion}}

A major factor in the development of Hinduism was the Vedic religion. The [[Indo-Aryan migrations|Indo-Aryan migration]] brought their distinct beliefs to the Indian subcontinent, where the [[Vedas]] were composed around 1500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans [[Rigvedic deities|Vedic pantheon of deities]] included the chief god [[Indra]], the sun deity [[Surya]], [[Ushas]], as well as [[Agni]].{{sfn|Williams|2003|pp=6-7}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macdonell |first=Arthur Anthony |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1951729 |title=Vedic mythology |date=1974 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=0-8426-0674-2 |edition=Reprint, 1995 |location=Delhi |oclc=1951729}}</ref>

=== Brahmanical Period ===
{{Main articles|Brahminism}}
This period saw the composition of commentaries referred to as the [[Brahmana]]s.{{sfn|Williams|2003|p=7}}

=== Upanishad Period ===
{{See also|Upanishads}}
According to Williams, from 900 to 600 BCE, the protests of the populace against sacrifices made towards the Vedic gods and rebellions against the Brahmin class led to the embrace of reform by the latter and the composition of the [[Atharvaveda|fourth Veda]] and the [[Vedanta]] texts. About half of the Upanishads were mystical and unitive, speaking of experiencing the divine as the one (ekam), while the other half promoted devotion to one or more deities. New gods and goddesses were celebrated, and devotional practices began to be introduced.<ref name=":0"/>

===Sramanic movements===
Elements such as those emerging from [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]] made their "heteroprax" contributions to later Hindu mythology, such as temples, indoor shrines, and rituals modeled after service to a divine king. Renunciate traditions contributed elements that questioned sacrifices and the killing of animals, and promoted asceticism and vegetarianism. All of these themes would be incorporated by the Brahmin classes into the later [[Hindu synthesis]], which developed in response to the sramanic movements between ca. 500–300 BCE and 500 CE, and also found their way into Hindu mythology.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |date=2004-05-01 |title=Handbook of Hindu mythology |pages=10 }}</ref>

=== Epic Period ===
{{Main articles|Ramayana|Mahabharata}}
The era from 400 BCE to 400 CE was the period of the compilation of India’s great epics, the [[Mahabharata]] and [[Ramayana]]. These were central manifestations of the newly developing Hindu synthesis, contributing to a  specific Hindu mythology, emphasising divine action on earth in [[Vishnu]]'s incarnations and other divine manifestations. The lore of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] and the [[asura]]s expanded. Epic mythology foreshadowed the rich polytheism of the next two periods. The Mahabharata contained two appendices that were extremely important sources for later mythological development, the [[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gîta]] and the [[Harivamsa]].

=== Puranic Period ===
{{Main articles|Puranas}}

According to Williams, the mythology of the [[Puranas]] can be broken into three periods (300–500; 500–1000; 1000–1800), or the whole period may simply be referred to as the Hindu Middle Ages. This age saw the composition of the major Puranic texts of the faith, along with the rise of sectarianism, with followers amassing around the cults of [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]], or [[Devi]]. The three denominations within this period help locate in time historical developments within the sectarian communities, the rise and decline of Tantrism and its influence on mainstream mythology, the tendencies in Puranic mythologising of subordinating Vedic gods and past heroes to ever-increasing moral weaknesses, going on to be identified as a period of exuberant polytheism. However, this was also accompanied with the belief in monotheism, the idea that all paths lead to the Ultimate Reality, [[Brahman]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Tantric Period ===
{{See also|Tantras (Hinduism)}}

According to Williams, during the Tantric period from 900 to 1600 CE, the mythology of [[Tantra]] and [[Shaktism]] revived and enriched blood sacrifice and the pursuit of pleasure as central themes. Tantra’s stories differed radically in meaning from those of epic mythology, which favored devotion, asceticism, and duty. There was either a revival or emphasis that was placed on the shakti or the cosmic energy of goddesses, a concept that had emerged during the Indus Valley Civilisation.<ref name=":0" />

=== Modern Period ===
In the contemporary era, the mythologies of the dominant traditions of [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaivism]], and [[Shaktism]] prevail.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bishara |first=Azmi |title=Ibn Khaldun's 'Asabiyya and Sects |date=2021-08-01 |work=Sectarianism without Sects |pages=199–220 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197602744.003.0007 |isbn=978-0-19-760274-4  }}</ref> Several myths were found or invented to make tribals or former "outcastes" Hindus and bring them within the cultural whole of a reconstructed Hindu mythological community.