On page 83 in the text it reads, "He raised over his chariot the golden flag with the emblem of a monkey which was a celestial design created by Visvakarma." He being Arjuna. Do you guys think the monkey symbolizes something in Hinduism?
I know in Christianity the numbers 7 and 6 hold meaning. The Pandavas were exiled for 12 years (and there was another instance where 12 was used, but I can't remember at the moment). Do you think and/or know if 12, or any other numbers, hold a meaning in Hinduism?
Does anyone know why multiple vows are made to drink the enemies blood? I understand the vows to kill one another, but why was drinking the blood such a big deal? I am just totally disgusted by that, but maybe it was part of the culture then...
Did anyone else notice that Ganesha was depicted with only 2 arms in the movie? I read that he has been depicted with 4, 12, and even 32 arms, but never with only 2. Do you think that has any effect on the understanding of the myth?
Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteI chose your first question to try and answer "Do you guys think the monkey symbolizes something in Hinduism?"
I have done a little research on Monkey Symbolism in Hindu Mythology. I was surprised to find that there is a monkey god named Hanuman believed to be an incarnation of the Lord Vishnu; He is even worshiped on Tuesdays. As the tale goes, Hanuman helped Rama retrieve his wife Sita back from Ravana who captured her. One of the more interesting things I read is that Hanuman is representative of “bhakti, loving devotion to a deity.”¹ There is another tale where Hanuman helps save Rama’s brother. One tale tells that Hanuman was searching for a rare herb to treat Rama’s brother and couldn’t find it so he took the whole mountain back with him and delayed sunrise so they could locate the herb and treat Rama’s brother. Another tale has hanuman find the herb and save his life.
I really like the idea of Monkey’s symbolizing loving devotion to a deity because I believe the Pandavas have a loving devotion towards Krsna. I believe their devotion to him actually tricks them to some extent because when Krsna tells them to do things that are against the dharma of war they follow Krsna and not what is considered to be ‘right’. I believe that Krsna gave them this advice for the greater good in the end but it injured them personally and their virtue which they did such a great job for so long at holding first and formost. In pondering this however if I knew someone was an incarnation of a god, I would follow their suggestions regardless of what it cost me personally. I think that Arjuna’s symbol was a monkey because they were devoted to what was right according to Hindu customs, very contrasting to Duryodhana who chose self will over the virtues of Hindu belief. I am wondering what Duryodhana’s symbol is…
The websites I used are: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mythology/117952
http://hinduism.about.com/od/lordhanuman/a/hanuman.htm>
and
http://folktalesmyths.suite101.com/article.cfm/hindu_sacred_animals
Interesting questions. I know that many cultures hold the monkey to be a symbol of wisdom, cunning, and playfulness. It is, after all, the animal which most resembles man in terms of our most and least favorable traits. The Chinese told tales of Sun Wukong, a monkey king, who rode on a flying cloud and fought the generals of the heavens with amazing speed, strength, and cunning.
ReplyDeleteAs for the drinking of the blood question? That's a good one. Of course, one of Western Civilization's most famous monsters, the vampire, was designed with this as a central concept. Perhaps we view the blood as a literal metaphor for life. By drinking blood, we are stealing the vigor, power, and very essence of our enemies.
Heather, I had read a little about the monkey god, but had not be able to find a meaning - thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteAdam, that's a very good thought about the blood symbolizing life. thanks! :)
Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that Ganesha was depicted with only two arms in the movie when in actuality; he is usually depicted with four arms. I do not think that this has a considerable effect on understanding the myth if the viewer does background research on the individual characters and their significance prior to watching the film. I think that the movie was made solely to get the main purpose of the myth across to its viewers and there are other little details which are missing from the film, and the number of Lord Ganesha’s arms just happens to be one of them. Personally, the difference in Lord Ganesha’s arms from the film to the book did not change my understanding of the film primarily because I knew what his original form was and I was aware of his special characteristic traits and I just assumed that it would have been hard to depict a character with four arms in the movie and still make it look realistic for its viewers, therefore his appearance did not make much of a difference in my understanding of the myth.