17 h 49 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Enter a world where hymns praise storm and fire, princes face exile, and a golden swan carries words of love.
In Indian Myth and Legend, Donald A. Mackenzie guides you from the hymns of the Rigveda to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Meet Indra, the storm god, Agni, the fire god, and Varuna, the keeper of cosmic order. The stories open a path through beliefs about nature, sacrifice and the self.
The journey leads to Vishnu and Shiva, then into epics of duty and exile. Prince Rama of Ayodhya is sent into the forest through a court intrigue. Elsewhere, Nala and Damayanti fall in love through a golden swan’s words. Mackenzie retells these tales and offers his own interpretations of the peoples and ideas behind them.
What you’ll discover
- Gods of storm and fire Explore how the Vedic hymns praise divine powers associated with the natural world.
- Ritual and the self Follow the book’s path from sacrificial rites toward deeper questions about the self.
- A changing divine world Discover Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as Mackenzie traces changes in religious belief.
- Duty in the great epics Enter the Ramayana and the Mahabharata through retellings that introduce their stories.
- Love carried by a swan Meet Nala and Damayanti in a tale where a golden swan brings love.
Who will love it
For readers who love an orderly first tour of Hindu myth and epic, or enjoy comparing the myths of different cultures. Meet gods and heroes through sacred stories, tales of love and loyalty, and questions about the self.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The Vedic gods rule sky, fire and storm
- Myths record the meeting of many peoples
- Sacrifice gives way to deeper questions
- Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess take center stage
- The two great epics tell of duty and exile
- Tales of love and the later faiths
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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Mythes et légendes de l’Inde
by Donald A. Mackenzie · 1913
Gods of storm and fire lead you into Indian myths of duty, exile, love and the search for the self.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Indian Myth and Legend is a guide to the gods, heroes and sacred stories of India. It was written by the Scottish author Donald A. Mackenzie in the early twentieth century, for readers in Britain who knew Greek and Norse myths but little of the Indian tradition.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The Vedic gods rule sky, fire and storm
The oldest stories in the book come from the Rigveda, a collection of hymns in an early form of Sanskrit. Mackenzie shows that these hymns praise gods of the natural world. Indra is the warrior of the storm, who wields the thunderbolt and strikes down the dragon Vritra so that the waters can flow. Agni is the fire on the altar, who carries the offerings of people up to the gods. Varuna watches over truth and the moral order of the world.
These gods are not remote. People address them directly, ask for cattle, rain, sons and victory, and offer them food and the juice of the soma plant. Soma is both a plant and a god, and the hymns speak of the drink as bringing a kind of divine strength. Mackenzie pays close attention to this link between ritual and myth. A story about a god fighting a monster is also a picture of what the priest does at the sacrifice.
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What is Indian Myth and Legend about?
It retells the myths and sacred stories of India, from the Vedic gods such as Indra and Agni to the Upanishads, the great gods Vishnu and Shiva, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and shorter tales of love.
Who is Indra in Indian mythology?
Indra is the chief god of the oldest hymns, the Rigveda. He is a warrior of the storm who wields the thunderbolt and slays the dragon Vritra, setting the waters free.
What are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata?
They are the two great Sanskrit epics of India. The Ramayana follows Prince Rama and his wife Sita, while the Mahabharata tells of a family war between the Pandavas and Kauravas and includes the Bhagavad Gita.
The author
Donald A. Mackenzie
1873–1936 · Scottish folklorist and journalist
Donald A. Mackenzie was a Scottish journalist and folklorist who wrote prolifically on mythology and ancient religion. His Myths of Babylonia and Assyria gathers the gods, epics, and legends of ancient Mesopotamia — from Gilgamesh to Ishtar — into one sweeping, readable account for general readers.
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