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Hindu Philosophy on Pain: an Outline

1987; Springer Science+Business Media; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-7091-6975-9_25

2197-8395

Sunil K Pandya,

Medieval and Classical Philosophy

The four holy books termed the vedas form the fountainhead of Hindu philosophy. Their origins are lost in the mists of antiquity. Legend claims for them a divine origin. Brahma, the creator carried the vedas within himself. Once, exhausted, as he drifted off to sleep, the vedas slipped out of his mouth. Hayagriva, the horse-faced demon, seeing his chance, made off with them. Fortunately Vishnu, the preserver, caught Hayagriva in the act and assuming the form of a fish (matsya avatar) followed Hayagriva into his oceanic home and rescued the vedas for mankind (Fig. 1).