How a single myth makes superheroes out of Hindu gods

Joseph Campbell, one of the finest comparative mythologists of all time, famously said, “It has always been the prime function of mythology...to supply the symbols that carry the human spirit forward...” 

Campbell studied Judeo-Christian mythology, the scriptures of ancient India, the myths and legends of various African tribes, the stories of the Native Americans, the Greco-Roman tradition, and Middle-Eastern folklore, among many others. One of his greatest discoveries is the monomyth of the hero’s journey. He found a pattern in the lives of traditional and mythological heroes across cultures.

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), he discusses at length the various patterns and stages in the lives of thousands of "heroes" from around the world. The hero's life has two broad sections – life in the normal world and life in the special world – divided along the "threshold of adventure". The story of the hero begins in the normal world with a call to adventure. If the hero accepts the call, he typically gets supernatural help. Then he crosses the threshold of adventure and gets into the special world. He meets with many trials. He encounters a god or goddess. He is tempted by a seductress. The challenges mount and he faces his biggest enemy. He goes through a crisis. Then he gets a boost and defeats his nemesis. He gets a treasure or receives a special power. He begins his journey back home, often by a magical flight that takes him back to the normal world from the special world. He is the master of both the worlds now. He returns home a hero – victorious, wiser, and more mature.

If we look into our ancient stories – from the Puranas (the 18 Mahapuranas and the 18 Upapuranas), the Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata), and numerous other stories from the Panchatantra, the Jatakas, the Hitopadesha, et al– we find several examples that corroborate in whole or in part with the monomyth of the hero’s journey.

Let us take the Ramayana, one of the oldest epics in the world. Rama’s call to adventure is Vishwamitra’s appearance in the court of Dasharatha. Rama and Lakshmana receive divine guidance from the sage and then they fight against the demons. Rama undergoes many trials beginning with his fourteen-year exile to the forest. Sita is tempted by the golden deer and gets kidnapped. Then Rama begins his journey to Lanka. He meets Hanuman at an opportune moment. In the heat of the battle with Ravana, Lakshmana is fatally wounded. Hanuman brings the Gandhamadhana mountain, which has the magical sanjivani herb that cures Lakshmana. After defeating Ravana, he rescues Sita and travels to Ayodhya by the magical aircraft, pushpaka vimana. He returns home a hero.

In the story of Savitri, the call to adventure is the call of duty. Her husband Satyavan is destined to die a year after their wedding. The time comes. And when Yama takes her husband away, she follows him, thus crossing the threshold of adventure. Using her immense learning, wit, and wisdom, she engages Yama in a most enchanting conversation and finally tricks him into reviving her dead husband. Not only does she get her husband back but she also gets three other boons from Yama in the process. Savitri’s adventure is mostly in an intellectual and philosophical plane. It has little to do with physical valour like Rama’s adventure. In fact, one could easily compare Savitri’s story with the story of Yudhistira in the magical lake or the story of Nachiketa at the gates of Yama’s world.

Another fascinating story is that of Kacha, the son of Brihaspati (the guru of the devas). The devas and the asuras are always at war with each other although the devas keep winning. But at one point, the asuras seem invincible. The devas find out that Shukracharya, the guru of the asuras, knows a special mantra called the sanjivani, which revives dead people. So they request Kacha to go to Shukracharya and learn the art of the sanjivani. The call to adventure.

Kacha goes to Shukracharya and introduces himself. In the ancient times, one could not refuse a person who came with a sincere request to learn. So Shukracharya accepted Kacha as his disciple, knowing full well that he was from the enemy camp. But when the asuras heard about it, they were mad. They killed Kacha. In the meantime, Shukracharya’s daughter Devayani had fallen in love with Kacha. So she begged her father to revive him. The asuras repeatedly killed Kacha but every time Shukracharya would revive him, for the sake of his daughter. Tired of their recurring failures, the asuras kill Kacha, then crush his bones, chop his body, mix it with wine and finally offer that wine to the unsuspecting Shukracharya, who drinks it.

Shukracharya realises that Kacha is now inside his body. If he revives Kacha, he will die. If he doesn’t, his daughter will die of grief. Left with no option, he teaches Kacha the sanjivani mantra. Then he revives Kacha and dies in the process. Kacha then uses the mantra to bring his guru back to life. Having fulfilled his purpose, Kacha begins his journey home. At that point, Devayani proposes to him. He refuses. Having come out of Shukracharya’s stomach, he has become her brother. Leaving her heartbroken, he returns home.

Our ancient stories teach us that heroes can come in any form or shape. Man, woman, or beast. The hero could be a warrior, a ruler, a lover, a saviour, a thinker, a philosopher, or a saint. To put it in other words, the hero could be you. Each one of us is the hero of our own lives. The biggest learning from these heroes and gods is how to face challenges, how to face crisis, and how to face danger. Do we look at it as a burden, do we look at it as a curse from god, or do we look at it as a call to adventure?