16 Indian Gods
~THIRD PERSON POV~
"Hold it right there," Percy said. "What do you mean Indian Gods? Do they exist independently as you Gods do?"
"For heaven's sake, Percy, Think about it." Exclaimed Zeus. "Of course they exist separately. Didn't you study about Dionysus getting his ass whooped by the Indian and their Gods?"
"OI DON'T PHRASE IT LIKE THAT!" Dionysus shouted. "It was a strategical retreat."
"Well whatever it was, after that we Greeks and the Indian gods finally came to be on good terms," Poseidon concluded.
"So would anyone tell me anything about these Indian gods? I know nothing other than the fact that the spanked Dionysus hard." Percy asked. Dionysus glared at him. "Well, Indian mythology is-"Annabeth was about to speak up when Artemis cut her through, "Well Percy, Indian mythology is not at all easy to understand and quite long-winded. It would be better to listen to it from the goddess of knowledge herself than from a-" He glared at Annabeth who had tried to flex her knowledge in front of Percy to remind him of the days they were still going out.
Artemis looks at Zeus. He checks his watch and signalled Athena to explain, we don't have much time, daughter. Explain as quickly as possible. They would arrive in an hour."
"And how do you know?" asked Zack rudely. "Because they took a flight and I am the God of Skies, dipshit." Answered Zeus. "Oof," muttered Apollo. Then Athena started explaining-
"Indian Mythology doesn't have a similar structure to us. They have Gods and gods. They have three main Gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. You may think it is like our trinity, i.e. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, but no. Brahma is the creator of the world. Vishnu is the protector of the world, while Shiva is the destroyer. They are the main Gods or the supreme ones. In Hindi, they are also called Bhagwan."
"That is already so different." Murmured Apollo, who was listening as curiously as Percy. Artemis looked at him and continued-
"Then there are the gods. These gods are more like humans. They look more human and are have more human attitudes than the Gods. Each of them is a god of one or two things. There are so many gods, I couldn't name them all. A few of them are Agni, the god of fire. Vayu, the god of air. Indra, King of gods, and the god of thunder and senses. Varun, God of seas. Yamraj, the god of death. Chitragupta, the god of accounts. Surya, The god of Sun and day. Chandra is the god of the moon and medicines. Vishwakarma, the god of creative power and reality. There are many more gods for several things. These gods are also called Devas."
"Ok stop. Question time." Percy said. "So, does that mean this Indra is the same as Zeus, Surya is the same as Apollo, and so on?" "Oh no Percy, You are comparing us Gods to gods. There is a difference. We Gods, both in Indian and Greek mythology are immortal. The gods, or devas, are not a single person. Deva isn't a person or an immortal. It is a position. If a person has done some specific good deeds, he/she replaces the current deva and becomes the new deva. So you will see that the person who was Indra a millennia ago, is not the Indra today."
"What the-"Artemis swore. "That is complex. Also, why is there no goddess? Also, you said that Vishnu is the protector of the worlds. What is that supposed to mean?"
Athena answered-
"Wait, I will come to that. You see there is one Goddess, Shakti (fun fact- Shakti translates to power. Here is some feminism for y'all), who has several forms such as Durga, Goddess of war. Kali, Goddess of destruction. Lakshmi, Goddess of beauty and prosperity. Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Parvati, Goddess of love, marriage, and fertility."
Athena stopped when she heard Aphrodite squeal when she heard of someone with jurisdiction similar to hers.
"As for the worlds, Hindu mythology has 14 worlds or Loka. Satya-Loka, Tapa-Loka, Jana-Loka, Mahar-Loka, Swarga-Loka, Bhuvar-Loka, Bhu-Loka, Atala-Loka, Vitala-Loka, Sutala-Loka, Talatala-Loka, Mahatala-Loka, Rasatala-Loka, and Patala-Loka. Bhu-Loka is our Earth, that is, where all humans live. Swarga-Loka is where the Devas live. The Gods and Shakti live in the Satya-Loka, or the world of truth or the world that doesn't know death." Athena took a breath and continued-
"Death is not a simple subject either. Your 'karma' or deeds count. If you do more deeds than bad deeds, you go and live in paradise as long as your good deeds last. If you do more bad deeds than good deeds, you go to the underworld and are tortured there till you have been repaid for your bad deeds. Once you finished up your good deeds/bad deeds, you are sent back to Earth to live. This cycle keeps going on till someone has become a perfect human being, on achieving which, they are sent to Bhuvar-Loka till the end of the world."
"You could have just said 'forever' instead of saying till the 'end of the world'. The world's not gonna end."
"Wrong," Athena said. "The world has already ended a million times. According to Hindu Mythology, one day of Brahma lasts for millenniums. When Brahma wakes up, a new world is formed. When Brahma goes back to sleep, there is Pralaya or the end of the world. With Pralaya, all the Lokas, except Satya-Loka, Tapa-Loka, Jana-Loka, and Mahar-Loka, are destroyed and every other world will be destroyed into nothingness."
"Wait so you guys disappear as well?" Leo questioned. "Well yes. We, after all, live much nearer to Earth than those guys." Smiled Hephaestus.
"There are different stories about how the world is formed after when Brahma wakes up, so let's not talk about that."
"Uh, Athena?" Percy spoke up. "Could you tell me about Kalki?"
"Holy cow! Dear, where did you hear that name?" Hera exclaimed. "You don't get to call him dear…" Artemis whispered. "Well, I accidentally went to India, where I heard someone say "Kalki is coming."
"Well, Percy, let me tell you the entire story. You see, once the new world is formed, Brahma creates seven humans called Brahmins, or sons of Brahma. Brahma gives them all wives. And then, the Brahmins produce everything. One of them was Marichi, who gave birth to Kashyapa. Kashyapa had two wives, Diti and Aditi. Aditi gave birth to all the Devas or gods, While Diti gave birth to the Asuras or Demons. The Asura and Devas were constantly at war. Asuras also tried to wage war against humans and rule the world. Whenever the asuras became a problem, Vishnu, the Preserver of the worlds, Came to Earth to protect mankind."
"THE GOD HIMSELF CAME TO EARTH TO PROTECT MANKIND?" Hermes screamed.
"Yes, he did. Unlike us, they did not send Demigods to fight their battles as they were always loyal to their respective wives." Hera said, glaring at her husband who was fast asleep.
Poseidon added- "Well, that is another way they are different from us. Unlike us, they do not have a fixed form. They have several names, several looks, and different genders as w-" "What?" Percy interrupted. "That's right, my son. In Indian Mythology, the same god could have a different name, a different personality, and a different look. It is similar to those 'skins' you have in those video games."
"Thanks, dad. Athena, you were saying?" Percy said.
"Thank you, Percy. As I was saying, Gods, themselves came down to Earth to help. But not in their real form. They came in the form of their incarnations. Usually, it was Vishnu who came. Visnu has come to Earth several times but has 10 main incarnations, Which are the Matsya, the half-man-half-fish, Makara, the giant tortoise which supports the cosmos, Varah, Half-man-half-boar, Narsimha, half-man-half-lion, Vamana, the dwarf, Parshurama, the axe-wielding warrior who destroyed several kingdoms single-handedly, Rama, the most perfect human, Krishna, the avatar who is nearly a god himself, Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Kalki. Kalki is yet to come. It is said that He rides a white-winged horse, wields a flaming sword, and is capable of controlling several armies."
"So if Kalki is coming, isn't that supposed to be good? But then, why was that guy shivering in fear?" Percy questioned.
"Percy, each day of Brahma is divided into 4 periods. Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga was the age of truth and happiness. It could be compared to the Golden age for humans as humans are all near perfect. The quality of humans starts to decline from Treta Yuga. By the time it is Dwapar Yuga, humans had lost nearly all good qualities except compassion and truthfulness. When the Dwapar Yuga ended, Kali Yuga came into existence. The worst of all Yugas, Kali here stands for "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention" and this Yuga is ruled by the monster Kali. It is said that everything bad that has ever happened, including all the wars, happened because of the influence of Kali. It is said that when Kalki appears, he would kill his archnemesis, Kali, and destroy all mankind to cause the parlay. And thus new the world would be started anew."
Everyone gasped. "Why everyone?" Hazel asked.
"Because Kalki will kill everyone who has swayed from the path of dharma, that is, whoever who has strayed from humanity, in greed, lust, or any other thing." Athena sighed.
"If Kalki has not come till now, he might never come anyway." Stated Leo.
"Oh no," Athena said gravely. "Kaliyug started on 18 February 3102 BCE. According to several philosophers, mathematicians, and mythologists, looking at how corrupt the humans have become, Kali Yug is as near as 100 years."
There was silence. And then Percy said-
"Bruh"
Everyone started giggling. Then Zeus woke up startled and shouted "Silence! Here they come."
A portal opened in the centre of the room and Several People walked out of it.
The Indian Gods had arrived.
