Topic Research: Twins of Indian Mythology

Sunday, September 8, 2019

The topic I am thinking of concentrating on is twins. Professor Gibbs confessed that no other student in the past has done a theme to do with twins which puts a lot of pressure on me, but I’m still compelled to use this topic since it is something I can relate to personally. Things I am most interested in researching as I prepare my project start with some introductory questions: (1) Why are particular pairs of twins important to Indian tradition? (2) What are some characteristics/qualities that trademark twins’ and their relationships to one another? (3) What moral messages can be identified through these twins individually or communally? (4) How has mythology defined twinhood? (5) Has the experience of twinhood been mystified or embellished or is the experience represented realistically? (6) What other topics (creationism/ motherhood/ karma/ nature) overlap with this theme? These inquiries may grow to be more complex as I investigate further, but they are important to me as I would like to make a storybook that both represents my identity as an identical twin myself as well as maintain the integrity of what twinhood means to Indian Mythology.

There are a few sets of twins important to the Indian tradition who I think would be fine subjects for my Storybook:

(1) Nasatya, Dasra (The Ashvins/ Ashwini Kumaras): According to Wikipedia, these demigods are divine horsemen (literally men with the heads of horses, apparently) who are devilishly handsome and are as close as can be. I learned that Nasatya is the god of health, and Dasra of medicine and are described as being symbolic of the shining of the sunrise and the sunset, “…appearing in the sky before the dawn in a golden chariot, bringing treasures to men and averting misfortune and sickness.” This page gives a lot of good information about where to find them in Hindu sacred texts (the Mahabharata and the Puranas) and also shares that there have cognates in Indo-European mythologies (the Greek Castor and Polydeuces, for example) which would be interesting to look into. It states that a woman in the Mahabharata, which I guess we are going to read before long, is given a son by each brother- the twins Nakula and Shadeva, who are known as the Pandavas. There are so many networks here in terms of both multigenerational twins, twins having twins, and twins being siblings to another set of twins. What most appeals to me is the fact that they are gods who have symbolic significance, which could be expanded on in an engaging way philosophically. Or maybe once I read about this relationship they had with the same woman, the one in which they had the Pandavas could be a place to start. I would definitely focus on either their birth or their sons’ birth.

(2) Lakshman, Shatrughan/Lava, Kusha: I combined the elder pair of twins and the younger set of twins in one since they derive from the same story that we have been studying this semester: the Ramayana. It is interesting to me that twins are multigenerational in this epic. Creating a story that surrounds either both or either pair would be an interesting way to explore age dynamics within one family. Especially since it seems there is evidence that in the case of Lakshman and Shatrughan of what we multiples refer to as a “shadow twin” since obviously Lakshman had a more significant role considering his closeness to Rama, giving his twin brother equal opportunity to be my story is something I could potentially do. Lava and Kusha are the twin boys of Sita and Rama. Since the love story between their parents is so prominent, I thought exploring the relationships between the boys themselves and with their parents would be an interesting take on a story so centered around familial ties.

(3) Yama, Yumi/Yumana/Kalindi: In the video “The Greatest Twins | EPIFIED” the short summary states that “the twins are considered as a divine pair of creator deities. While Yama is known as the Lord of death and after-life, Yami, also known as Yamuna, is known as “The Lady of Life.” Back when we were brainstorming, it was this YouTube video that instigated my interest in the stories of twins in Indian mythology. Upon further investigation, I have found that this pairing is important to the religious text called the Vedas. It states on Wikipedia that these creator deities’ family includes two sets of twins, themselves and the “Ashvins” as summarized above, which I was surprised to find out. These twins of the dichotomous realms of death and life would be interesting subjects since I sense a connection could be formed between the main topic of their twinness and creationism which is so common to Indian mythology. There is something cyclical and harmonious about what they represent— life and death/ light and dark. This sense of complementing rather than clashing is something that I would love to draw on if I were to write about them.

In an important blog post shared with me called “Two Much: Twins in Mythology- Kavita Kane’s Column for The Geminis” an amazing resource that compares the cultural significance of twins since their inclusion in the stories of ancient times. “Unlike other cultures where twins are seen linked with magical and wondrous beliefs or sometimes even have negative references, twins in our mythology are examples of deep bonded relationships, epitomes of sibling love,” as Kane states in the article. This statement is so substantial and sets the tone for my understanding of these important pairs and will likely translate into how I will write my own story to maintain the integrity of the myths these characters are born out of. Another quote that speaks to me: “every set of twins in the epics are unique, not trapped in archetypes,” which gives me such respect for the authors of these myths as they recognized that twinhood is indeed a part of a twins identity but does not define it.


(Image Source: Needpix Free Images)

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