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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