Eternality of Myths: Persistence of Beliefs Over Ages

Abstract

“Kalah Pachati Bhutani, Kalah Samharte Prajah

Kalah Supteshu Jagrati, Kalo Hi Durtikrama”

Says Vidura in the epic Mahabharata, which means Time perfects all living beings as well as kills them; it alone is awake when all others are asleep, time is insurmountable. Civilizations have come and gone, languages have evolved and died, gods have incarnated and reincarnated. Oldest temple on Earth was built around 12,000 years ago, long before farming. A group of people erected a monument at Gobekli Tepe in south east Turkey, an area which later became part of an ancient civilization famously known as Mesopotamia. We are familiar with title of Amish Tripathi’s book ‘Immortals of Meluha’, it was Mesopotamians who first used the term ‘Meluha’ for Indian subcontinent in their language 5000 years ago. The name Mesopotamia is Greek for ‘land between rivers’, earliest use of this name comes from Greek Old Testament from around 250 BCE. These instances give us glimpse of past interactions. Many scholars over centuries have researched on these civilizations that are geographically distant and culturally different but there are few similarities as well, one being their development on river banks and other being their belief in God. Pew research in year 2020 shows 61% people across six continents agree that God plays an important role in their lives. Success of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in 2003 and subsequent rise in rewritings of mythologies all over the world shows that over the centuries, the relationship between science and religion has ranged from conflict and hostility to harmony and collaboration. This paper will attempt to throw light on origin of myths across civilizations as well as their evolution and transformation over millennia.