You're probably right about that on both accounts. It came out in, what, the mid-90s? It's certainly possible that a bunch could be "ignorance of details", and the other part creative license.Ares wrote: ↑Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:24 pm I'm wondering how much of this was "got it wrong because, at the time especially, Hindu mythology was less well known" and how much of it was "got it wrong because we changed it to make it clearly different from the actual religion and to fit the Rifts setting". Sort of like how when Stan and Jack adapted the Norse mythos to the Marvel Universe, it was less them "getting stuff wrong" and more "we're changing the mythology to fit the Marvel Universe".
I mean, it's Rifts. Of course they changed stuff to fit or to create more plot-hooks for conflicts that players can engage in (not that I expect most Rifts players would ever get to the level of power where they'd need to be dealing with deities like these unless they started the game as deities themselves, based on what I understand of the game). It's also a splat-book, so that's a whole 'nother factor to consider - they're trying to add in pantheons and make them Rifts-themed... and took creative liberties which covered the broad strokes.
Like, they also did Tescatlipoca dirty, didn't they? The Rifts book paints him as an evil, corruptive deity and a sadist... but neglect the fact that he's also one of the Aztec creator-gods and capable of immense good - his purpose in the Aztec mythos is to bring change through conflict, regardless of whether that change is good or bad.
I honestly don't have a solid answer for that. Since I grew up in a Hindu household, all the reading material about the mythos, the legends and stories of gods and demons and mortals and everything was taught to me as I grew up. I learned from oral stories and explanations given by relatives and other Hindu adults my folks were friends with, as well as from the occasional books (or even TV shows) that my parents bought on our occasional trips to India, which were mostly aimed towards those who were already familiar with the broad strokes of the entire mythology and much of the mythologies. As I grew older, the kinds of media about Hinduism developed accordingly, a bit more sophisticated as I could take advantage of the internet to get access to materials that further expanded upon what a lifetime of cultural osmosis had already granted as a foundation.Ares wrote: ↑Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:24 pm I find Hindu religion/philosophy/theology/mythology fascinating, largely because I know so little about it, but what I do know is pretty cool. Things like astras, basically these magical weapons that are summoned via spells/chants/gestures, the whole avatar concept, etc. From my limited understanding, it could be considered that everyone is basically an avatar of some greater force and everything is connected to each other.
Are there any good books that can serve as a "Hindu Religion/Mythology/Stories for Dummies"? I grew up reading D'Aulaires' Books of Greek Myths and Norse Myths, which helped cement my love of old school mythology early on. I've since gotten familiar with Egyptian, Aztec, Chinese and Japanese mythology, but there's still several mythologies like Celtic, greater Africa, Native American stories, etc. Hindu religion/mythology is right up there, though I want to be clear I mean no disrespect calling it "mythology", given it's actively practiced today. Regardless, any good reading suggestions would be welcome.
I mean, there's a ton of Hindu texts out there from way back when, but they're not exactly "for dummies", and even I barely read them unless I'm feeling like I need to get some kinda exact quote or whataever.
I do remember reading Amar Chitra Katha comics as a kid, which were a whole series of comics about religious legends, folklore and mythology and various other kinds of stories, all designed to teach Indian kids about their cultural heritage and stuff. But like I mentioned previously, when I look back at those comics, a lot of them take a bunch of background knowledge for granted about who certain folks are, what the relationships between different beings and factions are like, and certain other "facts" of the mythos in the background that are usually learned through cultural osmosis by growing up in a Hindu family. The series has also had its critics for wide variety of reasons, largely stemming from the fact that its creators started the series in the 60s and its creators had some internalized biases that are only now being addressed given the changing world-culture regarding societal issues the books never really addressed or portrayals that are now seen as a bit problematic in the modern context. It's also been criticised for failing to show the richness of Indian culture by portraying stories in only one way, whereas the truth of Hindu culture is that there are multiple takes on the same stories with variations and side-stories and the like which all exist and retain truthful-ness simultaneously.
In similar vein, there were a bunch of TV Shows and Movies from Indian throughout its broadcasting and filmography history that depict the stories and ideas of Hinduism. I remember watching a bunch of those as a child with my parents as a means of helping me learn my cultural heritage - I have found memories of watching this massive box-set of VHS cassette tapes on the Mahabharata with my father and little brother on our couch, that went from (sorta) start to the end of it all, going through it about an hour a day or something. Took us a month to finish? But it gave us time to absorb the story, ask questions of our dad about why stuff was happening the way it did, and get clarification on matters, on top of being a way for my dad to spend time with us without the two of us bouncing around like hyper-active hooligans.
But as to an actual "for Dummies" guide to all of it... I have absolutely no clue. I've never needed to look for such a book myself as I grew up surrounded by the cultture, so I don't really know what I could recommend. I can always ask my folks - my uncle is the family religious scholar, so he might have an idea on what would be good to read. I'll get back to you once I hear back from him!