Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s1.t6.1

v2.c10.s1.t6.1

Like other nations in the world, India too developed its mythology along with the birth of its primitive religious belief. People observed and contemplated on natural phenomena themselves, the mystery of which drove them to cultivate a concept of gods and from this course mythology gradually evolved. The Indian mythology grew together with its religion and had been enriched and systematised. In the epic period, Hindu idols changed significantly; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were the most prominent and some historical legends evolved into new myths and were attributed to these three Gods. In the *Puranas*, Vishnu and Shiva were two distinctive sects of Hinduism. Religious maturity and schism gave rise to systematic and rigorous myths which were attached to different sects.