History Vs Mythology: Where do Epics and Legends lie?

There have been long debates going on whether mythologies are actually historical. So, are mythologies really historical? What makes history different from mythology? And where do epics and legends lie?

History is study of past, and it is based on research. Written sources, oral sources, material culture, archaeological, geological and ecological proofs are studied to prove or disprove a story. If proven, it is history, otherwise it is mythological. But absence of evidence doesn’t always mean that it is not historic. Maybe in the future a new evidence might change the way we think about historicity of a particular event.

History is very much about objective truth, though there might be subjective interpretations. Mythology are stories that may be literal or allegorical, usually have supernatural elements that cannot be proven, and have are very subjective. Mythologies are inconsistent with its stories, and has various versions may contradict itself.

For example, the Asura king Bali is an adult during the Samudra Manthan (Churning of the Ocean) event. Vishnu’s second avatar Kurma (the Tortoise) descends to earth to support the Mandar mountain, which is used for the churning. But when we reach the story of Vishnu’s fourth avatar Narasimha (Man-lion), we see Prahlad as a child. Prahlad being the grandfather of Bali makes the story inconsistent with itself.

A scene from Samudra Manthan at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand

Then comes the epics and legends, which lie in between history and mythology. Some elements of epics and legends could have a historical base, but its story would have become highly exaggerated. While history is story of human civilization, mythology is story of gods, demons and supernatural entities. Epics and legends blend them in where story of humans and story of supernatural entities merge.

One of the reasons why some mythological texts are considered as historical, is because apart from the main story, they also act like encyclopedia. They state the geographical details, political boundaries and lineages of kings and other important personalities. This help us understand some historical facts in absence of other sources.

In the Mahabharata, we see a story where the Kuru kings destroying the Naga (serpent) people, and their habitat. These Nagas could have been local tribals and not ‘serpent people’. From some sources we know that the Naga dynasties of Central India claiming to be descendants of these ancient Nagas. Similarly, the Vanaras (Monkey-men) could have been tribes living in the forests (Vana-naras).

Extermination of the Nagas from the epic Mahabharata

Coins of Naga dynasty

Thus, mythologies can range from an allegorical story, to an exaggerated historical event. Unless its historicity is accepted by general consensus, they are considered as myths.