The Kuru War: A Mahabharata Fiction

Rama's Guide to Mythology

**NOTE** This is a totally optional and supplementary part of the story which will be periodically updated. It will become relevant as you read through the book so feel free to check back later.

A small note to the finder of these documents. I, Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha and the oldest price of Ayodhya compiled this knowledge in my fourteen years away from home. I hope that a day will come when these records would surface and aid in the understanding of the rich mythology of this continent. So, I implore you to use this guide throughout your journey and add to it for the generations still to come.

SOME USEFUL TRANSLATIONS

Dev, Deva or Devta: These are celestial beings that generally reside in the upper Lokas. Depending on the culture, they are revered as gods or immortals. Nobody knows the source of their energy or lifetimes but they can be killed by beings of similar stature.

Guru or Gurudev: A teacher or a guide in a certain field of expertise. The term Gurudev comes from combining the words Guru and Deva as a form of giving the highest respect to one's teacher.

Lok or Loka: An abode or residence. The material world is divided into several Lokas according to the Vedas. At the top, the planetary Loka among the stars is called the Satya Loka and the bottommost is known as the Narak Loka. The five major Lokas define the physical boundary of the universe.

Madira: Alcohol, particularly wine.

Mantra: It is a sacred utterance, a sound, a syllable, word or a group of words believed to have physical and/or spiritual powers. Sometimes also known as a spell.

Narak: One of the five major Lokas mentioned in the Vedas. Ruled by the god of death Yama, this is the abode of the damned.

Patala: Realm below the feet. This term is often used to refer to a specific sub-section of Narak, more commonly known as the netherworld.

Pishachsa: Flesh-eating demons. Further details on this topic can be found in Lakshamana's bestiary.

Pralaya: A massively disruptive physical or psychological calamity.

Rakshasa: Strong humanoid creatures with various deadly quirks. Further details on this topic can be found in Lakshamana's bestiary.

Satya: Truth; It is also the name of the topmost Loka.

Sena: An army.

Varna: Category; It is also the name of an ancient philosophy that divides society into four categories based on their family or conditions of birth. Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishyas, and Shudras.

Vedas: These are the oldest Sanskrit texts that were ever discovered and the scriptures of Hinduism. Apart from this guide which is a few hundred years older. - Added 1200 C.E.

Yayin Pishachsa or Yayin: A type of flying Pishachasa. Further details on this topic can be found by Lakshmana's bestiary.

Yug: An era.

LAKSHMANA'S BESTIARY

Apsara: Apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful, charismatic and mesmerizing dancers. They are often wives of the Gandharvas who are the court musicians of the Devas. There are many human females given the stature of an Apsara. They are called the worldly Apsaras. While there are a select few who are made by the Devas themselves and are known as the Divine Apsaras. These creatures are recognized to be manipulative and some stipulate that they possess hypnotic powers as well. For many years, these beings are held responsible for the rise and fall of several nations.

Asura: Asuras are nature spirits that were never attached to a living soul. These metaphysical creatures can be either good or bad and have abilities rivaling a less powerful Deva. The strongest is the ability to manipulate time itself. This causes them to be revealed by many earthly beings who are enticed by the idea of knowing the future.

Avatar: These are human incarnations of Devas from the topmost Lokas. These beings are said to be responsible for bringing massive reforms to society from time to time in order to prevent humanity's extinction. They are also hated by almost every other species as they are a symbol of God's unfair love for mankind.

Bhuta: These are human spirits that were unable to move on to another body after the death of their current host. These spirits restlessly roam the planet, often trying to re-connect to the living world in some way. For example, by taking control of another(weaker) sprit's host. Bhutas are said to be created due to improper funeral rituals or an unnatural cause of death.

Deva: These are the first beings. The ones who created the known universe. They do not have a past or a future as these creatures are unaffected by time. There are thousands of Devas spread unevenly across the five Lokas and are collectively responsible for maintaining life on earth.

Nagas: Nagas are a powerful race of half-serpent and half-human beings that surface on earth from the netherworld. Their origins can be traced back to an ancient curse on a settlement of fishermen who refused to preach a resentful Deva. This caused the entire population of the village to slowly turn into serpents, triggering an everlasting war between the two races.

Pishach: Pishachasa are flesh-eating demons created by some unknown entity to destroy humanity. But, it seems like their creation was largely unsuccessful as it resulted in heavily mutated mindless creatures. Today, Pishachasa are regularly hunted by humans and are nearing a point of complete extinction.

Rakshasa: Rakshasas are said to be the first attempt of the Devas at creating humans. Hence, there are a lot of similarities between the two races. But when the creation seemed imperfect, Devas abandoned the Rakshasas on a hostile island to die. It was their immense resolve to survive that resulted in the species evolving into a race of strong and intelligent beings. In the process, they developed useful quirks like shape-shifting and invisibility which they used to defend themselves from the early human invasions.