The Binary Position Presented by the Mythological Narrative in Arunachala Purana

Abstract

The use of myths is abundant in Tamil Bhakti literature. It can also be observed that they are absorbing opposites in both Saivism and Vaishnavism. That the position of God itself is regarded as dualistic can be seen from the principles of form that underlie bhakti literature. The tendency to see God as with form and without form is aimed at knowing something unknown. When such duality operates in myths, they present a wider meaning. In the Arunachala Purana, which is considered to belong to Saivism, one can see that the antithesis of Vaishnavism is not contradictory but is intertwined. Although they sometimes appear as contradictions, they can only be perceived as the truth within one another. This explains to us that all religions have a single Supreme Being. The Arunachala Purana presents God as being in form, formless, known by beings, unknowable, subservient within, and infinite space. In these myths, dichotomies can be seen from the point of presenting duality and from the point of presenting a state of non-dimensionality. The Arunachala Purana is seen as creating sub-narratives through mythological narratives, which, as a literary creative technique, gives way to the extension and aesthetics of the puranic narrative. Thus, this article examines the Arunachala purana's presentation of the mythological narrative at various levels.