거품, 어스름, 그리고 해변 : 인도 신화 속에 나타난 신들의 속임수와 경계성

Abstract

The conflict between deva and asura is one of the most famous and important mythological cycle that has been highly accepted in the Hindu myths, which are repeatedly presented in many texts like Vedas, Mahābhārata, Rāmāyana, and Purāṇas. Among the mythemes that are most favored in the myth of deva-asura combat is of trickery or deceit intended by the gods like Indra or Viṣṇu, and this is the subject that is most seldomly researched by the scholars. In the myth of Indra-Vṛtra, specially presented in Mahābhārata, the trickery deliberately intended by Indra clearly be exposed as he try to breach the armistice agreement to kill his enemy, Vṛtra, although the truce had been suggested by Indra himself(or, by Viṣṇu) immediately after he(or, devas) had been defeated in the combat with Vṛtra. The term of truce that Vṛtra asked for as a requital was that he would not be killed with anything that is dry or wet, nor during the day or the night. Indra(or Viṣṇu who control behind him) was so trickery as to strike Vṛtra with a lump of foam that is not dry nor wet, and it was twilight. Regarding this context, the Indra's trickery on truce could be only successful with the liminality of the terms of truce that had been already engaged between adversaries. In case of Viṣṇu's avatara myth, specially of Narasiṃha, the plot of the myth is very similar to the Indra-Vṛtra myth in the sense that Narasiṃha is supposed to kill his enemy, Hiraṇyakaśipu, with the liminality of the conditions that Hiraṇyakaśipu could ensured his own life against the death. As a result of the extreme penance for a long time, Hiraṇyakaśipu had a chance to ask for a boon from the Brahma that he would not be killed by anything that is dry or wet, nor human or demon, neither the day nor the night, neither indoors nor outdoors, and so on. However, the boon from the Brahma is nullified when Narashiṃha kills Hiraṇyakaśipu on the threshold of doorway(this is not outdoors nor indoor) with his claw(not living thing nor non-living thing) at twilight(not the day nor not the night). Penetrating the crevice of the conditions for the asura's immorality is an kind of clever but wicked strategy played often by the gods when they were confronted with their enemies that they could not overcome, 'In-betweenness' or 'liminality' is thus an another characteristic that we can meet as we search for the trace of god's trickery in Hindu myths.