The Origins of EVIL in Hindu Mythology

Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

2. TIME, FATE, AND THE FALL OF MAN

3. THE NECESSITY OF EVIL

4. GODS, DEMONS, AND MEN

5. THE PARADOX OF THE GOOD DEMON: THE CLASH BETWEEN RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE ETHICS

6. THE PARADOX OF THE EVIL GOD: THE TRANSFER OF SIN

7. THE CORRUPTION OF DEMONS AND MEN: THE FALSE AVATAR

8. THE BIRTH OF DEATH

9. CROWDS IN HEAVEN

10. GOD IS A HERETIC

11. THE SPLIT CHILD: GOOD AND EVIL WITHIN MAN

12. CONCLUSION: THE MANY PATHS OF THEODICY