In Hindu Literature 231 



As we proceed from the earlier to the later Hindu writ- 

 ings we notice a change. The old Vedic faith becomes 

 displaced by beliefs less simple and more earthy. 



We find the gods multiplied in number and their offices 

 grown involved and obscure. But the bees and their honey 

 still occupy their old place in sacrifices and ceremonies. 

 In fact, they too have advanced in complexity of office and 

 are intimately connected with the godhead. 



Vishnu has come upon the scene and is the chief of the 

 gods ; from him everything emanates ; he creates everything, 

 he is everything. Vishnu the preserver, the creative force of 

 nature, has closely associated with him the bee, which also 

 represents the creative force in nature and is the symbol of 

 the sweetness and the pain of love. 



Of the thousand names which Vishnu finally acquires 

 madhava, honey born, or a descendant of madhu, honey, 

 is one, while madhiian, destroyer of honey, is another. 



The great god of gods Vishnu himself is represented at 

 times as a bee lying in the heart of a lotus flower. Vishnu 

 is the god of the sun and the moon, and these also are 

 symbolized by the bee, which, as the dispenser of honey, 

 represents the moon ; as the appropriator of honey, the 

 sun. Honey is supposed to come from the moon, and is 

 very frequently mentioned in connection with it in the old 

 Hindu poems. 



■When the lotus flower, the symbol of nature, opens, 

 Vishnu the sun-god, the bee at its heart, awakens and goes 

 forth. Light is born, life is born. 



The bee thus becomes the symbol of birth upon earth. 

 Hence, and for other reasons, the use of honey at bridals 

 and at the birth of a child. 



Thus the bee and its honey in Hindu mythology un- 

 doubtedly belong to the sun myths, as is also shown in the 

 stories of the bear. 



