A Comparative Analysis of the Creation Narrative in Hindu and Biblical Texts

The knowledge of Creation is known to all nations. Romans 1:20 reads, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” So it would not seem unusual to see so many cultures and religions have a similar Creation account as the one presented in the Bible.

One such Creation account is from Hindu scriptures. I bring this account up because 1) I come from a Jain Hindu background, and 2) this Creation account has some very interesting similarities and differences when compared to the Biblical account. 

This story comes from the Laws of Manu, also known as Mānava-Dharmaśāstra, which is part of the Dharmaśāstra, a genre of Sanskrit texts referring to learning religious and legal duty.

Chapter 1, verses 5-9 read:

5. This (universe existed in the shape of Darkness, unperceived, destitute of distinctive marks, unattainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly immersed, as it were, in deep sleep.

6. Then the divine Self-existent (Svayambhu, himself) indiscernible, (but) making (all) this, the great elements and the rest, discernible, appeared with irresistible (creative) power, dispelling the darkness.

7. He who can be perceived by the internal organ (alone), who is subtle, indiscernible, and eternal, who contains all created beings and is inconceivable, shone forth of his own (will).

8. He, desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body, first with a thought created the waters, and placed his seed in them.

9. That (seed) became a golden egg, in brilliancy equal to the sun; in that (egg) he himself was born as Brahman, the progenitor of the whole world.

According to these texts, the universe was dark and without shape. Then Svayambhu, a self-existent being with immense power, had the desire to transform the darkness. Swayambhu created the waters with his thoughts and placed his seed in them. This seed became an egg, and Svayambhu was born as Brahman in the egg. Brahman is the progenitor of the world, meaning that all the beings of the Earth are descended from Brahman. 

Now let's look at verses 12 and 13:

12. The divine one resided in that egg during a whole year, then he himself by his thought (alone) divided it into two halves;

13. And out of those two halves he formed heaven and earth, between them the middle sphere, the eight points of the horizon, and the eternal abode of the waters.

So, according to the story, Brahman, through his thought alone, divided the egg into two halves, creating heaven and earth.

Bible readers can see the parallels here:

• Both texts point to a Creator 

• Both texts state that the universe was void and without form. 

• The Hindu text states that the Creator THOUGHT the universe into existence. The Bible states that the Creator SPOKE the universe into existence. 

• The Hindu text states that the Creator was born on the Earth as Brahman, residing in an egg. As Brahman grew, the egg was divided into two halves, which became the heave and the earth. The Bible states that God separated the waters from the waters, separating the heavens and the earth. 

The Hindu account of creation is an attempt to preserve the truth of Creation, yet there is a notable difference compared to the Biblical account.. In this narrative, Svayambhu is said to have been reborn as Brahman, reflecting the Hindu concept of reincarnation. However, this aspect might be seen as a diversion from worshipping the ultimate Creator. Despite the prominence of Svayambhu in the narrative, there is no widespread worship or temples dedicated to Svayambhu within Hinduism. This raises questions about the ultimate source of creation: if Svayambhu is self-born and needs no source material to exist, then Brahman's source being Svayambhu does not truly establish Brahman as the ultimate Creator. It suggests the existence of something or someone above Brahman. This observation highlights a potential inconsistency in the narrative, where the worship of other deities is more common than that of Svayambhu, the supposed original source. This could be viewed as a form of misdirection or a divergence from the story of Creation.

The Bible is very clear on this, as shown by John 1:1-3 - 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.” There is only one God, the Creator of the universe worthy of worship.

It looks to me that additional deities must be created so that mankind is distracted from worshipping the one true God. While creation stories from other cultures have similarities to the Biblical account, the truth is then distorted to fit a specific narrative. We know the Biblical account is true because it is the only one that is logically consistent. There is no instance of a deity being mentioned, but then not worshipped for XYZ reason. There is no reason to invent polytheism when the Hindu account itself points to a single Creator.