نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Many symbolic images and motifs are present in the myths of different nations. These symbolic motifs later entered the religious arts. Many painters have depicted these stories and their examinations could help represent the concepts and inner meanings of religion. This paper considers the story of Yunus in the Quran and Indian story of the first appearance of Vishnu, the protector, in Hindu religions. In this study, first, the history of the man-fish myth was studied and after that a short story of Prophet Yunus was given in the Quran along with the first emanation of Vishnu. Based on symbolic elements, the works of Islamic and Indian paintings related to these texts will be examined. The motif of "man-fish" in Mesopotamia mythology and other cultures of the world are existent from thousands of years ago. In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, there was a God whose upper body was a man and lower body was like a fish. The followers of Enki, God of fresh waters in the Sumerian civilization, who later became Ea in the Babylonian civilization, are depicted in this way. Kolulu" is also the name the Assyrians chose for this half-human half-fish creature, and this creature was one of Enki's supporters. Many of these stories have been existed orally or written, and if they were lost in a civilization, they were found again in the story of Yunus. We can observe that the painters have depicted the story of Yunus, which was associated with fish and water in relation to mythological images of man-fish in the Islamic illustrations of the stories in the Quran. The mentioned items are very similar to the pictures of Yunus and Vishnu, which have been investigated many times. Examples of this coalescence can be seen in the pictures obtained as illustrated versions in various religions of the world, including Islam and Hinduism. This research identifies and introduces the symbols and signs used in these works to interpret and achieve multiple layers of their meanings. To achieve this aim, the author tried answering these questions: 1. what are the similarities and differences between the pictures of Yunus and Vishnu? 2. What is the reason for using the image of man-fish in Islamic and Indian civilizations? The method in this study is descriptive-analytical with a comparative and analytically quantitative approach. This paper studies comparatively Islamic and Indian paintings related to the story of Yunus in the Quran and the first emanation of Vishnu in the Hindu religion ( from 14th to 18th AD., from 8th to 12th AH.). These involve five pictures of Islamic art and five pictures of Indian art. To access the research references, library, electronic and image view have been used. To achieve the assumed result, it will be tried matching the structure of Islamic and Indian images according to the aim of this study. The results obtained from the comparison of the images will lead to the discovery of hidden layers of meaning to using a common image in two civilizations and cultures. Investigations have shown that the images of Yunus and Vishnu along with fish show the effects of mythological motifs of man-fish, but different meanings of this image are received in Islamic and Indian civilizations. Examples of this coalescence can be seen in the pictures obtained in the form of illustrated versions in various religions of the world, including Islam and Hinduism. Both the pictures related to the story of Prophet Yunus in the Quran and pictures of the story of the first avatar Vishnu, Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) controversially contain an image of man-fish. This research examined this image comparatively. Vishnu is a heavenly God in the Hindu religion and, as we know, gods must emanate as something else. So the emanation of Vishnu seems completely reasonable in the form of man-fish or better to say that God-fish, which has a direct influence of mythological religions because Vishnu is a God. In mythological religions, gods are worshiped as the hybrid creatures. Also, in the Hindu scriptures, the image of Vishnu and his emanation are mentioned directly, but the image of man-fish in Islamic paintings shows a man who is God's prophet combined with a fish. This is unprecedented. This is because there are no references and definitions for these hybrid creatures and special signs for Yunus in the Quran. So, the painter has combined the image of Yunus the prophet with a fish based on the mythological image in non-Arab religions to give God-like and holy awe to him.
- A reason to use the image of fish in coalescence with Yunus and Vishnu is the reference to the Hindu scriptures and the Quran and their connection with fish.
کلیدواژهها English
https://sid.ir/paper/136849/fa
