History YMMV / HinduMythology

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Karna, an HonorBeforeReason [[PunchClockVillain servant]] to the wicked Duryodhana, was cursed by his guru Parashurama to have the mantras that he learned fail him. The reason? Karna outed himself as a kshatriya (which even he did not know) while Parashurama was resting on his lap and an insect bit Karna, drawing blood. Later on, in the Mahabharata, Parashurama comes to Karna in a vision and explains that his death by said curse is fated, and that if Duryodhana wins then evil will fall on the land. This allows Karna to FaceDeathWithDignity, so it could be a form of LetThemDieHappy.

* CompleteMonster: Putana, the "[[WouldHurtAChild Killer of Infants]]", is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Rakshasi]] known for killing infants by poisoning her breast milk and killing them when they feed, having done this to countless infants in the past. When King Kamsa summons her to kill the infant Krishna, Putana disguises herself as a beautiful woman in an attempt to kill him. After Krishna sucks her life force out, Putana reveals her demonic form and attempts to destroy the town of Vraj, managing to turn the surrounding forest to dust before being slain.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Kali is probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous, Hindu deities in the West. This often comes with the perception of Kali as a bloodthirsty monster who demands human sacrifice, which is entirely inaccurate (though somewhat understandable, given the imagery and trappings associated with her). This image was popularized by Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom, though it was present well beforehand. Still, if you ask a person in the West to name a Hindu deity, odds are they will name Kali if they don't name Vishnu or Shiva first.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The Pandava brothers, especially [[JerkAss Arjuna]]. Arjuna as a kid wanted to be the best archer, which his guru Drona promised he would become, and he complained when a tribal boy Ekalavya surpassed him. Not to mention that he [[KickTheDog mocks Karna]], a "charioteer's son," for being of a lower caste. They [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone are shocked]] when they learn that Karna is their brother after the battle, and Arjuna afterward TookALevelInKindness, but still!
** Actually, it was Bhima who mocked Karna - and he did that when Karna showed up at the Pandava and Kaurava kids' medieval equivalent of graduation day and challenged the much younger Arjuna to a duel (Karna is at least ten years older than Arjuna.)
** And in Ekalavya's case, Drona had constantly praised Arjuna as the best of his students, and when Ekalavya showed up claiming to be Drona's student, the teenaged (or pre-teen) Arjuna was angry at his beloved teacher for lying to him.

* CompleteMonster: Putana, the "[[WouldHurtAChild Killer of Infants]]", is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Rakshasi]] known for killing infants by poisoning her breast milk and killing them when they feed, having done this to countless infants in the past. When King Kamsa summons her to kill the infant Krishna, Putana disguises herself as a beautiful woman in an attempt to kill him. After Krishna sucks her life force out, she reveals her demonic form and attempts to destroy the town of Vraj, managing to turn the surrounding forest to dust before being slain.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Kali is probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous, Hindu deities in the West. This often comes with the perception of Kali as a bloodthirsty monster who demands human sacrifice, which is entirely inaccurate. This image was popularized by Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom, though it was present well beforehand. Still, if you ask a person in the West to name a Hindu deity, odds are they will name Kali if they don't name Vishnu or Shiva first.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Kali is probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous, Hindu deities in the West. This often comes with the perception of Kali as a bloodthirsty monster who demands human sacrifice, which is entirely inaccurate. This image was popularized by Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom, though it was present well beforehand. Still, if you ask a person in the West to name a Hindu deity, odds are they will name Kali.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Karna, an HonorBeforeReason [[PunchClockVillain servant]] to the wicked Duryodhana, was cursed by his guru Parashurama to have the mantras that he learned fail him. The reason? Karna outed himself as a kshatriya (which even he did not know) while Parashurama was resting on his lap and an insect bit the Karna, drawing blood. Later on, in the Mahabharata, Parashurama comes to Karna in a vision and explains that his death by said curse is fated, and that if Duryodhana wins then evil will fall on the land. This allows Karna to FaceDeathWithDignity, so it could be a form of LetThemDieHappy.
* BadassDecay: Indra is badass in early Vedic text, notable for killing the great dragon Vritra. He does much worse in later text.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Kali is probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous, Hindu deities in the West. This often comes with the perception of Kali as a bloodthirsty monster who demands human sacrifice, which is entirely inaccurate. This image was popularized by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, though it was present well beforehand. Still, if you ask a person in the West to name a Hindu deity, odds are they will name Kali.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Skanda, who was a minor Vedic God, became so important in the South that he forms a major part of the Saivite pantheon.
* MoralEventHorizon: Guru Drona asking for tribal boy Ekalavya's thumb as a guru dakshina, so that Ekalavya is no longer the best archer and Arjuna could pass the former. It's hard to sympathize with Drona after that, especially when he refuses to teach lower caste boys like Karna for fear of history repeating itself.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Karna, an HonorBeforeReason [[PunchClockVillain servant]] to the wicked Duryodhana, was cursed by his guru Parashurama to have the mantras that he learned fail him. The reason? Karna outed himself as a kshatriya (which even he did not know) while Parashurama was resting on his lap and an insect bit the Karna, drawing blood. Later on, in the Mahabharata, Parashurama comes to Karna in a vision and explains that his death by said curse is fated, and that if Duryodhana wins then evil will fall on the land. This allows Karna to FaceDeathWithDignity, so it could be a form of LetThemDieHappy.

* MoralEventHorizon:
** Guru Drona asking for tribal boy Ekalavya's thumb as a guru dakshina, so that Ekalavya is no longer the best archer and Arjuna could pass the former. It's hard to sympathize with Drona after that, especially when he refuses to teach lower caste boys like Karna for fear of history repeating itself.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** The Pandava brothers, especially [[JerkAss Arjuna]]. Arjuna as a kid wanted to be the best archer, which his guru Drona promised he would become, and he complained when a tribal boy Ekalavya surpassed him. Not to mention that he [[KickTheDog mocks Karna]], a "charioteer's son," for being of a lower caste. They [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone are shocked]] when they learn that Karna is their brother after the battle, and Arjuna afterward TookALevelInKindness, but still!

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome:
** When Indra struck Garuda with the Vajra, [[StoneWall it did not even scratch him]]. However, Garuda dropped a ''single'' feather to show his respect to Vajra for the attempt. It was Shiva's gift to Indra.
** Indra himself has one in ''Rig Veda''. A newborn god, Indra drunk a large volume of Soma to gain enough power to defeat Vritra, the great dragon. After taking the Vajra, he asked Vishnu to create a whole battlefield for the upcoming battle. Before confronting his nemesis, Indra destroyed 99 fortresses of Vritra, ''all'' of them. For killing the dragon that kept all water from the world itself, all Indra suffered was a broken jaw.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The Pandava brothers, especially [[JerkAss Arjuna]].

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When Indra struck Garuda with the Vajra, [[StoneWall it did not even scratch him]]. However, Garuda dropped a ''single'' feather to show his respect to Vajra for the attempt. It was Shiva's gift to Indra.

* FanFavorite: Krishna, to the point where He has sects that worship him, and him alone, to the exclusion of the rest of the avatars.