ADAM’S SIN OF EATING OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE LIGHT OF THE HINDU NARRATIVE OF THE WISH-YIELDING TREE
ADAM’S SIN OF EATING OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE LIGHT OF THE HINDU NARRATIVE OF THE WISH-YIELDING TREE

Summary/Abstract: The Biblical narrative of Adam is largely parallel to the Hindu narrative of Swayambhuva Manu. In particular, the tree of knowledge and life are parallel to the wish-yielding tree and the medicinal plants. However, there is a dramatic difference in the views of the two texts regarding sin. The conventional Biblical interpretation is that God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of knowledge but they ate of it and sinned. In contrast, the Hindu texts tell of those people eating of the wish-yielding tree in a matter-of-fact way without any stigma whatsoever though with greed.However, the Biblical narrative could also be interpreted as God wanting Adam to eat but-not-devour of the tree. His and Eve’s “sin” was that they devoured of the tree. This interpretation is 89 percent parallel to the Hindu texts and brings the Biblical and Hindu theological understandings in sync with each other.

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