The Relics of the Buddha and the Elixir of Immortality – Mythological Parallels
The Relics of the Buddha and the Elixir of Immortality – Mythological Parallels

Summary/Abstract: This is a preliminary analysis of issues resulting from comparing two images present in the Indian tradition, in their Buddhist (‘device’ guarding the relics of the Buddha) and Epic (‘device’ guarding the Elixir of Immortality) variants. Both images are located within the range of the notions of the sacred. That complicates but does not prevent the reconstruction of ideological messages directed to their prospective recipients. They are illustrated by the fate of the ‘holy substance’ obtained after breaking into and destroying both devices. The first one sanctifies the principles of free access and free participation, the second – of inherited privilege and inherited exclusion.

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