Thean religions are diverse and often in direct contradiction with each other. Despite this, there have been only a few religious wars on Thea. In a larger sense, Theans tend to focus more on the philosophical and ritualistic prescribed paths or ‘doraks’ rather than the religious aspect of their beliefs. The major Thean religions are bividadorak, ikividadorak, ahimvadorak, and karhimvadorak. Minor religions such as unhati and avilka are found in some regions such as Ahurun.
History
Early tribes in both Kadorra and Inglika show signs of having both- a prescribed set of rituals and practices, and early forms of cosmogony; in around 300. Prior to this, Thea’s bronze, copper, and lithic ages are lost to historians and archaeologists. It is almost as if tribes sprung up from nowhere onto the Thean lands. So a single line of descent and religious evolution from early totemism and matriarchal worship patterns to the later doraks cannot be found.
In 290, a Kadorran philosopher Oldenki wrote an extended and detailed treatise on the dualistic doctrines of his land in a text called the ‘Bividadorak.’ Oldenki is not credited as the father of bivida though, since is believed to have merely collated the various dualistic understandings of his times into one text. However the year marks an important period in Thean religious evolution by establishing bivida as the first official and organized religion. Archeological evidence supports that fact that around 290 while Kadorra was reverberating with philosophical and cosmogonical zeal, tribes in the other nations were given to elemental worship and totemism. Oldenki divided his text into 3 parts, the first dealing with etymologies and name origins, second with the nature of God and man’s relationship with him, and the third with the origins of the universe and the creation of Thea. In this book we find the first written treatise on the concepts of kadora, Prakadora, vida, and dorak.
Two decades later, in 310, another Kadorran philosopher Elori questioned the concept of Prakadora (God) and its relevance to the pursuit of spiritual harmony. Elori put his work together in the treatise called ‘Ikividadorak’, meaning literally ‘the non dualist knowledge path given to us.’ While Oldenki’s work was an amalgamation of the bividan doctrines of his time, Elori’s work is very obviously original and it is in the middle and later 4th century that we find the spread of ikivida in Kadorra. Around 400 it is believed that the tribes in Ahurun and Ditana had started speculating on creation myths and the origin of man. Both considered men as a species superior to other animals and thus the ‘creator’ of man was looked upon as a super-being. While Kadorra’s vidan religions revolve more around the concept of ‘kadora’ and its implications, these tribal precursors to religion focussed more on creation and the creator.
But the religion of one tribe differed drastically from that of its neighbouring tribe and modern anthropologists still cannot find a single similarity, say between, the religions of a tribe that was along the east banks of the river Primia in Ditana and the tribe immediately west of it. Neither have major elements and motifs from these religions survived through the centuries. Much of this is attributed by the immense work and impact of the Tritha twins. They are single handedly responsible for the conversion of the entire Ditanian populace to karhimvan in the 7th century, while their initial ahimvan doctrine was in many ways forced upon Vaktukan tribes. Trithan and Kadorran religious thought influence the Inglikan Empire as well, with 3rd Emperor officially adopting karhimvan as the state religion (this was later taken back by the 5th Emperor). Also quite unfortunately, Yaktuki Tritha went on to commit genocide in the one land after Kadorra with the most religious and cultural diversity in those times- Ahurun. It is estimated that around twenty different religious systems and world views went extinct with the genocide in Ahurun.
Bivida and ikivida were the first official ‘vidas’ or spiritual knowledge banks, and later the popularity of the Trithans allowed ahimvan to be accepted as a vida as well. The Trithas’ later doctrine- karhimva, however, is not accepted into the vidan fold since it is quite acrimonious of the vidan God- Prakadora. For many centuries after Yaktuki Tritha’s death in 1000, the vidan religions and karhimva prospered across Thea, enjoying Imperial patronage. Even today they are the four largest religions on Thea. The period between 1600 and 2100 saw a renewed enquiry into the nature of existence and origins of the cosmos, with special focus on understanding better the ancient concepts of kadora, vida, Prakadora, etc. This religious and spiritual renewal was strongest in north western Kadorra and in Inglika. A lot of the old texts were translated into modern languages or adapted into film, music, and drama. The period saw the rise of a new religious doctrine- Ahimvida, which is amoral and extremely atheistic by vidan standards. Ahimvida enjoys considerable popularity in Inglika even today though it has all but died out in Kadorra, unable to stand against the ancient vidan religions. In the last few centuries new cosmogonies as well as modified understandings of kadora have emerged but have been unable to shake the religious establishment of the four oldest and largest religions.
Bividadorak
The pre-Trithan age tribes of Kadorra were distinctly dualistic and monotheistic in their religious nature as evidenced through various scrolls and torn segments of text found along Kadorran river beds. An early text called the ‘Kaduraksini’, dated to around year 170, gives detailed descriptions of worship halls and temples where people went to offer prayer “to their maker.” Another text, the ’Gunananga’, a treatise on the rivers of Kadorra written in around 230, gives references to the personalization of rivers as great whip lashes of “the one who was before all.”
The larger of these pre-Trithan tribes- Huka, has left behind a trail of esoteric and abstruse texts that are believed to chronicle the shift of bronze age Huka tribe from a form of ‘fire worship’ to a form of pantheism with an understanding of the ‘soul.’ But the largest and most credible source is a 3rd century Kadorran philosopher- Oldenki, who is the author of ‘Bividadorak’, the religion’s sacred scripture. All modern understandings of bivida stem from the exegesis in the text, and it is found in every bividan’s home.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part, also called ‘Rra’, deals with etymologies and the origins of names of places and rivers of Kadorra. The second part, called ‘Prakadora’, deals with the idea of the bividan God- Prakadora and the nature of its relationship with man. The third part, called ‘Ahuharta’, deals with bividan (and broadly vidan) cosmology and cosmogony.
It is from the first part Rra that we find the etymologies of not only many Kadorran names but Thean names as well, evidencing Kadorra’s immense influence on the rest of the world from the ancient times. The section mentions that the word ‘guna’ means ribbon or string, and that rivers were looked up as metaphorical whip lashes of the higher deities. This explains why all rivers in Kadorra are named with the suffix –guna. Oldenki also gives etymologies for the name Kadorra as well as for the seven Kadorran tribes he mentions- Nuk (or Nuka, Huka, Huk), Hrugu, Ahim, Avi, Ka, Pitur, and Ari. Etymologies and origins are explained for various villages and towns as well. Oldenki conveys the idea though this part that there is a common line of unity that runs across the land called ‘Kadorra.’
The second part, Prakadora, is considered to be the heart of bividan doctrine as well as of this scripture. In this we are introduced to the concept of ‘kadora’. For all purposes, the kadora is the Thean equivalent of a soul, yet it lacks many of the attributes of a ‘soul’ and it’s more ‘minimal’ in nature. In the truest sense (following the etymology given by Oldenki), kadora means that condition of an entity where it is stripped of all attributes and thus is at its purest. Oldenki explains that inside every entity is a kadora that forms the true essence of the entity’s nature. Kadoras are supposed to be transferable after death, but Oldenki does not mention whether a kadora ever dies out or simply keeps transferring bodies. While all this is part of the larger vidan doctrine, bivida truly begins with the introduction of the concept of Prakadora. In his etymology, Oldenki mentions that Prakadora is a simple joining of the words ‘praka’ (exalted, elevated) and ‘kadora’ to mean the most exalted and most elevated kadora- God.
Prakadora is an omniscient, all knowing, and omnipotent entity that is connected to all kadoras and thus is the central kadora. Bividan belief is that prayer, worship, and purity of deed pour strength into Prakadora, and the generous entity transfers this strength back to its devotees, in turn making their kadoras pure and strong. At the heart of bividan belief is the necessity to please Prakadora and keep it happy. Oldenki makes a point to warn the reader that while Prakadora is omnipotent, all knowing, and the salvation to a bividan’s woes, it is not a creator and that man was not created by Prakadora. Although at this point a reader expects it, Oldenki chooses not to say anything further about the creator and its relationship, if any, with Prakadora. He comes back to the creator in the 3rd part of his book though.
The third part, also called Ahuharta, is the bividan (and sometimes larger vidan) cosmology and cosmogony book (Ahuharta literally means “excavating deeper understandings of the universe”). Many parts of Ahuharta in the original discovered text were missing and many others were torn and incomplete. Bividan cosmology and cosmogony thus are not complete, and it is debatable whether they are similar to ikividan or even ahimvan cosmology and cosmogony as given in their scriptures. According to the Ahuharta, Thea is around fifty thousand years old and was created out of a “large fireball in the sky” by the Prakas, or exalted beings. Thus while the creator of man is Praka, his god is Prakadora, and both are exalted entities. The Prakas, in turn, were fulfilling a commandment given to them by those that resided “even beyond the belts” and specifically by their “brother.” After creating Thea the Prakas filled it with lesser beings and creatures before creating the human species in their own image. This did not please the Antas, cousins of the Prakas and so the Antas took human disguises and landed on Thea, intending to disrupt the kingdoms of their cousins. In the classic good vs. evil motif, the Prakas defeated the Antas and forever banished them from these realms of space, earning perennial love and devotion from their human children.
Oldenki’s writing style becomes more esoteric and obtuse in the Ahuharta, and he begins this part with a disclaimer that human language cannot fully convey the story and nuances of creation. At best, he says, he can only provide a ‘human’ perspective of entirely ‘divine’ processes like creation and existence. Speaking on the issue of the origin of the universe, Oldenki says that the origins across space have been in the “great fireballs,” and that the universe is no different. A famous and oft quoted line from his work is:
“Ancient chariots from the yonder realms were brought to this world; fireballs in the sky, Dispelling the darkness that was this universe, the fireballs were messengers of the Krita-prakas.”
Krita-prakas (often written Praka-kritas) are understood to be the official ‘creators’ of Prakadora. It employs them whenever a new creation job is needed to be done and the krita-prakas (exalted creators) set out in its name.
On the issue of cosmology Oldenki is animated and excitable. He relates a great battle in the sky between the Praka king and his Anta brother that unleashed forces that are now causing our universe to contract. The ancient Kadorrans were aware of the concepts of planets (arha), stars (solak, sol), galaxies (alakshin), etc. Oldenki claims the universe to be made of exactly five hundred alakshins with a total of eight billion stars and ninety two billion planets. The distance between these bodies are both physical and kadoral (the ancient Kadorrans believed that travel could also be done from one kadora to another just as from one place to another), but kadoral travel was allowed only to the Prakas and the Antas. Thus Oldenki relates an account where the Praka king visits his ‘queen-sister’ on a planet ‘seventy thousand planets’ removed from Thea but his human army had to stay back because it could not make the kadoral travel, being of lesser blood. In time, Oldenki assures, even beings of lesser blood will be able to travel between arhas and alakshins because the universe is closing in ever since the above-mentioned battle, and thus physical distances are shortening.
Ikividadorak
In 308 the Kadorran tribes Nuk, Ari, and Hrugu went to war out of which Nuk emerged the winner, the other two being destroyed and assimilated. A Hrugu priest, Elori, was tortured by soldiers of the Ari army and forced to accept bividan doctrine even as Nuk (tribe of Oldenki) counselled tolerance. To save his life Elori, who was originally a priest of a pre-vidan religious precursor, converted to bividadorak and was spared. He spent the next two years visiting temples in Nuk controlled Kadorra and studying the doctrine of bivida. In 309 he met Oldenki (who had around two decades ago compiled and published the bividan doctrine) and the two had the famous ‘Kadorran Vidan debate’ where they debated and argued on the concepts of kadora and Prakadora.
In bivida, Elori saw the degeneration of what was spiritually relevant and the systematic establishment of artificial constructs. Victim of savage torture at the hands of the Ari tribe’s bividan armies, Elori contended that Prakadora (even if it exists) would care not for the kadoras on Thea as long as they were not united and together (as they should be). More important than fealty and devotion to Prakadora, he said, were love and honesty to the fellow kadora. Elori’s own definitions of kadora were broader than those accepted by his contemporary bividan thinkers. He was reportedly scoffed at for claiming that there were kadoras within trees, animals, large geographical bodies, human constructions etc. and for encouraging his followers to maintain ritualistic relationships with all kadoras around them, including personal belongings and properties.
By 310, Elori had begun preaching on the danger in bivida- that by differentiating between kadoras and Prakadora, it alienated the kadora to affinity for another kadora, instead pushing it towards Prakadora even at the cost of the other. The priority, he taught, should be given to inter-kadora kinship and bonding rather than subscribing to an exalted conception of kadora that could not be proved using rational means. Even though Elori denied or at least questioned the existence of Prakadora, his doctrine is not seen as atheistic because it accepts and makes full use of the concept of kadora (of which Prakadora is only a religious hyperbole). Elori gave no name to his teachings and was not interested in expanding his religion. Rather, he was fond of debating and arguing with other thinkers to reach rational and mutually agreeable conclusions on pressing philosophical issues. In 350 he was murdered at a religious debate that turned violent, which brought many more people closer to his philosophy simply due to the sympathy and scandal the murder created. In 355 one such devotee wrote the ‘Ikividadorak’, the non dualists’ doctrine based entirely on the teachings and testimonies of Elori. By the beginning of the 5th century the Nuk tribe had established the Kadorran kingdom with bivida as the state religion. In the years to come ikivida was to be neglected in the face of patronage that bivida received. While this later diminished and then altogether disappeared, the effects are visible even today with bividans outnumbering ikividans by a large amount.
Even though the Ikividadorak was not written by Elori it contains exclusively his teachings and for the sake of convenience I will take him as the author. Unlike the book Bividadorak, Ikividadorak contains only two parts- Kadorini, and Ahuharta. Kadorini deals with the ikividan belief and practice while Ahuharta deals with ikividan cosmology and cosmogony. Kadorini, literally meaning ‘on the topic of kadora’, covers around three-fourths of the book. Elori is adamant throughout it that worship and prayer for Prakadora are unacceptable and silly to the ikividan. Elori believes that man’s hurt to fellow man and his inconsideration for the world around him hurt his kadora more than anything else. Even if Prakadora is real, he argues, service to the fellow kadora would please it more than blind prayer. A large section of the Kadorini is devoted to defining and identifying a ‘kadora.’ The largest chapter on this, chapter sixteen, presents the views as a dialogue between Oldenki and Elori that happened in 309. The two thinkers are exchanging their understandings of kadora, and Oldenki is portrayed as impatient and intolerant with the new doctrine that Elori is preaching. The dialogue consists of Oldenki pointing at various things and asking Elori, “this?” Depending on whether what he pointed to was a kadora or not, Elori would say “yes” or “no.”
Elori admits towards the later sections of the Kadorini that his definitions of kadora are subjective, but adamantly claims that definitions to kadora are better subjective than imposed. “The chief problem,” he tells us, “is not in understanding what kadora means, but in realising everything that it can mean.” He adds an appendix to Kadorini detailing the ritual practices to be maintained with bodily inanimate kadoras like personal belongings, constructions, geographical landmarks, etc.
Ikividan Ahuharta has a lot in common with bividan Ahuharta. Elori agrees with the creation story of the Prakas and the great fireball in the sky. However according to him the chief rivals of the Prakas are not the Antas but the Nakins. Prakas and Antas are cousins and have no rivalry between them, but the Nakins detest the Prakas for previous crimes committed by the latter. So in ikividan ahuharta it is not the Antas that come to Thea in human disguise but the Nakins, and the Antas in fact help and guide the Prakas. Elori also agrees with bividan dating of Thea and creation of Thea. The ikividan Ahuharta has survived to us complete and intact unlike the bividan Ahuharta, and thus is a much more credible source of the larger vidan cosmogony. It provides us with much more details on the nature of the Prakas, Antas, and Nakins as well on the creation of man and the world.
The only difference between ikividan and bividan Ahuhartas is that ikivida rejects the notion that the universe is contracting and will one day close up, which bivida supports. Ikividan Ahuharta is vague on the present conditions and future of the universe, but denies the possibility of a contracting universe as a paradox in the world of Prakadora. Since everyday kadoras in the world are increasing, the power and strength of Prakadora is only increasing. A waning universe cannot belong to a strengthening Prakadora, so Elori concludes that the universe is at least static, if not expanding. He considers the decision irrelevant though, because physical or kadoral intraverse travel will never be possible, so making the size of the universe meaningless in his opinion. However, says Elori, the chances are that Prakadora is an artificial construct, and so there is no way to determine the size and future course of the universe.
Ahimvadorak
Ahimvadorak is the third and last vidan religion, but is atheistic in its nature. Not only does the ahimvak deny the existence of Prakadora, he also rejects the concepts of kadora and the vidan Ahuharta. This sort of atheism was unknown in Kadorra before the birth of the twins Vaktuki and Yaktuki Tritha in 400. Born to bividan priests in a newly formed nation that was also officially bividan (Kadorra), the Trithas were exposed to all of bivida’s doctrines, practices, beliefs, and cosmogonies.
At age 17, they are said to have delivered a secret sermon, encouraging their listeners to question and introspect on the idea of kadora to determine whether it really exists. Over the next few decades they silently gathered followers on the basic premise that the notion of kadora was not necessarily one that could be blindly accepted, wary of upsetting their devout bividan parents. In 452, after the death of their parents, their endeavours became public and in 454 the otherwise tolerant Kadorran kingdom exiled them for rejecting the idea of kadora.
During their time in Kadorra, the Trithas did not significantly develop and formulate the ahimva religion, relying mainly on small sermons to get people thinking and introspecting about kadora and Prakadora. Yaktuki Tritha later admitted that around this time they were simply two boys with a skeptic attitude. Up to their exile in 454 they had not encouraged anyone to reject belief in kadora, preferring to make people think and question for themselves. Their exile however, filled them with animosity towards the original vidan religions and in the two years they travelled to Vaktuki they formulated and expanded their doctrine. It was here that they started referring to themselves as ‘ahimvak’, meaning ‘one who owns responsibility for oneself.’ The first tenet of their belief was a rejection of the notions of kadora and thus Prakadora. Life to the ahimvak is a pure spark of chance that will meet a complete and final end in death, eventually serving no purpose, higher or otherwise. According to the Trithas, life is a serious of unfortunate and misery forming events that must be avoided as much as possible. The ahimvak follows a strict and austere code of discipline that enable him to leave a misery free existence. Ahimvaks also reject the story of the Prakas and the great fireball in the sky, viewing creation as a random occurrence rather than a deliberate event.
The Trithas’ arduous campaigns in Vaktuki forced them to modify their doctrine drastically and in less than two centuries after evolving it, the Twins abandoned ahimva and converted to their new doctrine karhimva. By 906 though, when Yaktuki Tritha sailed back into Kadorra from Ahurun, he readopted ahimva and proclaimed it to be the best of doraks to follow. Before his death in 1000 he had written down the ‘Vaktukyaktukahimvini’, meaning ‘on the atheist teachings of Vaktuki and Yaktuki.’ This text is now better known as the Trithan Command, and is the scripture of choice in Yaktuki even as Vaktukans chose to practice ahimva without using the text as guide.
The Trithan Command is divided into ten parts, each part dealing with a stage in the Trithas’ life and the corresponding ‘command’ or ‘moral’ that they learnt from it. The text is deliberately written in poetic and lyrical format, and it may have been a song during the last years of Yaktuki Tritha. The ten parts of the Trithan Command are:
- Kadorini - Part dealing with rejection of kadora and Prakadora
- Ahuhartini - Part dealing with rejection of vidan Ahuharta
- Vaktukini - Part dealing entirely with the personality and character of Vaktuki Tritha
- Arigini - Part dealing with management and administration techniques
- Ditini - Part dealing with war and battle techniques
- Deokini - Part dealing with the Empire and the Twins being anointed ‘godfathers’
- Kadorrini - Part dealing with the Trithas’ initial exile and Yaktuki’s later re-entry into Kadorra
- Vaunakini - Part dealing with the Vaunakis and the genocide of Ahurun
- Vedantini - Part dealing with the Vedantin species
- Prabhvalka - Part discussing karhimva and ahimva and why the latter is superior
Though these ten parts Yaktuki reveals ten commandments that must be followed by the ahimvak to make his life misery and hassle free. Apart from that each part also contains anecdotal references as well as digressional musings to relate the proper code of living and existence for an ahimvak. Today, ahimvaks can be found in Vaktuki, Yaktuki, Kadorra, and some also in Inglika. The ahimvaks in Vaktuki are different in that they do not subscribe to the book Trithan Command, as it was written around 500 years after Vaktuki actually set foot on the land and spread his atheist religion. Vaktukans believe that the Trithan Command is highly biased by the prejudices and idiosyncrasies of Yaktuki Tritha and does not represent the pure atheist doctrine that the brothers had brought with them out of Kadorra. Ahimvaks are found in Kadorra in the south and they along with the Yaktukan and Inglikan ahimvaks are devout followers of the Trithan Command and consider the word of Yaktuki Tritha almost as the word of god.
Karhimvadorak
Prior to the conquest and settlement of the land of Vaktuki, the Tritha Twins preached the ahimvak doctrine- one of minimal participation in wordly affairs to ensure least misery in a misery filled and purposeless world. However, the work they carried out in Vaktuki and then intended to carry out elsewheres was in direct contrast with the minimal interference that they preached. Nor did the Twins seek to make their life misery free as ahimva recommends, instead choosing to face mortal dangers, weird creatures, and savage tribes to bring peace and stability to Vaktuki.
By the time they reached Ditana, they had thus drastically modified their doctrine, and were calling the new religion ‘karhimva’, meaning “to take responsibility for others.” Karhimva in many ways directly overturns what ahimva is. While ahimva rejects the existence of kadora and Prakadora, karhimva accepts them. While the liberal ahimvak occasionally accepts the possibility of the existence of Prakadora, even the most liberal karhimvak will claim Prakadora to be a malevolent and scheming entity.
According to karhimva, nature, fate, and the universe are always conspiring against life. There is no entity in the universe that is benign to man, and Prakadora is no exception. Karhimvaks view upon Prakadora as a sadistic and malevolent entity that gains pleasure from the plight of humans and the kadoras within them. Our duty is to unite against the forces of Prakadora and overthrow it, thereby finally exalting the kadora of man to the Praka stage. This is done by an enthusiastic participation in the problems of the world and reducing the ills and troubles of the fellow man. The Tritha Twins brought peace and stability to Ditana on the principles of karhimva and the nation to this day is completely karhimvak. Even though the name sounds symbolically to ahimva, karhimva is very different from the Trithas’ earlier atheistic religion. Ahimva encourages its followers to remove themselves from the world and give not weight to ideas like kadora and Prakadora. On the other hand karhimva wants its followers to wake up, unite, and fight to overthrow Prakadora since it is a malevolent and dangerous entity and hinders the true growth of our kadoras.
In going against Prakadora in this fashion, karhimva lost the opportunity to ever be accepted into the vidan fold. Thus while ahimva is part of the vidan religions even though it rejects their ideas of kadora and Prakadora, karhimva is not a part of the fold even though it believes the ideas of kadora and Prakadora to be true in fact if not in intention.
Vaktuki Tritha wrote the karhimvak sacred text in 640- ‘Karhimvakini’, meaning “on the issue of the karhimvak”. The text is essentially an account of how a karhimvak spends his day but though this it exposes the various principles of karhimvak existence and also the tenets of karhimvak belief. Unlike ahimva, karhimva features extensive and often exaggerated ahuhartas that give vivid and gory descriptions of the creation of the universe and its various bodies. There is no separate account of the creation of Thea, and the work moves chronologically as if Thea was always there. On the matter of the creation of the universe, Vaktuki writes that it was a moment “aeons of years before the first breath,” probably meaning that life originated in the universe many years after the universe was created. He tells us of the story of creation through a series of hymns that describe a “celestial machine in motion” before the universe begins and various battles between deities that all culminate in a “chariot of light” being presented to the newly appointed holders of this universe- the Prakas. So while the karhimvaks do not see the Prakas as creators they do assign them some role in their ahuharta.