Hindu mythology is a large body of traditional narratives related to
Hinduism as contained in
Sanskrit literature (such as the
epics like
Mahabharata and
Ramayana, the
Puranas, and the
Vedas),
Ancient Tamil literature (such as the
Sangam literature and
Periya Puranam), several other works, most notably the
Bhagavata Purana, claiming the status of a
Fifth Veda and other religious
regional literature of South Asia. As such, it is a subset of mainstream
Indian and
Nepali culture. Rather than one consistent, monolithic structure, it is a range of diverse traditions, developed by different sects, people and philosophical schools, in different regions and at different times, which are not necessarily held by all Hindus to be literal accounts of historical events, but are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning, and which have been given a complex range of interpretations.