Resizing (including miniaturization, growth, shrinking, and enlargement) is a recurring theme in speculative fiction, in particular in fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction. Resizing is often achieved through the consumption of mushrooms or toadstools, which might have been established due to their psychedelic properties, [1] through magic, by inherent yet-latent abilities, or by size-changing rays of ambiguous properties. [2]
In the Liezi , the giants of the Longbo Kingdom were shrunk over time as punishment by the heavenly emperor after their burning of the bones of the ao caused the Daiyu and Yuanjiao islands to sink, forcing billions of xian to evacuate their homes. [3]
In the Ramayana , the deity Hanuman has the ability to alter his size, which he can use to enlarge himself to the size of a mountain or shrink himself down to the size of an insect. [4] [5]
The Bhagavata Purana mentions the story of King Kakudmi and his daughter Revati, who go to Satyaloka to ask Brahma for help deciding who Revati should marry. After waiting for a musical performance to finish, they are told by Brahma that many successions of ages have passed on Earth, so all of Kakudmi's candidates for husbands are long gone. When he and Revati return to Earth, they find that the new race of people dwelling upon it are "dwindled in stature, reduced in vigour, and enfeebled in intellect". They find Balarama, who marries Revati and shrinks her down to his size. [6]
Along with many other texts, the Bhagavata Purana also mentions some avatars of Vishnu growing to large sizes. The legend of Matsya starting out as a tiny fish and gradually growing bigger whilst under the care of Manu is first told in the Shatapatha Brahmana . [7] [8] [9] Varaha, a boar, starts out as small as a thumb and grows big enough to carry the earth on his tusks. [10] [11] The dwarf Vamana grows to astronomical proportions and takes three steps, liberating the three worlds from the rule of the asuras and sending King Bali to Patala after taking his third and final step. [12] [13] When Krishna and his friends were swallowed by Aghasura, one of the demons sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna, Krishna grew larger and larger inside of him until he burst out through the top of his head. [14] [15] [16]
The tenth book and thirteenth chapter of the Devi Bhagavata Purana mentions a battle between the devas and the daitya Arunasura, during which the goddess Bhramari grew to a massive size and began to summon bees and various other insects from her hands. [17]
In the Srimad Bhagavatam , Chitralekha shrinks Aniruddha down to the size of a doll and brings him to Usha's palace. [18]
According to different sources, two of the eight classical siddhis are aṇimā and mahimā—the ability to shrink to the size of an atom and to expand to an infinitely large size respectively. [19] [20]
In some tellings of the myth of Tithonus, who is granted immortality but not eternal youth, his continued aging causes him to eventually become a cicada. [21] [22] A similar story is told about the Cumaean Sibyl in Ovid's Metamorphoses , in which her wish for longevity results in her aging body gradually shrinking, causing her to become small enough to be kept in a jar. [23] The Metamorphoses also includes a story in which Athena transforms Arachne into a spider such that "her whole body became tiny." [24]
According to Porphyry, the love god Eros grows when he is near his brother Anteros, but shrinks back down to his previous small form when they are apart. [25]
According to one variant of a story pertaining to the goddess Áine, her son Gerald FitzGerald has the ability to change his size, which he does when he shrinks himself down in order to jump into a bottle. [26]
In Journey to the West , Sun Wukong wields a staff called the Ruyi Jingu Bang which he can command to shrink down to the size of a needle or expand to gigantic proportions.[ citation needed ]
In one story narrated in the Norske Folkeeventyr , a tiny character called Doll i' the Grass accidentally falls into a body of water and ends up normal-sized when she is brought out by a merman. [27]
In Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), the protagonist Alice grows or shrinks as she eats foodstuffs or drinks potions. [28]
The first motion picture to depict a character changing size is Georges Méliès' 1901 trick film The Dwarf and the Giant , in which Méliès portrays a man who splits into two differently-sized counterparts. [29] [30]
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The novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth by H. G. Wells describes a kind of food that can accelerate and extend the growth process, which causes great upheaval when it is introduced to the world. Though one of Wells' lesser-known works, many of the features of the novel have been incorporated into other works, including a film adaptation.
Other early works in the science fiction genre to feature characters changing size include the 1936 novella He Who Shrank by Henry Hasse, as well as the 1936 Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer film The Devil-Doll and the 1940 Paramount Pictures film Dr. Cyclops .
A year after its publication in 1956, the novel The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson was adapted into the Universal Pictures film The Incredible Shrinking Man , which was followed by The Incredible Shrinking Woman in 1981.
Size alteration was also a common motif of many films directed by Bert I. Gordon, including Beginning of the End , The Amazing Colossal Man , Attack of the Puppet People , Village of the Giants , and an adaptation of H. G. Wells' The Food of the Gods. Other science fiction and horror films released in the late 1950s and 1960s with enlargement or shrinking as a major plot element include Tarantula , The Phantom Planet , Fantastic Voyage (which was adapted into an animated television series of the same name), and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman —which got a remake in 1993 starring Daryl Hannah and served as inspiration for similar plot elements in films like The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock , Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold , Monsters vs. Aliens and Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader .
The year 1989 saw the release of Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids , which grossed $222 million (equivalent to $545.67 million in 2023) at the box office worldwide and spawned a media franchise consisting of two sequels, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves , as well as a television series and a few theme park attractions, including Honey, I Shrunk the Audience .
Shesha, also known by his epithets Sheshanaga and Adishesha, is a serpentine demigod (naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the universe on his hoods and to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. He is sometimes referred to as Ananta Shesha.
In Hinduism, Daksha is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat.
Rukmini is a Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and additionally in Sri Vaishnavism.
In Indian religions, Siddhis are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation and yoga. The term ṛddhi is often used interchangeably in Buddhism.
Narada, or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata, telling Yudhishthira the story of Prahalada, and he also appears in the Ramayana and the Puranas. A common theme in Vaishnavism is the accompaniment of a number of deities such as Narada to offer aid to Vishnu upon his descent to earth to combat the forces of evil, or to enjoy a close view of epochal events. He is also referred to as Rishiraja, meaning the king of all sages. He was gifted with the boon of knowledge regarding the past, present, and the future.
The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata (Bhāgavata), is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and traditionally attributed to Veda Vyasa, it promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages.
Pradyumna is the eldest son of the Hindu deities Krishna and his chief consort, Rukmini. He is considered to be one of the four vyuha avatars of Vishnu. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Pradyumna was the reincarnation of Kamadeva, the god of love. The Mahabharata states that Pradyumna was a portion of Sanat Kumara.
Kala is a Sanskrit term that means 'time' or 'death'. As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala is known as the fiery avatar of Shiva, Kala Bhairava or Kalagni Rudra; and in Vaishnavism Kala is also associated with Narasimha and Pralaya. As applied to gods and goddesses, Kālá is not always distinguishable from kāla, meaning 'black'.
Revati is a goddess featured in Hindu scriptures. She is King Kakudmi's daughter and Krishna's elder brother Balarama's consort, and also one of the Dashavatara. Her account is given within a number of Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.
Aniruddha is a character in Hindu mythology, the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, and the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he is considered by some to be a Jana avatar, an avatar of Vishnu. He is a member of the chatur-vyuha, the four Vrishni heroes.
The Devi Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas as per Shiva Purana of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, the text is considered a major purana for Devi worshippers (Shaktas). It promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Mahadevi, integrating themes from the Shaktadvaitavada tradition. While this is generally regarded as a Shakta Purana, some scholars such as Dowson have also interpreted this Purana as a Shaiva Purana.
Kakudmi, also called Raivata, is a king featured in Hindu literature. Kakudmi is described to be the king of Kushasthali. He is the son of Revata, and the father of Revati, the consort of the deity Balarama. His account is given within a number of texts such as the Mahabharata, the Harivamsha, the Devi Bhagavatam, and the Bhagavata Purana.
Svayam Bhagavan is a Sanskrit concept in Hinduism, referring to the absolute representation of Bhagavan as the Supreme God in a monotheistic framework. The concept is most commonly associated with a male deity, for instance in Hindu sub-movements like Krishnaism and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in which Krishna is regarded as Svayam Bhagavan.
Shuka is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Most of the Bhagavata Purana consists of Shuka reciting the story to the king Parikshit in his final days. Shuka is depicted as a sannyasi, renouncing the world in pursuit of moksha (liberation), which most narratives assert that he achieved.
Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit Vidyādhara, meaning "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered Upadevas, or demi-gods.
Jambavati is chronologically the second Ashtabharya of the Hindu god Krishna. She is the only daughter of the bear-king Jambavan. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen Syamantaka jewel.
Usha is a character in Hindu mythology. She is the daughter of the asura king Banasura and the wife of Aniruddha, the grandson of Krishna. Her story of falling in love with Aniruddha and wedding him is described in the Bhagavata Purana.
Pītāmbara is a term in Hindu iconography, meaning "yellow garment or shawl", also translated as "clothed in yellow garments", and "name of Vishnu-Krishna". It is primarily depicted on the deity Vishnu and his incarnations, regarded to represent the Vedas.
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