Lord of Light Allusions

This novel's cup doeth runneth over with references to Hinduism, Buddhism, and their respective mythologies. As such, we're only going to mention a few choice examples here for two major reasons: (1) Zelazny knows his mythology, so we're certain we've missed several hidden gems; and (2) almost every character is a shout-out to some mythological figure. If we named even just the ones we noticed, we'd be here all day.

Literary and Philosophical References

• Sermon on the Mount, Gospel of Matthew 5-7 (1.396; 7.470-477)
• Popol Vuh (1.396)
• Homer, The Illiad (1.396)
• Katha Upanishad (3.215; 5.377)
• William Carlos Williams Paterson (4.544) 
• Dante Alighieri, The Inferno (4.544)
• Psalm 23:4 (5.186)— "the valley of the shadow of death" has been replaced with "the realm of the phantom cats."
• Marxism (5.61)
• Jesus and his Crucifixion (7.279) 
• Islam (7.279)
• Judas Iscariot (7.345)
• Matthew 7:17 (7.487)
• Ecclesiastes 1:6 (7.489)

(Some) Mythology References

• Hades (2.344-345)
• The Pandava Brothers (3.22)
• Rama the Seventh Avatar of Vishnu (3.22)
• Azrael the Archangel of Death (7.468)

Historical References

• Niccolò Machiavelli (1.129)
• Leonardo Da Vinci (2.284)
• Thomas Edison (2.305)

Pop Culture References

• Johann Stauss II, The Blue Danube (2.44, 2.48)
• Jack Judge, "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (2.145)
• Kathakali Dancers (3.22)
• Irish Stand-down (6.338)