Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Born of Brahma’s hair
Plants play a key role in Hindu mythology. Plants are seen as sacred, sometimes deities by themselves, and sometimes as key offerings in a ritual…
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Articles
Is there such a thing as Hindu Halloween?
In Hinduism, there is no exact equivalent of Halloween, but there are many rituals performed that recognises the proximity of ghosts and seeks to keep them away…
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Who is a Hindu? Karma, caste and free will.
Is Hinduism fatalistic? The answer depends on the context…
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Articles
Hutatma, the martyr-witness
At the heart of martyrdom is the idea of clinging. And this is why it is not a central theme in mythologies based on karma, where liberation (moksha) follows only when you let go!…
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Articles
Why do Hindus light lamps?
The lamp was lit primarily by homemakers and is very different from the fire in the yagna shala lit by brahmins, which, in turn, is very different from the campfire (dhuni) of sanyasis…
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Articles
Who is a Hindu? Always and everywhere
The notion that religious texts have always been around may be rooted in the timelessness of philosophies…
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How India favoured the kshatriya feudalism to market-based economies of vaishya
The discomfort with all things associated with the market can be seen in India when holy men warn people not to be bhogi (seek satisfaction of desires), when desire for goods and services and ideas is what creates the market, with the goods provided by the craftsmen, the service by the shudras, and the ideas…
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Articles
Bali underfoot
From a mythological point of view, the story is very complex, containing layers and layers of thought, spread over 3,000 years……
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Articles
Why entrepreneurs are being viewed as social smugglers.
Nobility was linked to poverty and service. Those who sought to generate wealth were viewed as distorted by greed…
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Articles
To attack critics Modi used Shalya
Shalya was the master of psychological warfare in the Mahabharata…
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God of Craftsmen
Vishwakarma Puja is located at the cusp between death and rebirth. Makes sense as Vishwakarma is the divine craftsman, patron of all craftsmen…
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Defining Hinduism
WHO IS A HINDU? How a quest to define the faith has resulted in a shift of power away from the common man…
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Articles
Lakshmi means finance, not Finance Minister
When the Vice President recently referred to Lakshmi as Finance Minister, he revealed a popular misunderstanding of Hindu mythology…
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Articles
Cinderella Vrat Katha
The stories of the vrata katha are most interesting as they speak of coping with family issues…
