2017 / Articles
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China’s Buddhist Goddess
In China, a female Bodhisattva, Guanyin, came into being. This is her story.
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The Dog Dilemma
I thought I should get a dog. My dog-loving friends looked pleased at my conversion. But then, a friend refused to come to a dinner party. Because he could not leave XXX alone at home. Who is XXX? His lovely…
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How different are the Jain Ramayana and Jain Mahabharata from Hindu narrations?
We see the great epics of India have an altogether different form in Jainism.
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Fear of female fantasy
Let’s tell tales celebrating women’s desires, such as where Shakti demands Shiva satisfy her; and he does…
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The Celebrity and the Troll
Becoming a celebrity means you have to accept that you will be trolled. It’s part of the territory. You become famous and there will be people who will mock you, abuse you, snarl at you, tell you that you are…
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So many mothers, and tongues
This multiple mother tongue approach is what a diverse country like India needs. It celebrates our plurality.
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Power Politics
Electioneering is hotting up in several states and as Tamil Nadu politics reaches an anti-climax with the Supreme Court’s conviction of Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case, Devdutt draws parallels from the Mahabharata’s Udyoga Parva
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Revenge as nobility
Before surrendering to the court, the general secretary of the AIADMK party, V K Sasikala visited the memorial of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and struck her palm three times on Jayalalitha’s grave, an act of slamming that…
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Is Buddha an avatar of Vishnu?
For Buddhists, Buddha is not an avatar of Vishnu. For Hindus, he may be.
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If not Valentine, then Kama?
Surely, a more powerful ‘nationalist’ act would have been to reclaim or reframe Valentine’s Day and call it Kama’s day.
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Question for the Alt-Fact world: Why can’t truth be plural?
When truth is singular, it becomes a territory and thus, a battlefield.
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Last hymn of the Rig Veda
As people drift away, or break asunder, it is time to sing hymns that motivate them to come closer together, like this the final hymn of the Rig Veda.
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The Curious Case Of Two Valmikis
Published on 27th January, 2017, in The Speaking Tree. Rishi Valmiki is known as Adi Kavi, the first poet, who composed the first mahakavya, epic, the Ramayana, that chronicles the life of Rama, prince of Ayodhya. In the final chapter…
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The Mind
The more I studied Hindu mythology, I saw how the ancients saw the mind. Very different from the Western mind, that sought God and gods. Here, the gods were within, as well as outside. Within for those who can take…
