2019
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Japanese : Jaya
Translation of Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharta The book has been divided into two parts
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The metaphor of the forest
Published on 21st April, 2019, in Mid-day. To understand Hindu mythology, it is critical to understand the metaphor of forests. Forests represent the default wild world, where might is right, where strong prey on the weak; while culture represents the…
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For all its noble aspirations, social media is pure business.
To make money, you need access to markets. To gain access to markets, you need to make sure that the controller of the market favours you. If the controller of the market shuts the door on you, you have no…
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Not quite division of labour
Published on 14th April, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. Many assert that the caste system (jati pratha) is essentially ‘division of labour’. However, this will never be said by those involved in manual scavenging, cleaning sewers without proper gear, being forced…
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Indra’s rise to kingship
Published on 14th April, 2019, in Mid-day. The Brahmana, orally transmitted by priests who came to be known as Brahmins, contain instructions and explanations for the Vedic ritual of yagya. All the four Vedic Samhitas have Brahmanas attached to them.…
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Desire’s bow and destiny’s noose
Published on 7th April, 2019, in Mid-day. Elections are a time to express desire, while the time in between is to face our destiny. For the arrow of our desire creates the noose of our destiny. In Hindu mythology, desire…
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Remembering the contribution of Courtesans
Published on 6th April, 2019, in Economic Times. In ancient Indian scriptures, we find a description of three kinds of women. Women who were chaste and devoted to a single man (even if the man had many wives). The second…
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Left is north, right is south
Published on 31st March, 2019, in Mid-day. When one faces the rising sun, the back faces the west, the left hand represents the northern side and the right hand represents the southern side. In Hindu mythology, the left hand is…
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The pillars of gods and kings
Published on 31st March, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. The Rig Veda refers to giant houses with many pillars. However, we have no archaeological evidence of them, because the material used was probably wood. In the Atharva Veda, we hear of…
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How India lost its rich maritime tradition to Europeans
Published on 22nd March, 2019, in Economic Times. Sea travel is mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka tales but not in the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, perhaps because the former was patronised by mercantile communities (vaishyas) and the latter by…
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Dharma is not a game of thrones
We live in times where politicians talk of Ram and Ram-rajya, but take no lessons on what raj-dharma meant to Ram and his Ikshavaku clan. They refuse to take responsibility for failures of their own governance.
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For the love of the moon
The moon started to wane and he kept waning. When he was about to disappear, he prayed to the great god, Shiva, who, through the practice of yoga, created energy within him.
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FICCI Frames
Keynote by Mr. Devdutt Pattanaik on Relevance of Indian Scriptures in an ever-changing world of Media and Entertainment.
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Other meanings of a lotus
The lotus plays a critical role in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythologies, in fertility rituals as well as monastic orders.
