2021 / Articles
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Chanakya’s Ritual Suicide
Published on 26th December, 2021, in Mid-day. Chandragupta Maurya would always eat only what his guru Chanakya provided. One day, out of love, he gave this food to his favourite queen who died instantly. Chanakya rushed to the spot and…
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There Is No Yagna Without Yoga
Published on 25th December, 2021, in Economic Times. In the Vedic world, to practice dharma meant performing yagna. Yagna was translated by European Orientalists as sacrifice. But in sacrifice, you give something to appease a deity who needs nothing from…
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When Horses First Came to India
Published on 19th December, 2021, in Mid-day. The horse is not native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been the most prized import from the northwestern regions, from Arabia, Central Asia and from Eurasia. This is why the kings who…
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Is Celibacy Unnatural or Supernatural?
Published on 18th December, 2021, in Times of India. Celibacy is an unnatural act in nature. All living organisms are meant to reproduce. The sexual act is critical for the survival of the species. Thus, nature does not endorse celibacy.…
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Neither Mythological Fiction Nor History
Published on 12th December, 2021, in Mid-day. People often confuse mythology with mythological fiction. Mythology decodes ancient stories, symbols and rituals to understand how our ancestors imagined the world. How does Ramayana and Mahabharata fit into Hinduism’s dharma framework? Mythological…
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Hybrid Work Model in Rig Veda
Published on 11th December, 2021, in Economic Times. Rig Veda refers to two types of kingship: that of Indra and that of Varuna. Indra is the warrior-god who loves the energising Soma as he rides into battle to kill demons…
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Gods of the Week
Published on 5th December, 2021, in Mid-day. The seven-day-week is not based on any natural phenomena. The ancient Mesopotamians decided that the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days after the new moon were days of rest and that is how…
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Why Does Hindutva Not Like Historians?
Published on 4th December, 2021, in Times of India. The subject that we know as history emerged only in the 19th century. Before that, memory, legends and evidence-based history were all combined as a single unit. They were stories from…
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‘Dharma’ Always Comes With ‘Dharma-sankat’
Published on 4th December, 2021, in The Hindu. In a crime, the victim accuses the villain. But when the villain counter-accuses the victim, and insists the victim is villain too, we call it ‘whataboutery.’ This word is a neologism, first…
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Do Vedas Permit a Man to Marry a Man?
Published on 30th November, 2021, in Economic Times. The world’s oldest wedding hymn is found in the Rig Veda. A thousand year later, dharma-shastra speaks of eight ways in which a man can marry a woman. One of them, not…
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Was the Harappan Civilisation Hindu?
Published on 28th November, 2021, in Mid-day. We often trace the origin of Hinduism to Rig Veda, dated to 1,500 BCE. But the Rig Veda contains ideas that we can trace to Harappan civilisation. For example, Rig Veda mantra 8.47.17…
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Hindu vs Hindutva: A Mythic Dissonance
Published on 24th November, 2021, in India Today. Hindus are at odds with the world in terms of its underlying mythic structure. By contrast, Hindutva is very much aligned to the dominant global discourse. We realise this if we meditate…
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Loss and Return in the Bible
Published on 21st November, 2021, in Mid-day. The Bible is the holy book of the Christians. It has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament refers to Jewish stories of prophets and kings. The New…
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How Did Hinduism Come to Dominate India?
Published on 20th November, 2021, in Times of India. Nearly 2,000 years ago, there were Buddhist stupas across India. Nearly 1,500 years ago, there were Buddhist caves in the Deccan. But 1,000 years ago, Buddhist structures were overshadowed by Hindu…
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Study of Myths: How Has Mythology Evolved Over the Years
Published on 14th November, 2021, in Mid-day. The subject of mythology emerged in the 19th Century, as the world discovered the subject of history. Before that, memories, legends, myths, parables, folklore and history were all bundled together in one basket.…
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Temples of Swaminarayan
Published on 13th November, 2021, in Economic Times. Most Indians are familiar with Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj and link it with the 19th Century Hindu reformation. But very few know about Sahajanand Swami or the reforms…