Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
What Hindutva Doesn’t Get About Sanatan Dharma
Published on 7th January, 2022, in Times of India. Sanatan means something that is timeless. Dharma in colloquial parlance is religion. It can also mean culture and civilisation. So, sanatan dharma can mean “timeless civilisation”. In the Gita, Krishna describes the knowledge he shares as sanatana, timeless. Hindutva — a word that was invented in…
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Articles
Why 14 Years of Exile?
Published on 2nd January, 2022, in Mid-day. There are two big mysteries in Hindu mythology. One, why does Kaikai ask Ram to be exiled only for 14 years? Two, why does Duryodhan demand that the Pandavas be exiled only for 13 years? Why did Kaikai not ask for Ram’s permanent exile? Or why did Duryodhan…
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Articles
Sacrilege As a Political Tool
Published on 1st January, 2022, in Times of India. Animals can attack you if you claim their foraging grounds, i.e. their territory. Humans can attack you if you trespass on their holy land. Holiness is a human construct designed to make us believe there is something more to this world than the mundane life of…
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Articles
Hindutva’s Caste Masterstroke
Published on 1st January, 2022, in The Hindu. Ever since erstwhile champions of secular values have begun differentiating between Hindu and Hindutvawadi, a whole lot of intellectuals are bristling. They are arguing how these nuanced metaphysical differentiations hold no relevance on the street. Mostly from the Hindu elite, these are the same scholars who will…