2025
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Insulting Ravan, Bollywood Style
Bollywood has been trying hard to outdo Valmiki’s genius. However, Valmiki was a great sage who aimed to communicate profound truths through the Ramayana, often referred to as the fifth Veda.
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All Shades Of Kumbh
So, the stampede happened. Each death is a tragedy but there’s also perspective – crores of people were at the Kumbh. VIPs given special access to the holy waters seldom face problems. It’s ordinary people who die.
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Quarrelling Hindu Gods
One of the unique features of Hindu temple traditions is the stories of the resident god quarrelling with the resident goddess. These take the form of a domestic spat, and through the storytelling and rituals that enact this quarrel, audiences…
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Facts About Kumbha Mela
People have been gathering at the confluence (sangam) of rivers in India for thousands of years. A confluence of rivers is called Prayag.
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Tales of Aryan Horses
Hindu mythology states that horses were churned out of the ocean of milk by gods and demons. This myth is not found in Vedas, which has the earliest songs celebrating horses in the world.
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Who Did Parashuram Actually Kill?
Parashuram is being presented as a great hero who drove away the enemy, with suggestions that he expelled cow-killing invaders from the land. But is this really true?
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World Is a Playground, Life Is a Sport
In mythological tales, gods and heroes do play games and sports…Games and sports were invented by human beings for various reasons.
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The Parrot’s Erotic Secret
Andal’s love for her divine lord is expressed in her songs, which are highly erotic. There was no shame in expressing desire so overtly. At least, when Andal lived, 1,200 years ago. This was the time when celibacy was not…
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The Kumbh Mela Is More About ‘Shakti’ Than ‘Moksha’
It is a ritual gathering that has nothing to do with meditation or contemplation. It is all about taking a dip in a particular spot in the river at the right time after it has been consecrated by bathing ascetics.
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Annihilating Caste, Defending Religion
No one can make sense of India without appreciating caste. Caste has been seen as the primary tool of oppression that gave rise to dehumanising practices like untouchability. That is why ‘annihilating casteʼ has been seen as a humanitarian goal…
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Rebirthing Buddhas, Reincarnating Lamas
Rebirth took on a new dimension in Tibetan Buddhism around 1,000 years ago. In this tradition, the Lamas of Tibet introduced the concept of conscious reincarnation, where the heads of monasteries would declare where they would be reborn after their…
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Bhairava in Baghdad
We have often heard about the great Islamic Caliphate, established by the Abbasid Empire in Baghdad in the 8th century and destroyed in the 13th century by the Mongols. What is less discussed is how Buddhism played a pivotal role…
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Contribution of Tribes to Indian Culture
The words used for tribes range from adivasi (earliest inhabitants) to vanavasi (forest dwellers) to atavika (forest folk) to girijan (mountain folk). Other words used for specific tribes are Nishadha and Kirata.
