2026
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How Indian Mythology Maps Emotion to Geography
In Tantrik lore, Shiva sits in the mountains, Chamunda sits in the crematorium. When they make a home, they find joy in Kashi, on the banks of the Ganga.
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Equality In Love
Every context is different. Standard rules do not apply. The point is that we witness each other and allow each other to grow.
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What Does Indian Mythology Have To Say About Marriage Dynamics?
In Shiva temples, the couple are always together, but in Vishnu temples, the goddess has her separate shrine, asserting her identity.
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Ramayana in Thailand & Cambodia
The Thai and Cambodian Ramayanas developed between the medieval and early modern periods as court-centred narratives shaped by performance, visual art, and Buddhist ethics. Though they share a common source, they reinterpret the story through parallel but contrasting treatments of…
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How Ahimsa Enables Untouchability
Ahimsa is presented as the highest Hindu virtue. It evokes images of gentle sages, compassionate saints, and morally superior lives. But beneath this halo lies a social technology that has, for centuries, enabled and reinforced untouchability.
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Creation, In Many Tongues
India is not just Vedas and Puranas. India is also Bhil, Gond, Santhal, Khasi, Banjara, Dhangar, Koli, Toda, Rabari, Munda, Nicobarese, and Lepcha.
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Descendents of Luv and Kush
Different readings of the Ramayana present variations in the story of Luv and Kush. In some versions, both are Sita’s children. In others, only Luv is Sita’s son, while Kush is created by Valmiki from Kusha grass.
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When Hanuman Took Initiative
There are two forms of Hanuman. In one he sits at the feet of Ram, an obedient assistant. This is Ram-dasa Hanuman. In the other, he stands alone, displaying ten hands and four extra heads: that of a lion, an…
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The Sage Under the Berry Tree
The name Badrinath carries a quiet ecological memory. Badri means the berry (Ziziphus mauritiana), or jujube tree. Nath means lord.
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Why China and India Are So Different
In China, the question is how to restrain the state without breaking it. In India, the question is how to strengthen the state without letting it trample society.
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How Shankara Became a Mythic Hero
The Shankara legend is less about history and more about imagination – how India turned a philosopher into a divine hero, a world conqueror, and a unifier of its sacred geography.
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कुम्भ मेले पर कुछ बातें – लेख दूसरा
आइए कुम्भ मेले पर हमारी बातें जारी रखते हैं। कुम्भ मेले का अमृत के ‘कुम्भ’ के साथ संबंध केवल हाल ही में प्रचलित किया गया है। अब, राशिचक्र के बजाय कुम्भ देवों और असुरों द्वारा किए गए क्षीरसागर के मंथन…
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Lakshmi’s Elephants
Across India, the most familiar image of prosperity is Lakshmi flanked by two elephants pouring water over her. We see this in homes, shops, banks, and even in modern advertising. But few pause to ask why elephants stand beside the…
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कुम्भ मेले पर कुछ बातें – लेख पहला
तेरह जनवरी से लेकर छब्बीस फ़रवरी तक प्रयागराज में महाकुम्भ मेला हो रहा है। आइए अगले दो लेखों में इन मेलों के बारे में कुछ जानें।
