Agastya

Who is a Hindu? Published on 29th September, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror In the Vedas, there are references to many kings (raja) and to their poet-priests (rishi). Their stories are elaborated in the Puranas. There is a gap of two thousand years between the Vedas and the Puranas, and clearly much is lost in transmission. But it does not matter to the faithful. In the Rig Veda, we hear of how King Sudas, son of Divodasa, of the Bharata tribe, chooses Vasistha as his poet-priest angering Vishwamitra who raises a confederacy of ten tribes, including the Puru, the Anu, the Druhyu, the Yadu and the ..

Published on 2nd September, 2018, in Mumbai Mirror. In the month of Shravan, cities and towns of the Gangetic plains are inundated with people, dressed in orange, bearing saffron flags, marching to loud music, and carrying a bamboo stick sling with pots or bottles tied to either end that are never placed on the ground. They are carrying water of the Ganga to pour in the Shiva temple in their village, a ritual that marks the end of summer and beginning of monsoon. They are the Kanwariyas. The Kanwariyas of Bihar who make the journey to Deogarh Baidyanath temple are less boisterous compared to their ..