Alexander

Published on 30th June, 2019, in Mid-day There is a big difference between the words 'legend' and 'myth'. Legend is a story of a heroic figure that has some historical basis but is largely fantasy. Mythology is not just stories, but also symbols and rituals, which helps a culture make sense of the world and life. Historically, we are told that Alexander the Great, the son of a Macedonian prince called Philip, conquered the Persian empire. Over time, the people of Persia came up with legends to cope with the humiliating defeat at the hands of this Greek upstart. They told the story of Darius ..

Published on 19th October, 2018, in the Economic Times. The Vedic Indra did not ride elephants. He rode chariots drawn by horses. The earliest reference to elephant-riding Indra comes to us from Buddhist texts and Buddhist art, such as the one at the Bhaja caves on Mumbai-Pune highway, which is roughly 2000 years old. This idea was incorporated into Puranic tradition, as the old Vedic ways waned and a new form of temple based Hinduism arose, roughly 1500 years ago. The chariot-riding Vedic Indra, described in Rig Vedic hymns, was a warrior-god who killed many demons such as Vritra and who was invoked in yagna ..