Avesta

Published on 13th October, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Ancient Hindus called themselves Arya and their homeland Arya-varta, which, according to Manusmriti, stretched from the Himalayas in the north to the sea in the south. But Manusmriti does not refer to another Aryan community that lived at the same time in Iran. Iran, in fact, is the Persian word for Aryan. Iranians see themselves as the Arya. Before Iran became Islamic, it was Zoroastrian. Zoroastrianism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. Avesta is its holy book where Ahura (asura) is good, and deva is bad. Much of the Avesta was destroyed following the rise of Islam. ..

Published on 4th August, 2019, in Mid-day Varuna is known today as the god of the sea and Indra as the god of the rain. Varuna is associated with saltwater, located on the ground, and Indra is associated with freshwater, which comes from the sky. Varuna is the guardian of the western horizon, and Indra, the guardian of the eastern horizon. Thus, we see a tension between the two deities in the Puranas. It is further amplified when we hear that Varuna is Lakshmi's father while Indra's wife, Sachi, is a form of Lakshmi. This tension between Varuna and Indra is an ancient one. In ..