Illustrations

Bhisma could not be killed unless he lowered his bow in battle. He would lower a bow only before a woman but no woman was allowed to enter the battlefield. Shikhandi provided the solution to this problem. He was born a woman, raised as a man, and later acquired a penis from a Yaksha. He was taken into battle as Arjuna's body armor on Krishna's chariot. Bhisma refused to fight him/her. Arjuna took advantage of this and shot a hundred arrows that pinned the great warlord to the ground. There was no way to kill the old man as he had the gift of choosing ..

Janamejaya performed a great sacrifice to kill all the snakes in the world. It was at this deadly ceremony that the Mahabharata was narrated to appease the angry king.

Shiva raises the bow Pinaka and destroys the three worlds with a single arrow. This is why Shiva is called Tripurantaka or destroyer of three cities. The cities were said to belong to demons and could fly leading to speculation that this is the story of flying saucers and alien invasions. This story is also an allegory. Three worlds = objective, subjective,and the rest Arrow = yoga

Janamejaya performed a great sacrifice to kill all the snakes in the world. It was at this deadly ceremony that the Mahabharata was narrated to appease the angry king.

The magical beast part-horse, part-bird that took the Prophet Muhammad to Heaven.

Puja Room, the space in our homes where the gods reside to give us hope and take away fear.

Children peeping from behind a cloth sporting sacred marks on their foreheads. These marks are called Namam. Are these children or the gods themselves?