Marut

Published on 2nd June, 2019 in Mid-day. In Middle Eastern (aka Islamic) mythology, when god created Adam, he expected all the angels to bow down before Adam. The angel, Iblis, refused to do so. Therefore, Iblis was cast out of paradise. He became the Devil, or Shaitan, who was determined to tempt humankind and make their life miserable on earth. His aim was to prove to god that his creation was faulty and that god’s anger on him was misplaced. Two other angels, known as Harut and Marut, saw the follies of man. They kept asking god how he could place a creature of clay ..

Published on 14th April, 2019, in Mid-day. The Brahmana, orally transmitted by priests who came to be known as Brahmins, contain instructions and explanations for the Vedic ritual of yagya. All the four Vedic Samhitas have Brahmanas attached to them. The Brahmana associated with Yajurveda is called Taittiriya Brahmana. Here, we find stories related with Indra, which are not commonly told. They explain how kingship was seen in Vedic times, over 3,000 years ago, very different from how kingship came to be seen in Puranic times, in the past 2,000 years, by which time Indra had lost his exalted status and was seen as an ..