Narsimha

Published on 31st March, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. The Rig Veda refers to giant houses with many pillars. However, we have no archaeological evidence of them, because the material used was probably wood. In the Atharva Veda, we hear of the stambha, or pillar, that separates Heaven and Earth. Even today in traditional Hindu temples, a pillar stands in front of the temple, either for the flag, or for lamps, or to simply assert divine authority. Pillars have played a very important role in cultures around the world to reflect both religious as well as political ideas. Some of the earliest pillars of the world ..

Published on 23rd December, 2018, in Mid-day. In the Vishnu Purana, we are introduced to the story of Prahalad. We are told he is the son of an asura king, Hiranyakashipu. Because Hiranyakashipu receives a boon from Brahma, he cannot be killed by any human or animal, either inside or outside a dwelling, at day or at night. Therefore, he gains a certain immortality and starts demanding everybody worship him as God. However, Prahalad refuses to accept his father as God, and keeps worshipping Vishnu or Narayan, and keeps saying Narayan is present everywhere, in day and night, within and without. Prahalad prefers to worship ..

Published on 14th October, 2016, on dailyo.in. Narasimha, half-human and half-lion, is an avatar of Vishnu, described in the Puranas - the ancient Hindu chronicle of myths. Wolverine is a mutant, and a tortured superhero, a part of the Marvel universe, a creation of American comic book writers, and now a very popular character in Hollywood movies. The two are very different from each other. An avatar is not a superhero. A superhero is not an avatar. In modern video games, the word "avatar" is used as a duplicate identity, like a mask to hide who you really are. This is how the West makes ..