Parashurama

Published on 17th March, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. King Nriga was cursed to be a lizard because he, without realising it, stole from one of his subjects. Nriga was known for donating cows to the sages of his kingdom. One of the donated cows slipped out of her master’s cowshed and returned to the royal cowshed. Since the royal cowshed had thousands of cows none of the royal servants noticed her return. Nriga then gave the same cow to another sage. When this sage was returning to his hermitage with Nriga’s gift, the first sage recognised his cow, claimed ownership over her, and accused the ..

Published on 27th May, 2018, in Mid-Day. The hymns Rig Veda, as we know it today, were composed over 3,000 years ago around Punjab and Haryana, and refer to a time when there was movement eastwards towards the Gangetic Plain, a movement facilitated by fire. By the time the Upanishads were composed, 2,500 years ago, there was a familiarity with the Gangetic Plain. This is the region, and the time, associated with the life of the Buddha and the Jina Mahavira. Around 2,000 years ago, the Mahabharata had been put down in writing in Vedic Sanskrit, after centuries of oral transmission. Here we have some ..

Published on 23rd April, 2016, in Mid-day. In Hindu mythology, whenever an asura asks for immortality, Brahma tells them that they can have whatever they wish except that. The clever asura then asks for a boon that will render him immortal for all practical purposes. But, embedded in the boon is a loophole, a vulnerability that the devas take advantage of, to kill him. Thus, we are reminded that no one is immortal in the world. However, this concept is countered by the concept of 'Chiranjivi' or the immortals of Hindu mythology. These are male characters from various stories in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas ..