Shakti

Published on 13th October, 2019, in Mid-day I was recently trolled by a group of people. This was because I apparently had stated a claim that women are not powerful in India. I tried to figure out from where they had derived this alleged statement of mine and eventually realised that I had made a statement where I said that the word 'shakti' is feminine, and the word 'shaktiman' is masculine. Now, while we use the feminine form to talk about power, we use the male form to represent the powerful. So, it was this sentence which was misquoted—as usual—by trolls, saying that Devdutt claims ..

Published on 31st March, 2019, in Mid-day. When one faces the rising sun, the back faces the west, the left hand represents the northern side and the right hand represents the southern side. In Hindu mythology, the left hand is called the Vama-patha or the path of the left hand, which is associated with Tantra. However, the right hand is not called the path of the right hand, but is called the southern path: Dakshina-patha, which is the right-handed path or the orthodox Vedic path. In politics, right stands for those who value traditional hierarchy (much like Vedanta) and left stands for those who overturn ..

Published on 2nd September, 2018, in Mumbai Mirror. In the month of Shravan, cities and towns of the Gangetic plains are inundated with people, dressed in orange, bearing saffron flags, marching to loud music, and carrying a bamboo stick sling with pots or bottles tied to either end that are never placed on the ground. They are carrying water of the Ganga to pour in the Shiva temple in their village, a ritual that marks the end of summer and beginning of monsoon. They are the Kanwariyas. The Kanwariyas of Bihar who make the journey to Deogarh Baidyanath temple are less boisterous compared to their ..

Published on 17th June, 2017, in Mid-day. The image of the buffalo-slaying lion-riding Durga starts appearing in Hindu mythology only in the post-Gupta period, around 1,500 years ago. Amongst the earliest images we know today are one from Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra, and from Mammalapuram dated before 7th century. Earlier icons have been traced to the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. After this, the goddess becomes a popular icon in Hindu temples, so much so, that it is hard to believe that there was once a Hinduism without the story of Mahishasuramardini, the buffalo-slaying goddess. The Goddess has been worshipped from Vedic times. ..

Published on 12th August, 2017, on OutlookIndia.com . Sex is a natural reality. Marriage is a cultural requirement. And celibacy is simply an assumption. We have to keep these three ideas in mind while exploring the mythology of singlehood. In most mythologies around the world, the sky copulates with the earth to give rise to all living creatures. The firstborn, usually male, separates the two, and establishes dominion over the earth. We find this theme in Greek, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Vedic and even Maori mythology. However, monotheistic mythologies have a problem with this theme. For, it suggests that creation needs two entities, not just the one. ..