Vishnu

Published on 11th August, 2022, in The Hindu. The earliest story of the grand churning of the ocean of milk, samudra-manthan, for the nectar of immortality, amrita, is found in the Mahabharata. But strangely there are more images of this mythological episode in Southeast Asian temples than in India. There is no artwork in India to match the grand Angkor Wat corridor in Cambodia that shows devas and asuras holding the serpent-king Vasuki with Vishnu overseeing the entire enterprise. At Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport one finds Vasuki (or Adi Sesha) take the shape of a Chinese dragon. In India, at best, we find images of Vishnu ..

Published on 25th June, 2022, in Economic Times. The Puranas were composed 1500 years ago, between 5th and 10th century AD. What differentiates the Puranas from the Vedas is the value placed on temple worship, pilgrimages and stories to express a philosophy. The chief protagonists are the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and their counterparts Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga. It marks a time when Hinduism expanded beyond the limited confines of the Gangetic plains and spread to every corner of India, replacing Buddhism and Jainism that had spread earlier. The entire narration can be seen from an economic point of view. Brahma is the ..

Who is a Hindu? Does Krishna take the Viratrupa in the Gita to intimidate? Published on 9th May, 2021, in Bangalore Mirror. A friend, who works in human resources, once shared his understanding of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna was trying to motivate Arjuna to do a job as a warrior. But Arjuna was hesitating. So Krishna used ethical arguments, then emotional arguments and even metaphysical arguments, but nothing worked. Finally, he showed Arjuna his awe-inspiring cosmic form, the Viratrupa or Vishwarupa, frightening Arjuna into submission and obedience. The idea of the Bhagavad Gita as a motivational speech meant to get people to do their job, ..

Published on 11th October, 2020, in Mid-day. Parasurama is the sixth avatar of Vishnu, also one of the most controversial ones. This is why we do not see many temples dedicated to him. If we do, we find them along the Konkan coast and Karnataka, as a subsidiary shrine, in temples related to his mother, Renuka. There are two reasons for his controversial nature. The first is his relationship with his mother. The story goes that Jamadagni had married the princess Renuka and she had borne him five sons. One day, she saw the reflection of a Gandharva on the waters while collecting water from ..

Published on 19th July, 2020, in Mid-day In popular lore, Lakshmi and Saraswati hate each other. Where there is fortune, there is no respect for education, and where there is education, there is no value for wealth. The courtesan's house was the only place where the two lived together: she was well versed in music and dance and the arts, and was admired by the learned and the rich. In festivals, the two goddesses are shown as daughters of Durga. Or, they sit on either side of Ganesha, identified as his two mothers, or his two sisters, or even his two wives, Riddhi (material growth) ..

WHO IS A HINDU? Gods who remove suffering Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Once upon a time, Vishnu came looking for his wife, Lakshmi, who left their house after a fight. During his search, he took residence in a termite hill under a tamarind tree. A cowherd came and gave him milk there. So he made that place his home, comforting devotees, assuring them that he will not let them drown in the ‘ocean of existence’. Where is this story from? If you are from Andhra or Tamil Nadu, you are likely to say, Tirupati Balaji of Venkatachalam. If you’re from Maharashtra ..

Published on 10th May, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror Once upon a time, there was an asura called Bali, also known as Mahabali, who conquered the three worlds, and was famous for his generosity. Nobody remembered Indra, king of the celestial regions, who had been driven out of his kingdom by Bali. So, Indra begged Vishnu to deal with this problem, and restore his kingdom back to him. Vishnu took the form of a dwarf, Vamana, and asked Mahabali for three paces of land. Mahabali laughed at this minor request and granted it without a second thought. The dwarf then suddenly transformed into a giant, and ..

Published on 10th May, 2020, in Mid-day The Chaturmukha Vishnu is a very rare form of Vishnu once worshipped in Kashmir from the 8th and 9th century, when it was an important centre of Hinduism. The image shows Vishnu with four heads. Three clear faces are those of Vishnu, the Narasimha or the lion face, and the face of the Varaha avatar. The fourth face varies according to scriptures. Different scriptures describe the fourth head as either a demonic face, or the face of Kapila, or the face of Lakshmi, or even Hayagriva, the horse. In artwork, sometimes, the fourth head is absent and only ..

Published on 15th March, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various manifestations or expressions of the same divine principle. Broadly there are three categories of Hinduism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, and so three categories of temples. Shaivism deals with the hermit, Shiva, who becomes a householder. We always see the image of the hermit with his wife and two sons: Karthikeya, who makes us feel secure, and Ganesha, who nourishes us. So, our hunger and fear ..