The Naked Philosophers
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Did Women Compose Vedic Hymns?
The Rig Veda certainly contains women. Women speak. Goddesses speak. Wives speak to husbands. Women express desire, anger, jealousy and sorrow. But a woman speaking in a poem does not…
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Misunderstanding the Flood Myth
Some historians have tried to connect all three stories because they share floods, boats, and fish. But these similarities are only superficial. The meanings are entirely different. The Sumerian and…
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Genetics of Love-Jihad and Love-Jauhar
Twenty years ago, the phrase ‘Love-Jihad’ entered the Indian public sphere. The underlying idea was that Hindu women were being enchanted into marrying Muslim men… Contrast this with another term:…
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India Has Many Krishnas
India does not have one Krishna, it has many. Each region, language, social class, and historical moment has shaped its own idea of who Krishna was, and what he meant.
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Not Just a Target, Manusmriti Can Be a Weapon
There is so much in Manusmriti that could be used to challenge the so-called defenders of Hindu dharma on their own terms. It calls for reading beyond Chapter 9.
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How Irrigation Made Rice Foundation of Indian Civilisation
Rice did not become India’s dominant grain overnight. Its rise took thousands of years of migration, farming innovation, and above all, irrigation. The history of rice is the history of…
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The Tragedy of Nandi and Surabhi
Few animals have shaped Hindu imagination as deeply as the bull and the cow. Shiva’s mount is Nandi, the great humped bull, while the divine cow Surabhi symbolizes nourishment and…
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How Food Practices Created a Network of Trust
Have you ever been curious as to why Jews keep Kosher, Muslims keep Halal, or why Hindu and Jain Banias are strictly vegetarian? All these are trading communities. All have,…
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Hindu Temples Within Mughal Gardens
When BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham opened in Delhi in 2005, it was hailed as a triumph of Hindu civilisation. The sandstone shikhara, the hand-carved pillars, the bronze elephants: all sourced from…
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Itihasa: A History of Hindu Mythology
Deeply researched and painstakingly put together, this magnum opus by Bharat’s foremost mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik, explores: how Hindu mythology changed with history; how Indian history changed with mythology; how arguments…
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When Women Told the Story Backwards
Teej means the third day of the lunar fortnightly cycle — Tritiya. What made the monsoon cycle interesting was that three important Teej festivals occurred on three different Tritiya tithis:…
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Northern Purification of the Southern Murugan
Visakhapatnam probably gets its name from Vishakha, twin of Kartikeya. The Mahabharata tells the story. Kartikeya had defeated Taraka, Indra’s enemy. An insecure Indra, struck Kartikeya with his vajra, viewing…
