Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Hindu Temple in China
In the city of Quanzhou in Fujian province of China, there is a Buddhist temple, whose base and pillars are full of Hindu imagery. …
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Articles
The Sindoor Goddesses of India
The oldest image of Durga, dated to the 1st century BC, was found in Nagar near Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. It shows the goddess with two hands, plucking out the tongue of a buffalo. …
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Cultural Significance of State Trees
Every state in India has a tree. Unfortunately, when you go to the various railway stations and airports in the capital city of each state, you do not find the state tree…
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Not Ready to ‘Tremble and Obey’
China was always centralised with the Dragon throne in Forbidden City seeking tributes from the rest of the world. India, by contrast, is based on the Mandala model, first described by Chanakya, a set of intersecting spheres of power that are endlessly pulsating, contracting and expanding over time. No centralisation…
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Stories of How India Connected East and West
The Indian subcontinent is located right in the center of the world if we see Europe and America as the West and China and Japan as the East…
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The Chatur-varna System of Punjab
Despite their military support, Jats were seen inferior by Brahmins, Rajputs and Khatris, as they practiced a form of widow remarriage (chadar chadhana) and refused to indulge in widow burning (Sati) valorised in royal and martial communities…
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Articles
Sodom, Lut and other Islamic myths
What was the wickedness of the Sodomites? They wanted to have sex with Lotʼs male guests, who were actually Godʼs angels. Lot offered them his daughters instead. …
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Articles
A Tale of Two Weddings
In India, we find two types of weddings: the lavish and the simple. Lavish weddings are typically seen in those who follow the Shaiva or Vaishnava path of householders. Simple weddings are typically seen in those who follow the Buddhist or Jain path of hermits…
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Articles
A Starry Network of Arabian Trade
The word monsoon comes from the Arabic word ‘mausam’, meaning season. Incidentally, the word ‘ara’ in Sanskrit means desert…
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Articles
Where Is the West Exactly?
Originally, the West was the Catholic Western Roman Empire, with its capital in Rome, while the East was the Eastern Orthodox Roman Empire, centred around Byzantium. …
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Articles
Vedic and Tamil Poets
Much like modern poets, the ancient poets survived because of patronage. If gods received poems, and patrons received fortune, the poet received payment. …
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Articles
The Arrival Of Southern Women
In “Sangam Literature”, the oldest Tamil poetry between 300 BCE and 300 CE, the same period where the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Dharmashastras were compiled in North India, women are ever-present, as wives and queens and heroines…
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Articles
Our Unique Culture
When one steps back and looks at large trends in human history, one can see that to the west and east of India are two very distinct ideas, neither of which inform Indian ways of thinking. In that regard, Indian thought may be considered unique…
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Articles
Song and Dance For a Thai God
When you go to Bangkok, in the Sukhumvit area, you find a temple dedicated to a god called Erawan. The deity has four heads, eight hands, and he is associated with Brahma…
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Articles
Kashi Brahmins and the Maratha King
There are many complex stories of why and how Brahmins challenged the caste status of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. …
