Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
The Boar of Kantara Has Much Significance In Our Mythology
Published on 2nd December, 2022, in The Hindu. The domesticated pig descended from the wild boar. The wild boar is a forager, the domesticated pig is a scavenger. Symbolically, they are a reminder of wild nature and cultivated culture. The pig was amongst the earliest animals to be domesticated across the world, and was a…
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Articles
American Snakes in Hindu Ganga
Published on 27th November, 2022, in Mid-day. A section of American Hindus are trying to turn the phrase “snakes in the Ganga” into a neo-Hindutva metaphor for Hinduphobia. This is highly disrespectful to revered Naga-devata or snake deities of Indian rivers and water bodies, including Ganga. This is another case of American Hindu IT engineer…
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Articles
Why Goan Hinduism Is Unique in India?
Published on 18th November, 2022, in Times of India. Goa is a sliver of land between the Western ghats and the sea, divided by rivers opening up to estuaries, much like Kerala, visited by sea traders for the past 4,000 years. Goan Hinduism is unique in India. The village structure that the Portuguese encountered five…
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Articles
Grandchild of Vedic Waters
Published on 13th November, 2022, in Mid-day. Of the thousand songs in the Rig Veda, we find 200 songs praising Agni. In fact, the first song of the Rigveda is a praise to Agni, who is called the priest and messenger of the gods. Agni must be placed in the eastern direction and it is…
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Articles
Dharma Governance and Chakravarti Government
Published on 11th November, 2022, in Economic Times. Forming the Government is not the same as Governance. This is most beautifully understood when we compare the concept of Dharma-raja and the Chakravarthi. Dharma-raja is one who rules by dharma. Chakravarti is one who turns the wheel. This wheel represents the wheel of chariots and wagons…
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Articles
Why Some Gods Dance and Some Don’t
Published on 6th November, 2022, in the Times of India. One of the things we take for granted in Hinduism is dancing. Hindu gods dance. Shiva dances his Tandava as Nataraja surrounded by ganas and yoginis. Vishnu dances in the form of Krishna as Natwara on the hood of a serpent, or in the Ras…
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Articles
Again and Again and Again
Published on 6th November, 2022, in Mid-day. In Greek mythology, we hear the story of Sisyphus. The gods condemn him to roll a rock up the mountain all day, only to find the rock rolling down at night. Thus, he is doomed for all eternity, to repeat the task again and again and again. This…
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Articles
Tell Me the Story of Chhat Puja
Published on 30th October, 2022, in Mid-day. Many people asked me what is the significance of Chhat puja. They want to know a story, for example, there is a story of Ram’s return to Ayodhya on Diwali, and Lakshmi entering the house on Diwali. So there must be a story associated with Chhat Puja. Yes,…
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Articles
Collaboration in a Vedic Ritual
Published on 29th October, 2022, in Economic Times. View: Ancient cultures prioritised collaboration over competition, for the larger good of the world When asked what Vedic society was like, historians tend to describe it as a pastoral society led by heroic chieftains riding horse-drawn chariots who often fought wars over cows, and who called upon…
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Articles
Distracted by Balaram’s Beauty
Published on 23rd October, 2022, in Mid-day. In Persian lore, we hear the story of Yusuf (biblical Joseph), the son of Yaqub (Jacob). Yusuf was a very nice person, very handsome, extremely talented, much loved by his father, to the point that his brothers became jealous and sold him in slavery in Egypt. Yusuf was…
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Articles
The Mountains That Stopped Eagles
Published on 23rd October, 2022, in The Times of India. The mountains that stopped eagles and killed Hindus – Was Hindu Kush where millions of Hindus died? The Hindu Kush mountains separates South Asia from Afghanistan. These are the mountains that make India a relatively isolated zone and it is through its mountain passes that…
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Articles
Royal Power of the Symbolic Lion
Published on 16th October, 2022, in Mid-day. Kings across East Asia, whether it’s China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia consider the lion as the symbol of kings. In front of Chinese palaces, there is the male and female lion, the male holding under his paw a globe representing the world while the female holds a lion…
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Articles
Cholas In Focus
Published on 16th October, 2022, in The Hindu. Cholas in focus: 12th century war poem ‘Kalingathu Parani’ celebrates the dynasty’s exploits against the Kalinga kingdom. The poem is narrated by ghosts who are companions of a fearsome goddess called Anangu. When the Delhi Sultanate was being established in the north of India some 800 years…
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Articles
Why Do We Sacrifice Humans to a God, Ideology or Nation?
Published on 16th October, 2022, in Times of India. There are two types of gods in this world. The singular god of monotheists and the many gods of polytheists. The one god of monotheists demands obedience to the law he communicates through messengers. The many gods of polytheists offer all sorts of help, and solve…
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Articles
The Wish-Fulfilling Paradise
Published on 9th October, 2022, in Mid-day. In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology, paradise or swarga, is described as a place where the wish-fulfilling tree, Kalpataru, grows; where the wish-fulfilling cow, Kamadhenu, lives; and where Chintamani, the wish-fulfilling jewel is found. In other words, it is a place of infinite plant, animal and mineral resources,…
