World Mythology
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Forgotten Mandala Kingdoms
We remember this connection of Hinduism with Southeast Asia only when we realise that the airport in Bangkok is called Suvarnabhumi Airport and it is adorned with images of the churning of the ocean. But the gods and demons look…
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Papas and Politics
When we think of the Pope, we never think about the Roman Empire. We think of an avuncular religious leader, not a shrewd political leader.
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Old Babas and Young Babas
In mythology, the rishi or sage comes in all shapes and sizes. A sage can be a child, a youth, or an old man, and the same applies to gods.
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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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Mythology of the Fish
Across India, the fish is a sacred symbol–all kinds of fish…Fish is linked with autonomy as it cannot be tamed, and with fertility and prosperity.
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Crescent Moon of Rome
Many Islamic nations choose the Crescent Moon as their symbol, a reminder of when Islam overpowered the Christian city of Constantinople, the second Rome. We can say the Crescent Moon is not so much about Islam as it is about…
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View: Indians Need to Market the Yagna Model as Japan Markets Ikigai
Nowadays, everyone is talking about Ikigai, the Japanese way of living that involves finding your life’s purpose…What is often overlooked, however, is the larger context of this model.
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How Debates Are Increasingly Becoming a Duel
Debates are increasingly becoming a duel, so much so that if you align with one idea, the opposition can argue that you are a racist, a bigot, or that you are committing a hate crime. In other words, those debating…
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This & That, Both & Neither: Cracking the Origins of the Mystifying Indian Headshake
Some of the earliest documented myths come from Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent where the earliest farming communities built cities around temples. These stories spoke of gods who wanted to enjoy luxury without labour, so they created humans out of clay.…
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Shiva and Vishnu in My Son, Vietnam
If one travels to Da Nang in Vietnam, then takes an hour’s drive to the city of My Son, one finds a cluster of Hindu temples made of brick. They are dedicated to Hindu gods. One realises these were built…
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Legacy Of Those Denied Success By Heartless Gods
This is a story from Sumerian mythology. Sumer is a region in southern Iraq where the world’s first cities were established around 3500 BC.
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Loss and Recovery of the Vedas
The conch-shell trumpet heralds the shift of time: a great battle that witnesses the end of Dwapara Yuga and the start of Kali yuga.
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How Story-telling Became a Vedic Tool
Stories transmitted over generations serve as the glue of a community.
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It Is Not Just Hindus Who Love an Imagined Past
Imagined history has always served ideologies. Colonial powers have sought to present precolonial states as barbaric and savage to justify their imperial outreach. Muslims insist that a society before conversion to Islam is ignorant (jahila). For Marxists and Cultural Marxists,…
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Glamorising Violence, Gamifying Debate
For the past thirty years, that is what we have been consuming from Hollywood.