Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Alone As the Rhinoceros’ Horn
We know the one-horned rhino is the state animal of Assam. As per a folk poetry in the Terai region, Vishwakarma created this beast by mixing elephant skin, horse hooves, crocodile eyes, bear brain, lion heart and a bull’s horn…
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Articles
How Maharashtra Became a Stronghold of Hinduism
Today, we see Maharashtra as a land defined by political boundaries. But traditionally it has been the land of the Marathi-speaking people, who speak a set of multiple dialects that emerged from Maharashtri Prakrit and was deeply influenced by Sanskrit (which Brahmins encouraged) and even Persian (which Brahmins hated)…
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Articles
The Influence of Vikramaditya
Today’s politicians have convinced themselves and their vote bank that they exist to defend Hindu …
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Articles
Why Hindu and Muslim Attacks on Temples Differed
While we want to reduce communal tensions created using history, we should not try to overstretch a point to make it seem like Muslim invasions did not bring about a major cultural shift in India’s past. …
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Articles
From Shiva’s Knot to Ram’s Chanda Mama – Our Stories of the Moon
As Chandrayaan-3 lands on the moon, it just so happens that the name of the current Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, means “on whose brow the moon takes refuge” – a title for Shiva…
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Articles
From Fortune’s Favourite to Mother’s Son
Indians have visualised India in many different ways. Often through the lens of outsiders. About …
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Articles
Why Stories of Floating Idols Crashing Ships Continues to Endure
The idea of a temple or a deity attracting ships, forcing them to move off course and causing shipwrecks by their magnetic power is also found on the western coast of India…
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Articles
Rashtra-Devta Inside a Tree
A king’s dream about a god in a tree connects Manipur and Sri Lanka with Odisha…
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Articles
Which Game Are You Playing Today?
Increasingly, modern society is trying to turn every game into a competitive game, where someone has to be defeated to win. The dopamine rush comes only when you triumph over others. This is the value that we are giving people. …
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Articles
How Gujarat Got Temples That Are Upside-down Or Topped With Mountain Peaks
Internet alien hunters have concluded that in Gujarat there is an underground upside-down temple, despite the fact that the ‘upside-down’ temple has upright images of Vishnu and his avatars…
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BooksFeaturedFeatured Books
Tales From the Land of Jagannatha
There are 30 short essays in this book. They were written by renowned mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik over a ten-year period and published in various publications…
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Articles
The Story of Stolen Gods
In the medieval times, Indian kings declared their victory by bringing back home images of gods that were worshipped in the land they conquered. These gods became minor deities in the victor’s temple, living in the shadow of the victor’s patron deity, just as the defeated king lived in the shadow of the victor. It…
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Articles
Jinns and Aliens
When the Turkish soldiers from Khilji’s army, and later the Mughal army, saw the ruins …
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Articles
The Hindu History of Bengal
Published on 6th May, 2023, in Times of India. When we talk about Bengal, we …
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Articles
The Ahimsa Seal of the Indus
Published on 29th April, 2023, in Economic Times. The oldest seals depicting ahimsa (non-violence) are …
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Articles
No Hymns for the Donkey
Published on 21st April, 2023, in The Hindu. In the past 30 years, the donkey …
