Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
A Fascinating History Of Coins In India
Ever since the existence of civilisations, humans have been trading to facilitate exchange. But trading can happen without coins by recording debt. In fact, it is debt or rinn — the word found in the Rig Veda — that played an important role in the creation of coins…
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Articles
No Harappan Kalidas In Sight
We confuse literacy with wisdom. This is because when subjects like history and archaeology and linguistics were being invented in the 19th century, colonial scholars declared civilisation begins with writing…
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Articles
Saraswati, Sister of the Indus
In 1947, India was partitioned. The major sites of the civilisation, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, went to Pakistan. The artefacts were divided between the two nations. The Priest King went to Pakistan; the Dancing Girl came to India…
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Articles
Tracing Parsis and Their Monotheism
Gods were represented by images back then, and housed in temples. But the Persians chose fire, preferably that which came from the sky as lightning, to represent the formless Ahura Mazda — the benevolent power, one who is not a jealous god, one who does not demand obedience. …
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How Brahmin Bureaucrats Thrived In Islamic Kingdoms
Hemadri Pandit feared the imminent arrival of Islam in the Deccan region. They had, by his time, already controlled the rich Ganga river plains. To protect the threatened Brahmin culture Hemadpant wrote the “Chatur-varga-chintamani ” (popularly known as Hemadri-shastra) – which lists activities to be performed to live a fulfilled life…
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Articles
Cheraman Juma Masjid, the Temple-like Mosque of Kerala
Mosques were built by sailors during the lifetime of the Prophet, since the 7th century, along the coasts of India. The most famous of these is the Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kerala’s Thrissur district, widely believed to be the oldest mosque in the subcontinent…
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Articles
Giving Tilak His Due
The idea of Aryans coming from outside is often seen by nationalists as a racist idea fabricated by Europeans, such as Max Mueller and John Marshall. They ignore that the original nationalist, Bal Gangadhar Tilak proposed this same idea in his book ‘The Orion, Or Researches Into The Antiquity Of The Vedas’ and ‘Arctic Home…
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Articles
The Maleness of Shiva
This leads to questions if Shiva and Shakti are equal halves or is she the inferior half? Are they talking about men and women, or about mind and body?…
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Articles
The Yugas Came Later
The four yugas of Hindu mythology (Krita, Treta, Dvapara, Kali) are based on the numbers on traditional four-sided dice: four, three, two, one. They refer to the four legs of the bull of dharma…
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Articles
When Did Krishna Start Playing the Flute?
The earliest clear undisputed image of Krishna playing the flute comes from the 8th century CE, from Mallikarjuna temple, Pattadakal in Karnataka…
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Articles
Influx of Islamic Ideas
Today, when people talk about Indian knowledge systems, they usually refer to Indian knowledge systems which originated in India. In the process, we forget the major contribution that happened to India in the Islamic period…
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Articles
Why is Holi celebrated more in north India than south India?
Holi is indeed celebrated mostly in north India, not south India. No one knows the reason why…
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Articles
Holi for Shiva, Holi for Vishnu
Why do we celebrate Holi? The standard answers we get in websites link Holi to Vishnu—he who preserves the world as per Hindu mythology…
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Articles
Purusha-mriga and Other Fantastic Beasts
Harappan seals depict many monsters: unicorns, sphinx, and horned tigers, and these may have been inspired by their trading relations with West Asia…
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Articles
The Return of Idolatry
As Hindu Rashtra prepares to establish itself with the grand inauguration of the Ram temple of Ayodhya on January 22, it is good to remind ourselves that 200 years ago, the Hindu elite was defensive and apologetic about Hindu idolatry…
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Articles
Three Aryan Invasions
When people speak of the Aryan invasion, it is important to clarify which Aryan invasion they are talking about. Believe it or not, there are actually THREE…