Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Chandala’s daughter, Arundhati
Arundhati is remembered today as the ideal wife, the tiny star beside Vasistha in the Saptarshi constellation, shown to every new bride as a model of fidelity. But beneath this polished image lies a far more unsettling story. …
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Articles
How Many Manus Do You know?
Most people assume that Manu is simply the stern lawgiver of the Manusmriti, son of Brahma, entrusted with the task of framing rules for humankind. But this Manu is only one among many, and a relatively late one at that — emerging around 200 AD. …
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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
Fifth Veda Uses Gender As a Metaphor
We need to remember that as per popular lore, the gods created the Puranas as the Fifth Veda to transmit Vedic wisdom to women and lowborn people who did not have access to the mantra and the ritual…
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Articles
The Forest and the Field
Increasingly, we find laws that protect forests being cut down, giving way for industries. This brings tribal communities into conflict with the state. …
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Articles
The History of Draupadi’s Vastraharan
When we study the history of the story, we realise that Draupadi’s disrobing and rerobing by Krishna was never part of the earliest layers of the epic…
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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 civilisation, which is under threat. This is not a new idea. Around the 18th century, through Bhavishya Purana (chronicle of the future), three kings were projected as defenders of the dharmic way of being. This late, and much altered document,…
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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 4,500 years ago, the kings of Mesopotamia referred to the coast of Gujarat as Meluhha from where they imported beads, cotton, chicken, dogs and buffaloes. About 2,500 years ago, the land east of the Sindhu river was referred to as…
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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
Why Puranas Represent a Wider Indian Ethos Than the Vedas
Published on 5th April, 2023, in Times of India. The Puranas are called the fifth Veda, but they are not quite Vedic. We realise this from a single incident that took place in Maharashtra at the start of the 20th century. During the royal rituals of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, the Brahmin priests chanted Puranic…
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Articles
Why the Location of Shiva’s Pillars Has Become So Controversial
Published on 25th February, 2023, in Times of India. The Assam government’s claim that the Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is located in the northeastern state has spawned yet another religious flashpoint. This is what happens when mythology is assumed to be history Until recently, most people believed that Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is located in Maharashtra. But then the…
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Articles
Veda, Vedanga, Vedanta
Published on 19th February, 2023, in Mid-day. Hinduism can be divided into three major eras. Veda dominated 3,000 years ago, Vedanga dominated 2,000 years ago, and Vedanta became central 1,000 years ago. These are approximations of course, but a good rule-of-thumb to remember Hindu history. The Veda refers to a set of mantras that dominated…
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Articles
How the Gayatri Mantra, composed by men, heard by men, for a male deity, became embodied as a goddess
Published on 27th January, 2023, in The Hindu. Mantra is a carefully crafted sound formula that has the power to invoke and anchor divine energy for the benefit of humans: this is what Hindus, Buddhists and Jains believe. Rig Veda is the oldest collection of mantras: 10,000 verses that were brought together like flowers to…