Puranic
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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…
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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…
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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…
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View: Privilege to Saraswati at the cost of Durga & Lakshmi is an old Brahmanical hangover
Published on 21st January, 2023, in Economic Times. In America, the state serves the rich. In China, the rich serve the state. The American politicians get the military to ensure American businesses have access to resources and markets. The Chinese…
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Losing and Gaining the Head
Published on 1st January, 2023, in Mid-day. We have heard stories of how Shiva beheaded his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati and replaced Daksha’s head with that of a goat and how he beheaded his son Ganesha and replaced Ganesha’s head with…
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The Lore of Weavers
Published on 18th December, 2022, in Mid-day. Weaving is a very unique human activity. Animals don’t wear clothes, humans wear clothes. The earliest clothes that humans wore were skins of animals. Gradually, it was the bark of plants, and leaves.…
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Those Who Give Gifts Voluntarily Are Truly Rare and Great
Published on 10th December, 2022, in Economic Times. Many people think the world is unravelling itself today. Politicians insist this unravelling began a thousand years ago with the coming of Muslim warlords of Central Asia (Turuka) followed by the Europeans.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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Why East India’s Contribution to Hinduism Remains Forgotten
Published on 24th September, 2022, in Times of India. Whenever we talk about Hinduism of India, most of the attention is taken over by talk of North India, with Rajput lands to its west and Gangetic plains to its east.…
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The Shaven Head of Adi Shankara
Published on 16th September, 2022, in The Hindu. Vedic Rishis are imagined with long hair, tied in a topknot. But Adi Shankara, the Vedanta philosopher, is depicted in popular artworks with a shaved head, covered with a drape. An enquiry…
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Myth and Memories Before History
Published on 28th August, 2022, in Mid-Day. Vedic literature is full of stories informing us how rishis discovered and used the mantra to solve problems. These stories were called the itihasa, as they are reported by those who witnessed the…