Religions
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How Hinduism Reached Manipur and Remains Entrenched
Published on 22nd May, 2023, in Times of India. Manipuri dance is a popular classical dance in India, which shows Raas Leela of Krishna, a reminder that Vaishnav parampara and Krishna bhakti reached even the eastern most state of Manipur.…
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The Naked Philosophers
Published on 19th May, 2023, in The Hindu. The naked philosophers: the reason some Indian ascetics renounced their robes The naked ascetic in India is euphemistically referred to as Digambara or sky-clad. These are men who have rejected the material…
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Not Blood Or Bones, But Sweets
Published on 14th May, 2023, in Mid-day. There is one temple of Sachi, wife of Indra. And it is a Jain-Hindu temple, located in Osian, Rajasthan, near Jodhpur, where she is revered as clan goddess of local Jains, Rajputs and…
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Amrit and the Terror of Impermanence
Published 13th May, 2023, in the Economic Times. As the stock market rises and falls, as wars and riots do not yield the desired results, as foreign ties sweeten and sour, the word “amrit” is being used a lot in…
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The Hindu History of Bengal
Published on 6th May, 2023, in Times of India. When we talk about Bengal, we speak of its partition. The eastern part became Muslim Bangladesh, the western part became communist West Bengal. It almost seemed as if Hinduism had been…
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Indra’s Paradise Is the Indian Paradise
Published on 30th April, 2023, in Mid-day. Swarga or paradise of the gods, full of wish-fulfilling trees, damsels and musicians, is described in Buddhist and Jain mythologies, not just Hindu mythology. When Buddha attains nirvana, he first travels to the…
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Jain Vaman and Jain Parashuram
Published on 23rd April, 2023, in Mid-day. Jainism thrived in the western part of India, along Gujarat coast, around 10th century CE. While Jains thrived amongst merchants, Hindus thrived amongst kings who controlled the agricultural economy. This avoided conflict. However,…
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Gujarat’s Violent, Historical Relationship with Muslim Warlords
Published on 22nd April, 2023, in Times of India. Somnath, on the Gujarat coast, is the spot where the moon-god, Soma, prayed to Shiva when he suffered the wasting disease. He was waning and feared he would disappear. But Shiva…
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A Serial Killer From Vedic Times
Published on 16th April, 2023, in Mid-day. The Jaiminiya Brahmana is the prose section of the Sama Veda, composed almost 2,800 years ago. It tells the story of one Yavkri, the first serial rapist and murderer of Hindu mythology. The text states…
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Reframing Hindu Gods As Saviour Gods
Published on 9th April, 2023, in Mid-day. As per Christianity mythology, Jesus was crucified on Friday and he resurrected himself on Sunday. By defying death, he declares his status as Son of God. He is the saviour. Why do humans…
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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…
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How Was I Conceived?
Published on 2nd April, 2023, in Mid-day. In Ramayan, Sita is ploughed out from the earth. She is called the daughter of the earth. Earth is her biological mother but she has no biological father. Janaka, King of Mithila, is…
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Forgotten Ballads Of Indian Merchants
Published on 1st April, 2023, in Economic Times. India was famous for trading with Southeast Asia and the Middle East since ancient times. However, Hindu scriptures shunned mercantile economy and focussed on agricultural economy. Value was placed on land tax,…
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Veda 360 degrees
Veda 360 degrees is a deep dive into India’s oldest scripture, the soul of Hinduism, where we learn about Vedas, its origin, its structure, its content and how is it connected to current Hindu customs and beliefs.
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Pre-history of Aryans They Don’t Tell You
Published on 11th March, 2023, in Times of India. Nationalists on social media argue that the Mahabharata war took place 5,000 years ago, in 3,000 BCE, based on verses from 2,000-year-old manuscripts. They believe that Krishna and Arjuna rode a…