Vedic
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Is a Dvija the Same As a Savarna?
The term ‘Savarnaʼ was coined by the Left wing to distinguish the Hindu elite from the ‘Avarnaʼ, those who are deemed outside the caste system and denied human dignity.
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Buddhism, Jainism Within Brahmanism
As per conventional history, Jainism and Buddhism originated in India 2,500 years ago to challenge Vedic ritualism and casteism. Then, a thousand years ago, Buddhism was driven out by Brahmins, with a little help from invading Muslim warlords.
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Three Worlds, Four Eras
In ancient Vedic culture, the number three held great significance. However, in the later Vedic period, we observe the number three being replaced by the number four.
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How to Look At Manusmriti and the Caste System
Everybody talks about the Manusmriti nowadays and links it to the caste system. But what exactly is it? To understand this, we must understand a little bit of Indian history.
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The Significance of Vedas and Their Rituals
When we talk about the Veda, we have to differentiate between Vedic poetry, Vedic prose, and Vedic philosophy.
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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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Rishi Pippalada of the Atharva Veda
Atharva Veda is the collection of hymns containing spells for helping, healing and even hurting, composed by the Rishi who was generally excluded from the list of Seven Sages (Sapta Rishi): Atharva, Angirasa and Bhrigu.
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Loss and Recovery of the Vedas
The conch-shell trumpet heralds the shift of time: a great battle that witnesses the end of Dwapara Yuga and the start of Kali yuga.
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From Vedic Soma to Puranic Amrut
Early scholars wondered what this Soma was, leading to rather colourful research. Was it a magical drink?
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Rise of Hindu Monotheism
Vedic philosophy starts considering the idea of one god. It seems monotheistic. But that is not quite true.
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Non-Vedic Hinduism
The study of Hinduism reveals much more than the narrow ideas of the Vedic corpus. Yet it was the Veda that was privileged by the British, who were looking for a Hindu “holy book”.
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Agni In Hiding
We find a great number of hymns where there is anxiety about loss of fire…There are many stories where fire runs away. The hungry gods chase him and beg him to return and do his sacrificial duties.
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Property Disputes in the Vedas
Veda is 3,000 years old and is made up of poetry (mantra) and prose (brahmana). Within the prose we find stories (itihasa) about conflicts over resources between humans, between gods and sometimes between humans and gods.
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Indian Knowledge Systems
The first list of an educational syllabus in India comes from the Chandogya Upanishad, when the Sanatakumar sages ask Narada what subjects he is proficient in.
