Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Gods Who Remove Suffering
WHO IS A HINDU? Gods who remove suffering Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Once upon a time, Vishnu came looking for his wife, Lakshmi, who left their house after a fight. During his search, he took residence in a termite hill under a tamarind tree. A cowherd came and gave him milk…
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Articles
The myth of giving
Published on 10th May, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror Once upon a time, there was an asura called Bali, also known as Mahabali, who conquered the three worlds, and was famous for his generosity. Nobody remembered Indra, king of the celestial regions, who had been driven out of his kingdom by Bali. So, Indra begged Vishnu…
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Articles
Four-headed Vishnu of Kashmir
Published on 10th May, 2020, in Mid-day The Chaturmukha Vishnu is a very rare form of Vishnu once worshipped in Kashmir from the 8th and 9th century, when it was an important centre of Hinduism. The image shows Vishnu with four heads. Three clear faces are those of Vishnu, the Narasimha or the lion face,…
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Articles
The Love-God’s Mother
Published on 5th April, 2020, in Mid-day Between the 5th and 10th century C.E., we find the development of Puranic literature. Many stories explained the relationships of Vishnu’s many avatars. One story that merits attention is the story of Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukmini. The story is told very differently in the Hindu…
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Articles
One Idea, Many Expressions
Published on 15th March, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various manifestations or expressions of the same divine principle. Broadly there are three categories of Hinduism,…
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Articles
Mahabharata On the Hills
Published on 26th January, 2020, in Mid-day Badrinath and Kedarnath are two major centres of pilgrimage in Uttarakhand; both are shut during winter months. Both centres are closely associated with Adi Shankara, the scholar who revived Vedic scholarship, about 1,200 years ago. He was the one who identified pilgrim spots and connected intellectual Hinduism (gyana…
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Articles
Dancing in Krishna consciousness
Published on 19th January, 2020, in Mid-day In America and Europe, one often encounters white men dressed in orange robes, wearing beads and garlands around their neck, vertical marks on their foreheads, holding kettle drums in their hands, singing and dancing—a format that many find colourful, amusing, mildly irritating but harmless. They keep chanting Hare…
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Articles
Goddess of “X” factor
Published on 29th December, 2019, in Mid-day In temples like Jagannath Puri and in many South Indian temples, Vishnu is flanked by two forms of Lakshmi: Sridevi and Bhoodevi. What is the difference between the two? Bhoodevi is the goddess of the earth, from earth comes all our wealth. From within the earth come minerals;…
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Articles
Gods Love Water
Published on 22nd December, 2019, in Mid-day Hindu mythology is full of symbols associated with water which link all the gods to water. The oldest symbol of these are serpents. During the rainy season, water fills the holes where the serpents reside, forcing them to leave their abode. This makes them visible during the rainy…
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Articles
The Crocodile-Wrestling Hero
Published on 15th December, 2019, in Mid-day In Egyptian, Persian, Assyrian and Sumerian imagery, kings are often shown hunting lions and defeating them with their bows to establish their power. Images of the epic hero Gilgamesh often show him holding a lion firmly, as if it were a cat. That image establishes his greatness, just…
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Articles
Hinduism in Nepal
Published on 24th November, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror There are primarily three differences that one observes. First, you notice that Hinduism and Buddhism are not separated from each other within the local population. Second, one does not find any influence of Islam. Third, one does not find the influence of Bhakti traditions, although people do…
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Articles
Swastika in the Stars
Published on 22nd September, 2019, in Mid-day If you look to the sky, towards the north and want to identify the Pole Star, you have to first seek the Big Dipper constellation. Dipper means a ladle, the kind used to put ghee in the yagna fire. This ladle-shaped constellation has seven stars. In Hindu scriptures,…
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Articles
Giving in the Hindu culture: Dakshina, daan and bhiksha
Published on 1st September, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Giving in Hindu society can be categorised in three ways: dakshina, bhiksha and daan. Dakshina is repayment. Bhiksha is alms. Daan is charity. But meanings are often confusing, as people use the same term differently in different contexts. In Vedic times, poets were given daan. And poets…
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Articles
Dharma focuses on empathy, not justice
Who is a Hindu? Published on 4th August, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Once upon a time, there were two friends in a school. They were the best of friends and they promised to share everything with each other. After they graduated, one became rich and one remained poor. The poor friend went to the rich…
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Articles
Sacred Seven
Published on 7th July, 2019, in Mid-day Once Vishnu and Laxmi had a quarrel. Laxmi left Vaikuntha in a huff, and came down to earth. Vishnu followed her and tried coaxing her to return, but she refused. So, Vishnu decided to remain on earth, until he could convince her to return. He looked for a…