Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
How Saraswati Reached Japan
One of the most popular goddesses in Japan is visualised holding a guitar-like instrument. She is called Benzaiten and she has been linked to the goddess Saraswati…
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Articles
Diwali for Ram, Krishna, Lakshmi, Yama, Asuras and Ancestors
Diwali celebrations vary across India: In north India, it commemorates the return of Ram, while south India celebrates the defeat of Narakasura. Western Diwali involves a business-related renewal and in eastern India, the focus shifts to ancestor worship and paying off karmic debts. These varying traditions underscore the diversity of Hinduism across the different regions…
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Articles
Decoding Ganesha’s Parenthood
Ganesha’s arrival, in the latter half of the monsoon, marks the transformation of Shiva, the hermit, into Shankara, the householder. …
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Articles
When the Rising Sun in the South Was Auspicious
The South has been the home of Sugriva, king of monkeys (vanara) and Ravana, king of demons (rakshasa). …
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Articles
The Goddess Came Later
We can argue that goddesses have been integral to Hinduism since Vedic times. But of the 1,000 hymns of the Rig Veda only the maximum number of hymns dedicated to a goddess as the 21 hymns for Usha, the dawn-goddess…
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Articles
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 other communities. In the Veda, Sachi is the wife of Indra. Not much is known…
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Articles
The Rise of the Indian Goddess
Published on 14th July, 2022, in The Hindu. How old are the goddesses of India? It is extremely difficult to answer this question. Maybe it started in the Stone Age, when man equated the Earth to a goddess or the womb of a woman, or saw goddesses in trees, in rivers. The Baghor stone, with…
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Articles
Why Goddess Kali Has Many Faces?
Published on 6th July, 2022, in Times of India. The images of Puranic gods only started appearing on cave and temple walls after the 5th Century AD. We find such images in Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, and among these are images of fierce goddesses. The most popular of these shows a goddess riding…
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Articles
Festival Of Women, By Women, For Women
Published on 12th September, 2021, in Mid-day. The word ‘teej’ refers to the third day of the lunar cycle when women fast, stay awake in all night vigils, hoping to find good husbands if not married, and praying for the health of husbands if married. Hariyali Teej is celebrated during the waxing moon of Shravan,…
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Articles
Metaphor Of Three Goddesses
Published on 11th July, 2021, in Mid-day. Hindu mythology uses metaphor of human relationships to explain concepts. This can be confusing as metaphors are rarely consistent. This confounds those who see mythology as history and insist on reading stories literally. The case of the three goddesses, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga, who embody wealth, knowledge and…
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Articles
Hinglaj Mata In Pakistan
Published on 22nd November, 2020, in Mid-day. We often forget that there are still many Hindu temples in Pakistan, despite the state being avowedly Islamic, with clear blasphemy and anti-idolatry laws. These temples existed before Islam arrived in the subcontinent a 1,000 years ago. These shrines continue to thrive in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan, often…
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Articles
The Origins of Bharat Mata
Published on 22nd November, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Every Indian village is personified as a grama-devi. So, we have Chandigarh associated with the goddess Chandi. Calcutta is associated with the goddess, Kali. Mumbai is associated with the goddess, Mumba Devi. The idea of Bharat-mata, the goddess of the Indian nation state, has roots in this…
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Articles
Radha Tantra
Published on 15th November, 2020, in Mid-day. About 400 years ago, a Shakta text was composed in Sanskrit language, probably in Bengal. It was called Radha Tantra. It was a response to the rising tide of the Chaitanya Vaishnava movement, where Krishna is the supreme divine being and Radha is the subordinate. From the 12th…
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Articles
Nine Forms Of Durgas
Published on 18th October, 2020, in Mid-day. The concept of Nava-durga is extremely popular during Navratri. Navratri refers to the nine nights that lead to the celebration of Vijayadashmi. The Goddess is worshipped in nine forms. The nine forms are Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, SkandaMata, Kaatyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddharaatri. These are not nine separate…
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Articles
Sarna, the Harappan Tree Goddess
Published on 16th August, 2020, in Mid-day. One of the things in the about-4,000-year-old Harappan seals is the value placed on trees. There is the peepal tree and the babool (acacia) tree that have been identified. The peepal tree is identified by its characteristic wide tapering leaves. The babool tree is identified by its peculiar…