Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
The forgotten Buffalo King
Not much is known about him, but the shrine is clearly not a Brahminical one and there is nothing about him found in Sanskrit literature…
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Who is a Hindu? Diversity unites, homogeneity divides
Unlike Westerners, Hindus have been comfortable seeing unity in diversity for thousands of years…
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Is Hinduism feminist or patriarchal?
In Hinduism, God is not a judge and so feminism is not about judging men…
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A ring of tantrik women
One thing that often goes unnoticed in many traditional Hindu temples, is that the walls of the shrine is made of a circle of women…
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Born of Brahma’s hair
Plants play a key role in Hindu mythology. Plants are seen as sacred, sometimes deities by themselves, and sometimes as key offerings in a ritual…
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God of Craftsmen
Vishwakarma Puja is located at the cusp between death and rebirth. Makes sense as Vishwakarma is the divine craftsman, patron of all craftsmen…
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Lakshmi means finance, not Finance Minister
When the Vice President recently referred to Lakshmi as Finance Minister, he revealed a popular misunderstanding of Hindu mythology…
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Cinderella Vrat Katha
The stories of the vrata katha are most interesting as they speak of coping with family issues…
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What Devdutt Pattanaik Says about the Kinnars/Third-Genders and Kankalas/Skeletons of Tantrik Temples in Nepal
I was told that Guhyeshwari Temple was one of the revered holy temples in Kathmandu, Nepal. This temple is dedicated to Adi Shakti…
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Articles
Are Hindus vegetarian?
Published on 14th June, 2017, on www.dailyo.in. The idea of “vegetarian” diet has spread throughout …
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Articles
Fear of female fantasy
Let’s tell tales celebrating women’s desires, such as where Shakti demands Shiva satisfy her; and he does…
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Articles
A Harappan Parvati?
She could very well be the bangle-seller’s daughter. Or a local princess. Or maybe an exasperated girl-child, because she did not like the food prepared. We really don’t know…
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Articles
Chausath Yogini Temple
Yoginis in a Circle : Our Parliament House, completed in 1927, has been patterned on the lines of the circular Chausath Yogini Temple, dating back to circa 1323AD…
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The Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai
Published on 27th November, 2016, in Mumbai Mirror. We have all heard the story of …
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Articles
Misunderstanding Saraswati
In social sciences, the study of Lakshmi becomes economics and study of Durga becomes politics. The study of Saraswati becomes philosophy…
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Articles
Why bother with icons? (Learn to respect your symbols)
We can blame the government and the education system, but how many parents actually take their children to museums, or temples, and play the game of ‘let us identify this god’…
