“Facts are everybody’s truth. Fiction is nobody’s truth. Myths are somebody’s truth”
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Articles
The Itihasa of Prithviraj Chauhan
Long before the nationalist imagination got to work, two older traditions had already told very different stories about the same king, and neither of them had any use for a hero…
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Articles
Djinns Amongst Us
The Quran describes jinn as beings created from a “smokeless flame of fire,” while humans were created from clay and angels from light. The Arabic word jinn comes from a root meaning “hidden” or “concealed.” They inhabit a parallel dimension that humans generally cannot perceive. Unlike angels, they possess free will. They can choose faith or disbelief, obedience or rebellion…
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Articles
Indian Roots of Pythagorean Theorem
This geometric truth was discovered independently by several ancient civilizations, each arriving at the same insight through their own practical needs. India’s contribution, recorded in a set of ancient texts called the Sulvasutras, is genuine and impressive. But it was not the first…
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Articles
The Shambala Prophecy
In a world that seems to be hurtling from one crisis to another, many people are talking about the Shambala prophecy. This appeared in the early 11th century in a Buddhist Tantric text called the Kalacakratantra. …
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Articles
The Rise of Marble Temples
Marble has never been a traditional material in Hindu sacred architecture. In Tamil Nadu, the great storied temples were built in granite. In Odisha, the material was khondalite. In Karnataka, soapstone. Across North India, red and yellow sandstone. Marble was, in fact, long associated with animal bones and was deliberately shunned by traditional artisans…
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Articles
Who Invented Zero?
Ask any Indian schoolchild who invented zero, and the answer will usually be: India did. This is one of the most common beliefs taught in schools and repeated in public discussions…
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Articles
Is Sanatan Dharma Only 200 Years Old?
‘Sanatan Dharma’ (common noun) as a phrase is very old. It appears in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions as a common noun meaning ‘eternal order’ or ‘timeless law’. However, ‘Sanatan Dharma’ (proper noun) as the name of an organised conservative Hindu movement emerged only in the 19th century under British colonial rule…
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Articles
How Hinduism Transformed in the Vedic land
Punjab, watered by the tributaries of the Indus, was the original Vedic land. Yet today, the Veda is more closely associated with the Yamuna-Ganga doab, while Punjab is better known as the fountainhead of Sikhism. The western part of historic Punjab is now in Pakistan and is overwhelmingly Muslim. The eastern part, in India, is divided between Sikhs and Hindus…
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Articles
Ekalavya’s Thumb and Angulimala’s Garland Of Fingers
Ekalavya’s story is that of a low-born forest boy, rejected by the Brahmin teacher Drona, and who then trains alone before a clay idol, masters archery, and surrenders his thumb when Drona discovers that his own prize student Arjuna has acquired an unwanted rival. The student’s thumb-offering is presented as devotion. The violence embedded in the transaction is not presented at all. …
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Articles
The Islamic Wound That Does Not Heal
Islam has faced civilisational catastrophe twice. Once at the hands of the Mongols in the 13th century and the next at the hands of the Europeans in the 19th century. The first time it responded by becoming more open. The second time it responded by becoming more closed. The difference came not from the scale of the defeat but in what the conqueror said while conquering…
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Books
Itihasa : A History of Hindu Mythology
Watch this space for more information on the release of Pattanaik’s new book: Itihasa : A History of Hindu Mythology!…
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Articles
Why Does Arjuna Overshadow Bhima In Epics?
When Draupadi is publicly humiliated, it is Bhima who avenges her, collecting Dushasana’s blood so she can wash her unbound hair; it is Bhima who smashes Kichaka to pulp when Arjuna does nothing to stop her abuser. And still, through all of it, it is Arjuna who remains her favourite. …
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Articles
From Gulamgiri to The Immortals of Meluha
Phule’s work is insurgent literature that anticipates evidence from below. Tripathi’s 21st century civilisational literature evades it from above…
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Articles
Civilisations, Time and the Turning Wheel
Financial crises, endless wars, political polarisation, demographic decline, climate anxiety and the rise of new global powers have made many wonder whether civilisations can also decline…
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Articles
Mahakala in Baghdad
Mughals claimed royal authority very differently, directly from God, almost like Sufi mystics without the Caliph’s intervention. This little detail is often missed. And this shift has to do with Buddhism. Specifically, Tantrik Buddhism of Tibet…