Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Articles
How Was Atharva Veda Different?
The Rigveda praises the gods. The priest composes beautiful hymns, asks for cattle, sons, victory, rain. The relationship is simple: human below, god above, prayer going upward. The Atharva Veda works differently. The priest does not pray. He acts…
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Articles
The Rise of Nava-grahas
In Vedic times, graha meant malevolent spirits who hurt mothers and babies. It had nothing to do with planets. The 3000-year-old Vedic Jyotisha had nothing to do with predicting the future. It was a practical science of timekeeping — fixing solstices, calibrating the lunar calendar, scheduling sacrifices. The Rig Veda mentions no grahas at all.…
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Articles
Did Indra Eat Buffaloes?
We live in times, where people want to ban goat sacrifice during the Muslim observance of Bakra Eid, on grounds of compassion. This overt attack on Islamic rituals is also a covert attack on subaltern Hindu practices — where goddesses are offered fish and meat…
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Articles
Southward Spread of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism
Traditionally, Arya-varta or the land of the Aryan people was triangulated by the Himalayas, the Ganga and the Yamuna. We know this from the early Dharma-shastra texts, composed around the time of Ashoka…