Archive for August, 2005 |
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Book written by Seema Mohanty based on lectures of Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik Illustrated by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik One of the most unconventional yet immensely popular deities in the Hindu pantheon, goddess Kali essentially represents the dark and contrary aspects of the cosmos. Her naked form and association with violence, blood and gore challenge the very [...]
This article was published in First City Magazine, New Delhi, July 2005 You cannot avoid commenting on Dan Brown’s book, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ which has taken the world by storm. Especially when you are a mythologist, and everybody asks you, “Is it true? Is Mary Magdalene really the ‘Holy Grail’? Was she really [...]
This article was published in First City Magazine, New Delhi, March 2004
Two thousand five hundred years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakya clan wanted to know the cause of suffering. When he discovered it, he became known as the Buddha, the enlightened one, enlightened enough to forge a path out of suffering into bliss.
Two [...]
This article was published in First City Magazine, New Delhi, February 2004
Last year around February 14, there were a group of people who attacked shops selling Valentine’s Day trinkets denouncing them for pressuring Indian youths with Western ideas like `going on dates’ and encouraging pre-marital romance (hence sex).
We Indians - and I guess many citizens [...]
This article was published in First City Magazine, New Delhi, in August 2004 It started as a tribute to dead warriors. Homer’s Iliad mentions that Achilles held funeral games on the shores of Troy in honor of his male lover, Patrolocus. Marcus and Decimus Brutus held the first gladiatorial games in Rome [...]
An exploration of 99 classic myths of India from an entirely non-Western paradigm that provides a fresh understanding of the Hindu spiritual landscape. Compares and contrasts Indian mythology with the stories of the Bible, ancient Egypt, Greece, Scandinavia, and Mesopotamia. Looks at the evolution of Indian narratives and their interpretations over the millennia. Demonstrates how [...]
The Hindu worldview considers every behavior and identity a possibility in this endless boundless cyclical universe. Hindu society, however, with its foundations in patriarchy and heterosexuality, deems non-conventional gender identities and sexual behaviors inappropriate for social stability. They are tolerated only in fringes, especially if they express themselves through patriarchal and heterosexual vocabulary. This conflict [...]
The first exhaustive collection of goddess mythologies from India. It explores the evolution of goddess worship in India over 4,000 years with stunning color photographs that illustrate many stories of goddess lore never before available in one collection.
In India it is said that there is a goddess in every village, a nymph in every lake. [...]
Lakshmi, the goddess of material abundance, affluence, authority and auspiciousness, is the most popular goddess of the Hindu pantheon. An understanding of her helps on appreciate the Hindu attitude towards wealth and power.
This book brings together:
Stories of the goddess compiled from Vedas, Puranas, Tantras and fold narratives Over 200 images from different parts of India, [...]
Hanuman, the lord of monkeys, is one of the few gods in Hinduism to be worshipped across caste lines by followers of the Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta orders. He is admired for his strength, scholarship, wisdom, humility and celibacy.
This book is an attempt to understand the imagery, ritual and philosophy associated with Hanuman worship in [...]
