Archive for October, 2008 |
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Published in First City Delhi Oct 2008
Trees are sacred in India, and often associated with a god or a goddess. Some scholars believe that it is the tree that was worshipped first, maybe for its medicinal or symbolic purpose, and that the gods and goddesses came later. That may be the case but today trees [...]
If you ever hear an echo remember, you are hearing the voice of Echo. a Dread or a mountain nymph according to Greek mythology, who - the story goes - loved the sound of her own voice that she would engage Hera, queen of the gods, in long interesting conversations. While Hera was distracted so [...]
Published in First City Delhi August 2008
Sita is the heroine of India’s greatest epic, the Ramayan, and the dutiful and faithful wife of its hero, Ram. By rescuing her from the clutches of the demon-king, Ravan, Ram attains his status as hero and god, with him as the knight-in-shining-armor and her as the damsel-in-distress. But [...]
Published in First City Delhi July 2008
Right in the middle of the Mediterranean sea stands the island of Crete, once the cradle of a great civilization that predated the one in Greece. This was the Minoan civilization, named after its mythical king, Minos, whose stories are scattered across Greek mythology.
Minos was the son of Zeus, [...]
Published in First City Delhi June 2008
Shiva’s third eye has always fascinated people. It stands there dramatically on his forehead ready to release a missile of fire and destroy the world. Many people assume that is why Shiva is called the `destroyer’. They also assume that this eye opens when Shiva is angry. Typically, in [...]
Published in First City Delhi in May 2007
The Mahabharata from Orissa, written by Sarala Das in 15th century, mentions how Krishna appeared before Arjuna in the form of a composite beast of 9 parts - rooster, peacock, lion, tiger, bull, elephant, antelope, serpent and human. Arjun was so overwhelmed by the sight of such a [...]
Published in Sunday Midday 28 September, 2008
Often the words Asuras and Rakshasas are used interchangeably by most of us to refer to demons in Indian mythology. But there is a big difference. Asuras live under the ground, Rakshasas live above. Asuras are enemies of the Devas, who live in the sky while Rakshasas are enemies [...]
Published in Sunday Midday 21 September, 2008
Imagine a lion but with the head of an elephant. Such a creature does not exist in nature but it does exist in mythology. It is called a Yali and is found in many South Indian temples. It is the vahana of Budh, or mercury, who like the Yali, [...]
Published in Sunday Midday 14 September, 2008
Animals fight for food and territory and mates. Humans fight over the same thing. It is the animal side of us - that side which seeks domination. Sometimes, however, war is noble - fought to defend independence, to defend honor. Greed or need, there is no escape from war. [...]
Published in Sunday Midday 7 September, 2008
If the sun was a god in Greek mythology, then the moon was a goddess. He was Apollo and she was Artemis. They were siblings. Far away, across the Atlantic sea, in South America, the Aztecs, whose civilization thrived almost a thousand years after the Greece civilization had collapsed, [...]
