Devdutt Pattanaik column | Tales of marriage and murder

Devdutt Pattanaik column | Tales of marriage and murder

Stories of the folk goddesses of India are often lost in myriad oral versions. Which ones do we consider authentic? A common thread is some form of sexual violation followed by brute violence. We can say these are tales of (almost) marriage and (almost) murder. Are these to be taken literally or metaphorically? In Jammu, […]

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Column | Shiva’s sexuality and Buddha’s celibacy

Column | Shiva’s sexuality and Buddha’s celibacy

The Ocean Sutra is a 1,500-year-old Mahayana Buddhist manuscript that shows a strong influence of Tantrik Shaiva ideology. It was composed in Central Asia at a time when Buddhism, which rose 2,500 years ago and had overshadowed Vedic ritual practices, began facing pushback from the rise of temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. While Buddha […]

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Chola war poem Kalingathu Parani celebrates the dynasty’s exploits against the Kalinga kingdom

Chola war poem Kalingathu Parani celebrates the dynasty’s exploits against the Kalinga kingdom

The poem is narrated by ghosts who are companions of a fearsome goddess called Anangu The poem is narrated by ghosts who are companions of a fearsome goddess called Anangu When the Delhi Sultanate was being established in the north of India some 800 years ago, down south, a Pallava general was leading a Chola […]

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