By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Across India, the fish is a sacred symbol — all kinds of fish. The salt-water fish (Surmai), fresh-water fish (Goonch), fish of ponds (Rohu) and rivers (Mahseer, dolphins), fish of deltas that travel upstream to spawn (Palla, Hilsa). Fish is linked with autonomy as it cannot…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the State of Punjab stands the temple of Achaleshwar Mahadev at Gurdaspur, while in nearby Haryana is the temple of Pehowa at Kurukshetra. What connects these two sites is their association with Kartikeya, the mighty son of Shiva and Parvati. Kartikeya is no longer a…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Rama once raised his bow to shoot an arrow at the impertinent sea. When the sea apologised, Rama did not know what to do with the arrow fixed on his bow; it could not be returned to the quiver as per Kshatriya code. So he turned…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In India, we find two types of weddings: the lavish and the simple. Lavish weddings are typically seen in those who follow the Shaiva or Vaishnava path of householders. Simple weddings are typically seen in those who follow the Buddhist or Jain path of hermits. The…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Ravan is a favourite of Bollywood film-makers. He is depicted variously. We have seen films where Ravan is depicted as a devotee of Shiva (bhakta-Ravan), singing hymns and pleasing the hermit-god in many stories and television serials. Others have made him the perfect brother (bhaiyya Ravan)…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In Hindu mythology, the four months of the rainy season is when Vishnu sleeps. Who protects the world then? It is the Goddess, identified as Yogamaya. And so traditionally, women’s festivals, involving Goddesses, are found in the latter half of the rainy season after the autumn…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the month of Shravan, many people visit Shiva temples, especially on Mondays. Pouring water on the Shivalinga is seen as an act of piety. Water is carried from rivers. The pot with the water is never placed on the ground until water has been poured…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The Tamil poet-saint Andal is identified by the parrot in her hand. The bird is the symbol of Kama, the god of love, lust and sensuality. The same god who in Buddhist works is called Mara, the enemy of Buddha. The same god who is burnt…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore used to receive a Salam Aarti, which is believed to have been instituted by Tipu Sultan. Now it has been renamed as the Namaskara Aarti, as part of the growing wave of anti-Muslim sentiment across the country. It’s tit-for-tat politics. In…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Kumbh Mela reveals a side of Hinduism that is often not talked about. There are no temples, no gods, no devotion, no songs, no saints. It is primarily a ritual, dominated by boisterous masculine energy embodied in naked ascetics (digambara), covered with ash (bhabhut), with matted…