By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist It is important to remind ourselves that all Hindu festivals and rituals do not have Vedic claims. In fact, most practices in different parts of India are of local origin with no doctrinal basis, probably rooted to old tribal practices. Hook swinging is a case in…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The name Badrinath carries a quiet ecological memory. Badri means the berry (Ziziphus mauritiana) or jujube tree. Nath means lord. Badrinath is the lord who dwells among berry trees. Myth explains this landscape by saying that when Vishnu meditated in the twin form of Nara and…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Across India, the most familiar image of prosperity is Lakshmi flanked by two elephants pouring water over her. We see this in homes, shops, banks and even in modern advertising. But few pause to ask why elephants stand beside the goddess of wealth. Why not cows,…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist This is an ancient tale first narrated in the Vedic corpus. The sun-god Surya is married to Saranya, who cannot bear his blazing presence. She flees in the form of a mare. Surya pursues her as a stallion and from this union are born the Ashvin…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Bhima is the strongest man of earth as per the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In folklore, he is considered Bhairava, a fierce form of Shiva, because he disembowels Dushasana and drinks his blood and uses his blood to wash Draupadi’s hair. In this folk imagery,…

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and speech, has ancient roots in the Vedic river Saraswati, the cradle of learning and ritual. Over time she evolved from river to goddess, depicted with manuscript, rosary and water pot — symbols of wisdom. In the Hindu Puranas, she became the consort…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist One day, King Shantanu stumbles upon two abandoned babies on the forest floor: a boy and a girl. He adopts them, names them Kripa and Kripi and raises them. They are children of a tapasvi (fire-ascetic) named Saradvan and an apsara (water-nymph) named Janapadi. Mahabharata thus…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Krishna uses three powerful words in the Gita to understand relationships: adhyatma, adhidaivam and adhiyajnam. They appear in chapters 7 and 8, when Arjun asks how to understand the layers of existence and why humans struggle to deal with the world. These Sanskrit words can sound…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Once upon a time, the earth-goddess Bhumi was dragged under the sea by an asura called Hiranayaksha. Vishnu took the form of Varaha, killed Hiranayaksha, placed Bhumi on his snout, raised her up and thus rescued the earth-goddess. Bhumi decided to bear Varaha a son called…