By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Hundun gave food to two beings, one who came from the north and the other who came from the south. Grateful, the two decided to help Hundun. Hundun had no eyes, nose, ears or mouth. He did not have the seven holes to appreciate the world…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Most Indians have heard about Somnath temple that was raided by Mahmud of Ghazni a thousand years ago. Very few know that in the same century, the Chola king from the South raided Odisha and Bengal and took back with him images of Shiva. Even fewer…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The Ramayana story reveals the Vedic world that thrived in the Gangetic plains between 1,000 CE and 500 CE, though the story itself came to be written between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Buddhist Jataka tales also written at the same time tell stories that are…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In North India, as per politicians, three major pilgrimage sites are important. The first is Ayodhya, where Ram was born and the kingdom of Ram was established. The second is Mathura where Krishna was born. The third is Kashi, with which Shiva is associated. Ram, Krishna…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The seven-day-week is not based on any natural phenomena. The ancient Mesopotamians decided that the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days after the new moon were days of rest and that is how the concept of the week began. Sumerians believed that the Gods flooded the…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the Vedic world, to practice dharma meant performing yagna. Yagna was translated by European Orientalists as sacrifice. But in sacrifice, you give something to appease a deity who needs nothing from you but your loyalty and obedience. In yagna, you exchange. You give in order…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist There are two big mysteries in Hindu mythology. One, why does Kaikai ask Ram to be exiled only for 14 years? Two, why does Duryodhan demand that the Pandavas be exiled only for 13 years? Why did Kaikai not ask for Ram’s permanent exile? Or why…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Most Indians are familiar with Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj and link it with 19th Century Hindu reformation. But very few know about Sahajanand Swami or the reforms instituted by his Swaminarayan sampradaya, even though both men lived in the same period of…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The story of the horse with eight legs comes from Norse mythology, which is the pre-Christian mythology of North Europe. Norse mythology has become quite popular nowadays because of the popularity of Thor and Loki in Hollywood movies, because of Neil Gaiman’s famous book now a…