By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Ashtavakra is a famous rishi associated with the Upanishadic period, roughly 2,500 years ago. His conversations with Janaka are very popular, where he draws attention to the connection between the spirit within us and the spirit that is present all around us — the relationship between…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist A few years ago, I had a confrontation with a senior newspaper editor, on stage, which quickly became viral and considerably popular. In the video, the editor insisted on equating Hinduism with Hindutva which is something I do not subscribe to. Nor do I subscribe to…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist I was recently trolled by a group of people. This was because I apparently had stated a claim that women are not powerful in India. I tried to figure out from where they had derived this alleged statement of mine and eventually realised that I had…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik Is yoga scientific? This is a question I am often asked, in various forums. The problem that lies with this question is essentially with the understanding of what yoga is, what science is and the overarching sense of insecurity that is faced by many people relating to the Indian identity. Let…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the Vedas, one does find references to individual Goddesses like Usha, Vak and Aranyani who represent dawn, speech, and forests, respectively. In the Puranas, there is Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati, embodiments of wealth, power and knowledge. However, in practice, Hindus often worship Goddesses in groups….

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist If you look to the sky, towards the North and want to identify the Pole Star, you have to first seek the Big Dipper constellation. Dipper means a ladle, the kind used to put ghee in the yagna fire. This ladle-shaped constellation has seven stars. In…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Shiva is called the destroyer because he destroys our desire — Kama, and he destroys death itself — Yama. Kama is associated with life, and Yama with death. Shiva destroys both the desire for life and the fear of death and thus he is the God…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik The Harappan civilisation thrived between 2500 BCE and 1900 BCE, lasting six centuries, existing 4,000 years ago. In these cities, we find seals with images that give a tantalising glimpse of a mythology that may have thrived in those cities before the arrival of Indo-European myths 500 years later, around 1500…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist There are two meanings of the phrase Sanatan Dharma. One is political and the other philosophical. The political sanatan dharma emerged as one of the two responses to European Orientalists who saw Hinduism as a pagan, polytheistic and idolatrous race.  One response, the Samaj response, was…