By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik The word ‘teej’ refers to the third day of the lunar cycle when women fast, stay awake in all night vigils, hoping to find good husbands if not married, and praying for the health of husbands if married. Hariyali Teej is celebrated during the waxing moon of Shravan, Kajari Teej during…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist After the humiliating defeat of Indians in 1857, there was little doubt that the British were the villains. Indians began using an innovative approach to express their rage and their desire to overthrow the enemy. They enacted stories from the Puranas on stage as metaphors. That…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In Hindu metaphysics, Yoga is the practice of untying mental knots. Bhoga is the experience of life that creates these mental knots.  When we consume life, we experience hunger, fear, delight, jealousy, attachment, rage, greed, frustration, hatred, joy and these various emotions and stimulations cause our…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah is a line that is found in Manusmriti. If you assume dharma to be religion or state or law, it means if you protect religion or state or law, the religion/state/law will protect you. Why does religion or state or law exist? In…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Vedas were composed 3,000 years ago, while the Puranas were composed 1,500 years ago. In between, came the great epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, after the Vedas, but before the Puranas. The two reflect dramatically different world views. Vedas do not factor in monastic ideals; the Puranas…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Most people in India are not familiar with the Sanskrit Ramayana or Mahabharata. We read popular versions, which in turn are based on regional re-tellings, which began appearing less than 1,000 years ago and became very prevalent from around 500 years ago. Many regional works are…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Once upon a time, Vishnu came looking for his wife, Lakshmi, who left their house after a fight. During his search, he took residence in a termite hill under a tamarind tree. A cowherd came and gave him milk there. So he made that place his…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Vedic Gods resided in the sky. They were unbound by geography. Temple Gods are firmly bound by geography. Jagannath is firmly linked to Odisha, Tirupati to Andhra Pradesh, Nathdvara to Rajasthan. The temple as we know it today is closely linked to land given by kings…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist These days, business families are including their daughters in the family businesses. Yet on careful observation, one notices that the son is given responsibility for “outside” jobs such as production and sales, the jobs that take you to the factory and the market. The daughter is…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The Vedic people worshipped celestial beings known as devas. They also worshipped their ancestors known as pitras. The worship of these two sets of divinities complements each other. People worship the devas during the waxing of the moon, in spring and summer, before rains. People worship…