By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The Garuda Purana is one of the 18 Puranas composed by Ved Vyasa in order to explain Vedic principles. It was in a forest called Naimisha, where the narration happened for the first time. In the story, Vyasa says that the Garuda Purana was narrated by…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist If you travel to Lucknow, it is possible that you will pass a forest known by the name of Naimish-aranya, the forest of King Nimi, on the banks of the river Gomti. This forest is where the stories of the eighteen Mahapuranas, and the epics Mahabharata…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the Veda, there is no mention of Bhagavan. The idea of God is explored in various ways, but there is no definitive idea like Bhagavan, which we find in the Puranas. The Vedas are 4,000 years old and the Puranas 2,000 years old. The Vedas…

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…