By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The epics Ramayana and Mahabharata reached their final form roughly 2,000 years ago, between the 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE. We know this as the Sanskrit used in the epics is based on a grammar codified by Panini, who lived 2,500 years ago. The…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Hindu households have always had a puja room. Traditionally, here were located the many Gods of the household. The griha-devata of the house, the kula-devata of the clan, the grama-devata of the village, the ishta-devata of each of the family members, maybe an image of an…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The word ‘Apsara’ is derived from the root ‘apsa’ which means water. Apsaras were nymphs who slipped away from the grasp of man, like water from a clenched fist. They were sent by the Devas to beguile and seduce Tapasvins, ascetics who sought to churn spiritual…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist One of Vishnu’s forms is Mohini, the enchantress. As Krishna, Vishnu becomes Madan-mohan, he who enchants even Cupid. This winsome lover plays the flute and invites Radha to dance with him on the banks of Yamuna in the bower known as Vrindavana. Their romance is rediscovered….

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Woh toh Radha ka bhi Shyam, woh toh Meera ka bhi Shyam, is a popular Bollywood song from the 1970s. In this song, we are told that Krishna loves Radha as much as he loves Meera. The problem here is that Radha is a mythical character…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the early days of Buddhism, Buddha was represented by a symbol: a footprint or a wheel or a pot or a tree. Later, less than 2,000 years ago, we see the earliest images of the Buddha in the Gandhara region (modern Pakistan and Afghanistan) as…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Have you noticed that Jesus Christ is thin and Santa Claus is fat? Have you noticed that Christmas is increasingly less about the birth of the Christian Saviour, and more about snow, reindeer and coniferous trees, none of which were around when Jesus was born in…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist One thing that often goes unnoticed in many traditional Hindu temples is that the walls of the shrine is made of a circle of women. Some of these are musicians, some dancers, some undressing, some adorning themselves for lovers, some clinging to trees, some being teased…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist A thousand years ago, India was very different from what it is today. North India had yet to face significant conquest by Muslim warlords from Central Asia. Sailors travelled from India’s coast to South East Asia taking advantage of the summer monsoon winds. When the winds…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist To the North of Iraq live the people known as Yazidis, roughly half a million in number, who have been mercilessly hunted down by the rabid hordes of the Islamic State (ISIS) on grounds that they are Devil-worshippers. In reality, Yazidis have a unique belief system…