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…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Hindu mythology is not static. It has changed over history. In the Rig Veda (1,500 BCE), we are introduced to Indra. He is a powerful celestial being who rides chariots and who defeats enemies like Vritra, Pani and Vala to secure stolen cows and release water….

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik In 13th Century Maharashtra, Dyaneshwar translated the Bhagavad Gita into the local language. It was a great cultural revolution. He encouraged people to use emotions and feelings to connect with the divine. This was the Bhakti Marga or path of devotion. Here, Dyaneshwar or Gyandev is addressed as Sant. In legends,…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In popular understanding of the mythology, Brahma is called the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver and Shiva, the Destroyer. When you ask people why Shiva is called the destroyer, they will answer, it is because he is the destroyer of evil. But if Shiva is the destroyer…

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…