By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In the popular understanding of Ramayana, Sita gave birth to twins Luv and Kush who challenged their father and defeated him in battle and restored the dignity of Sita. However, in the many re-tellings of Ramayana found across the world, we learn Sita delivered only one…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist A king would visit the temple every morning to receive flowers offered to the deity at dawn, when the temple doors opened. But one day, the priest was so busy enjoying the company of the temple dancer that he forgot to perform the morning rituals. When…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The word kushalava in Sanskrit literature like Manusmriti and Arthashastra refer to low-born travelling entertainers. This feels strange as Kusha and Lava are the names of Ram’s twin sons — Ram who is the greatest king of Indian lore. In Sikh folklore, endorsed by the 18th…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The oldest Indian mythology of rice can be found among the Bonda tribal people, who live in Odisha, who are linked to the Munda and Austroasiatic communities who entered India from the Southeast, and brought rice growing technology with them over 4,000 years ago.  The Bonda…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Five hundred years ago, when the Mughals ruled north India, there was an explosion of Bhakti poetry across India. From north to south, people expressed their devotion to different forms of god using emotionally charged language. One of these forms of God was that of Krishna….

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Aryans came from lands north of the Himalayas where there was no monsoon rains. They focused on four quarters of the year, based on the solstices and equinoxes. Bal Gangadhar Tilak pointed out how Vedic hymns refer to long days without sun. He pointed out how…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Swarga or paradise of the gods, full of wish-fulfilling trees, damsels and musicians, is described in Buddhist and Jain mythologies, not just Hindu mythology. When Buddha attains nirvana, he first travels to the heaven of 33 gods where he meets his mother (reborn as a god)…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist In Hindu mythology, during the battle between the devas and asuras, the guru of the asuras, Shukracharya, is about to use Sanjeevini Vidya to resurrect all dead asuras. To prevent this from happening, the gods beg Shiva to help. Shiva swallows Shukracharya and keeps him in…

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Jainism thrived in the western part of India, along Gujarat coast, around 10th century CE. While Jains thrived amongst merchants, Hindus thrived amongst kings who controlled the agricultural economy. This avoided conflict. However, over time the two became rivals, competing for positions in the royal courts….

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Hinduism can be divided into three major eras. Veda dominated 3,000 years ago, Vedanga dominated 2,000 years ago and Vedanta became central 1,000 years ago. These are approximations of course, but a good rule-of-thumb to remember Hindu history. The Veda refers to a set of mantras…