Category: mahabharata
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On war in Ukraine and in the Mahabharata
In the ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata, we read about a shocking and devastating war at Kurukṣetra that seems to have many parallels with the ongoing war in Ukraine. In this summary of some key points about the Kurukṣetra war, we may perhaps find some revealing similarities.
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Playing games in literature, art and history
The engraving above, based on a sculpture at the Ellora caves, shows Pārvatī and Śiva playing a game of dice. We see Śiva about to roll the dice on some kind of gameboard while Pārvatī gestures expressively at him. This scene perhaps illustrates a well-known episode from the Skanda Purana where they engage in fierce…
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Gender and identity in the Mahābhārata
We may perhaps wonder whether individuals in ancient India thought about their own identities in terms that are recognizable today. It may be assumed that any sense of self that ancient Indian people might have had would have been conceptualized so differently that the identity terminologies of the 21st century would not apply.
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Sexual Harassment in the Mahābhārata
Sexual harassment is an unfortunate reality in many societies, and this fact is also reflected in literature too. In the story of Śakuntalā, originally in the Mahābhārata, Śakuntalā becomes pregnant by Duryodhana who then initially refuses to acknowledge that he is the father. In the Rāmāyaṇa, too, Sītā chooses to accompany her husband Rāma into…
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Nala, Rtuparna and their knowledge-exchange
Snakes or serpents appear prominently in many ancient literatures around the world. In ancient Egypt, Ouroboros is the snake that eats its own tail, perhaps representing the renewal of order out of disorder.
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Faizi, Akbar and Sanskrit literature
The Mughal period in India was a fascinating and intriguing period from the perspective of development and dissemination of Sanskrit literature.
Desire To Think 