Poetry for the G20

This year India holds the presidency of the G20, and is hosting high-level diplomatic and ministerial meetings which are now in full swing. The theme of this Indian presidency is the Sanskrit phrase “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्” taken from the Mahā Upanishad, or, in English, it is ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

Family and society in the Vedic period

On the occasion of Guru Pūrṇimā, our thoughts may turn to the venerable lineages of successive teachers and students in India. As we will see, the need to record and preserve genealogical details of family and pedagogical lineages was already recognized in India in the earliest times. Indeed, this is very likely a continuation of the concerns of proto-Indo-European people. For many ancient peoples, family would perhaps be the main source of personal identity, and the basis of all religious life.

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.

ਰਾਜਸਥਾਨ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਚਿੱਤਰਕਾਰੀ

ਰਾਜਸਥਾਨ ਚਿੱਤਰਕਾਰੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਪਰੰਪਰਾਵਾਂ ਭਾਰਤ ਅਤੇ ਪੂਰੀ ਦੁਨੀਆ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਹੁਤ ਪ੍ਰਸਿੱਧ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵਸ਼ਾਲੀ ਹਨ | ਰਾਜਸਥਾਨ ਪੇਂਟਿੰਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਵਿਸ਼ੇ ਹੈ , ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਦੇਵੀ ਦੇਵਤੇ, ਪ੍ਰੇਮੀਆਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼, ਦਰਬਾਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਾਜੇ, ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼, ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਪੁਰਾਣ ਦੀਆਂ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼, ਅਤੇ ਕਈ ਹੋਰ |

Technology and Indian Literature

This year, India enters the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the whole of the year, and the Indian delegation have set out what its priorities will be there, including the very interesting idea of ‘Technology with a Human Touch’.

India Report: Questions to History

In the world today, we increasingly witness the influential presence of leaders from larger, more populated states in global dialogue. India is a prominent example, with much media attention on our current highly charismatic and energetic leader. Indeed, Janamejaya has been highly effective in consolidating the diversity of the Indian population into our current Kuru […]

India Report: the Tibet Debate

India’s rapidly evolving relationships with its neighbouring countries have been much in the news lately. Readers will be aware of the many high-profile visits to Lhasa recently made by Indian scholars, and in particular the many trips by the former head of the elite Nalanda University, Śāntarakṣita.

Marriage in the Rig Veda

Ṛg Veda Book 10 Verse 85 is commonly known as Sūryā’s Bridal Hymn or the Wedding Hymn. In some Hindu families, this is one of the Vedic verses recited as part of the liturgy at Hindu marriage ceremonies. It tells a metaphorical story of the wedding of Sūryā, seemingly the daughter of the sun-god, as bride, to soma, seemingly the moon, as bridegroom. Some of the features of the wedding described continue to be features of Hindu weddings today

Tantra at the British Museum

A short review of the exhibition ‘Tantra: enlightenment to revolution’ which is currently on at the British Museum.

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 exile and her vulnerability leads to her being kidnapped by Rāvaṇa who attempts to seduce her.