Writing on ancient literatures and world mythology. Future articles will be on Rig Veda, Sanskrit, Old English, Indo-European literature, Egypt, China etc.
In the first part of the story, we saw how the buffalo-demon Mahiśāsura behaved in an extremely arrogant and conceited way due to the boon granted by Brahma that he could not be killed by any male god, demon or human, thinking himself invincible because of this. He made fun of the idea that any woman could be strong enough to challenge him and even taunted Indra about his supposed lack of manly courage.
Read More Devī and the Buffalo Demon – Part TwoAnother interesting story concerns the buffalo demon Mahiśāsura who was granted a boon that he would not be killed by man or by gods. This story is told in the Devī Māhātmya, from which I will draw below, as well as in the Devī Bhāgavatam, and in many other literary texts and folk stories too.
Read More The Buffalo Demon – Part OneSexual 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.
Read More Sexual Harassment in the MahābhārataThe American-British sculptor Jacob Epstein was a good friend of Ananda Coomaraswamy, who had some significant influence on him. The sculptures depicted above on the façade of (what is now) Zimbabwe House in London were designed by Epstein to represent a form of modernism which took influence from Indian classical sculptural traditions.
Read More Emotions and Indian sculptureThe well-known story of Indra and Namuci has been told and retold since Vedic time up until the present day.
Read More Indra and NamuciSnakes 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.
Read More Nala, Rtuparna and their knowledge-exchangeThe Mughal period in India was a fascinating and intriguing period from the perspective of development and dissemination of Sanskrit literature.
Read More Faizi, Akbar and Sanskrit literature
Desire To Think 