Mythology

For medieval Christians, understanding lunar eclipse was a complex affair: A sign from God or a scientific phenomenon?

There are numerous surviving scientific discussions of eclipses written by Christians from across the medieval period.

How Asur writer Gaurav Shukla married science to religion and mythology to create a forensic thriller

Gaurav Shukla, writer of the acclaimed crime mystery Asur, talks to Firstpost about the various facets of the show that examines the conflict between science and religion, and everything beyond.

Mythology For The Millennial: On the elaborate adventures of Indian Cupid Kamadeva, and his enterprising wife, Rati

Since we are so conveniently placed between Valentine's Day and Holi, it would be a good time to talk about Kamadeva, the Indian Cupid, god of love and desire, or his enterprising wife, the goddess Rati, who also rules over sex and sexy feelings, but like many happy marriages, her story is entangled deeply with his.

Mythology for the Millennial: On the origins of Kali Yuga and the vindictive gandharva who led us into a dark age

Some of the trademarks of the Kali Yuga are that rulers will become a danger to the world, humans will be angry with each other and that there will be climate change. Kali, the cause of this age of darkness, pops up every now and then and causes trouble by possessing someone or the other. He's the colour of soot and has a long tongue

Mythology for the Millennial: From feisty goddess to earthly river, navigating the rich lore of Ganga

Ganga came into our universe thanks to that little meddler, Vamana, who we last saw torturing Mahabali and making him give up his entire kingdom and die because the gods couldn't handle his success. While the Vamana was counting his steps across the sky, his toenail poked the edge of the world and a hole appeared in the universe, causing a divine ocean to flow out and become Ganga as soon as it reached our atmosphere. The river, not yet a person, stays in heaven until an enterprising guy called Bhagirath asks for it — now her — to come down to earth and wash away people's sins and what not.

Mythology for the Millennial: On the absurdity around karwa chauth, and blaming women for every wrong

Karwa chauth is sanctioned romance, a way for a woman to be the centre of attention in a way that she is not on every other day of her life.

Mythology for the Millennial: On Mahabali's fate, and the politics at play behind the story on the origins of Onam

The gods in Indian mythology frequently show up as more human than human. In the case of King Mahabali, son of Virochana, grandson of Prahlad, yes, that Prahlad, the same one who invented Holi basically, he was, unfortch, also an asura.

Mythology for the Millennial: On Shakuntala, Dushyanta and the one ring that bound them both

On Shakuntala, the heroine of perhaps one of the best-known love stories in Hindu mythology.

Mythology for the Millennial: How Lakshmi, a fierce, Beyonce-esque creature, was transformed into a 'good wife and mother'

Lakshmi was the first Indian woman to be exploited by men — in one of her creation stories, she emerges from the creator god, Prajapati, only to dazzle all the other gods by her beauty and power, who immediately want to murder her and appropriate all her gifts.

Amish Tripathi on his new book Raavan, ancient Indian philosophy, research and writing processes

In an interview with Firstpost, Amish Tripathi talks about the liberal nature of ancient tradition, clarifies misconceptions and discusses the function of philosophy and stories