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Mahabharata

Rama

Rama is the hero of epic Ramayana. Ramayana which is revered in India is little more than a quarter of Mahabharata. It is different in style and content from Mahabharata which contains many interpolation. The style of Ramayana bears some kinship to that of classical Sanskrit poetry. Ramayana is older than Mahabharata but major narrative portions of Mahabharata are said to be appreciably older. Some scholars think that Mahabharata is older than Ramayana. Ramayana was composed by sage Valmiki who was contemporary of Rama. The central scene of the poem is Ayodhya which was the capital of old kingdom of… Read More »Rama

A Short Story of Krishna

Krishna is reincarnation of Vishnu. He is very popular God because of his childhood frolics with Gopis (the wives of cowherds) and miracles. This facet of His life is full of romance. He is shown carrying a flute and herding the cows because he belonged to the Yadav caste which reared the cows. When he played the flute, a magic spell was created and animals, birds and moreover Gopis became mesmerized  and felt a force which carried them towards him. He flirted with numerous Gopis but his favorite was Radha. Afterwards, there seems to be a total change in his… Read More »A Short Story of Krishna

Land Stories 

Land used to be like one’s mother in India as more than 70% people are still dependent on the land for their livelihood. Before the introduction of modern agricultural equipment like tractors, bullocks were used virtually for all agricultural tasks like tilling the land, pulling the cart which the farmer used for bringing the produce and fodder home for cattle. Agriculture was completely manual and commerce was not a factor. A farmer produced only enough for his family needs. Agriculture was dependent on the surface water available through rivers and rains. Thus it was wholly dependent on the natural factors.… Read More »Land Stories 

Fabled Jand Tree

There are many references to “Jand” tree in Punjabi literature. Foremost it is connected to a place called Danabad the village of Mirza in the legend of “Mirza-Sahiban”. After getting Sahiba from her home on the day of her marriage to someone else, and sneaking on his mare-called Bakki in local language, he decides to take rest under the cool shade of Jand tree. He was overconfident that even after taking rest for the summer noon, he will make it easily to his native place before the end of the day. Rest is well known. He was killed by Sahiban’s… Read More »Fabled Jand Tree

Steve Jobs and Yuddhistra

There is an episode in Mahabharata in which Yama, the God of Death wants to test the wisdom and knowledge of Yuddhistra, the eldest of Pandavas. The story goes that Pandava brothers go one after another to fetch water from a pool that supposedly belonged to Yama. As soon as, the pitcher is lowered into water, Yama’s voice reverberates and warns the pitcher holder not to fill it until he answers a question posed to him. As all the younger brothers fail to answer, they drop dead by the pond. At last when all the brothers are gone and none… Read More »Steve Jobs and Yuddhistra

Dehradun in Mythology

In the earliest legend, Dehradun was a part of Kedarkhand, the abode of Great God Shiva whose popularity in this region is reflected in the hills being called after Him as Shiwalik.  The place also figures in two mythological epics Mahabharata & Ramayana. It is said that Rama and his brother Lakshmana came here to do the penance after the death of Ravana at their hands. Five Pandava brothers also sojourned here while on their way to inner recesses of Himalayas. Another legend is connected with a little river called Suswa. After Indra made fun of 60000 pygmy brahmins for… Read More »Dehradun in Mythology

Rupa Ganguly: The Multifaceted Woman

We know her as Draupadi, the stellar role she played in the epic series “Mahabharata” on Doordarshan India. That was the role which has many shades of positive and negative. Draupadi was a complex woman who was the wife to five Pandava brothers. The legend had it that she wanted a complete man like Narayana as her husband. But in the mortal world, such a person was impossible to exist. So God gave her five husbands who had been endowed with limited qualities. Combined they became a person very near to what is wanted to be her husband. It is… Read More »Rupa Ganguly: The Multifaceted Woman

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