Tales from Indian Mythology from a Story Keeper
An attempt for a non-judgemental and non-indoctrination look at Indian mythology
While some of you wait for the continuation of our mythoscopical dive into the mythological tales, bear with me as I slightly lengthen the hiatus with some things that are known (maybe) but rarely appreciated. Namely a few well-known rituals and festivals, with stories behind them. These may not get covered in the main thread … Continue reading 28 – Mythoscopy Decodes #01 – Finding Truth in a Ritual for Truth
Hi Friends! Today let's try to close our excursion into the names of the days ("vaaras"), and the planets - real or unreal - they are named after ("grahas"). So let's strike out into the forest of stories, and seize the day! Interestingly the word "graha" means the one's who hold or seize. And the … Continue reading 27 – Counting Out Days! Part Four.
Hi Friends! I have been quite irregular in posting, the past few days (and months)! So, I thought that it would be a good idea if we look at a few stories about days. Or the names we know them by, and see where it takes us. Fair warning, this may take longer than usual! … Continue reading 24 – Counting Out Days! Part One.
Hi Friends! Today let us finish the story about the (first) battle between Taraka-Asura ("The Strong Saviour") and the Devas ("The Bright One's"), fought to avenge the disrespect to Taraka's mother by Indra Deva in the form of a monkey. As mentioned earlier, the Deva army was led by eight of the dasa-dikpalas ("Guardians of … Continue reading 23 – When The Victorious Saviour Spared The Bright Monkeys
Hi Friends! Today let us take the story forward from where we left the action last time. Two battle-ready armies stood in front of each other, to fight for respect and supremacy. Let us learn a little more about their leaders, and champions. The Asura Army - The Saviour and Other Strong Ones The Asuras … Continue reading 21 – When The Divine Guardians Fought The Strong Saviour
Hi Friends! Today let’s start the stories of the major dynasties covered in Indian Mythology, and sometimes in the Indian History. You may have noticed that rulers, in our country as well as other regions in the world (in the past as well as the present) claim descent from divinity (or as close to divinity … Continue reading 16 – The Sons of the Sun
Hi Friends! Today let us look at Daksha Prajapati, the Skillful Master of Creation, and the story of a famous yagna of his. Daksha, the Skillful One, was one of the sons of Lord Brahma. He along with his nine brothers, together the Prajapatis, was entrusted with the work of creation. Daksha with his wife … Continue reading 15 – When Creativity of Skill and Ferocity of Nature Fought
Hi Friends! Today let us take the story of the Fourth Incarnation of Vishnu forward, and see what we can learn from it. We continue from the last post, with the almost “un-killable” Hiranyakashipu with his boons from Lord Brahma, and his “un-burnable” sister Simhika, with her fire-proof garment from Agni Deva, and their enmity … Continue reading 14 – The Story of the Scary One’s
Hi Friends! Today let us look at the Third Incarnation of Vishnu, which is another of the Genesis Myths, and amalgamation of another mythology. Like the Story of the Saviour Fish and the Story of the World-Fathering Turtle we discussed earlier. Interestingly the villain of this story is one of the cursed gatekeepers, who loved … Continue reading 12 – The Interesting Story of an Immense Boar
Hi Friends! Today let’s take a look at a story about the King of gods, who was a son of Aditi, and how he went about his most famous accomplishment, killing an Encircler, sometimes mentioned as his half-brother being a Daanav (son of Danu). For a quick review of the various sons of Sage Kasyapa … Continue reading 11 – The King Fought Tooth and Nails and Bones
Hi Friends! Today let us quietly stand in the corner of the primeval sea and see what precious things or “ratnas” are received by the grace of the Great Turtle, the Kurma. As we saw in the last post Adityas and Daityas wanted for themselves the Nectar of Immortality or Amruta. So together, they pulled … Continue reading 06 – Gifts of the Turtle
Hi Friends! Today let’s talk about the second aquatic adventure story, which also features the Second Incarnation of the Dashavataar. As mentioned last time while Fishing in Troubled Waters, this is also a Genesis Myth, i.e. it tries to explain how things came to be. So here is “a” version of the Second Legend of … Continue reading 05 – The Churning of the Sea
Hi Friends! Everything has to start somewhere. Day starts with sun-rise. Some songs start with a beautiful melody. Some start with someone mumbling about something he/she feels strongly about. So, when the tellers and the listeners of stories, gather around a glowing thing (a fire sometimes, sometimes a screen!) this is what needs to be … Continue reading 01 – Who Started These Stories
Hi Friends! I shall try to tell you a few stories. These are episodes, or parts, of the many stories that have been told by older generations to younger generations. Most of these stories will be from India, the country from where I am. But some can be from other places. These are sometimes referred … Continue reading 00 – Letter To My Friends
Tales from Indian Mythology from a Story Keeper 