Mythology
Displaying 1 - 10 of 14
The 400-year-old oral tradition of storytelling, Kaavad baanchana, is struggling to stay alive in Rajasthan. However, there have been some attempts at preserving this unique art and the craft of kaavad-making in the modern era. We explore how craftsmen and artistes are trying to keep kaavads…
in Article
Prakrit languages attained the status of languages of religion, culture and communication owing to their association with the Jain spiritual guru Mahavira who is said to have preached his sermons to Jain mendicants in Prakrit.
The preference for the literary use of a particular variety of Prakrit…
in Article
With training in Sanskrit and Prakrit and a DPhil in Jainism from the University of Allahabad, Dr Singh has spent the past 30 years of his life researching on Jain canonical literature written in Prakrit language. He exhibits a wide range of expertise across the fields of linguistics, traditional…
in Interview
The Indian subcontinent is home to a number of language families such as the Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Iranian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman. A sub-group of the Indo-European language family, the Indo-Aryan language group can be divided into three categories: Old Indo-Aryan, Middle Indo-Aryan, and…
in Overview
Prakrit refers to a group of languages that were meant to be natural and unsophisticated as against Sanskrit, the ‘cultured’ language of the ‘learned’. It is characterised by the pronunciation of soft consonantal sounds that once formed a part of the vocabulary of the common masses of the Indian…
in Module
India has a rich history of serpent worship. The hooded serpent, known as naga or sarppam, is venerated and worshipped in different parts of the country. In the book The Sun and the Serpent written by religious historian C.F Oldham, serpents are described as demigods who are ‘the celestial serpents…
in Article
Serpent worship or ophiolatry is intricately woven into Hindu mythology and forms a significant part of the culture and belief systems of Kerala. Architectural historian James Fergusson in his book Tree and Serpent Worship writes that the serpent played ‘…an important part in the mythology of…
in Overview
The polytheistic belief system and religious practices of India have a rich and ancient history which dates back to the Vedic ages. For centuries, Indians have been worshipping the forces of nature, including natural phenomena, trees, animals and the Mother Earth, which is a practice believed to…
in Module