Art & Culture
by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
http://www.devdutt.com
It was the ninth night of the war at Kurukshetra. The exact midpoint of the legendary 18-day bloodbath. Not the start, not the end, but the middle. The war had been inconclusive. Sometimes the Kauravas led by the old sire Bhisma had the upper hand; sometimes the Pandavas led by the young
Read more »
by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
http://www.devdutt.com
Suddenly this creature appeared before him. A beast that looked like it had been created by fusing nine animals – its head was a rooster’s, its neck a peacock’s. It had a hump of a bull and a serpent for a tail. It waist was that of a lion. It had an
Read more »
by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
http://www.devdutt.com
The answer in many respects depends on what we mean by homosexuality. Do we limit ourselves only to sexual acts between members of the same sex and leave out romantic affection? Do we distinguish between those men who occasionally have sex with other men but otherwise live heterosexual lives, and those for
Read more »
by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
http://www.devdutt.com
In his navagraha kirti, the great 19th century Carnatic music composer, Muthuswami Dikshitar describes Budh (the planet mercury) as Napumsakam or one who is not quite male, or female. He alludes to a story in the Puranas where Brihaspati (the planet Jupiter) discovers that his wife Tara (the goddess of stars) is
Read more »