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Showing posts from August 21, 2014


Story Of Brihannala – The Eunuch Form Of Arjuna In Mahabharata

Arjuna, the third of the Pandava brothers, took the form of Brihannala – a eunuch during the incognito (staying in disguise for a year) exile period in the Mahabharata. As Brihannala, Arjuna taught dance and music to Uttara, the daughter of King of Virata. Arjuna did not need to act like Brihannala as he made use of a curse by Apsara Urvasi – the damsel in the court of Indra. Arjuna once did not show any interest to the sexual innuendos of Urvasi. The frustrated Apsara cursed him to be a eunuch. The curse was later changed by Indra to a year. Thus Arjuna used the curse during the incognito exile period and lived like a Eunuch. Brihannala was the charioteer of Uttara Kumara who went to fight against the Kauravas. After the death of Kichaka, there was no one to defend the kingdom of Virata . Using this opportunity, Kauravas took away the cattle of Virata. Uttaran went to fight the Kauravas with Brihannala as charioteer. But the young prince was frightened at the sight of

Book – The Power of the Female: Devangana Sculptures on Indian Temple Architecture

The book titled “The Power of the Female: Devangana Sculptures on Indian Temple Architecture ” is written by Gauri Parimoo Krishnan, curator with the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore . The main theme of the book is the celestial women sculptures in Hindu temples in Central and Western India . The sculptures are known as Devanganas, surasundaris and apsaras. The book is based on the Phd thesis of the author. The highlight of the book is more than 250 black and white photos. Eight chapters explore all the important aspects of the celestial women sculptures. Times of India reports  Usually, most scholars make a token reference to the apsaras as decorative appendages and relegate them to be minor images of semi-divine nature, erotically charged and supposed to offer a titillating thrill when seen on the walls of temples. Puranic literature has also depicted them as alluring men, rishis, and gods from their path of righteousness and spirituality. "They have

Watch What You Watch

In the beginning it was theaters, and then came television, then computer, then laptop, then mobiles, then tabs…We are now able to watch anything wherever we want at our convenience. It is a positive change. But are we watching what we watch? Are we aware that we are mentally being prepared through visuals to become addict to a particular product? It is not just products but ideas and thoughts. Quite often we are being made vulnerable. Fear and insecurity is being directly and indirectly injected into our minds. Our minds are slowly poisoned against people and nations. We are made to believe that we are superior to a particular group of people. All these are done daily through what we watch. To not to become a slave of media just don’t be satisfied with just one point of view. Take a look at what other people are saying on the subject. The generation that came after the media revolution is finding it difficult to relate on an intimate level to the opposite sex – the rea