Journal articles on the topic 'Indra (Hindu deity)'

Varakhsha hillfort is located in the Bukhara oasis (Uzbekistan). From the 6th to 8th c., it was the residence of the rulers of Bukhara Sogd. Archaeological investigations of the Varakhsha were carried out in the late 1930s, and then later in 1947 and 1949–1954. During the excavations of the palace, wall paintings were discovered in the Red (Hindu) and East (Blue) Halls (7th–8th c.). In the East Hall, the center of the art composition on the south wall was dominated by a massive figure of a ‘king’ with a golden sword, seated on a throne with protomas of winged camels. Depicted next to him was a group of five people sitting on their knees — the king's family. The elder man is making an offering to the fire on an altar. On the base of the altar, there is a male figure, seated on a throne in the form of a lying camel. This figure represents Vretragna, the Avestan deity of Victory. Mythogenically, Vretragna is close to the Vedic god of thunder Indra. In Avesta, Vretragna appears in various guises: a Bactrian camel; the bird of prey Varagn; a man with a golden sword. In Sogdian iconography, the image of the Bactrian camel is most often associated with Vretragna. The characters of the murals in the Blue Hall (the king’s family) bring offering to the fire lit in tribute to the deity — to Vretragna. The central figure of this composition was identi-fied by V.A. Shishkin as a king. In our opinion, it rather depicts Vretragna. This is implicitly indicated by the protomas of the throne in the form of winged camels and by the image of ‘the king with the golden sword’. The walls of the Red Hall of Varakhsha were decorated with a scene of hunters riding elephants. Each elephant was ridden by a servant-mahout and a lord, whose figure would be disproportionately large. They are slaying huge monsters. According to researchers, an image of the Sogdian deity Adbag is repeated here. The epithet ‘Adbag’ — ‘Supreme deity’ is associated with Ahuramazda. B.I. Marshak and A.M. Belenitsky note, that here Adbag-Ahuramazda is likened to Indra riding a white elephant. It seems to us quite probable that such an epithet could be applied to various gods of a high status. Notably, it could be Vretragna depicted here, who is akin to Indra. We think that the image of Vretragna held a special place in the visual arts of Varakhsha, as the patron deity of the Bukhar-Khudat dynasty. He was depicted in the center of the com-position in the Blue Hall in his Avestan hypostasis, and in the Red Hall he was depicted in the form of Indra.

The People who have not only multi ethnic, multi -religious and multi -languages in Sri Lanka but also, they follow different beliefs and cultural traditions as well. Hindu and Buddhist religious and cultural traditions are very prominent in Sri Lanka. Even though India is the root cause for the prevailing Hindu and Buddhist traditions in Sri Lanka, both the traditions and its worships and beliefs have unique and independent characteristics different from India. Small deity worship comprises of unique and independent characteristics in Sri Lanka. Small Deity worship in Hindu tradition: Kazhippu ritual, temple ritual, Kumara Deiva worship, Vairava worship, Pathini Amman worship, tree worship, Naga thampiran worship and small deity worship in Buddhist tradition: Thovil, Magapirith, katharagama deio, Bahirava, Pathini Deio, Bothi tree, Maga Naga are compared and identified unique and innovative characteristics among them. In this research, historical method, comparative method and descriptive method have been used. Data gathered from field work are considered as primary sources and data gathered from literature, research articles, manuscripts, etc. considered as secondary sources. Knowing origin and background of Hindu and Buddhist religion, identifying characteristics of small deity worship in Hindu and Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka, discovering unique and innovative characteristics of small deity worship of Hindu and Buddhist traditions and evaluating values revealed by the two traditions are objectives of the research. Research area for this study is Magoya Divisional Secretary and Eravur Pattu Divisional Secretary. The conclusion of the research is that the small deity worships of the above two traditions fulfills psychological needs of the concerned people and small deity worship beliefs and traditions of Hindu and Buddhist religions will continue for long time.

This paper examines the role of nāgas, mythical beings with serpentine features, in the Ādi-parvan of the Mahābhārata (Mbh). In the epic period, nāgas were repositioned as semi-divine beings with typical characteristics in the Hindu pantheon, and some narratives depicted them as the subject of immense sacrifice. This paper analyzes two nāga narratives in the Mbh: the birth of the nāga race and Āstīka’s salvation of nāgas from Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice (sarpa-sattra). The first narrative integrates nāgas and Garuḍa, a bird-like creature, into the offsprings of Kaśyapa’s two wives, Kadrū and Vinatā. This depicts them as beings belonging to the same paternal lineage. The subsequent narratives dealing with the conflict between nāgas and Garuḍa, and Garuḍa's theft of amṛta (an elixir of immortality) are also connected to the existing independent mythical elements of the Vedas or Brāhmaṇas. These narratives are situated in a new system through their birth narratives in the epic. Nāgas and Garuḍa play somewhat different roles in the formation of a hierarchy of Hindu mythology centered on Viṣṇu, the supreme deity. Nāgas are depicted as menacing beings that need to be subdued, while Garuḍa attains the status of Viṣṇu's vāhana (vehicle) and establishes a predator-prey relationship with nāgas by making them his food under the grace of Indra, the king of the devas. The difference of the final blessing verses which are placed at the end of each story also indirectly reflects their mythical hierarchy or their roles. The second narrative, which deals with Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice and Āstīka's salvation of nāgas, is closely related to the Mbh's main plot as a frame story. In particular, Takṣaka, the king of nāgas, is one of the significant characters that acts as a link of different narratives and constitutes the core of the mythical narrative. Takṣaka's deeds and status centered on the snake sacrifice are at the intersection of two narratives: the Bhārata war and the tradition of nāgas. Janamejaya, who is in an antagonistic position with Takṣaka and is also one of the key characters of the frame narrative of the Mbh, performs two roles in those nāga stories. One is a descendant of the Bhārata clan and the other is a patron of the snake-sacrifice. By performing these two roles of ‘succession of Bhārata race’ and ‘eliminating threatening enemies’, he demonstrates how two independent traditions are merged in the Mbh's frame narrative. At this point, nāgas are regarded as having represented authority before the Bhārata story's appearance and, moreover, are configured as threatening enemies to be vastly sacrificed. Āstīka, on the other hand, who is configured as a savior of the nāga clan, was born between a Brahmin sage and a maiden of the nāga clan. This symbolically represents the combination of Veda and non-Veda traditions. In conclusion, Mbh's nāga narratives in Ādi-parvan can be cited as a good example of how independent traditions were incorporated into the epic and found their place in the mythological structure of the new system.

Kālī, the Hindu goddess ‘Time,’ is a ubiquitous presence in contemporary rural and urban Bengali life and occupies a historic place as Calcutta's patron deity. Her prototypes go back to pre-Vedic India (Kinsley 1977:90; MacKenzie-Brown 1985:111). Kālī was incorporated into the orthodox Hindu textual tradition in the myths of the Devī-Māhātmya, or Candī, as this sixth-century A.D. text is known in Bengal. She subsequently became the chief divinity as Female Principle (Śakti, ‘Force’, ‘Creatrix’) in the esoteric Sākta Tantra cult, which was especially prevalent in eastern India around the sixteenth century. By the seventeenth century, Kālī's worship moved to the public sphere. The Kālī saints Rāmaprasāda (eighteenth century) and Rāmakrsna (late nineteenth century) were especially responsible for popularizing the devotional (bhakti) conception of Kālī as Mother, the prevalent perception of this deity among Bengalis today (Gatwood 1985:174; Kapera n.d.:71; Kinsley 1977:93, 117; Kinsley 1986:116, 125; MacKenzie-Brown 1985:118–19).

Kabirdas is a poet who lived in medieval India. He visioned to spread social purity with philosophical thinking through the poems which are termed as Nirgun bhajans. Bhajan is simply known for chanting the qualities and the physical appearance of Hindu deity/deities. The bhajans or poems composed by Kabirdas are not consisting of the latter, but they are also put under the term 'bhajan' in terms of lyrics and their musical presentation. Traditionally, bhajans refer to devotional songs that depict the qualities and physical attributes of various deities. However, Kabirdas' bhajans deviate from this norm by focusing on different themes, while maintaining a certain essence of traditional bhajans. This study investigates how the melodies of Kabir bhajans effects in the absence of chanting the qualities and the physical appearance of a Hindu deity/deities in the lyrics. This study also aims to look at the broader significance of devotional music in promoting social and philosophical ideals in medieval India.

As India faced multiple waves of the pandemic, religious responses arose to accommodate and make sense of the situation. In the face of uncertainty, disease and death, people turn not just towards the medical sciences but also religion. The emergence of a new Hindu goddess, Corona Mātā/Coronavirus Mardhinī encapsulates people’s fear, faith, and devotion. Although the goddess is new, the tradition of disease goddesses is ancient. The Indian Subcontinent has a long history of mother goddesses who have been protecting their devotees from diseases such as smallpox, fever, plague, etc. This paper attempts to examine the emergence of Corona Mātā in the historical context of these ‘protective mothers’. On one hand, historically, these goddesses have emerged as a result of interaction between Brahmanical religion and regional practices. On the other hand, these disease-centred goddesses can also be seen as the result of fear and faith. This paper will analyse the location of Corona Mātā in the ever-evolving pantheon of Hindu deities in the context of a 21st-century pandemic.

The Śrī Gurudeva Datta Mandir is a modern Hindu temple constructed around the udumbara tree (ficus racemora) believed to be the mythical dwelling place of the antinomian god Dattātreya. Originally located in a public park, the temple is now an independently registered trust and is widely recognized as one of the most prominent and celebrated Hindu places of worship in the affluent residential area of Deccan Gymkhana in Pune, India. In this article, we examine how the natural and built environment, along with religious practices, are constantly reconfigured and renegotiated by various actors catering to the contemporary sensitivities of the urban Hindu middle classes. We argue that to understand urban religious spaces like the Śrī Gurudeva Datta Mandir, it is essential to consider how cultural, religious, and political sensitivities converge to give material form to these spaces. Through an analysis of the temple, the deity of Dattātreya, and the udumbara tree, we explore the complex interplay of these forces and their role in shaping contemporary Hindu religious practices and beliefs in urban India.

India is an ancient nation with diverse cultures, which are articulated and depicted through different tribes, communities, castes, and ethnic groups. Kabbaliga (Koli) and its associated communities are one of the ancient tribal groups found across the subcontinent of India under different names. Culturally and religiously, they are Hindus with diverse traditional beliefs systems and practices. They worship different deities, saints, philosophers, and personalities from different generations together. Jokumaraswami (commonly called Jokumara) is a popular folk deity of these associated communities in both the central and northernregions of Karnataka state. He is believed to be a deity of rain, agricultural prosperity, and well-being. There are numerous folk tales and songs on the origin of Jokumaraswami and his antecedents on earth. The study aims to know about the socio-cultural aspects of the Kabbaliga and its associated communities and the worship of folk deities in Karnataka. Anthropological techniques such as observation, participant observation, and informal interviews were used to gain a better understanding of these associated groups social and cultural lives.

This article examines the everyday religious phenomenon of nirguṇa bhakti as it is experienced by Hindu renouncers (sādhus) in North India. As an Indian language concept, nirguṇa bhakti characterizes a type of devotion (bhakti) that is expressed in relation to a divinity who is said to be without (nir) the worldly characteristics and attributes of sex and gender, name and form, race and ethnicity, class and caste. Although bhakti requires a relationship between the devotee and the deity, the nirguṇa kind transcends the boundaries of relational experience, dissolving concepts of “self” and “other”, and, in effect, accentuating the experience of union in the divine absolute. In comparison to saguṇa bhakti (devotion to a deity with attributes), nirguṇa bhakti is considered to be difficult to realize in human birth. Yet, the poetry, songs, and practices of uncommon humans who have not only left behind social norms, but also, devoting their lives to the worship of the divine, achieved forms of divine realization, people like the mystics, saints and sādhus of Hindu traditions, laud the liberating power and insights of nirguṇa bhakti. The Hindu sādhus featured in this article describe their experiences of nirguṇa bhakti through the use of the idiom of a “one-hundred rupee note” to distinguish its superior value and, as significantly, to indicate that humans “earn” God (Brahman) through the practice of nirguṇa devotion. As a “precious” spiritual asset on the path of liberation, nirguṇa bhakti establishes the religious authority and authenticity of sādhus, while setting them apart from other sādhus and holy figures in a vibrant North Indian religious landscape.

The paper deals with the concept of miracle in the language and culture of the Jaisalmer district (Rajasthan, India). It is argued that a special understanding of miracle in that region is directly related to perceptions of the vernacular Hinduism prevalent in Rajasthan, which is based on mediumism. The concept of miracle, parco in Marwari (from the Old Indo-Aryan paricaya ‘acquaintance’), is a special cultural phenomenon that characterizes cases of unexpected manifestation of a deity or divine power outside the mediumship related rituals aimed at invoking the deity, and mostly not through a medium. The difference between parco in Marwari and camatkār in Standard Hindi is analyzed. Narratives on cases of parco related to the region under study are given as illustrative material.

Abstract This article utilises interviews I completed with Hindu Bengali women in Kolkata, India, concerning their practices of domestic shrine care and worship. I illustrate how the loving relationship women build between themselves and their domestic deities—a relationship women describe as the marker of bhakti—is fomented through their daily caretaking of deities such as Gopāl, the toddler form of Kṛṣṇa found in many Kolkatan home shrines. While male Brahmin priests oversee pūjā in Kolkata’s Hindu temples, it is often the mothers, daughters, and daughters-in-laws that are responsible for the care and daily worship of the domestic shrine, where such work is deemed ‘a woman’s duty’ and is assimilated within the domestic responsibilities that Bengali women traditionally undertake. Household shrine care and worship varies but generally consists of acts that one might show to a beloved family member such as feeding and offering water; cleansing, dressing and adorning; gift-giving; decorating a comfortable living space; and waking and putting to sleep. Bengali women explained to me their authority over the domestic shrine by citing their maternal capacity to love to suggested that they were more apt and skilled than men to care for the physically vulnerable deities at home. When noting this, they often mentioned the needs of the child-god Gopāl and their feelings of maternal love and devotion that his presence evokes within them through his depiction as a chubby toddler, crawling on his hands and knees with one hand that is extended outwards; much like a child asking to hold the hand of his parent. This article examines how both the familial necessity of caretaking demanded by the home deity and the imagining of the deity as physically vulnerable promote the development of this bhakti relationship between the female devotee and deity within the contemporary Bengali home.

Abstract The Sikkimese are a multi-ethnic community in a Himalayan sub-region in India. Even though the majority of the population is Hindu and Nepalese, the minority Buddhist and Bhutia/Lepcha communities are very strong. Death by poisoning is a common occurrence among the Sikkimese, and it is often ambiguous and subject to suspicion. Narrated initially as traditional cautionary tales, these belief narratives have been used against the multi-ethnic communities that reside in Sikkim, leading to real-world accusations. The article explores how belief in, and narratives related to, poison, poisoning, poison keepers and the poison deity are used to justify the demonisation and othering of a community.

Employing a narrative comprehension task procedure, this study tests the hypothesis that engagement in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava religious practices, which are aimed at cultivating a personal relationship with the Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa, predict increased implicit attribution of anthropomorphic properties to him. Contrary to our hypothesis, multiple regression analyses of data from 184 native Krishna devotees in West Bengal, India, indicated that increased engagement in these practices loaded as a tertiary predictor after education and age, such that increased practice predicted a decrease in implicit anthropomorphic reasoning about Kṛṣṇa (ß = 0.16, p < 0.03). Based on these and additional analyses of the data, we theorize that these results may be due to the tradition’s emphasis on presenting Kṛṣṇa’s non-anthropomorphic dimensions to neophyte practitioners and the non-Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava public. One implication of these results is that religious cultures and engagement in religious practices have the potential to significantly affect a human cognitive tendency to implicitly attribute anthropomorphic properties to divine beings. This may result from developing alternative knowledge from which to reason about a deity by engaging in religious practices and beliefs shaped by particular theological, historical, and cultural factors.

AbstractSecular governance in India was meant to have incorporated religion within public life, but the implementation of ‘Indian secularism’ has in important ways been premised on separating religious and secular lifeworlds. Public Hindu temples, whose assets and operations are managed by a melange of statutory bodies, courts, and state governments, exemplify this puzzling situation. The 2011 discovery of treasures within the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, prompted extended public debate about the ownership of temple assets as well as litigation that eventually reached the Supreme Court of India. Indian citizens, erstwhile princely rulers, and the deity of the temple were variously presented as the true owners of the wealth. Ultimately, both public discourse and judicial opinion largely reaffirmed the notion that religious institutions are to be treated as private, contractually defined properties, and that temple wealth, as specifically religious property, exists outside of market circulations.

AbstractThe devotional literatures across the Hindu bhakti traditions of medieval India are shaped by distinctive styles of affective responses to the divine reality. A theme which recurs in several layers of their songs is a theological dialectic between divine majesty and divine accessibility; the divine is not only simply transcendent in the sense of being a distant deity but is also immanently present in and through a range of human sensitivities, emotions, and affectivities. We will highlight the dialectic in the devotional songs of three medieval figures, Tulsīdās (c. 1600), Sūrdās (c. 1600), and Mādhavadeva (1489–1596), which are structured primarily by the devotional attitude of a servant (dāsa) towards the Lord. As we will see, this theological servitude is not to be understood as a form of abject servility, for the three poets, in their somewhat distinctive ways, can not only speak of the Lord as a friend and as a lover, but can even level various kinds of complaints, challenges, and accusations at the Lord. Thus, if the Lord’s transcendental sovereignty is emphasised by the devotee through the modes of self-censure, the Lord’s immanent availability is also highlighted through the protests that the devotee fervently makes to the seemingly uncaring Lord.

The shiny, black stone statue of Shri Nathji that today resides in the busy pilgrimage town of Nathdvara (Rajasthan, India) is the preeminent image of the Vaisnava sect of the Vallabha Sampradaya. Like all statues in the sect, the image is an anthropomorphic manifestation of Krishna, the sect's paramount deity (see Plate 1). More than simply representing Krishna, Vallabhite statues are believed to contain this deity's ‘immanent presence’ and to possess (and emanate) his mystical powers. In order to partake of these powers, the worship of images is a regular feature of Vallabhite religious practice, and pilgrimage to important temples, such as the Shri Nathji Temple, is a cherished goal of all members of the sect. This article examines how the Hindu rajas of western India attempted to bind these mystical powers to the service of their rule and what consequences this had both for royal action and for the maintenance and perpetuation of the divine powers of the statues themselves.

In Rajasthan, one of the north-western states of India, whoever has heard of the Kāmaḍ (or Kāmaḍiyā) would define them as wandering minstrels or jugglers, singing hymns in praise of Bābā Rāmdeo, a famous saint from Mārwāṛ, whose footprints they worship. Most people could not say much more about this community of religious singers who, since Independence, have been listed among the “scheduled castes”. In any case, everybody seems to be aware of their connection with Rāmdeo, a famous folk deity, also popular in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, now venerated by devotees of all castes and creeds, but mostly by Hindus, as an avatār of Vishnu-Krishna.

Roman aurei and solidi in India led to imitations of gold being produced there of these coins, with a gradual infiltration of indigenous elements observed in the iconography of some examples. An imitation of a Roman aureus, now in the British Museum collection, demonstrates how the Roman coin design was renegotiated to fit an Early Historic Indian cultural landscape. Specifically, the design of the reverse of this specimen finds no prototype in Roman coinage of the times. It must have been a local development, with the Indian craftsman reworking a representation of a female deity known from issues of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius and adding a temple to it. The Indian form of the building suggests that the figure should be interpreted as a Hindu goddess, possibly Lakshmi, shown in the act of blessing her temple.

Violence is a characteristic that has somewhat become definitional for the Hindu goddess Kālī. But looking at it through the lens of folk narrative and the popular, devotion-infused and highly personalised opinions of her devotees shows that not only the understanding, but also the acceptance of this violence and the connected anger and bloodthirst that are usually attached to it, as well as the feelings of fear and danger that arise from them on the devotees’ end, are subjects open to discussion. This article, at the juncture between anthropology, performance, and Hindu studies, analyses and compares discourses about her Malayali counterpart, Bhadrakāḷi, drawing simultaneously on various versions of her founding myth of Dārikavadham (‘The Slaying of Dārikan’), ritual routines of her temples in Central Kerala as well as ritual performing arts that are conducted in some of them. The concluding discussion of her alleged thirst for blood and identification of the ’real‘ addressee of blood offerings made to her particularly illustrates how far the negotiation of Bhadrakāḷi’s use of violence and her very definition as violent goddess reaches deep into the worshipper/deity relationship that lies at the heart of popular worship.

Designating rights for nature is a potentially powerful way to open up the dialogue on nature conservation around the world and provide enforcement power for an ecocentric approach. Experiments using a rights-based framework have combined in-country perspectives, worldviews, and practices with legal justifications giving rights to nature. This paper looks at a fusion of legal traditions, religious worldviews, and practices of environmental protection and advocacy in the context of India. It takes two specific legal cases in India and examines the recent high-profile rulings designating the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and their tributaries and glaciers as juristic persons. Although the rulings were stayed a few months after their issuance, they are an interesting bending of the boundaries of nature, person, and deity that produce Ganga and Yamuna as vulnerable prototypes. This paper uses interview data focusing on these cases and document and archival data to ask whether legal interventions giving rights to nature can become effective avenues for environmental activism and spiritual ecology. The paper also assesses whether these legal cases have promoted Hindu nationalism or ‘Hindutva lite’.

This paper examines the benefits of ethnographic film for the study of religion. It argues that the exploration of gaps between colloquial descriptions of divinities and their practical manifestation in ritual is instructive of the way religious categories are conceptualized. The argument is developed through an analysis of selected scenes from the documentary AVATARA, a meditation on goddess worship (Śaktism) among the Khas ethnic majority of the Hindu Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh, India). Centering on embodiments of the goddess in spirit possession séances, it points to a fundamental difference between the popular depiction of the deity as a virgin-child (kanyā) who visits followers in their dreams and her actual manifestation as a menacing mother (mātā) during ritual activities. These ostensibly incongruent images are ultimately bridged by the anthropologically informed edition of the material caught on camera, illustrating the added advantage of documentary filmmaking for approximating religious experiences.

At the foothills of the formidable Western Ghats of India lies a coastal strip of land, the Konkan Coast, which forms part of the extended coastline along the west coast of the country. The unique culture found in the Konkan coastal landscape has produced a magnificent ornamental style named Kaavi Kalé. Kaavi, or kavé, means in this context “red oxide”, while kalé means “art form”. It is fundamentally an incised work performed on an architectural surface that has been previously finished with lime plaster and then a red oxide layer over it. This forms elaborate murals and motifs inspired by the unique folklore of Dravidian culture. Although predominantly found in Hindu temples, this secular art form can also be seen in churches, a mosque, Jain temples and folk deity temples, as well as in domestic architecture. This paper presents the history of the art form, its techniques, a brief iconographic study of its compositions and possible methods of conservation, through accounts of extensive primary surveys and on-site experiments and a study of secondary sources.

In south India, when a person is afflicted with poxes of any variety, it is believed that the goddess Mariyamman has “arrived” in the person. The Tamil term “ammai” means pustules or “pearls” of poxes as well as mother/goddess. Indigenous discourses, gleaned from resources, such as songs and narratives, facilitate our interrogation of the Hindu “religious experience” that underscores the immanent and eminent manifestations of the deity and the dimension of benevolence associated with pox-affliction. Asking what might be the triggering conditions for identifying the pox-afflicted body as the goddess, I problematize the prevalent scholarly characterization of such affliction in terms of “possession” of a body, taken as a “mute facticity,” by an external agent, namely, the goddess. Drawing from ethnographic sources and classical Tamil texts, I argue that the immanent identification of the body as the goddess and conceptualization of her sovereign authority over the body during affliction are facilitated by an imagistic relationship of the afflicted body with an agricultural field, which is conventionally regarded as feminine in the Tamil context.

Madurai “Athens of South India” occupies a pride of place in the Indian subcontinent. Its age-old history, cultural resources, and strategic location are the responsible factors for its growth as a tourist center. In the domain of the Hindu religion, Madurai occupies a unique place. Its popular deity Goddess Meenakshi is very famous. Madurai is the second biggest city in Tamilnadu, and it is located on the banks of river Vaigai. It is situated between 7°57’ and 11° 10’ and north latitude and 77° 50’ and 79° 85’ east longitude. Madurai has many names like Kudal Manager, Nanmadakkudal, and Tiruvalavai. Madurai is a well-planned city, just like Mohenjadaro. Meenakshi Amman Temple is located at the heart of the city. The temple is surrounded by streets named after Tamil months Adi, Avani, and Masi. Most of Sri Meenakshi Temple was built between the 13th and 19th centuries. This paper “the features of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple” deals with the features andcontribution of Thirumalai Nayak to the temple.

The article describes the religion of Mattar Banom, the cult of the autochthonous script of the Sora language, created in the 1930s in the state of Odisha, India, at the same time as script itself. The newly invented script (Sorang-Sompeng) is considered to be the incarnation of the god Jagannath who, according to Hindu beliefs, was originally the god of the Savara tribe (supposed ancestors of the Sora) but then was taken away from them by the Oriya Brahmins. Each character of the script is dedicated to a certain deity of the traditional Sora pantheon. The article deals with the social prerequisites, conditions and goals of creating the cult, as well as the history of its development. I attempt to examine and reconstruct cult modification strategies through the ethnolinguistic analysis of the inscription on the iconographic image of the god-alphabet, religious texts, and cult terminologies. I argue that the cult was originally based on the tantric ideas common in Odisha, while the ideas of Jagannath and letters associated with deities appeared later in the course of the cult's development.

Kṣētrayya is the attributed author of Telugu padams (short lyrical poems) dedicated to Muvva Gōpāla, a form of the Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa. Kṣētrayya is commonly described as a peripatetic poet from the village of Muvva in Telugu-speaking South India who wandered south to the Nāyaka courts of Tanjavur in the seventeenth century. Contrary to popular and scholarly assumptions about this poet, this article argues that Kṣētrayya was not a historical figure, but rather, a literary persona constructed into a Telugu bhakti poet-saint through the course of three centuries of literary reform. A close reading of selected padams attributed to Kṣētrayya reveals the uniquely tangible world of female sexuality painted by the speakers of these poems. However, these padams became sanitized through the course of colonial and post-colonial anti-nautch and Telugu literary reform. In line with this transformation, the hagiography of the poet Kṣētrayya was carefully molded to fit a prefabricated typology of a Telugu bhakti poet-saint. Countering the longstanding narrative of solo male authorship, the article raises the possibility that these padams were composed by multiple authors, including vēśyas (courtesans).

<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court of India issued a ruling allowing for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Ram on the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttara Pradesh. Similarly, on July 10, 2020, the State of Council, the highest administrative court in Turkey, issued an order to convert the status of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque. The court's decision in both nations has been regarded as a transformative political development within their respective contexts. This decision has garnered praise from certain individuals, while also attracting criticism from others, both domestically and internationally. This article is thematically based, library-focused, and qualitative. The article examines and evaluates both cases based on the existing evidence pertaining to the historical structures, and endeavours to propose the most persuasive perspective to adopt in such situations. The study's findings suggest that the judicial decision under scrutiny exhibits a greater inclination towards political considerations rather than rational ones.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Hagia Sophia, Babri Mosque, Judicial Rulings, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi</p>

Śrī Nāth is one of the most important images of Krishna being worshipped at the temple of Nathdwara in Rajasthan. His devotees consider him to be a living god, he appears in their dreams, and according to their sayings they are in direct contact with him. Śrī Nāth, originally a local deity, is equated with the major Hindu god Krishna. However, while Krishna may be one of the most important gods in India, he is also ambiguous through his acts and words, if not bluntly unreliable. This double nature of Krishna is reflected in the cult of Śrī Nāth. There is an interesting interaction between Śrī Nāth (implying Krishna himself), the main gurus of his cult, i.e., Vallabha (Vallabhācārya) and the latter’s son and main successor Viṭṭhalnāth and his devoted disciples. At times, Śrī Nāth feels the need to stick to the official Brahmanical cult of the temple rituals, on other occasions, there is no problem in transgressing any given official rule. The same is true for the primary teachers, who are often put on par with Krishna himself or one of the celestials closely connected to him. Additionally, the disciples can apparently do anything in their frenzies. All of this reinforces the idea that this entire cult belongs to another world (alaukik). It is part of the everyday world (laukik) of Hindu India, but meanwhile, each and every rule can be ignored if the supernatural breaks through. Even the distinction between Hinduism and Islam at times simply does not seem to be of importance anymore. Muslims can become addicted to the passionate love for Krishna through the form of Śrī Nāth, so it is sometimes stated. Each and every partaker in the cult may share the visions of the initiated devotee, at times even without proper initiation. This all adds to the experience of the supermundane and supernatural in this particular cult.

The paper focuses on one of the most popular Hindu pilgrimage centers — Jwalamukhi temple, based in the Kangra district of the North-Western state of India, Himachal Pradesh. The temple is unique due to the absence of the main image. At the same time, people worship the deity as women’s energy Shakti in the form of a fire. The author draws attention to peculiar analogies traced by some research scholars between this temple and the fire temple named Surakhan Ateshgah near Baku in Azerbaijan. Considering this subject, the author analyses different versions of the origin of the fire temple in Azerbaijan, including the so-called “Indian angle”. Basing on the wide range of source material, including the reports of the Archaeological Survey of India established by the British colonial administration in 1861, the author evaluates and critically reviews various versions regarding possible dates of building this temple. Undertaken investigation allows concluding that the temple of Jwalamukhi could be founded in the 6th–7th centuries AD. However, the very cult of worshipping this goddess in Kangra might originate much earlier, in the first centuries BC. The article contains a cryptic narrative of the medieval history of the temple, supplemented by famous chronicles by Ferishta narrating how it was repeatedly subjected to devastating raids of Muslim armies, firstly led by the Delhi sultans and later by Mughal rulers. The description of the temple and religious rituals are based on the personal impressions of the author.

Mundhum is knowledge. Kirat's Mundhum is comparable to the Hindu Vedas. Some even consider it folklore. The culture of Kirat was formed by combining Mundhum's wisdom and philosophy with faith. Tungdunge Mundhum is the story of Kirat Samba's ancestral relationship, empowerment, and travel details. Tungdunge used to be their ancestral deity to be worshipped every three years. Kirat Limbu is an indigenous group living in Eastern Nepal, India, Bhutan, and abroad. Different surnames identify them, and one of them is Samba Phyang. The study attempted to examine facts to connect the epic and genealogy. This research investigated the historical, archaeological, and biological context. King Kokaha-Baraha used to be considered a god in history and genealogy. Tungdunge was the youngest son of King Kokaha-Baraha in Koshi Baraha region. He belonged to the Sen dynasty. His journey described in the myth began from Koshi-Baraha to the Mewa Khola in the 17th century. In the Socio-biological approach, the gene directs the path to kinship. He had travelled to Mewa Khola searching for his brother, and Samba welcomed him. This Mundhum attests to the Sen and Samba families' ties. It was a historical case of Eastern Nepal similar to the socio-biological model explained. The Shreng and Samba lineages arose from the Sen dynasty, according to history and mundhum. As a result, the Sen dynasty is the forefather of Samba families, including Phyang.

The history of environmental protection begins with human civilization. Many measures are being taken to protect the environment in India since ancient times. Sun, the source of energy, was considered a deity and life-giving rivers were considered goddesses. Trees, plants and animals are worshiped in Indian culture. All these combined activities emphasize environmental protection. The pace of economic development, however, harmed the environment. Currency was invented. Banks developed gradually. There was a change in the form of banks. Along with public banks, private banks also started working in the economy. Commercial banks accept deposits and provide loans. When commercial banks provide money to schemes for the protection of green projects, it is believed that commercial banks are also performing the sacred task of environmental protection. The role of commercial banks in environmental protection has increased in the present times. Abstract in Hindi Language: पर्यावरण संरक्षण का इतिहास मानव सभ्यता से शुरू होता है। भारत में प्राचीन काल से ही पर्यावरण की रक्षा के लिये अनेक उपाय किए जा रहे है। ऊर्जा के श्रोत सूर्य को देवता तथा जीवनदायिनी नदियों को देवी माना गया। भारतीय संस्कृति में पेड़ पौधे व पशुओं की पूजा की जाती है। ये सभी सम्मिलित क्रिया कलाप पर्यावरण संरक्षण को बल देते है। आर्थिक विकास की गति ने यद्यपि पर्यावरण को हानि पहुचाई। मुद्रा का अविष्कार हुआ। धीरे-धीरे बैंको का विकास हुआ। बैंको के स्वरूप मंे परिवर्तन हुआ। सार्वजनिक बैंको के साथ-साथ अर्थव्यवस्था में निजी बैंके भी कार्य करने लगी। वाणिज्य बैंके जमा स्वीकार करती है और ऋण प्रदान करती है। जब वाणिज्य बैंके हरित परियोजनाआंे के संरक्षण वाली योजनाओं को मुद्रा प्रदान करती है तो यह माना जाता है कि वाणिज्य बैंके भी पर्यावरण संरक्षण के पवित्र कार्य को सम्पादित कर रही है। पर्यावरण संरक्षण में वाणिज्यक बैंको की भूमिका वर्तमान समय में बढ़ गयी है। Keywords: वाणिज्य बैंक, पर्यावरण संरक्षण, हरित परियोजनाएं, ग्रीन बैंकिंग।

Garhmukteshwar is a very ancient city and tehsil located in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh state of India. It is said that this place was a part of the ancient city Hastinapur, the capital of the Kauravas. Due to its proximity to Delhi, Garhmukteshwar has always been a victim of invaders, due to which the ancient temples located here were destroyed and the architecture of those that remain is influenced by Mughal architecture. For centuries, religion has had a prominent place in the life of the people of India. There has been nothing like religion and for the sake of religious rituals, it was considered to create some such permanent things so that this religion remains immortal for ages. Temples in India are symbols of this religion, which have been called Devkul, Devgriha, Devayatan etc. in ancient texts, which means the place of residence of the deity. Initially the temples were very simple but with the passage of time and due to the kings presenting their grandeur, the temples started becoming very beautiful and grand and there was a difference in their style according to the regions, like the temples of North India are in Nagar style. And the temples of South India started being built in Dravidian style. In the area between these two, there was a mixture of both the styles which is called Besar style. At present, very ancient and historical temples are located in India. But there are many temples whose historicity and antiquity are yet to be ascertained. Taking this work forward, the temples of Garhmukteshwar tehsil located in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh state are being described here. A very ancient temple is situated here. Whose historicity goes back to the Mahabharata period. Ancient and historical temples like Ganga Temple, Ganmukteshwar Temple, Jharkhandeshwar Temple, Sahadeshwar Temple, Tapeshwari Temple etc. are still located in Garhmukteshwar tehsil. Abstract in Hindi Language: भारत के उत्तर प्रदेश राज्य के हापुड़ जिले में स्थित गढ़मुक्तेश्वर एक अति-प्राचीन नगर व तहसील है। ऐसा कहा जाता है कि यह स्थान कौरवों की राजधानी प्राचीन नगर हस्तिनापुर का एक भाग था। गढ़मुक्तेश्वर दिल्ली के निकट होने के कारण हमेशा आक्रान्ताओं का शिकार होता रहा जिस कारण यहाँ पर स्थित प्राचीन मन्दिर नष्ट हो गये एवं जो बचे हुए है उनकी वास्तुकला, मुगल वास्तुकला से प्रभावित है। सदियों से भारत के जन-जीवन में धर्म का प्रमुख स्थान रहा है धर्म के समान कुछ भी नहीं रहा है एवं धार्मिक अनुष्ठानों के निमित्त ही कुछ ऐसी स्थायी वस्तुओ का निर्माण करने पर विचार किया गया जिससे यह धर्म युग-युगान्तर तक अमर रहे। भारत मंे मन्दिर इसी धर्म के प्रतीक है जिन्हे प्राचीन ग्रन्थों में देवकुल, देवगृह, देवायतन आदि कहा गया है जिसका अर्थ होता है, देवता के निवास का स्थान। शुरू में मन्दिर बहुत ही साधारण होते थे लेकिन समय के साथ-साथ तथा राजाओं के अपना वैभव प्रस्तुत करने के कारण मन्दिर बहुत ही सुन्दर व भव्य बनने लगे तथा क्षेत्रों के अनुरूप इनकी शैली में भी अन्तर आ गया जैसे उत्तर भारत के मन्दिर नागर शैली में तथा दक्षिण भारत के मन्दिर द्रविड़ शैली में बनने लगे। इन दोनों के मध्य वाले क्षेत्र में दोनों शैलियों का मिश्रण रहा जिसे बेसर शैली कहा गया है। भारत देश मंे वर्तमान में बहुत ही प्राचीन एवं ऐतिहासिक मन्दिर स्थित है। लेकिन बहुत से मन्दिर ऐसे है जिनकी ऐतिहासिकता एवं प्राचीनता का पता लगाना अभी बाकी है। इसी कार्य को आगे बढ़ाते हुए यहाँ पर उत्तर प्रदेश राज्य के हापुड़ जनपद में स्थित गढ़मुक्तेश्वर तहसील के मन्दिरों का वर्णन किया जा रहा है। यहाँ पर अति प्राचीन मन्दिर स्थित है। जिनकी ऐतिहासिकता महाभारत काल तक जाती है। गढ़मुक्तेश्वर तहसील में गंगा मन्दिर, गणमुक्तेश्वर मन्दिर, झारखण्डेश्वर मन्दिर, सहदेश्वर मन्दिर, तपेश्वरी मन्दिर आदि प्राचीन एवं ऐतिहासिक मन्दिर आज भी स्थित है। Keywords: अनुष्ठान, मन्दिर, गढ़मुक्तेश्वर, वास्तुकला, ऐतिहासिकता, गुम्बद, प्रतिमा, अष्टकोणीय, चतुष्कोणीय, कलश

Sheikh Adi Ibn Musafir, who was born 1079 in Lebanon and spent most of his life in Syria, did something no one has since attempted: He invented a new God, Whom He called Tawsi Melek, “The Angel of the Highest Order” (from the Kurdish) and a new religion to go with Him.Sheikh Adi, a Sufi, and His colleagues, a ragtag fraternity of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Jews wrote a detailed explanation of This Angelic Being and His Pillars of Faith called the Kitab al Jilwa, “The Book We Wrote.”The people Sheikh Adi taught about Tawsi Melek, called themselves Yazidi, the descendants of Angels, or “The Defenders of the Place”. Who attacked them? Other Christians, Muslims, and Jews without restraint. Weary of war, dogma, displacement, and the shear ridiculousness of it all, Sheikh Adi led a revolution through Tawsi Melek.What did Tawsi Melek say about His religious contemporaries and reasons for their Crusades?“All the books of those who are without decency are altered by them; and they have declined from them, although they were written by their prophets and the apostles. That there are interpolations is seen in the fact that each sect endeavors to prove that the others are wrong and to destroy their books.”Sheikh Adi and the Yazidi wanted none of it. Not their company, their books, their Bloodthirsty God, their restrictive and nonsensical rituals, their appetites for war. In the Kitab al Jilwa, Tawsi Melek fosters a GDI attitude towards the incredulous and irreverent aspects of other faiths without compromising the centrality of a loving and protective deity. The idea was wildly popular. The Kitab Al Jilwa, a short text, and its counterpart, the Book of the White, were instrumental in the induction of over 20 000 000 Yazidi from India, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Eastern Europe. There are less than one million Yazidi left in the world today.Because of their clout, the Yazidi were hunted nearly to extinction by the Ottomans, other Muslims, and their numbers were culled further by the DAESH. It didn’t help that rumors confused Tawsi Melek’s identity with a fallen angel, and that Hadith states that any abandonment of orthodox Islam is punishable by death Calabrese & Sexton et. al (2008.).What is the truth of Tawsi Melek and why did His Appearance in the Spiritual Canon cause humanity to go mad? Are human beings allowed to make new gods and enter into new arrangements with the divine or not? Who is empowered by God to police these things and should their authority be recognized?What of Yazidism itself? Can humanity grow from re-exposure to the beliefs, scriptures, and Archangel contained in the Book They Wrote?

Abstract. Chandra S. 2022. Documentation of the plants used in different Hindu rituals in Uttarakhand, India. Asian J Ethnobiol 5: 92-101. Hinduism is one of the largest practicing religions. The Indian subcontinent is the cradle of this religion, and it is followed by a majority of the people of the subcontinent. Rituals are the main component of the Hindu tradition. Any ritual is a way to connect with God and offer salutation. From birth to the death of a person, one has to perform various rituals on enormous occasions. Methodology and material used in a ritual vary as per the presiding deity. In the sacrifice (Yajyan) and other worship procedures stage (Mandapa), different utensils and materials required to complete the rituals originated from plant products. These products represent the environmental and geographical structure of the area. Documentation of the plant species used in different Hindu rituals is done in the present article. A total of 104 plant species are enumerated. The use of plant species individually or in combination with others is also elaborated. Some terms used in the rituals, such as Panch Pallav, Panch Mewa, Saptanaja, Tambula, Panchamrita, Ashtha Bali, etc., which have botanical significance, are also discussed.

In the context of escalating religious tensions in India, sites that still openly welcome practitioners of different belief systems or encourage a propensity for interreligious ritual engagement face a range of complex challenges. At the Holy Infant Jesus Church in Bangalore, there is a shrine set aside for people of non-Christian religions, both Hindu and Muslim, who view this deity as a jagrata or ‘awake’ god who responds to the ‘desire’ of the supplicant, granting boons and wishes. Despite the contemporary hardening of boundaries and the quest for religious purity, this site exhibits the persisting appeal of ritual engagement across religious boundaries. The consequence of such engagement is not always open connections or dialogue but rather concealment of syncretic practices from others in the supplicants’ communities. Against this background, this presentation explores the following questions: Is religion a site of interaction rather than of intra-communal withdrawal? Is religious synthesis an endangered mode of cosmopolitanism now threatened by multiple quests for religious purity? Why are some syncretic practices more resilient than others and how do people engaged in such practices make sense of what remains and what is lost?

India is a country of diverse Gods and Goddesses. Every religion, every state and every community has a unique tradition and customs for worshipping their deities. This is also the case in Tripura State, which is home to 19 tribal communities. Here is a brief discuss about the gods and goddesses of the Tripura community. Out of the many Gods and Goddesses here, Rondokmwtai( Mailuma/Khuluma) and Noksumwtai are two of the most important. The people of Tripura are basically naturists and nature worshippers. The God and Goddesses worshiped in Tripura society are composed of various nature elements including forest, water, soil, sky, moon, sun, planets, stars, earth, cosmos, etc. Tripuras worship their own deities according to their own rules. Deities are also named according to their own mother tongue. Although the name of the God and Goddesses worshiped by the Hindus, the method of performing the worship etc. are almost similar to these God and Goddesses of Tripura, they are not the same. Idol worship is not practiced in Tripura society even in tribal society. In the puja ceremony of Tripura, only the symbols of the deity are used as symbols of the deity in the seat of worship Wathop (making by bamboo), Dip, Marai, Khong, Nagri, Thalongma, etc. are used as aggregates of worship. As a result, the people did not need Brahmins to conduct the puja ceremonies. According to their own Culture, Religion, Customs, the Tripura people perform the puja with priest Chantai, Deorai or Ochai. All puja-parvan work is done hand in hand by Achai.

There is a growing recognition of the importance of conservation beyond protected areas, in spaces of human-wildlife coexistence. Negative human-wildlife interactions are a key challenge, but a better understanding of the forms of tolerance and mutual accommodation would be useful for coadaptation toward coexistence. To date, however, studies of human-wildlife often have been limited by a largely quantified positivist epistemology, which elides the diverse cultural and ecological contexts which enable tolerance and coexistence between humans and wildlife to develop and adhere. In Gudalur, a plantation landscape in South India, about 150 elephants share space with a quarter of a million people. Using a quantified survey coupled with ethnographic fieldwork, we aim to better understand human diversity and tolerance of elephants that allows for coexistence. We find a marked difference between communities, with ethnicity being a better predictor of tolerance than the more tangible socio-economic or geographic variables such as income, education, land holding or cropping patterns. Using qualitative data, we identify three socio-cultural variables that are relevant to tolerance–a shared history of living with elephants, mode of subsistence and type of agricultural crops, and most importantly, ontology or the fundamental understanding of “what is an elephant?” Hunter-gatherer conceptualisations of elephants as “other-than-human persons” prove to be the ontological stance best suited to coexistence, as it allows for elephant individuality and interpersonal negotiations of shared space, which is limited in other world-views, including the worshiping of elephants as Ganesha, the elephant headed deity in the Hindu Pantheon. Having identified some important differences among ethnic communities in human-elephant interactions, we consider the implications of the research for improving the management and practice of human-wildlife coexistence not only in the Nilgiri region but within the broader context of conservation and development.

Susheel Kumar Sharma’s Unwinding Self: A Collection of Poems. Cuttack: Vishvanatha Kaviraj Institute, 2020, ISBN: 978-81-943450-3-9, Paperback, pp. viii + 152. Like his earlier collection, The Door is Half Open, Susheel Kumar Sharma’s Unwinding Self: A Collection of Poems has three sections consisting of forty-two poems of varied length and style, a detailed Glossary mainly on the proper nouns from Indian culture and tradition and seven Afterwords from the pens of the trained readers from different countries of four continents. The structure of the book is circular. The first poem “Snapshots” indicates fifteen kaleidoscopic patterns of different moods of life in about fifteen words each. It seems to be a rumination on the variegated images of everyday experiences ranging from individual concerns to spiritual values. Art-wise, they can be called mini-micro-poems as is the last poem of the book. While the character limit in a micro poem is generally 140 (the character limit on Twitter) Susheel has used just around 65 in each of these poems. Naturally, imagery, symbolism and cinematic technique play a great role in this case. In “The End of the Road” the poet depicts his individual experiences particularly changing scenario of the world. He seems to be worried about his eyesight getting weak with the passage of time, simultaneously he contrasts the weakness of his eyesight with the hypocrisy permeating the human life. He compares his diminishing eyesight to Milton and shows his fear as if he will get blind. He changes his spectacles six times to clear his vision and see the plurality of a reality in human life. It is an irony on the changing aspects of human life causing miseries to the humanity. At the end of the poem, the poet admits the huge changes based on the sham principles: “The world has lost its original colour” (4). The concluding lines of the poem make a mockery of the people who are not able to recognise reality in the right perspective. The poem “Durga Puja in 2013” deals with the celebration of the festival “Durga Puja” popular in the Hindu religion. The poet’s urge to be with Ma Durga shows his dedication towards the Goddess Durga, whom he addresses with different names like ‘Mai’, ‘Ma’ and ‘Mother’. He worships her power and expresses deep reverence for annihilating the evil-spirits. The festival Durga Puja also reminds people of victory of the goddess on the elusive demons in the battlefield. “Chasing a Dream on the Ganges” is another poem having spiritual overtones. Similarly, the poem “Akshya Tritya” has religious and spiritual connotations. It reflects curiosity of people for celebration of “Akshya Tritya” with enthusiasm. But the political and economic overtones cannot be ignored as the poem ends with the remarkable comments: The GDP may go up on this day; Even, Budia is able to Eat to his fill; Panditji can blow his Conch shell with full might. Outside, somebody is asking for votes; Somebody is urging others to vote. I shall vote for Akshya Tritya. (65-66) “On Reading Langston Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’” is a long poem in the collection. In this poem, the poet reveals a learner’s craving for learning, perhaps who comes from an extremely poor background to pursue his dreams of higher education. The poet considers the learner’s plights of early childhood, school education and evolutionary spirit. He associates it with Dronacharya and Eklavya to describe the mythical system of education. He does not want to be burdened with the self-guilt by denying the student to be his ‘guru’ therefore, he accepts the challenge to change his life. Finally, he shows his sympathy towards the learner and decides to be the ‘guru’: “It is better to face/A challenge and change/Than to be burden with a life/Of self-guilt. /I put my signatures on his form willy-nilly” (11). The poem “The Destitute” is an ironical presentation of the modern ways of living seeking pleasure in the exotic locations all over the world. It portrays the life of a person who has to leave his motherland for earning his livelihood, and has to face an irreparable loss affecting moral virtues, lifestyle, health and sometimes resulting in deaths. The poem “The Black Experience” deals with the suppression of the Africans by the white people. The poem “Me, A Black Doxy”, perhaps points out the dilemma of a black woman whether she should prostitute herself or not, to earn her livelihood. Perhaps, her deep consciousness about her self-esteem does not allow her to indulge in it but she thinks that she is not alone in objectifying herself for money in the street. Her voice resonates repeatedly with the guilt of her indulgence on the filthy streets: At the dining time Me not alone? In the crowded street Me not alone? They ’ave white, grey, pink hair Me ’ave black hair – me not alone There’s a crowd with black hair. Me ’ave no black money Me not alone? (14) The poem “Thus Spake a Woman” is structured in five sections having expressions of the different aspects of a woman’s love designs. It depicts a woman’s dreams and her attraction towards her lover. The auditory images like “strings of a violin”, “music of the violin” and “clinch in my fist” multiply intensity of her feelings. With development of the poem, her dreams seem to be shattered and sadness know the doors of her dreamland. Finally, she is confronted with sadness and is taken back to the past memories reminding her of the difficult situations she had faced. Replete with poetic irony, “Bubli Poems” presents the journey of a female, who, from the formative years of her life to womanhood, experienced gender stereotypes, biased sociocultural practices, and ephemeral happiness on the faces of other girls around her. The poem showcases the transformation of a village girl into a New Woman, who dreams her existence in all types of luxurious belongings rather than identifying her independent existence and finding out her own ways of living. Her dreams lead her to social mobility through education, friendships, and the freedom that she gains from her parents, family, society and culture. She attempts her luck in the different walks of human life, particularly singing and dancing and imagines her social status and wide popularity similar to those of the famous Indian actresses viz. Katrina and Madhuri Dixit: “One day Bubli was standing before the mirror/Putting on a jeans and jacket and shaking her hips/She was trying to be a local Katrina” (41). She readily bears the freakish behaviour of the rustic/uncultured lads, derogatory comments, and physical assaults in order to fulfil her expectations and achieves her individual freedom. Having enjoyed all the worldly happiness and fashionable life, ultimately, she is confronted with the evils designs around her which make her worried, as if she is ignorant of the world replete with the evils and agonies: “Bubli was ignorant of her agony and the lost calm” (42). The examples of direct poetic irony and ironic expressions of the socio-cultural evils, and the different governing bodies globally, are explicit in this poem: “Bubli is a leader/What though if a cheerleader./The news makes her family happy.”(40), “Others were blaming the Vice-Chancellor/ Some others the system;/ Some the freedom given to girls;”(45), and “Some blame poverty; some the IMF;/ Some the UN; some the environment;/ Some the arms race; some the crony’s lust;/ Some the US’s craving for power;/Some the UK’s greed. (46-47). Finally, Bubli finds that her imaginative world is fragile. She gives up her corporeal dreams which have taken the peace of her mind away. She yearns for shelter in the temples and churches and surrenders herself before deities praying for her liberation: “Jai Kali,/ Jai Mahakali, Jai Ma, Jai Jagaddhatri,/ Save me, save the world.” (47). In the poem “The Unlucky”, the poet jibes at those who are lethargic in reading. He identifies four kinds of readers and places himself in the fourth category by rating himself a ‘poor’ reader. The first three categories remind the readers of William Shakespeare’s statement “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” At the end of the poem, the poet questions himself for being a poet and teacher. The question itself reflects on his ironic presentation of himself as a poor reader because a poet’s wisdom is compared with that of the philosopher and everybody worships and bows before a teacher, a “guru”, in the Indian tradition. The poet is considered the embodiment of both. The poet’s unfulfilled wish to have been born in Prayagraj is indexed with compunction when the poem ends with the question “Why was I not born in Prayagraj?” (52). Ending with a question mark, the last line of the poem expresses his desire for perfection. The next poem, “Saying Goodbye”, is elegiac in tone and has an allusion to Thomas Gray’s “The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” in the line “When the curfew tolls the knell of the parting day”; it ends with a question mark. The poem seems to be a depiction of the essence and immortality of ‘time’. Reflecting on the poet’s consideration of the power and beauty of ‘time’, Pradeep Kumar Patra rightly points out, “It is such a phenomena that nobody can turn away from it. The moment is both beautiful as well as ferocious. It beautifies and showcases everything and at the same time pulls everything down when necessary” (146). Apparently, the poem “The Kerala Flood 2018”is an expression of emotions at the disaster caused by the flood in 2018. By reminding of Gandhi’s tenets to be followed by people for the sake of morality and humankind, the poet makes an implicit criticism of the pretentions, and violation of pledges made by people to care of other beings, particularly, cow that is worshiped as “mother” and is considered to be a symbol of fertility, peace and holiness in Hinduism as well as the Buddhist culture. The poet also denigrates people who deliberately ignore the sanctity of the human life in Hinduism and slaughter the animal cow to satisfy their appetites. In the poem, the carnivorous are criticized explicitly, but those who pretend to be herbivorous are decried as shams: If a cow is sacrosanct And people eat beef One has to take a side. Some of the friends chose to Side with cow and others With the beef-eaters. Some were more human They chose both. (55) The poet infuses positivity into the minds of the Indian people. Perhaps, he thinks that, for Indians, poverty, ignorance, dirt and mud are not taboos as if they are habitual to forbear evils by their instincts. They readily accept them and live their lives happily with pride considering their deity as the preserver of their lives. The poem “A Family by the Road” is an example of such beliefs, in which the poet lavishes most of his poetic depiction on the significance of the Lord Shiva, the preserver of people in Hinduism: Let me enjoy my freedom. I am proud of my poverty. I am proud of my ignorance. I am proud of my dirt. I have a home because of these. I am proud of my home. My future is writ on the walls Of your houses My family shall stay in the mud. After all, somebody is needed To clean the dirt as well. I am Shiva, Shivoham. (73) In the poem “Kabir’s Chadar”, the poet invokes several virtues to back up his faith in spirituality and simplicity. He draws a line of merit and virtue between Kabir’s Chadar which is ‘white’ and his own which is “thickly woven” and “Patterned with various beautiful designs/ In dark but shining colours” (50). The poet expresses his views on Kabir’s ‘white’ Chadar symbolically to inculcate the sense of purity, fortitude, spirituality, and righteousness among people. The purpose of his direct comparison between them is to refute artificiality, guilt and evil intents of humanity, and propagate spiritual purity, the stark simplicities of our old way of life, and follow the patience of a saint like Kabir. The poem “Distancing” is a statement of poetic irony on the city having two different names known as Bombay and Mumbai. The poet sneers at its existence in Atlas. Although the poet portraits the historical events jeering at the distancing between the two cities as if they are really different, yet the poet’s prophetic anticipation about the spread of the COVID-19 in India cannot be denied prima facie. The poet’s overwhelming opinions on the overcrowded city of Bombay warn humankind to rescue their lives. Even though the poem seems to have individual expressions of the poet, leaves a message of distancing to be understood by the people for their safety against the uneven things. The poem “Crowded Locals” seems to be a sequel to the poem “Distancing”. Although the poet’s purpose, and appeal to the commonplace for distancing cannot be affirmed by the readers yet his remarks on the overcrowded cities like in Mumbai (“Crowded Locals”), foresee some risk to the humankind. In the poem “Crowded Locals”, he details the mobility of people from one place to another, having dreams in their eyes and puzzles in their minds for their livelihood while feeling insecure especially, pickpockets, thieves and strangers. The poet also makes sneering comments on the body odour of people travelling in first class. However, these two poems have become a novel contribution for social distancing to fight against the COVID-19. In the poem “Buy Books, Not Diamonds” the poet makes an ironical interpretation of social anarchy, political upheaval, and threat of violence. In this poem, the poet vies attention of the readers towards the socio-cultural anarchy, especially, anarchy falls on the academic institutions in the western countries where capitalism, aristocracy, dictatorship have armed children not with books which inculcate human values but with rifles which create fear and cause violence resulting in deaths. The poet’s perplexed opinions find manifestation in such a way as if books have been replaced with diamonds and guns, therefore, human values are on the verge of collapse: “Nine radiant diamonds are no match/ To the redness of the queen of spades. . . . / … holding/ Rifles is a better option than/ Hawking groundnuts on the streets?” (67).The poet also decries the spread of austere religious practices and jihadist movement like Boko Haram, powerful personalities, regulatory bodies and religious persons: “Boko Haram has come/Obama has also come/The UN has come/Even John has come with/Various kinds of ointments” (67). The poem “Lost Childhood” seems to be a memoir in which the poet compares the early life of an orphan with the child who enjoys early years of their lives under the safety of their parents. Similarly, the theme of the poem “Hands” deals with the poet’s past experiences of the lifestyle and its comparison to the present generation. The poet’s deep reverence for his parents reveals his clear understanding of the ways of living and human values. He seems to be very grateful to his father as if he wants to make his life peaceful by reading the lines of his palms: “I need to read the lines in his palm” (70). In the poem “A Gush of Wind”, the poet deliberates on the role of Nature in our lives. The poem is divided into three sections, perhaps developing in three different forms of the wind viz. air, storm, and breeze respectively. It is structured around the significance of the Nature. In the first section, the poet lays emphasis on the air we breathe and keep ourselves fresh as if it is a panacea. The poet criticizes artificial and material things like AC. In the second section, he depicts the stormy nature of the wind scattering papers, making the bed sheets dusty affecting or breaking the different types of fragile and luxurious objects like Italian carpets and lamp shades with its strong blow entering the oriels and window panes of the houses. Apparently, the poem may be an individual expression, but it seems to be a caricature on the majesty of the rich people who ignore the use of eco-chic objects and disobey the Nature’s behest. In the third and the last section of the poem, the poet’s tone is critical towards Whitman, Pushkin and Ginsberg for their pseudoscientific philosophy of adherence to the Nature. Finally, he opens himself to enjoy the wind fearlessly. The poems like “A Voice” , “The New Year Dawn”, “The New Age”, “The World in Words in 2015”, “A Pond Nearby”, “Wearing the Scarlet Letter ‘A’”, “A Mock Drill”, “Strutting Around”, “Sahibs, Snobs, Sinners”, “Endless Wait”, “The Soul with a New Hat”, “Renewed Hope”, “Like Father, Unlike Son”, “Hands”, “Rechristening the City”, “Coffee”, “The Unborn Poem”, “The Fountain Square”, “Ram Setu”, and “Connaught Place” touch upon the different themes. These poems reveal poet’s creativity and unique features of his poetic arts and crafts. The last poem of the collection “Stories from the Mahabharata” is written in twenty-five stanzas consisting of three lines each. Each stanza either describes a scene or narrates a story from the Mahabharata, the source of the poem. Every stanza has an independent action verb to describe the actions of different characters drawn from the Mahabharata. Thus, each stanza is a complete miniscule poem in itself which seems to be a remarkable characteristic of the poem. It is an exquisite example of ‘Micro-poetry’ on paper, remarkable for its brevity, dexterity and intensity. The poet’s conscious and brilliant reframing of the stories in his poem sets an example of a new type of ‘Found Poetry’ for his readers. Although the poet’s use of various types images—natural, comic, tragic, childhood, horticultural, retains the attention of readers yet the abundant evidences of anaphora reflect redundancy and affect the readers’ concentration and diminishes their mental perception, for examples, pronouns ‘her’ and ‘we’ in a very small poem “Lost Childhood”, articles ‘the’ and ‘all’ in “Crowded Locals”, the phrase ‘I am proud of’ in “A Family by the Road” occur many times. Svitlana Buchatska’s concise but evaluative views in her Afterword to Unwinding Self help the readers to catch hold of the poet’s depiction of his emotions. She writes, “Being a keen observer of life he vividly depicts people’s life, traditions and emotions involving us into their rich spiritual world. His poems are the reflection on the Master’s world of values, love to his family, friends, students and what is more, to his beloved India. Thus, the author reveals all his beliefs, attitudes, myths and allusions which are the patterns used by the Indian poets” (150). W. H. Auden defines poetry as “the clear expression of mixed feelings.” It seems so true of Susheel Sharma’s Unwinding Self. It is a mixture of poems that touch upon the different aspects of human life. It can be averred that the collection consists of the poet’s seamless efforts to delve into the various domains of the human life and spot for the different places as well. It is a poetic revue in verse in which the poet instils energy, confidence, power and enthusiasm into minds of Indian people and touches upon all aspects of their lives. The poverty, ignorance, dirt, mud, daily struggle against liars, thieves, pickpockets, touts, politician and darkness have been depicted not as weaknesses of people in Indian culture but their strengths, because they have courage to overcome darkness and see the advent of a new era. The poems teach people morality, guide them to relive their pains and lead them to their salvation. Patricia Prime’s opinion is remarkable: “Sharma writes about his family, men and women, childhood, identity, roots and rootlessness, memory and loss, dreams and interactions with nature and place. His poised, articulate poems are remarkable for their wit, conversational tone and insight” (138). Through the poems in the collection, the poet dovetails the niceties of the Indian culture, and communicates its beauty and uniqueness meticulously. The language of the poem is lucid, elevated and eloquent. The poet’s use of diction seems to be very simple and colloquial like that of an inspiring teacher. On the whole the book is more than just a collection of poems as it teaches the readers a lot about the world around them through a detailed Glossary appended soon after the poems in the collection. It provides supplementary information about the terms used abundantly in Indian scriptures, myths, and other religious and academic writings. The Glossary, therefore, plays pivotal role in unfolding the layers of meaning and reaching the hearts of the global readers. The “Afterwords” appended at the end, enhances readability of poems and displays worldwide acceptability, intelligibility, and popularity of the poet. The Afterwords are a good example of authentic Formalistic criticism and New Criticism. They indirectly teach a formative reader and critic the importance of forming one’s opinion, direct reading and writing without any crutches of the critics.