We had recently been asked to weigh in on a rather recurrent matter of Hindu … well, iconography and understanding - namely, whether Hanuman is appropriate to depict as an 'ape' or 'monkey' style figure. The reasoning for this being at issue is that one can potentially interpret the name of Hanuman's clade, the Vanaras, … Continue reading On The Simian Symbolic Representation Of Hanuman
Bajrangi
The Hanuman Of My Home Shrine
It is Tuesday - Hanuman's Day. And therefore … This is the Hanuman of my Household Shrine. And as you'll immediately note, it's a bit of a different style to the other deific representations. Both because of its style, as well as its form. For you see - it is a Balinese shadow-puppet. One that … Continue reading The Hanuman Of My Home Shrine
Telling Your Problem The (Siddhi-Shifting) Size Of Your God – Bajrang Bali Ki Jaye !
It has been said that faith is not telling a God the size of your problems - but, rather, telling your problems the size of the God. Apt wisdom for a Tuesday. Where we honour Hanuman, depicted in the photograph. And before somebody asks - no, no that is not He there on the right … Continue reading Telling Your Problem The (Siddhi-Shifting) Size Of Your God – Bajrang Bali Ki Jaye !
On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
Recently, in the course of a discussion elsewhere, an occasional correspondant - 'Indian History' on twitter - made mention of a most intriguing Sanskrit term he'd observed in a Hymnal of the RigVeda. We were discussing 'Demigods', and whether these were a more exclusively Greek / Classical phenomenon or something of a broader Indo-European provenance. … Continue reading On The Archaic Notion Of The Indo-European Demigod
On Herakles As Thunderer – The Recollection Of The Weapon In The Classical Conceptual Sphere
There are a few falsehoods in our field which stubbornly refuse to die. One of them is this ongoing notion that Zeus Pater / Jupiter is somehow the Indo-European Striker/Thunderer deific … rather than the Sky Father, Dyaus Pitar, that is the Father of said God. We have earlier poured quite some effort into demonstrating … Continue reading On Herakles As Thunderer – The Recollection Of The Weapon In The Classical Conceptual Sphere
On Robert Sepehr’s Spurious Suggestion That Vanaras Constituted A “Simian Slave Race”
Earlier today, an associate alerted me to some annoying remarks by one Rober Sepehr - a pseudo-anthropologist of dubious standing yet notable following, who appears to have made a small mint off conspiratorial ravings with a veneer of 'serious' sounding mythological referencing. This time, he's taken as his target some bizarre prognostications about a 'hidden history' … Continue reading On Robert Sepehr’s Spurious Suggestion That Vanaras Constituted A “Simian Slave Race”
On Hanuman, The Striker/Thunderer, As Son Of Shiva, The Sky Father – A Textual Collation
It is Thursday - Thor's Day via the familiar late-Germanic reckoning, although in truth and per the older Indo-European schema a Day of the Sky Father: Jupiter (Dies Jovis), Zeus (Hemera Dios), and Brihaspati. This double-linkage of affiliation makes our subject for this post rather apt - a textual concordancy of material pertaining to both … Continue reading On Hanuman, The Striker/Thunderer, As Son Of Shiva, The Sky Father – A Textual Collation
Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form
Today marks Hanuman Jayanti - and, as has become our custom, we present an (A)Arti-cle in His Honour. A 'Jayanti', in case you were wondering, is one of those wonderful Sanskrit terms with several mutually reinforcing meanings - it is, at once, a 'Victory', but also can mean a 'Birthday'. So is therefore eminently appropriate … Continue reading Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form
Sons Of The Sky Father – A Typological Preliminary [ Arya Akasha Arka ]
In the Heavens as it is upon Earth, Family is at the heart of everything. And, given the centrality of the Divine Family to the Indo-European mythology - an Arka ['essence', 'distillation'] post of this nature seemed a decent way to demonstrate the coterminities of a number of the salient figures involved. Now I stress … Continue reading Sons Of The Sky Father – A Typological Preliminary [ Arya Akasha Arka ]
On “Thor Mantras” Proposed By DharmaNation
It has come to my attention that the chap who does "DharmaNation", is once again pushing his "Thor Mantras" effort. Now with all the appropriate respect that is due to the gentleman in question … there are some issues with what he has presented. I won't get into his attempted co-identification of Odin with Indra (if … Continue reading On “Thor Mantras” Proposed By DharmaNation
arya-akasha 