[Author's Note: This piece was originally intended for India's 2022 Independence Day observances. However, ill-health and fatigue on my part meant that it could not be completed in time. I therefore present the finished half today - and shall follow up with the subsequent portion and conclusion as and when it is ready.] And so … Continue reading Glory, Even Amidst Ruins – The Lessons Of Some Previous Historic Resistances To Foreign Dominions
Buddhism
Some Brief Points On The Vajra
Earlier, we had a question to the page around a seeming similarity between a Thunderbolt carried by a Roman deific statue - and the famed Vajra so prominent in the Hindu (and Buddhist) sphere. Particularly, around whether what was seen in Hindu art had some deliberate iconographic coterminity with the Trishula (Trident). As applies the … Continue reading Some Brief Points On The Vajra
The Ganesha Of Kabul – And His Custodian Guard [ Arte-Facts #14 ]
In our field, we are so often delving into impressive legends of long ago - myths about men who once lived and wrought deeds so mighty that they seem frankly 'incredible' (in the old sense of the term) today. And that can leave one quite jaded about the modern era for reasons that ought be … Continue reading The Ganesha Of Kabul – And His Custodian Guard [ Arte-Facts #14 ]
Sirius In Central Asia – Soma, Tisya, Tishtrya, Rudra
It is Wednesday - Odin's Day - and so therefore, as has become our custom, some fine devotional (a)art-i. Except this exquisite piece is not from the Northlands of Scandinavia - rather, its provenance is that most mysterious of Indo-European lands … far-flung Central Asia. Khotan, amidst the deserts and mountains fringing China's western edge in … Continue reading Sirius In Central Asia – Soma, Tisya, Tishtrya, Rudra
A Curious Shiva-featured Buddhist Shrine Guardian
Monday is Lord Shiva's Day … and therefore … Well, there's something curious going on here. This fine carving is from the Lingquan temple complex in Anyang, China. It would be easy to declare it to be a rather Sinicized depiction of Lord Shiva, found in a Buddhist context. There are most certainly an array … Continue reading A Curious Shiva-featured Buddhist Shrine Guardian
Against The Notion Of Gautama Buddha As A “Scythian Sage”
I recently happened across somebody sharing an excerpt from an article which claimed the Gautama Buddha to be a "Scythian Sage".There's something of a cottage industry in propounding that Buddha was Scythian - and while I don't disagree that Buddhism wound up having a lot to do with the Scythians … there's something else going … Continue reading Against The Notion Of Gautama Buddha As A “Scythian Sage”
Witzel On The Essential Coterminities Of Vedic And Later Hindu Religion
Something I have often shouted in the course of my work is the fact that Hinduism - the 'modern' Hinduism - is not some sort of 'new religion' built up atop the ruins of the old Vedic religion. People seem to think that the two things are fundamentally different, almost irreconcilable - and that even … Continue reading Witzel On The Essential Coterminities Of Vedic And Later Hindu Religion
On The Crown Of Crows And The Regality Of Ravens – A Restoration And Re-Explication Of Their Incredible Indo-European Symbolic Saliency
One of the most misunderstood creatures in the Indo-European mythic conceptual syllabry has to be the Corvid - the Crow , the Raven (and I must admit that I am biased upon this score - for it is an important part of my own name and therefore nature). For if you asked many just what they … Continue reading On The Crown Of Crows And The Regality Of Ravens – A Restoration And Re-Explication Of Their Incredible Indo-European Symbolic Saliency
Durga Near Ghazni – A “Buddhist” Representation Afghanistan’s Hindu Past – Arte-Facts #10
Further art and artefact representation for Vijayadashami - a fragmentary Durga MahishasuraMardini depiction from Tapa Sardar in modern-day Afghanistan near Ghazni; then part of Zabul. Even though most of the statue is now missing (all that is blue or green in the reconstruction), it's still impressive! Especially considering that head, alone, is about 64 cm … Continue reading Durga Near Ghazni – A “Buddhist” Representation Afghanistan’s Hindu Past – Arte-Facts #10
On The Misunderstanding Of Maya As Mere Mirage
An associate earlier this week made a remark about the concept of Maya - and the 'matronly' associations he'd felt for it, coming at it from a Buddhist context. Now, Maya is often misunderstood - in no small part because it's grown so hugely as a term over the millennia … so it seemed as … Continue reading On The Misunderstanding Of Maya As Mere Mirage
arya-akasha 