Every so often, somebody writes in via our website's contact function with a question. Often, these are theological. Sometimes, they are personal. This one, I suppose, was both. As the concept in question is likely to be of some interest to a fair few of our readers, I present both question and answer (slightly edited for … Continue reading On ‘Mleccha’ – A Reply To A Query
Shaivism
On Tonight’s ‘Triple Wolf Moon’
While it's not an official observance - we nevertheless found tonight's astrological occurrences to be pretty legit. It's a bit of a 'Triple' Wolf Moon. Insofar as it's a Wolf Moon … whilst Ardra is up (Jyotisha / Hindu astrology) and the Moon is in Gemini (Western astrology .. with a twist - more on … Continue reading On Tonight’s ‘Triple Wolf Moon’
The God-Emperor Dyaus Pitar
Dyaus Pitar ( द्यौष्पितृ ) / Dyews Phter ( *Dyḗws ph₂tḗr ) And yes, I am absolutely serious about this. Now, what is remarkable about this AI-generated image [not my handiwork] is … just how overt the immediate resonancies are with an array of directly scripturally attested qualities for the Indo-European deific in question. Consider, … Continue reading The God-Emperor Dyaus Pitar
Rohini – A Re-Examination Of The Red Goddess And Rudra
This morning marks an astrological transit - that of Mangala (Mars) into Rohini. Now, to explain a bit about this in terms that will, perhaps, be a bit more familiar - Rohini is a Nakshatra, a (lunar) star sign; and it is correlate with what, in Western terms, would be identified with Aldebaran or Alpha … Continue reading Rohini – A Re-Examination Of The Red Goddess And Rudra
Bhairava Kshetrapala – The Terrifying Guardian Of The Temple , Castellan Of The Holy City And His Hounds Of Furious Vengeance And Law’s Upholding [ Excerpt V From ‘ On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father ‘ ]
We have recently had much cause to discuss the This is the fifth such excerpt, from our impressively aegis'd 'On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father' (A)Arti-cle. The first and second of these sought to briefly examine Apollo Lykeios and the Wolf That Stalks … Continue reading Bhairava Kshetrapala – The Terrifying Guardian Of The Temple , Castellan Of The Holy City And His Hounds Of Furious Vengeance And Law’s Upholding [ Excerpt V From ‘ On The Wolves Of Rudra – The Terrific, Well-Storied Wolves And Wolf Forms Of The Indo-European Sky Father ‘ ]
Rudra By Day, Rudra By Night – Countering Claims Of The Terrific God Being Somehow ‘Marginal’ Based Upon Spurious Vedic Non-Comprehension
Every so often, we run into some comment - whether on social media or in amidst academia - that is … useful, as a teachable moment for what not to do. And applicable in its general principle to a span far broader (and more persistent) than the individual exemplar that we'd run into. Often because … Continue reading Rudra By Day, Rudra By Night – Countering Claims Of The Terrific God Being Somehow ‘Marginal’ Based Upon Spurious Vedic Non-Comprehension
Prayer As Petitioning – A Lesson In Piety From ‘The GodsFather’
The conception many people have of 'Prayer' is that it constitutes of 'asking' - often for things that might be thought of as 'for personal gain', or for the assistance of others. Now, as we've recently discussed, there's quite a bit more to prayer than that, and effectively the broad meaning to the concept is … Continue reading Prayer As Petitioning – A Lesson In Piety From ‘The GodsFather’
On Indo-European Divine Refraction
Last week, we ran a post in reaction to yet another wave of Very Online Christian Triumphalism about Zeus having long ago been 'replaced' as the major deity worshipped in the Greek sphere. We pointed out that as Zeus Pater = Jupiter = Dyaus Pitar, with Dyaus Pitar quite directly (and in Shruti) being hailed … Continue reading On Indo-European Divine Refraction
Encountering The Great Hunter In The Wild – And Receiving His Arrow
Here's two depictions of a most particular encounter between Arjuna and … a certain Hunter (and His Wife), in the course of the Mahabharata. First, an illustration by Shobha Rajagopalan. This depicts both Arjuna and the Kirata (Who should be looking pretty familiar) engaged in the hunting of a (demonic) Boar. Now, of course, the … Continue reading Encountering The Great Hunter In The Wild – And Receiving His Arrow
Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres
Something a perspicacious associate [O.R.] observed is that even though each Indo-European mythic sphere may have its Sky Father deific in prominent pride of place … it is only amidst the Hellenic and Roman perspectives that we actually find 'Dyaus Pitar' (or, if we are being properly PIE : *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) theonymics in prominent usage and … Continue reading Dyaus Inter Alia – On The Sky Father’s Major Theonym And The Relative (In-)Frequency Of Its Occurrence Across Various Indo-European Spheres