The 2nd of June marked the 350th anniversary of the coronation of ShivaJi. With that in mind - it seemed apt to finalize a piece looking at a rather under-explored detail pertaining to the great man's ascent. As I think we all know by now, I make a fairly active study of what we might … Continue reading ShivaJi, Jai Singh, and Combat Theology In Praxis
Shatapatha Brahmana
The Egg Of Nemesis In Etruscan Presentation By Turms / Hermes / Mercury
An Etruscan depiction of the Egg of Nemesis being presented to the King of Sparta, hence the labelling of ' Turms ' ( Hermes / Mercury ), 'Tuntle' (Tyndareos / Tyndareus), and 'Latva' (Leda) This is from the lesser-known 'alternate' explication for the Birth of Helen ['Elinei' / 'Elinai' / 'Elina'] in which it is … Continue reading The Egg Of Nemesis In Etruscan Presentation By Turms / Hermes / Mercury
For Pratyangira – Roaring Goddess of the Counter-Fire
A murti of the fearsome Goddess[-form], Pratyangira - a theonymic we would be tempted to translate as "Return Fire!" She is regarded as Goddess of the Atharva Veda via Atharvana Bhadrakali - and also linked to Kali through the Narasimhika ('Heroic Lioness' / 'Lion-(Wo)Man') encountered in the Sri Kalika Sahasranama stotram of MahaKalaBhairava : and … Continue reading For Pratyangira – Roaring Goddess of the Counter-Fire
Asura Aesir A’Sura
There can be few terms which have caused more confusion and misaligned conflation within the realms of the comparative Indo-European theology than 'Asura', 'Aesir', and 'A'Sura'. Many people coming in from the Germanic sphere presume that because they understand 'Aesir' - that Vedic 'Asura', as a linguistic cognate, should mean effectively the same thing. That is to … Continue reading Asura Aesir A’Sura
A Slightly Belated Beltane Commentary (With Additional Slavic Comparanda)
Every year, we try and have (A)Arti-cles ready for the major days of the Indo-European religious calendars. Some years, we do better than others. Other years - a delay turns out to be a blessing in disguise. So it may be viz. Beltane. For we had just in the past few hours happened across postings … Continue reading A Slightly Belated Beltane Commentary (With Additional Slavic Comparanda)
On Kali In The Vedas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnWiEUJ9ZQ We have often heard it claimed that there is no Kali in the Vedas - and that She is therefore some kind of 'foreign' or 'novel' figure in relation thereto. This is not true.We take a brief look at several divine expressions of the Vedas that are clearly resemblant to Kali - not simply … Continue reading On Kali In The Vedas
‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same
Over the weekend, we had received a question from a reader as to the reasoning underpinning the Asvamedha - the Horse Sacrifice. Specifically, why would one offer a horse given the high value of such a creature in the late Bronze Age / early Iron Age milieu. Now, several people proffered suggestions as to the answer here, … Continue reading ‘For Want Of A Horse’ – On The Proper Perspective Upon Ritual Offerings And Why The ‘Asva’ Of ‘Asvamedha’ Is Held To Be Necessary As Same
On The Equinox War-Rites Of The Indo-Europeans
The 19th of March, per the Roman calendar, marks a prominent observance to Minerva - so named 'Quinquatria' due to its occurring on the fifth day ('Quinque') following the Ides of March. And, as should perhaps come as a surprise to no-one by this point, we happened to notice some rather significant points of Indo-European … Continue reading On The Equinox War-Rites Of The Indo-Europeans
On ‘Mleccha’ – A Reply To A Query
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
On Curious Claims Of There Not Being “Anything Like Kali” In The Vedas – A Brief Illumination To Some Of Her Correlates Within The Vedic Texts
Yesterday evening we encountered this most curious claim: https://twitter.com/Dhvasra/status/1634700610673995777 He might want to check Sankhayana Grihya Sutra II 14 14 - wherein we do, quite literally, find a 'Bhadrakali' directly attested. This guy has been doing a thing for awhile of claiming he's "reviving" the 'real' religion of Vedas. I presume this is why he … Continue reading On Curious Claims Of There Not Being “Anything Like Kali” In The Vedas – A Brief Illumination To Some Of Her Correlates Within The Vedic Texts
arya-akasha 