Once, Navratri Kanjak was more than a ritual—it was a living expression of trust, where every home in the neighborhood welcomed children like family. Today, rising walls and shrinking connections have turned a shared celebration into a hollow formality. This article reflects on how rituals once built community and belonging, and how their spirit fades when relationships disappear. It is both a memory of what was and a call to rebuild neighborhood bonds with intention.
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Category Errors in the Study of Bharatīya Jñāna Paramparā
Modern scholarship often misreads Bharatīya Jñāna Paramparā by forcing it into text-centric, innovation-driven frameworks that do not match its transmission-based nature. This article argues that the confusion arises from deep category errors about what knowledge is and where it resides. Rather than a collection of texts, the tradition functions as an integrated epistemic architecture sustained through guru–śiṣya paramparā. Recognising this distinction reframes continuity not as stagnation, but as disciplined preservation of valid knowing.

Accident : A Philosophical Essay
A reflective essay that begins with everyday “accidents” to probe a deeper philosophical question: what is an accident? Moving from legal definitions to Aristotle and Hume, it argues accidents arise from human ignorance of causes. Drawing on Hindu acharyas like Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya and scriptures like the Isha Upanishad, Bhagavad Gita, and Srimad Bhagavatam, it advances a final insight: what appears accidental is ultimately governed by divine grace.

The Story of the Musunuri Nayakas – The Rise and Fall of a Telugu Resistance
After the fall of the Kakatiyas, Telugu land was plunged into devastation under the Delhi Sultanate, with temples desecrated and society disrupted. From this chaos emerged the Musunuri Nayakas, who united scattered warriors and waged a fierce resistance to reclaim their homeland. Led by Prolayanayaka and later Kapayanayaka, they drove out invaders and restored cultural life, inspiring wider southern revolts and the rise of Vijayanagara. Yet internal rivalries and betrayal weakened this hard-won unity, leading to a tragic fall. Their legacy endures as a powerful chapter of resilience, resistance, and civilizational revival.

The two streams of the Bengali language: Claims, Counterclaims and Facts
Published in the ISPAD Partition Center Journal (Oct 2025), this paper challenges claims that vernacular languages in India emerged only under Islamic rule due to a supposed Sanskritic monopoly. It shows that regional literary traditions flourished under Hindu patronage well before this period. The paper also disputes the idea that modern Bengali was artificially Sanskritized by colonial institutions, demonstrating that both Hindu and Muslim writers historically used a shared Sanskrit-based linguistic framework. It further highlights that later attempts to Islamize Bengali had limited success.
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Vishnupad temple in the spiritual city of Gaya
A place that has been identified since antiquity, where at the feet of Vishnu one is assured that good karma can lead towards moksha.
Buddha, Shankara and Vivekananda – Milestones of Indian spirituality
The three great sages of the Indic spiritual tradition, while reacting to the times they lived in, gave expression to the same truth in different ways.
The Unrecognized Architects of India’s Mediaeval Glory – Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamahadevi
Did you know that the Virupaksha and Mallikarjun Temples in Pattadakal were built by queens? Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamahadevi, queens of the Chalukya dynasty, commissioned these temples, originally named Lokeshvara and Trailokyeshvara. Their remarkable contributions include administrative roles and cultural patronage, such as commissioning the Virupaksha Temple, modeled after the Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple.
The Real Cost of Leather: Chamars, Cow, and Colonialism
The blame for the poverty and hardships faced by communities like Chamars and Mahars in present-day India is placed at the door of the 'caste system' and more specifically, the moral failings of so-called upper-castes (savarnas). A deeper and sincere investigation into the past and present of the global leather industry destroys the carefully crafted myth.
Uttiramerur – Democratic tenets inscribed on stone
The practice of stone inscriptions by the Pallavas and Cholas at Uttiramerur is one of the great legacies of that era.
Is India’s National Anthem secular?
Survey of the origins of the various National Anthems in Europe and a study of the final choice for the Indian anthem throws up interesting questions and amusing answers.
Witzel’s Realm – On Reputationist Concerns Over India’s Reclamation of its History
Western Indologists such as Witzel cannot seem to accept the fact that Hindus now are reclaiming their own history.
‘Flight of the Deity’ from Mulasthana – Part 2
A search for answers that led them to rediscover their glorious past.
An Open Letter to the Indian Government – Appeal to Protect Hindus in Bangladesh
A group of eminent writers pen an open letter to the Indian government appealing for action to protect Bangladeshi Hindus.
‘Saraswati’s Intelligence’ by Vamsee Juluri – A Review
Vamsee Juluri's book is a page-turner, a great example of creative reimagining done right.
It cannot easily be categorised as per conventional genres. Depending on individual inclination, it can be classified as spiritual, based on passages dealing with the questioning of the nature of Dharma; action-packed thriller, given the battle scene depictions and wars waged; or 'mythological', since despite being based on living Devatas, it is a fictional representation of them; and very different from the stories we were raised on.
On the existence of the Self: Part 1
Indian philosophy is never a dry intellectual exercise and has a deep purpose of not only explaining reality but also as a major tool in personal liberation or moksha.
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Agastyas
Agastya Muni, as well as his lineage, had a tremendous influence on Indic civilization which stretched all the way to Southeast Asia.
On Sabarimala
The recent verdict on the entry of women in the Sabarimala shrine serves as a grim reminder of the wide gap between the colonial moorings of the modern Indian State and the spiritual aspirations of the Indian people.
An unreal moment for our nation
The desecration of the Indian flag is a wakeup for many of us who take our sovereignty for granted.
The Place of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi's failure in recognising the threat posed by imperialist ideologies has left his legacy very much tainted.
Inventing the Oppressor: Social Theory and the Logic of the UGC Regulations
Aryan Anand argues that the debate around the recent UGC guidelines has remained confined to immediate political reactions, ignoring the deeper intellectual frameworks shaping such policies. Drawing on strands of critical social theory, he contends that contemporary policy increasingly operates through rigid oppressor–oppressed binaries. Applied mechanically to the Indian context, this framework risks misreading the complex realities of caste and society. Anand suggests that policies built on such assumptions may ultimately deepen social divisions rather than address them.
Sampāti and Jaṭāyu – many layers of a “side-story”
Sampāti and Jaṭāyu - brothers bound by blood and separated by fire. The literal fire of the sun that burns them, and the fire of penance that purifies them and provides deliverance - Jatāyu dies in the hands of Rāma and finds deliverance in death while Sampāti in his rebirth.
Yantras – What is their purpose
Used in sadhana practices for worshipping deities, yantras are symbols of divine power which need to be installed with the use of specific mantras.
Sanatana Dharma – Through the eyes of travellers
Various distinguished scholars in their travels have written about the honesty, idealism, and magnanimity of the followers of Sanatana Dharma.
India's love of mountains
The Indian civilization is so deeply indebted to the many mountain ranges of the subcontinent that any cultural resurgence must begin from an effort of ecological conservation.
When Sadhus get lynched
One thing that has remained constant despite tremendous upheaval for millennia in India is the undefeated spirit of the sadhu who has roamed these lands.
Hindu Temple Management – Framework for the future
The need to free Hindu temples from government control has been met with opposition from those who think Hindu samaj has no framework to manage them.
Rathayatra And A Song Of Tagore: Uḍiye Dhvajā Abhrobhedī Rathe
With a sky-piercing flag unfurled
Atop His Great Chariot, there He is –
There He goes on His march on the streets.
