13
Sep
Pongal: Why Sugarcane Is Central To The Mid-January Harvest
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By
G S Sachin
What Pongal is and when it is celebrated
Pongal is a Tamil harvest festival celebrated in mid-January (Thai 1 in the Tamil calendar), ...
13
Sep
Bhagavad Gita: How Verse 2.47 Guides Modern Duty
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By
The battlefield as everyday life
The opening scene of the Gītā — Arjuna on the chariot, refusing to fight — is often read as a literal...
13
Sep
Shravan: Why the July-August Monsoon Month Matters
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By
What is Shravan (Sravana) and when does it occur?
Shravan (also spelled Sravana or colloquially “Sawan”) is the lunar month in the Hind...
13
Sep
Ganesh Chaturthi: Prana-Pratishtha, Visarjan and Civic Meaning
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By
Why Ganesh Chaturthi matters beyond the festival
Ganesh Chaturthi, observed on the fourth tithi (lunar day) of the waxing moon in the ...
13
Sep
Karva Chauth: North Indian Fast On The Fourth Lunar Day
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By
What is Karva Chauth and when is it observed?
Karva Chauth is a North Indian Hindu fasting ritual observed largely by married women for...
13
Sep
Vishnu Sahasranama: The Thousand Names From the Mahabharata
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By
Vishnu Sahasranama — what it is and where it comes from
The Vishnu Sahasranama (literally, “Vishnu’s thousand names”) is a hymn compose...
12
Sep
Linga: Meaning, Ritual Role and Swayambhu Lingas
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By
What does “linga” mean?
The Sanskrit word linga (लिङ्ग) literally means a “mark” or “sign.” In Hindu traditions the term came to denote...
12
Sep
Pitru Paksha 15 Days Of Ancestor Rites And Mahalaya Amavasya
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By
What Pitru Paksha is and when it happens
Pitru Paksha (literally, the fortnight of the ancestors) is a 15‑day period in the Hindu lunar...
12
Sep
Nine Diyas in Navratri: Why They Symbolize Navadurga
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By
Why nine diyas during Navratri?
Lighting lamps — pradīpa — is a central act in many Hindu rituals: it symbolises knowledge over ignora...
12
Sep
Sudama And Krishna: Beaten Rice, Dvaraka And Divine Grace
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By
Where the story appears and why it endures
The meeting of Sudama and Krishna is told in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (Bhagavata Purana), in t...