Dīpāvali is better known as the day Rāma, victorious, is welcomed by the people of his kingdom, Ayodhya, as the day of Viṣṇu’s defeat of Bali, and the victory of Vikramāditya over the Śakas. Like the day that precedes it, Dīpāvali is a day for performing rituals for ancestor worship…

Canto 8 of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa describes the emergence of the Goddess Lakṣmi as a youth of exquisite beauty from the churning of the ocean of milk. So magnificent was her beauty that it captivated the Gods, and as soon as She emerged from the water, Indra, the King…

The proof of Keśavadāsa’s permanent and undisputed place in Hindi literature is Rāmacandrika. According to Keśava’s own account, the sage Valmiki appeared to him in a dream and asked him to write this book. The sage gave him the mantra of Rāma, saying, Rāma is the only truth, there is…

Java may have been known to the Hindus, nevertheless, at a very early date, for the Sanskrit name ‘Yava-dvīpa’, found in the ancient texts of the Rāmāyaṇa, refers, it is believed, to the ‘island of Java’ as one of the places they might look for Sita after her abduction. Hinduism…

The Ūrdhvaretas Gaṇeśa from Gardez, Afghanistan is still worshipped at Daram Sal Hindūwa or Pir Rathan Nāth Dargah in the bazaar of Kabul. The statue was previously settled in a niche of the temple, but has been detached. The height of the pedestal and figure altogether is 71 cm.The crown…

वसुदॆव सुतं दॆवं कंस चाणूर मर्दनम् । दॆवकी परमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दॆ जगद्गुरुम् ॥१॥ I offer my obeisance’s to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved son of Vasudeva, who killed the great demons Kaṁsa and Cāṇūra, who is the source of great joy to Mother Devakī; and who is indeed a world teacher…

“There is a perfect balance between the divine and earthly dimension in Hemen Mazumdar’s works, which emerges from a very personal poetic vision that creates a new and singular aesthetic”. C. Corni This artwork by Hemen Mazumdar (1894–1948), titled Smriti (Secret Memory) was awarded the Gold Medal in 1921 by…

Balarāma is Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother and is himself a deity often associated with agricultural prosperity, responsible for the region’s fertility. Balarāma is affectionately referred to as Dauji, Daubaba, or Baladev. ‘Dau’ means elder brother in Brajabhāṣa, the local dialect of Hindi, and “ji” and “baba” are appended honorifics. Most images…

Kṛṣṇa’s Vastrāharaṇa Līla This manuscript of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is admired for its sophistication, its animated narration, and above all, its sheer joie de vivre. This painting captures the essence of the text, which describes Krṣṇa’s vastrāharaṇa līla. Krṣṇa is seated in a tree, having stolen the robes of the women that had…