The Function of Mythology in Modern Life: Why Ancient Stories Still Matter
We live in a time where human beings can map galaxies, edit genes, and simulate intelligence, yet remain deeply uncertain about how to live with themselves. Modern science has transformed the way we understand the material universe. We can study matter at subatomic levels, trace the origins of stars, and observe biological systems with astonishing […]
Why Hindu Mythology Is a Colonial Term (And What We Should Say Instead)
Walk into almost any bookstore today, in India or abroad, and you will find shelves labelled “Hindu Mythology.” Browse online retailers, and the category appears everywhere. The Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, stories of Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Kali – all grouped together under a single modern label. Most people rarely stop to question it. The phrase has […]
The Role of a Mythology Writer in Preserving Ancient Indian Wisdom
When Words Distort Inheritance Few terms are as misunderstood in the Indian knowledge landscape as the word mythology. In common speech, “myth” is often used to mean something imaginary or false. Myth refers to symbolic narratives that encode truth, psychological, cosmological, ethical, and metaphysical. Ancient Indian narratives were vessels of layered knowledge transmitted across generations […]
Mythology vs Myth: Why Words Matter in Preserving Cultural Truth
There is a moment in almost every conversation I have had about Indian stories and texts where someone uses the word “myth” and I find myself pausing. Not because the word is always wrong. But because it is rarely as neutral as the person using it believes it to be. The difference between myth and […]
How Myths Travel Through Time: From Oral Tradition to Instagram Reels
When we use the English word “myths,” it often feels like a compromise. In India, we do not think of the Ramayana or Mahabharata as “myths” in the sense of fabricated stories. They are Itihasa-“thus it happened.” Yet, in the absence of a better English word, the word “myth” is often used. And these myths, or Itihasa, or the […]
Mythology in the Age of AI: What Happens When Machines Retell Stories
When we use the word “mythology,” it is often because there is no better term in English. But in the Indian context, texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are not “myths” in the sense of invented tales. They are Itihasa-a word that means “thus it happened.” If not recorded history in the modern sense, they […]
Mythic Mythology vs. Itihasa: Why Stories Change When We Stop Questioning Them
When we hear the word “myth,” it often carries the meaning “fiction” or “fable.” Something imagined. A tale with little claim to truth. Mythology, in turn, is treated as a collection of such myths, neatly categorized as cultural stories but never quite given the weight of history. But in India, this way of framing doesn’t sit well. […]