Crash course on Avatars!

Mahavatar Narsimha (Hindi, 2025)
Director: Ashwin Kumar

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34365591/

Growing up in the 1970s, the only way to learn about stories from Hindu mythology was through stories told by elders or in satsangs (religious gatherings). Later, we were introduced to Amar Chitra Katha comics, which were quite a hit among us, the children. We essentially heard most of our Hindu fables from these colourful books. Anything that came close to a TV production was an anime movie that came out, as an Indo-Japanese joint production, as 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' in 1993.

Currently, a plan is underway to develop a Mahavtar Cinematic Universe, comprising seven films based on Hindu mythology, over a span of twelve years (2025 to 2037). Given the quality of this project, I am confident that in the years to come, we will be immersed in a cinematic wonderland.

 

The filmmakers decided to start by depicting Vishnu's most fierce avatars. The half-lion, half-human Vishnu is His most combative form. 

Directly or indirectly, we are aware that Vishnu, as the protector of the world, assumes various forms to restore order when chaos (adharma) prevails. All in all, He had taken nine forms thus far (in this yuga), with one more to go at the end of times, Kalki Avatar. He is duty-bound to fight evil and must do so cyclically, as time progresses in cycles, with fission-explosion-entropy succession. 

There is also a subtle reference to the Avatars in evolution. The first Avatar is Matsya, in the form of a fish, who protects the people on Earth and their knowledge from a mammoth flood reminiscent of Noah's Ark and the preservation of species. Now, one may wonder why this motif of the great flood appears in many cultures. In the Zoroastrian tradition, Gilgamesh is also credited with saving humankind from floods. 

As life evolved from being sea-dwelling creatures and became land dwellers, so did Vishnu's avatar. It is said that Vishnu assumed the role of Kurma, a tortoise form, to help in the churning of the Universe to extract the elixir of immortality and other benefactors in a deathly duel between the Asuras and Devas. This event is immortalised sculpturally in the Swarna Bhoomi Airport in Bangkok. 

The third and fourth Avatars, Varaha and Narasimha, are featured in this animated offering. 

Back to avatars and evolution, Varaha is depicted as a wild boar, said to be one of the most sturdy herbivores adapted to land-based living. Despite being a herbivore, it can be a ferocious beast with rudimentary tasks and muscular limbs. In this juncture, life has firmly grounded itself on land. 

In the movie, a pair of twins, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyashipu, were born. They were Asuras because their mother was from the Asura lineage. Asuras do not automatically infer that they are bad, but rather the general narrative in the Vedic scriptures, over the ages, has transformed to mean so. Because they conceived at an inauspicious time, because their mother, Diti, felt horny, and despite her husband Kasyap's warning, they succumbed to lust. Thus, two of the nastiest Asura of the celestial levels were born. 

On a side note, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, the twins, were the reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, once the gatekeepers of Vishnu's abode, Vaikundam. Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by Brahma's sons for not allowing them to enter Vaikundam. Vishnu could not cancel the curse, but gave them two options. The first option is to be reborn seven times as a Vishnu bhakta (follower) or, alternatively, as an anti-Vishnu for three births. They chose the latter. Hence, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were their first births. The next two are from Rama's era (as Ravana and Kumbakarna) and Krishna's era (as Shishupala and Dantavakra).

Hiranyaksha decided to submerge Earth into the cosmic ocean. Vishnu, as Varaha, fought Hiranyaksha and scooped up Earth, as Bhumidevi, the female personification of Mother Earth, with it. Now, here is the interesting observation that some Hindu scholars agree on. Some of the ancient sculptures of Varaha, erected for worship, depict the Earth as a spherical object. This means that the Indians were aware of Earth's appearance. It is not surprising, as the likes of Aryabhatta had already made gigantic steps in the field of astronomy by the 5th century CE.

After Hiranyaksha's demise, his twin Hiranyakashipu went into intense penance, worshipping Brahma for his boon. Now, Hindu supreme powers are usually quite generous with their wishes. The important lesson in any story where wishes are granted is that the requester must be extremely careful and precise in their requests. So when Brahma did eventually manifest and was willing to grant his wishes, Hiranyakashipu made his request-not to die at the hands of any of Brahma's creation, not to die inside a residence or outside, neither during day nor night, not to be killed by any weapon, human, animal, demigod or serpent. He should not be killed by anyone born of a woman, whilst having supreme power over all living beings. He is bestowed the boon.

The Universe had something up its sleeve. Hiranyakashipu's pregnant wife was kidnapped by the lustful God of the Skies, Indra. He was intercepted by the celestial sage, Narada, who took the pregnant mother under his care. The unborn child grew up exposed to songs praising Vishnu, to the extent that the child, Prahlada, became a devoted devotee of Vishnu.

Trouble brewed when the father, Hiranyakashipu, tried to market himself as a true god to his subjects. The recalcitrant Prahlada continued singing praises to Lord Vishnu, much to his father's chagrin. The son was punished again and again, only to be miraculously saved. At the point of reckoning, when told to show the might of Vishnu, the Lord appeared from the walls of a pillar, in a corridor, at twilight, to be mauled by a half-animal, half-man Narasimha, with His bare claws, without any weapons, keeping within the terms of his boon. 

The computer graphics are excellent. Similarly, the choices of colour, background score, storytelling, and continuity are also captivating. After the near demise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Hollywood, the Mahavatar Cinematic Universe is here to take over where it left off. 

The story of evolution continues with human avatars of variable intellectual capacity, such as Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna or Buddha. Kalki will appear at the end of times.

P.S. In future, when you find yourself stuck with a genie in a situation where you are granted three wishes, be wise. Ask for a wish where you never run out of wishes!

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The State has its responsibilities too?

Janaki V vs State of Kerala (J.S.K, Malayalam, 2024)

Written & Directed: Pravin Narayanan

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23458804/

I heard about this film even before its release. Thanks to the free publicity generated by its legal entanglements, even those least interested in watching the film found themselves eagerly awaiting its launch. Sometimes, one wondered whether these legal disputes were self-inflicted. With so many films being produced in India nowadays, without such spicy elements, some movies might simply go unnoticed. There are only so many hours in a day!

The main issue the complainants had with the film was its title. It was initially called 'Janaki vs State of Kerala'. In the story, the protagonist, Janaki, is raped. Therefore, naming a rape victim after the revered goddess Sita is disgraceful, according to the plaintiff. Janaki is another name for Sita, Lord Rama's consort and an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi. To make matters worse, the officer who helps her navigate an uncooperative police system and formalities is Muslim. The legal expert who carefully examines the facts to prove her innocence is Christian.

The courts considered their plea and chose to insert a 'V' after Janaki, the character's father's name, Vidhyadharan. That move soothed everyone. So simple.

Every Hindu has a name that may be linked to the 330 million gods in Hinduism. How can a person bestow a name without invoking any of the deities?

An IT professional visits her hometown to attend a religious festival. She is sexually assaulted by an unknown individual and cannot remember the incident because she was possibly drugged. When her father tries to report it to the police, he gets caught in a stampede at the station during a separate protest related to another case involving a Bishop. The evidence is inconsistent, suggesting a possible unseen influence from above. Janaki became pregnant, likely as a result of the interaction.

The film highlights a very relevant point. Law and order services are established in the country to protect its citizens. Citizens, through the democratic process, periodically elect their preferred government to maintain peace and order. When the State fails to provide the promised adequate protection to its people, is the Law responsible for addressing or fixing the consequences of their failure? Just as the State endeavours to defend the voiceless and marginalised when they are wronged.

Towards the latter part of the film, when her case finally reaches court, Janaki is already seven months pregnant. The perpetrator is eventually identified. Through her solicitor, she demands that the State of Kerala absolve her of all mental trauma and public humiliation of being an unwed mother, all due to their incompetence. She requests that her fetus be surgically removed and placed under the care of the State from the neonatal stage until the child reaches 18. The courts agreed, which I thought was quite far-fetched. But that is poetic justice for the masses.

P.S. In my twisted mind, I wonder. Just because the rapist turned out to be a lowly loafer who is a nobody, did Janaki demand the termination of the pregnancy? If he had been the son of a millionaire or someone with deep pockets, would she have decided to keep the baby? Just thinking.

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In a secular nation?

Hindus in Hindu Rashtra(2023)
Eighth-Class Citizens and Victims of State-Sanctioned Apartheid
Author: Anand Ranganathan

I felt as if I were listening to him debate on Indian internet television. For the uninformed, a debate in the Indian context differs from the BBC's 'Hard Talk' or a conventional debate in which one person is given the stage to speak while others listen.

On these Indian shows, what we see on our monitors are multiple smaller windows, reminiscent of those in 'Brady Bunch' or ‘Hollywood Squares’, with everyone yelling at the top of their lungs simultaneously to make their point. With the rapid-fire speed of speech, often seen in speed debates, and the caustic choice of words, it is quite a spectacle. Everything is drowned out in the cacophony of each speaker's voice. Amidst all this, the anchor begins to argue at a higher pitch without turning off the guests' microphones. Sometimes, I wonder why the guests bother to attend at all. 

Anand Ranganathan has attended numerous such debates. His strong command of English and fluent expression of thoughts make him a standout in right-wing media. 

After listening to so many of his arguments on X, the book evokes a sense of 'déjà vu'. His premise is that Hindus in India are receiving a raw deal. After being overrun by foreign invaders from the West before the Common Era, India finally attained independence 75 years ago. Despite the change in rulers, he argues that Hindus continue to be treated as the stepchildren of the nation. The British governed this vast country using their 'divide and rule' tactics, which, regrettably, persist to this day. 

Ranganathan presents eight points regarding why Hindus in a Hindu nation are receiving a raw deal. Although India's Constitution declares the country to be secular, the State deems it appropriate to oversee the management of Hindu temples. For thousands of years, the temple ecosystem has served as a centre for worship, education, community living, trade, economy, statecraft, and even defence. Every invader understood that to dismantle India, they had to dismantle the temples. The law allows for the appointment of non-Hindus to the boards managing temples. In contrast, mosques and churches govern their own affairs. Court cases seeking the independence of Hindu temples have been ongoing for years.

Back in the 1990s, 700,000 Kashmiri Hindus were systematically driven out of their homes. Thirty years after the massacre, the state finds it more profitable to have them return as tourists for foreign exchange, but not to their ancestral homes. In contrast, Rohingya Muslims are permitted to settle in Jammu and Kashmir. Is the abrogation of Article 370 the right path to rectify the status quo?

The Waqf is considered the third largest landowner in India, after Defence and Railways. What began during pre-Independence times by the British to appease the Muslims has since expanded. Many prominent landmarks around Delhi, as well as Ambaini's house, are now believed to be Waqf land. Any property adjudged arbitrarily by Muslim law irrevocably belongs to Allah for all time. It reached a point of absurdity when a 1,500-year-old Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu is claimed to be situated on Waqf land, despite Islam being only 1,300 years old. The archaeological and physical evidence of lingams at the Gyanwapi Mosque serves as proof that it was constructed atop the grand Kashi Vishwanath temple. Even Aurangzeb, in his verified biography, Masir-e-Alamgiri, conceded to demolishing the aforementioned temple to erect a mosque. The 1995 Waqf Act solidifies the authority of the Waqf Board; however, these days, Parliament is attempting to amend this.

The Right to Education Act (RTE) of 2009 is said to be leading Hindu-run schools towards extinction. The Act dictates financial control, as well as the choice and quota of students and teachers, selectively applying these rules to non-minority schools; failure to comply results in closure. These restrictions compel schools to raise their fees, forcing parents to seek alternatives in schools run by minorities. Even in states where Hindus are a minority, the Act continues to operate against their interests.

The author highlights legislation that appeases non-Hindus but targets Hindus. For instance, bigamy is illegal under Indian law, yet it is permitted under the Muslim Personal Law of 1937, illustrating the double standards. Feminists advocate for equal rights but remain silent when the court permits Muslims to marry upon puberty. The corridors of power are intent on reforming Hinduism and addressing the social ills that characterise Hindu society, while the Abrahamic religions remain untouched.

The author also has a bone to pick with India's fixation on glorifying the invaders of the land. He is particularly scathing about naming one of Delhi's main roads 'Aurangzeb Road,’ referring to a ruthless conqueror who found solace in destroying pagan religions, particularly Hinduism, upholding Islamic law over his territory, imposing jizya on non-believers, and forcibly converting Sikh spiritual leaders. The nearest train station to visit the remnants of Nalanda University is Baktiyapor, named after the invader who burned Nalanda, thus losing centuries of knowledge and wisdom. 

It appears that the actions of the courts show no hesitation in attempting to alter Hindu practices, such as in the Sabarimala case, where women of menstruating age are not permitted to enter the Swami Ayyappa temple. However, the courts chose to remain silent regarding other religions, as exemplified by the case of Nupur Sharma, who is blamed for the killing of an innocent tailor for commenting on the Quran. Ranganathan further illustrates the bias of the Indian courts against Hindus.

Even though the author is an engineer by training, he chose to dedicate most of his time to highlighting the plight of the second class of Hindus in a country where the majority are Hindu. He even states that there is a legislative, judicial, and constitutional apartheid against them. 

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No beef with beef ingestion?

The Myth of the Holy Cow (Original Version 2001)

Author: D. N. Jha

Twenty out of twenty-eight states in India have laws prohibiting the slaughter of cows. The consumption of beef has recently become a contentious issue, highlighted by incidents of cow vigilantes intercepting cattle transportation and the lynching of individuals who eat beef.

Initially published in 2002, this book received considerable criticism upon its release. With the memory of Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' ban in 1988 still fresh in people's minds, the Hyderabad Court initially prohibited the book. There were even threats to the author's life for allegedly offending Hindu sentiments.

Through his extensive intellectual discourse, the author endeavours to convince readers that abstaining from beef is not an ancient Hindu practice. He begins his discussion by asserting that beef and meat consumption were prevalent in the Vedic era. Animal sacrifices, including those of horses and cows, were common. Even Brahmins partook in eating beef. It was customary for attendees to consume these offerings. He provides evidence of this practice in the texts of the Rigveda and similar scriptures that followed. Recipes for beef preparation and its medicinal properties were also reported to exist.

Additionally, the Manu Smriti permits its consumption. The portrayal of Rama and Lakshman during their exile in the Ramayana suggests they were hunters, and Sita preferred deer meat. The Pandavas were not vegetarians either.

 

Jha, a vegetarian, appreciated the protection of cows but struggled to comprehend why cows should avoid slaughter. As a historian, he did not endorse the sanctity of the cow. With more Hindus linking abstention from beef to Hinduism, this serves as his counterargument against such a practice.

It is widely believed that Asoka's edicts, illustrated on his iconic pillars, do not mention cow protection. However, the author argues otherwise. Asoka simply instructs his subjects to safeguard 'four-legged animals'; there is no specific mention of cow slaughter or beef consumption. It is often asserted, at least in one version, that Gautama Buddha ultimately passed away after consuming a tainted pork meal. Furthermore, many Buddhist sects do not demand vegetarianism, and meat is served within their temple premises. Cows continued to be slaughtered during the Maurya rule.

The shift towards abstaining from beef became fashionable, likely in the first century CE. This change may be linked to the Advaita movement, which propagated the notion that all life is sacred and part of the greater Brahman. The idea of the transmigration of souls was introduced.

 

The ostentatious display of animal sacrifices and the emphasis placed on them spurred a rise in vegetarianism. The Jain and Buddhist concepts of kindness towards animals may have captivated the public. As interest in Brahminic practices diminished and more individuals identified as Jains or Buddhists, the Vedic practices, which had likely evolved into Brahmanic traditions, had to undergo a rebranding.

 

The ancient Bharat Hindus comprised believers in Shiva (Shaivites), Vishnu (Vaishnavites), and the feminine divinity (Shaktas), and can generally be classified as flesh-eaters and vegetarians. Some flesh-eaters consumed beef while others did not, and there was even a faction that only consumed cows that had died of natural causes rather than those that had been slaughtered.

 

There is a theory suggesting that the Brahmanicals sought to position themselves as superior to the animal-loving Buddhists and Jains, who still consumed meat. They adopted a fully vegetarian lifestyle.

 

By the 5th century CE, consuming beef had become an offence, yet people continued to partake nonetheless. The British may have accentuated the division between beef and non-beef eaters, further supporting the strategy to 'divide and rule'.

This book edition features a chapter by Baba Ambedkar on the subject, which is intriguing to read with an open mind.

 

The take-home message, at least for me, is that there were meat and beef eaters then, just as there are today. As sacrificial animal slaughter reached industrial levels in ancient India, many became disenchanted. As discussions surrounding the souls of living beings arose, Buddhism and Jainism emerged as alternative practices opposing animal sacrifice. People embraced these ideas. The Brahmins endeavoured to rebrand themselves as superior. Those elitists adopted a fully vegetarian lifestyle, and suddenly, it became fashionable to abstain from meat altogether.

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A giant awakens?

Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Ideologies of the Indian Right
By: Swapan Dasgupta (2019)

History tells us of a time when Indian soft powers ruled beyond their lands. Indian (read Hindu) way of living was the only way to live to the East of the land irrigated by the Sindhu Saraswati river systems. The nearest advanced culture to them was the Persians. Now they had an issue pronouncing 'S'. They did not have 'S' in their spoken language but used 'H' in places occupied by 'S'. Hence, the people living around the Sindhu Valley became known as 'Hindus', and their way of living was Hindu.

The perplexing thing is that from an era when the whole world was imitating their culture whilst the rest of the world was in the dark ages, at the time of its independence, it was a nation quite apologetic to its way of life and its history. What gave?

Perhaps it was the repeated invasions and trans-generational traumas with a tinge of Stockholm Syndrome. Still, the bulk of Indians, during their independence from the British colonial masters, had a very low esteem of themselves. They tended to look at other civilisations as superior and scorn upon their own way of living. Maybe because they had missed the bus of the first and second Industrial Revolution and the mercantile type of economy ruled the world, the socialist-minded Prime Minister and his ruling party thought it was pertinent they should be followers, not leaders of the world. They even refused a UN Security Council seat. Government-sanctioned leftist historians reinforced Western false narratives. 

The 1991 Indian general elections must have been a watershed moment in the right-wing movement. Even though they did not win the elections, they sowed their idea of a Ram Rajya (Hindu nation) in the Indian psyche. Their election promises to rebuild the old Ram Mandhir in Ayudhya fascinated the population at large. Just about that time, archaeological excavations revealed that a mosque indeed built atop the site considered the birthplace of the much revered Prince Rama of Ayodhya.

With widespread news of corruption and mismanagement, the 2014 general elections saw the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), headed by the Indian Congress Party, lose to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition headed by BJP. BJP, on its own, secured a majority, surpassing the much-needed 272 seats.

The right-wing Hindu parties have always been in the bad books of the Indians. Ever since Godse, a Hindu nationalist, assassinated MK Gandhi, RSS, the social arm of BJP, and other Hindu parties have been painted with the same brush. The anglophilic apologists and leftist historians have created a centre stage for a dichotomy of anglophile 'intellectual elites' versus homegrown saffron politics.

In the late 1960s, Congress weakened, and a wave of anti-Westernisation swept through the nation. The public was uncomfortable with the outward display of modernity and the intellectual move towards the West. They started reminiscing about the alternative intellectual ecosystem initiated by Hindu nationalist bulwarks like Tilak, Aurobindo, Savarkar and more. The new BJP-RSS combo was not anti-Western and anti-technological development but would use technology to improve administration quality.

After much deliberation, Modi was put forward as the PM material for the 2014 election. His economic success story in Gujarat worked in his favour. The naysayers, including the Western media, were rapacious in putting him as the villain in the 2002 racial riots. The foreign press went on a rant that he was bad news for Indian harmony. His visa to the US, UK and EU was denied as he was deemed too controversial.

Tired of the Nehru-Gandhi dynastic brand of politics with ineffective leaders in the Nehru's descendants, in 2014, NDA with BJP as the majority was voted in to rule the biggest democracy in the world. The going on till the time of writing of the book, at the end of BJP's first term, has been anything but smooth sailing. Quickly, many day-to-day issues can be made out to be big deals, even though the general public is not too bothered by them. The politicians and their desire to create a mountain out of a molehill are the root of the problem. After all, historically, India has a reputation for embracing all cultures, including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and more. They had played host to many refugees.

A simple recital of a national independence hymn like Vande Mataram can become a national issue. Muslim leaders refuse to allow their people to chant this old anthem as it is considered not secular. Cow protection on one side and insistence on beef-eating as a birthright without compromise is another thorn in the Hindu-Muslim relationship. Even though the Indian Constitution bans cow slaughtering, occasional skirmishes and lynching continue. This is not a new problem. Even in 1966, Sadhus demonstrated in front of the Parliament to criminalise cow slaughtering unsuccessfully.

It is all right for a country to be ruled by Christian, Islamic or even Jewish ideologies. However, it seems Hinduism is not compatible with modern democracy. So says the rest of the world. The colonial masters even thought it was pertinent to emphasise in the Constitution that India is a secular country. In the mind of the right-wing Hindu politicians, Sanathana Dharma is secular. In the eyes of the world, Hindutva is a bad word, implying combative fundamentalism. In reality, it just denotes Hinduness.

In the understanding of the right-wing Hindu leaders, a Hindu is someone born in India, with the cultures of India, bowing to the nation of India. So, in their understanding, a Muslim or a Christian is a Hindu. It is wrong, say a Muslim to have allegiance with their religion and show reverence to an external force whilst turning his back to Bharat.

The book tries to clear many misconceptions started by the colonial masters and the subsequent Anglophile Congress leaders who just held the helm on their behalf. They try to allay the misinformation that RSS and BJP are anti-intellectuals or are lacking intellectual depth. They try to break the mould of slave mentality among the citizens and rewrite the distorted Indian history penned previously by leftist historians to maintain the hegemony of the colonial masters over their subject. 

A good read. 

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Not just pastime, it's knowledge!

Every living day is a new learning experience. Thanks to Hollywood and the various sci-fi movies they produced, Joe Public is cognisant of time travel, the concept of time, and the expansionary nature of the Universe. Still, we have a long way to go to be well-versed in these areas.

It is mind-boggling how some ancient Indian scriptures, which some quickly label as unbelievable mythological tales, carry some of the most fantastic astronomical knowledge with them. Forget about their authenticity; the wisdom embedded in them warrants a second look. Perhaps these tall tales are mere side dishes to the main course that they serve. Let us not be swayed by unbelievable events that defy logic. Let us have the know-how to differentiate the trees from the forest.

Two recent concepts that piqued my interest come from two stories mentioned in the Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam and Vishnu Purana. They discuss time dilation and the cyclical nature of time.

Legend had it that King Kakudmi had a multi-talented daughter named Revathi. She was a prodigy and excelled in many areas, and the father thought no one was quite appropriate to marry her. Kakudmi made an interstellar trip to Sathyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahma, the creator of the Universe. After waiting for a musical performance to be over, he was given an audience.

Upon hearing Kakudmi's predicament, the Lord burst into laughter. Aeons had passed during Kakudmi's absence from Earth. His grandsons had died, and all of Revathy's suitors had passed on. By the time they returned to Earth, it would be another yuga* (epoch). Brahma had an idea coincidentally. Vishnu was performing one of his avatars as Krishna's brother, Balarama. She could marry him.

The story introduces the concept the movie Interstellar tries to convey. The youthful protagonist trapped in another realm can only see his loved one grow old and wither away.

I remember this from Einstein's theory of relativity; essentially, the faster you move, the slower time seems to go for you relative to someone at rest.

The next concept that turned my head was the story of Hanuman retrieving Lord Rama's ring in the netherworld.

It was time for Lord Rama to leave his mortal body. Unfortunately, as Hanuman was forever beside him, guarding him, Lord Yama could not take his life. Understanding this, Rama sent Hanuman on a mission. He dropped his ring into the crack of Earth and summoned Hanuman to look for it. Using his special powers, Hanuman made a dash for it only to meet the Serpent Queen, Vasuki, and a mountain of similar rings that Rama had dropped.

Vasuki explained the cyclical nature of time when life is lived repeatedly. The mountain of rings denotes the number of times Rama had thrown his ring for Haniman to retrieve. Perhaps, like the film ‘Sliding Doors', our lives follow different trajectories but ultimately lead to the same end. Unlike Western philosophers' understanding of time, from creation to the end of entropy, Hindu thinkers posit that everything repeats itself cyclically. Various yugas portray different human behaviours that ultimately lead to their self-destruction just to jump-start all over again.

All these so-called ‘myths’ need to be re-examined. They are not mere mumbo jumbos. There is much knowledge to scoop, told in poems and tall stories spiced up with the Gods' extracurricular activities to spur the interests of their listeners.

*Time is divided into four unequal parts (yuga) in multiples of 432,000 years. After a complete cycle, time repeats itself. 

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