Tag Archives: scripture

Alcohol in Hinduism

It can be noted that almost all of the religions of the world have declared alcohol as something that one must abstain from consuming. The ‘Abrahamic religions’, such as Islam, Christianity and possibly even Judaism, forbid the use of alcohol in varying degrees. I always wondered what the Hindu stance was on the consumption of [...]

Selections from Rajaji’s Mahabharata

One of my many purchases on a recent trip to India was a copy of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari’s English translation of the Mahabharata.  Rajaji (1878-1972) was an important Indian statesman, but he spent a bit of his active life on literature and religion rather than politics.  His Mahabharata is ~450 pages long, which can hardly include [...]

Authentic or Apocryphal? Does it even matter?

In one of the discussions with Swami Tyagananda during the fall semester, we discussed whether the Ramayana & Mahabharata were historically accurate. Did Rama really kill a ten-headed demon Ravana? Did Draupadi really have an infinite sari? Or was it merely a figment of Vyasa’s imagination?
More importantly, are the answers to these [...]