Names, Places, Events, Things: Ruminations and Essays on Hindu Mythology

When one reads Mahabharata in its current form, it is always made amply clear that the Mahanayak - the supreme hero - of this epic is Lord Krishna . Although Krishna appears on the scene much later after the feud has happened, he is almost always at the center of the story - and as Krishna is the supreme hero, so is his greatest devotee and friend Partha Arjuna . So much so that Arjuna is considered to be the incarnation of Nara, the supreme Man, and Krisha is considered Narayana - the Supreme God (Vishnu). Arjuna kills all the Maharathis (generals if you please) in the war --- Bhishma, Drona, Karna --- except the Kaurava brothers. The Kauravas --- all 100 of them, including Dussasana and the eldest Duryodhana --- are all killed single-handedly by - and this is where we come to the second greatest character - Bhima .  Bhima is known for his prowess with his favorite weapon the mace (gada, in Sanskrit), just as Arjun is known for his archery. Bhima is as much responsi...

If you are driving down from Mumbai to Goa, or to Pune on the old highway, you need to cross Panvel. While you negotiate your way through the traffic mainly caused by the state transport (S.T.) buses, you pass a small shrine under a banyan tree. It declares the lord of the property to by "Panchmukhi" (five-faced) Hanuman . पंचमुखी हनुमान । Although shrines of Hanuman are in abundance across the Indian subcontinent, especially in hilly terrains like Maharashtra, shrines of "Panchmukhi" Hanuman are a rarity. Of course, there is more likelihood to find one in the Southern parts of the country. The images of the Great Vanara (not Monkey) God in Northern India usually depict him as pulling his chest apart to show Lord Rama and Sita, or flying through the air carrying an entire mountain in one hand. But none of these have Hanuman depicted as having more than one heads. The form of Hanuman as "Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami" (Anjaneya = "son of Anjani...