culture

Was the Agnipariksha a test for Rama?

kulturekathaLeave a comment

For many Indians, Rama is god, and Ramayana is a holy text. Yet, there are some episodes in the epic that seem irreconcilable with the immaculate character of Rama, the most contentious being Sita’s agnipariksha.

Was Rama being unfair to Sita in urging her to take the trial by fire to prove her chastity?

Are we being fair to Rama when we try to judge him with our modern day yardstick?

How does Valmiki narrate this episode?

Do watch my video on Kulture Katha on whether the trial by fire was for Sita or, for Rama?!

Wit & Wordplay in Indian Stories

kulturekathaLeave a comment

Language, as they say, marks the pinnacle of human evolution. And humour & wordplay form the crown of that pinnacle. Being home to such evolved Indian languages such as Sanskrit and Tamil, India, not surprisingly, is the wonderful land of stories centered around wit and wordplay.

This video takes you through some of these stories, highlighting a unique wordplay episode from the life of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa and a story of uncanny humour involving the Tamil scholar Avvaiyar and her favourite deity, Murugan. There is also a cute little story about how even the gods could not put a word to the relationship between Ayyappan and Goddess Lakshmi!

For all this and more, watch the video!!