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Vishnu With His Two Divine Mounts: Garuda and Sheshanaga  Chhinnamastika Temple Complex, Ramgarh District, Jharkhand Source: Dr. Richa Singh Garuda is the son of the sage Kashyapa (one of the saptarishis or seven sages   of the Rigveda ) and the king of birds in Hindu mythology. While speaking of Garuda's conception, the well-known Indian epic  Mahabharata informs that Kashyapa is married to two sisters, Vinata and Kadru, the daughters of Prajapati Daksha, the son of the creator god Brahma. The sage pledged to produce heirs for each of his wives. Vinata requested only two sons, while Kadru opted to give birth to 1,000 nagas or divine serpents. But Vinata demanded that her sons be more powerful and skilled than Kadru's children. Vinata laid two eggs and Kadru laid 1000. 1000 serpents hatched from Kadru's eggs after 500 years. However, neither of Vinata's children showed up. Vinata cracked open one of her eggs out of impatience and discovered an embryo with only the t...

Kirtimukha , Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh Source: Dr. Richa Singh Kirtimukha , literally meaning "the face of glory" is a compound word in Sanskrit. Kirti means glory while mukha is face. It is represented as a menacing grinning lion, tiger or demon face with exaggerated traits such as sharp jutting fangs and goggle eyes and often devouring something. This Indian theme is adapted in Indonesian art as the kala-makara motif. It is considered an auspicious motif. The motif is seen in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain traditions and temples and it appears in south Asian and southeast Asian art and architecture. The first known representation of it dates to the third century CE and is found in Buddhist art. This indicates that the Shiva myth occurs later in Puranic literature (an extensive genre of Hindu literature) from the post-Gupta era.  Kirtimukha Motif on the Gopuram of a Hindu Temple, Thailand Source: Dr. Binata Nongmaithem Kirtimukha is traditionally connected to temples and other sa...

Basaveshwara Gayathri Temple Complex,  Bengaluru, Karnataka Source: Dr. Richa Singh J. K. Rowling, British author stated in a tweet that "the Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name 'Nagini.'" Amish Tripathi, the writer of the bestseller Shiva trilogy, responded to Rowling's tweet with the following: "Actually @jk_rowling the Naga mythology emerged from India. It travelled to Indonesia with the Indic/Hindu empires that emerged there in the early Common Era, with the influence of Indian traders and Rishis/Rishikas who travelled there. Nagin is a Sanskrit language word.” Nagini is Lord Voldemort's snake in the Harry Potter series. However, few people are familiar with or have a thorough understanding of the concept of the naga despite the fact that nagas are part of a number of traditions across the world and definitely, its origin goes back to India.  Nagas are strong, semi-divine serpents that guard the earth's r...