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Thursday, December 18, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

Raising taxes was Palas’ biggest mistake—it killed 2 kings, ended their 300-yr-rule in Bengal

The Kaivartas survive today as a faint reminder: the medieval world was not a utopia, nor was it one of complete and benevolent royal domination.

Shaivite rivals were not Vaishnavites, but tantric Buddhists in medieval era

The Pallava dynasty was turning toward Shaivism. Buddhists took immediate note and strung up a narrative where Shiva is immature and Trailokyavijaya emerges supreme.

How exactly did Ganesha arrive in Indonesia & Cambodia? Quite abruptly

In Tibet and China, he would take on altogether darker tantric forms, whereas in Japan, he evolved into a unique ‘twin’ form with a male and female aspect.

Kamakhya Temple is one way Assam shaped Sanskritic mainstream in medieval India

The history of the Kamakhya Temple encapsulates the history of Northeast India — and challenges the way we imagine the spread of Hinduism.

Mahabharata war to Dasaratha sacrifices—Tripura’s Manikya dynasty used religion as a force

In Tripura, the Sanskritic culture served as a veneer over a vibrant, cosmopolitan Northeastern world that we are often too quick to dismiss today as 'tribal' or 'violent'.

Medieval Indian engineers in the 7th century built robots. Powered by water and clockwork

Using hydraulics and clockwork, engineers could make wondrous devices that are now lost. These were more credible than claims about pre-modern Indian technology such as UFOs and genetic engineering.

This is how Shiva became Asia’s most popular god – innovation, assimilation, conquest

In a diverse religious environment, the Shaiva recipe for success was rather crafty.

The Great monastery of Ratnagiri – this is how Buddhism thrived in medieval Odisha

Female musicians played as the Buddha was offered ‘flowers, fruits, medicinal plants, and all other treasures’ at the Ratnagiri monastery.

South Asia’s greatest stupa isn’t in India but Bangladesh. This is its story

The decline and fall of Indian Buddhism was as complex a process as its rise. But all that remains of this dramatic history are silent ruins of brick.

How medieval Kashmir became centre of the world — Vaishnavism, Puranas, and war

The Pancharatrins and the Karkotas of Kashmir seized the subcontinent’s centre stage, religion supporting the State, State supporting religion.

On Camera

Who grounded IndiGo flights? They are the culprits, not DGCA

The IndiGo crisis is nothing short of a threat to India’s stability. Could it be an experiment? Can this happen in any other crucial sector like power or railways?

Steady growth rooted in ‘Dravidian model’. How Tamil Nadu more than doubled its GSDP in 10 yrs

RBI Handbook of Statistics shows state’s GSDP has more than doubled in past decade, finishing second behind Maharashtra. It has performed well across health & education parameters as well.

Israel has ‘realised who its real friend is’, eyes defence expansion in India amid arms curbs by others

It is argued that India-Israel ties are moving from buyer–seller dynamic to one focused on joint development & manufacturing partnership, a shift 'more durable' than traditional arms sales.

India’s top airline just handed sarkar the keys. That’s IndiGo’s real ‘crime’

Don’t blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad, heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India.