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In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Kaumodaki

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Most of the gods are shown with weapons of various kinds. One of the common weapons is the gadā or mace. The gadā of Viṣṇu is named as ‘Kaumodakī’. It is named so since it gives ‘moda’ or happiness to ‘ku’ or the earth by protecting it against the asuras demons and other evil forces.

It was framed from the extremely strong bone of an asura called Gadā. He gave up his body in deference to the wishes of Brahmā, the father of creation. Then Brahmā got it made by Viśvakarmā, the celestial engineer. It was then deposited with the god Varuṇa.

When Kṛṣṇa got the Khāṇḍava forest consumed by Agni, with the help of Arjuna Agni requested Varuṇa to give it to Kṛṣṇa as a sign of his gratitude towards Kṛṣṇa. Iconographical works show Gadā as a female deity. Symbolically, it stands for cosmic intellect.


References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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