Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children is now freely available.
Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

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.

Bhīmaratha-śānti

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Bhīmaratha-śānti literally means ‘propitiatory rite to counter the effects of Bhīmaratha.

Śāntis are propitiatory rites performed with a view to countering the evil effects of malevolent spirits, unlucky stars, ill-omens including bad dreams or unfavorable deities.

When a person reaches the age of 77 years, 7 months and 7 days, that particular night is called ‘Bhīmarathī’ since it is said to be terrible (bhīma = terrible) and difficult to survive. The rite to be performed to offset its effects is called ‘Bhīmaratha-śānti,’ or ‘Bhimarathī-śānti’.

It may be performed on the completion of the seventieth year itself. The objective to perform this rite is to protect one's life and also the lives and properties of all his children and grandchildren.

The rite involves several acts like:

  1. Nāndīśrāddha
  2. Kalaśasthāpana - Ceremonially establishing the holy water pot.
  3. Worship of deities like Bhima-mṛtyuñjaya, Durgā, Gaṇapati,qaaa Viṣṇu and the Navagrahas (the nine planets) also.
  4. Chanting of Vedic hymns like the Rudra, the Camaka, the Śrisukta, the Bhusukta.
  5. Performing homas (offering oblations into duly consecrated fires), the main homa being the Mṛtyuñjaya-homa with the well-known hymn, ‘tryambakam yajāmahe’.
  6. An abhiṣeka (ceremonial sprinkling of consecrated waters) to the Yajamāna, the performer.
  7. Offering gifts to the prescribed persons and get the blessings of the priests and the other brāhmaṇas involved in the rite.


References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Bhīmaratha-śānti&oldid=133889"