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

Dikpālakas

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Dikpālakas literally means ‘protectors of the quarters’.

Dikpālakas Definition[edit]

In the cycle of creation, as depicted in the purāṇas, the eight quarters or directions have been put under the protection of eight deities. They are known as ‘dikpālakas’ or ‘aṣṭadikpālakas’.

Dikpālakas of Major Directions[edit]

Four major directions protected by deities are:

  1. Indra for purva or East
  2. Yama for dakṣiṇa or South
  3. Varuṇa for paścima or West
  4. Kubera for uttara or North.

Dikpālakas of Intermediate Directions[edit]

The intermediate directions are taken care of by:

  1. Agni for south-east
  2. Surya for south-west
  3. Vāyu for north-west
  4. Īśāna for north-east

These deities are rarely worshiped. They are mostly represented on the central panel of the ceiling in the chief pavilion (mahāmaṇḍapa) of a temple.


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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