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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.

Indradyumna

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Indradyumna literally means ‘One whose wealth and power are like those of Indra’.

Indradyumna, As Gajendra[edit]

One of the often quoted incidents from the purāṇas in the support of ārtabhakti[1] is that of Gajendra, the elephant king.[2] Gajendra was actually a king, named Indradyumna, in his previous birth. He was the king of Pāṇḍyadeśa. Once he incurred the displeasure of the great sage Agastya and was cursed by him to be born as an elephant.

While roaming in a forest along with his herd, the elephant Gajendra went to a lake to drink water but was caught by a crocodile. After a lot of struggle to free himself, he helplessly turned towards Lord Viṣṇu and prayed piteously. Moved by his prayer, Lord Viṣṇu discharged his famous discus, known as Sudarśana, and killed the crocodile and saved Gajendra’s life.

This story teaches two lessons:

  1. The evil effects of dishonoring saints
  2. The power of intense devotion to god

Indradyumna, a King[edit]

Indradyumna, a king of Avantī (or Oṇḍra), was a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. He established the Puruṣottama Kṣetra, present at Puri or Jagannāthapurī town, a holy place of pilgrimage.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Ārtabhakti is known as the ‘devotion of the distressed’.
  2. ↑ Bhāgavata 8.2-4.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Deval Sancheti, Apurva Mahendra Bhangdia

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