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.

Vāstupuruṣa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Vāstupuruṣa literally means ‘personified deity of the site’.

Vāstuśamana[edit]

Vāstu is the layout of a building site. Before constructing a building there, the land has to be reclaimed from the gods and goblins who might be living there for eons. This ritual of pacification is known as vāstuśamana.

Vāstumaṇḍala[edit]

Generally a maṇḍala,[1] a square divided into 9 x 9 (= 81) or 8 x 8 (= 64) smaller squares is used for this purpose. This is called vāstumaṇḍala.

Vāstupuruṣa[edit]

There is an interesting legend connected with this maṇḍala. When Śiva fought with the demon Andhaka, a drop of sweat fell from his forehead on the earth. It assumed the form of a fierce demon who attempted to devour the worlds. Then all the gods and spirits rushed towards him, felled him to the ground with face downwards and pinned him there, all of them being stationed on him. The vāstumaṇḍala contains him with his head in the direction north-east and with his hands and legs folded. He is now called Vāstupuruṣa. Like other gods on him are propitiated, the building will be firm and safe.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Maṇḍala means geometrical drawing.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Deval Sancheti

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Vāstupuruṣa&oldid=117452"