#indian god statues

[bhavesh372]

[paulpingminho]

[gardenwalrus]

David Ash, ‘Our Kind of Girl - By The Beatles’, Daily Express (21 Nov. 1963)

After the show, after the applause, what kind of girl do the Beatles think about in the loneliness of hotel rooms locked against the fans? [...] So I went and asked them: What is your kind of girl? [...] Paul McCartney, 21, told me: “It would be great to have the sort of girl who would darn my socks and cook apple pies and things.” Now that may sound like Platitude 1 (a) from the pop-star's handbook of ready-made quotes. But this McCartney I think says what he means. He continued: “She'd be attractive, but not the big show-biz personality type of girl, or one who's affected, or a dizzy dumb blonde. “She'd be intelligent - but not fantastically brainy, because I'm not - and interested in all kinds of music. Including mine.  “And she'd have to have the right sense of humour. Because we do have what someone called a sense of self-irony. And we laugh at all sorts of off-beat things.”

And physically…?  “I like girls to have long hair (it rhymes with 'her'), interesting eyes, and rather high cheekbones. But not turned-up noses. I have one myself, and it's put me right off them.  “I don't like Elizabeth Taylor-type looks. And I don't like exaggerated hour-glass figures. The figure doesn't matter all that much.  “I like girls in with-it clothes. But some girls look fantastic in just a dirty old sack. Indian girls look great in saris.”

John Lennon was looking around for a scotch. And his face, in serious moments like this, has the fear-neither-God-nor-man quality of a Renaissance painter's aristocrat. At 23, he seems the group's elder statesman. For he is married, with one baby. He talked. Huskily, cryptically. “My kind of girl is, of course, Cynthia. My wife. “I like her looks (she's fair-haired), her cooking; everything about her. I'm an extrovert, and she's the opposite.  “We are both indoor types - that's why I don't mind this life, being locked away behind doors. We live at our mum's or our auntie's or hotels. But wherever I'm with her is home. “People have said that every time she comes down to London to see me she is just trying to patch up our marriage. They say, 'You know what they're like in show business.'  “But that's not true of us. I don't happen to be showbusiness. I married before I was in it. And I haven't changed my mind since."  He added: “Of course, I notice other girls.”

George Harrison - at 20 he's the youngest and (some say) the handsomest - thought he preferred blondes. Smallish ones. Then he decided: "I don't go looking for any special sort of girl. She could be any age from 17 to 40. “I wouldn't like one who was soft (unintelligent). Or one who was terribly intellectual - I wouldn't know what she was on about half the time.  “I wouldn't mind if she were arty, hated pop and loved classical music  “Oh, yes, and I don't like girls with too much make-up.”

Ringo Starr’s sad eyes gazed thoughtful down at his drumstick-balancing fingers and the four rings on them - none of them with any marital significance.  “My girl would be just an ordinary sort of girl, but with just that something different for me,” he said.  “I wouldn’t care if she couldn’t cook very well. She could learn. But I don’t like sitting at home, so I’d want a sociable girl who’d come out every time I wanted to go out.”

Not one Beatle mentioned old-fashioned considerations like social status and family connections.  In their kinds of girl they all looked for a sense of humour, interest in their work, reasonable dress sense, and a complete lack of pretentiousness. 

[handweavers]

being south asian and walking into one of those white people new age shops full of incense and dreamcatchers and ganesha statues and telling them you're indian is a fascinating experience because this white lady gasped and took my hand with what i can only describe as reverence and said 'oh my god I love you and your people so much you have so much wisdom' and i was like thanks and she gave me 20% off my incense cones

[thecoiledserpent]

↻ VARNA, GUNA, PURUSHARTH, NATURE, GANA & YONI IN VEDIC ASTROLOGY

basics of vedic astrology. ask box. masterlist.

important: this master post will consist of three major posts wherein i will be elaborating each of these six mentioned factors. understanding them is key to understanding the deeper nature of the nakshatras, and how compatibility works in vedic astrology. it is not possible to work on all of them in a single post. also, order is irrelevant here. although i usually let it slide, i would recommend reading even the theory and background part in these three posts because they are relevant to further understanding. without it, things may not make sense. i have touched on sensitive topics like varna with care so as to not hurt religious sentiments. but i would appreciate being called out if i have said anything that may spread hatred. it is never my intent to create discord. i would request others to be polite and respectful as well. these are all topics deeply entwined with ancient hindu culture. any disrespect, misinformation and hateful behaviour will have you kicked out of this space. long post ahead, i wish the readers best of luck.

◍ VARNA + GANA

i would like to start off by mentioning that varna and guna are used majorly for checking compatibility between two people or for suggesting appropriate career paths.

varna is for relating the native's attitude towards the world and their work / responsibilities. gana is for analysing the native's nature. so don't use these things in an all encompassing way, and it is better if these tools are used only on the things they are intended for.

VARNA

INTRODUCTION: varna, literally translates to 'caste'. it is noteworthy to mention that vedic astrology, one of the vedangas, was written by sages in antiquity. the caste system that came to ostracize the poor in the name of religion in the indian subcontinent by the 1900s is nothing like what the sages intended for varna to mean, due to which it has come to gain an inherently bad reputation. firstly, the caste system started out with a basic concept—how people brought money into their home. it had nothing to do with one's birth. this is not to be confused with gotra, which refers to bloodline. our bloodline remains the same, but based on what people did to gain money we classify society into 5 major categories, which will be elaborated below. secondly, the varna allotted to each nakshatra is based off the nakshatra's nature. i won't be delving too deep into this, but careful consideration leads one to realize that certain traits indicate saintly personas and others indicate an outlaw. of course, the interpretations aren't so extreme, and i will expand on them further.

brahmin—the caste that studied vedas, tended to the statues of hindu gods, assisted day-to-day prayers, rituals, festivals and rites. they were gurus, translating roughly to 'teacher'. nakshatras—krittika, purva phalguni, purva ashada, purva bhadrapada

kshatriyas—the caste that ruled lands, that is, kings and queens. nakshatras—pushya, uttara phalguni, uttara ashada, uttara bhadrapada

vaishyas—the caste that did trade and business. they brought money by selling their services. they are majorly divided into two parts; farmers and traders. artisans, dancers, musicians etc. were considered to be traders. nakshatras— merchants—ashwini, punarvasu, hasta farmers—mrigashira, chitra, jyeshtha, dhanishtha

shudras—the sweeper caste. these were the people who carried out menial tasks such as maids, sweepers, butchers, servants, constructions workers etc. again, they can be classified into two major parts; butchers and the servants. nakshatras— workers—rohini, magha, anuradha, revati butchers—ardra, swati, moola, shatabhisha

mleccha—the outcastes. these were people who committed heinous crimes and were a threat to society. even a brahmin who comitted the sin of raping another woman could become a mleccha. mleccha were not any 'caste', they were no caste at all and condemned until they died. we only include people here who committed wrongdoings under situations under their own control. a woman who aborted a child due to her own health issues, trans people etc are not to be included here, unless they commit another crime. nakshatras—ashlesha, bharani, vishakha, shravana.

now, let's come down to business. following are general guidelines required to use the varna system—

we only use the caste / varna of our moon sign. having a certain varna in many of your planets is not indicative of anything, only consider the varna of your moon sign.

varna is used for analysing many things, for starters. we use varna for figuring out the most appropriate life path for oneself, and also which kind of career the native would thrive in. one's moon sign's varna is indicative of how we interact with the world and what things we're good with.

note that we employ flexibility here. having a nakshtra in a brahmin varna does not make you 'superior', you simply have other strengths, is all. similarly, having a mleccha varna does not make you a bad person, or that you will commit crimes.

in friendships, marriages, and other unions varna represents how well the ideals of two people match. for eg, a brahmin will never get along with a shudra. nor will a kshatriya. vaishya will get along with shudra, and with brahmin, but not with kshatriya and so on.

tbh the complexity with mleccha is that it belongs nowhere so compatibility matching becomes tricky. an outcaste is not accepted by society, so discussing them becomes difficult. personally, i believe that mleccha varna people can only get along well with each other.

GENERAL VARNA OBSERVATIONS

kshatriya naks are usually stubborn and self-righteous. once they make up their mind about something, it's very hard to convince them otherwise, even if you're right. pushya people even end up losing their trust in those who question their judgement. they can be impulsive and have difficulty keeping their silence when they are hurt. genuinely flamboyant people smh you tell them to wear something casual and they'll bring out a met gala ass outfit. very beautiful people though, they entrance others easily with their charm and beauty, so they get away with it. kinda dramatic too lmao these people often have the jester's privilege 🤷‍♀️ i said what i said. there's a regal aura about them and they easily get away with things. it repeatedly reminds me of achilles, for some reason. bold, bright and attractive; and most of all, worthy of praise. their fame is well deserved, but restraint on the smug attitude is important to avoid making enemies. these people are prone to getting back stabbed. also likely to challenge the system. but not like a revolutionary radical way like mleccha naks do, but rather 'fy bitch, i'm gonna wear what i wanna and look how i naturally am. y'all ain't got shit on me.' if i'm being honest, it's actually pretty respectable.

mleccha nak people are most likely to question the working of things. and they are the type of people who research everything before they fight about it, to make sure they can't be proven wrong. bharani is pretty much the face of this aspect. they easily feel victimised and are sensitive to criticism. sensitive does not mean cry baby though, like bharani could probably punch your face in if it has had enough, sensitive is used in the context of reactive here. they are the people who are most likely to be abused or ignored. usually have trauma related to certain aspects of life. ashlesha have childhood trauma, bharani have trauma related to being restrained (emotional manipulation and being misguided by people they trusted) and so on... mleccha naks have a tendency of being air-headed when it comes to whoever is hurt by their words when they are certain they are speaking the truth. or when they decide they had enough shit and want to voice their feelings. they stop caring about societal restraints and could even spit at a king's face if it comes down to it. usually lonely people. if i'm being honest ashlesha manages to become an odd one out here too, since they don't really fit in much anywhere. they crave company but they are repeatedly betrayed. so it's like push and pull with them, and others don't want to be with such a person. ashlesha's biggest lesson is to see the truth for what it is.

brahmin nak people.. enjoy life, so to say. they can be kinda lazy or have tendencies to order people around. can be self-righteous and massive snobs when they are not self-conscious. other than that, they are pretty chill people. they go with the flow and hold on to the seaweeds when they sense the waters are getting too fast. they know to, and when not to exert themselves. morally good people though, usually have good childhoods. kind of reminds me of gryffindors, they want the best for everyone, but they are a bit rough around the edges and unintentionally hurt others. ngl most of them were very proud people, and others were sadistic. ig brahmin naks have an air of authority which they are more than aware of and it adds to their already inflated egos. it is necessary to remain humble, otherwise people will easily hate on these people. they are very talented, and so most people desire to bring them down as soon as they can. acting foolishly or with vanity is like their one-way ticket to downfall.

vaishya nak people are incredibly clever and quick witted. of course, since it's a wide range of naks i won't generalise, but remember that wit exists in various forms. such as ashwini is prodigal type of intelligence, whereas chitra is 'sell combs to a bald man' type of wit. the farmer category & the worker shudras are hard working naks. they are devoted to what they do and remain grounded, even after massive success. it is difficult for them to see past excessive fonts and twisted words. tbh it doesn't make much sense to them, they are the type to say stuff as it is. no buttering, no boot licking. they believe that if you want something, then you work for it; no excuses. revati is a bit of a nepo baby, but they definitely believe in hard work, as well. often worth their salt. can be delusional though, at least it keeps them happy. the merchant vaishyas are the clever ones. these are the type of people you want to associate with smart work. the farmers category was hard work, but here wit is a major theme. they also don't mind buttering as long as it gets work done. clever people. probably would use others for their own benefit. their usefulness gains them many friends and accomplishments in life. the butcher shudras are just as hardworking as the worker shudras, but they are classified as having a more 'it is what it is' type of mindset. they can hurt people at times, and have a harsh nature. they are the type of people who accept life for what it is and silently suck it up. not ones to complain, usually. when they they set their mind to completing something, they don't rest until they achieve it. they usually don't demand praise for their work, but definitely deserve it.

general compatibility—

✓ brahmins—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya ✓ kshatriyas—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, mleccha ✓ vaishyas—brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra ✓ shudras—vaishya, shudra, mleccha ✓ mlecchas—kshatriya, shudra, mleccha

extreme incompatibility—

✗ brahmin—mleccha ✗ kshatriya—shudra ✗ vaishya— none ✗ shudra—kshatriya ✗ mleccha—brahmin

extreme compatibility—

✓ brahmins—brahmin ✓ kshatriyas—kshatriya ✓ mlecchas—mleccha

GANA

INTRODUCTION: there is no english equivalent for this word, the closest it can be translated to is 'behaviour'. gana is used to compare a native's energy and overall traits in a rough manner with the energies associated with 'swarga' / heaven, 'naraka' / hell and 'mrityu loka' / 'prithvi' / earth. hence, there are three ganas: 'deva' / godly, 'rakshasa' / demonly, 'manushya' / 'nara' / human, respectively. (ironic and funny sounding, but don't think of it from your, i.e a human's perspective. think of it from the view of the universe and you'll understand what it's supposed to mean.)

BASIC INFO: again, it is important to mention that flexibility is exercised in this matter. rakshasa gana naks are not actually demons, it's supposed to describe an energy. only the gana of the moon nak is to be taken in reference. although, yes, most planets' naks being in the same gana makes it the dominant one.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE GANAS

deva gana naks are of positive and bright energy. we associate them with the morning, and these people usually function best in the day. they are splendorous and usually strict about their principles or whatever their codes of conduct are. they are impatient, vain, and even selfish at times. intelligence, wit, fierceness, beauty (beauty is used in the context of abundance, not looks) and fine speech is associated with them. they are clean and usually enjoy fresh or healthy food. they can be immense people pleasers, and care a lot about their reputation. they prefer company over solitude.

rakshasa gana naks are abundant in energy and patience. they are deliberate and know where and how to invest their energy. they are associated with the night and have tendencies towards being night-owls. they are learnt in the sciences. they can be messy and unhygienic. they handle intensity, anger and violence from others well, because they know how to handle their own darkness. they can be harsh by nature and hurt others. they are familiar with solitude, and are at comfort with it. company can make them anxious.

manushya gana naks are in the middle of both extremes, embodying balance in their traits. they are usually humanitarian and adore animals. their traits are indefinite most of the times because they are flexible and get along with both deva gana and rakshasa gana people.

✗ deva and rakshasa gana people do not get along, especially if the charts are extremely polar about their nature as well.

✓ manushya gana people get along with all three ganas.

✓ deva and rakshasa gana are compatible with others of their own gana.

✓ two deva gana people are extremely compatible.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय नमः

[martian-astro10]

I am.... So disappointed right now. Have all the Indians forgotten the reason why India doesn't have veto power? Why India is currently the way it is. Congress was in power for more than 70 years, and nothing happened, nothing changed, India's status was deteriorating, and now you expect a party to solve all those problems in 10 years. It takes a minute to cut a tree and years for it to grow fully. Indians need to learn something from Europeans, because i swear to god, you all are dumb as fuck. I just.... I can write more but..

Read the letters that the Britishers wrote when they came to India, and READ what they wrote, the first thing was, "they are so connected to their culture, to their temples, to their history, if we need to enslave them, we need to destroy all of it" this is for the people who were so pissed because of the construction of a mandir. The anti modi stuff that I've been seeing today all over the Tumblr absolutely breaks my heart, you know NOTHING about India's history, you have no idea just how much Nehru pulled us back with all the anti India stuff that he did. If Modi hadn't come into power in 2014, India would've been completely destroyed, china had already taken over such a huge portion and our army wasn't allowed to retaliate. I personally know people who are in the army at high positions, they tell us this kind of stuff. And the fact that so many western news channels are against Modi should tell you the truth, why would the west want India to reach its full potential when they can exploit us instead? Do you guys not remember the things they said during the landing of the chandrayaan 3, they were so pissed that we managed to do something that they hadn't managed to do yet.

[astrobiscuits]

Unknown asteroids #1

🦭Adorno (21029) – of Spanish origin; means to decorate/embellish; (for females only) if Sun, Mars, Saturn or the Descendant are badly aspected by this asteroid in the natal chart, it can indicate being “objectified” by men; if one of the mentioned planets/angle are positively aspected by this asteroid, it can indicate fighting for women's rights when it comes to the objectification of women

🦭Advincula (23017) – of Latin origin; denotes someone advanced in a certain skill/job/life experiences OR someone who can advance a certain field

🦭Aenna (1155) – of Hebrew origin; means favor/grace, God has favored me; denotes someone getting blessed by a higher force

🦭Aemilia (159) – of Latin origin; means industrious; denotes a workaholic and/or someone who works in engineering; a second meaning: to strive/excel

🦭Aeschylus (2876) – father of Greek tragedy drama; denotes a strong affinity for drama works (either in reading or writing them); if it aspects Uranus, it can bring popularity due to scandals/dramatic past

🦭Bengt (1846) – of Latin origin, but frequently used in Sweden; means blessed

🦭Cappi (49777) – of Italian origin; means lucky

🦭Elpis (59) – of Greek origin; means "the spirit of hope"; like the star card in tarot, this asteroid shows us where we are most hopeful

🦭Gorky (2768) – of English origin; means awkward/strange

🦭Khandrika (12068) – of Indian origin; means small village/small place

🦭Khalat (468725) – of Indian origin; means robe; denotes someone with high social status, someone who dresses expensive

🦭Libby (5672) – of British origin; means God’s promise; if relevant in synastry, it can indicate fated connections, someone given to us from the above

🦭Odeh (34786) – of Arabic origin; denotes someone (or something) coming back into your life, similar to Aesculapia (1027)

🦭Oenomaos (164555) – from Greek mythology (corresponds to King Oenomaus of Pisa); shows love for consuming wine; if prominent in the natal chart, it can point to an alcoholic

🦭Oenone (215) – from Greek mythology; a nymph abandoned by her lover, Paris, who choose Helen of Troy over her; prominent in people who have been cheated on/left by lovers

🦭Okugi (5174) – of Japanese origin; means the heart or depth of something, secrets, mysteries, esoterica

🦭Okuni (7769) – of Japanese origin; means homeland or native country

🦭Olathe (18984) – its meaning comes from the Shawnee language; means lovely/beautiful

🦭Paeonia (1061) – of Latin origin; denotes the latin term for peony (symbols of peony: love, honor, romance, beauty)

🦭Palach (1834) – of Russian origin; means executioner, hangman, butcher, torturer

🦭Piedade (11912) – of Portugese origin; means pity, mercy, kindness towards an enemy

🦭Pierre (1392) – of French origin; means stone, rock

🦭Quigley (18699) – of Irish origin; means “from the mother’s side”; denotes someone very similar to their own mother or her family, heavily attached to the mother figure or someone who has grown up without a father; a second meaning: “unruly hair”; denotes someone with crazy hair

🦭Quinn (107561) – of Irish origin; means wise, intelligent

🦭Quito (10793) – of Spanish origin; means “center of the world”; denotes someone popular and/or famous

🦭Seiwa (16700) – of Japanese origin; means saint; denotes a person of superior knowledge and virtue; a second meaning: peace, calm

🦭Vangelis (6354) – of Greek origin; means good news

🦭Vate (12312) – of English origin, but borrowed from Latin; means prophet, fortune teller, inspired writer; prominent in witches and tarot readers

🦭Vedrana (176014) – of Croatian and Serbian origin; denotes someone who is lighthearted, joyful, cheerful

🦭Xenia (625) – of Greek origin; denotes a great host, someone hospitable and welcoming with guests and strangers in need

(21029, 23017, 1155, 159, 2876, 1846, 49777, 59, 2768, 12068, 468725, 5672, 34786, 164555, 215, 5174, 7769, 18984, 1061, 1834, 11912, 1392, 18699, 107561, 10793, 16700, 6354, 12312, 176014, 625)

[burst-of-iridescent]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 3)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

Part 1 | Part 2

Avatar Day

katara, sokka and aang run across a village that despises the avatar and hold a yearly celebration burning giant effigies of past avatars. this seems to be inspired by the hindu festival of Vijayadashami, a celebration that marks the victory of the hero Rama over the demon Ravana in the epic Ramayana. effigies of Ravana, and other demons mentioned in the Ramayana, are built and set alight to celebrate their defeat and the triumph of good over evil.

this idea of destroying and condemning evil figures through consigning them to the flames is mirrored in the episode, though of course there is a dramatic irony in said evil figure being the avatar - a being of great power and divinity in the hindu tradition.

Ember Island jewelry

though the clothes that zuko, azula, ty lee and mai wear on ember island are predominantly taken from southeast asian countries like thailand and cambodia, there is some desi influence in the jewelry they wear - particularly azula's.

though perhaps not as ornate as desi jewelry usually is, the shape and style of azula's necklace is very similar to that of necklaces worn in south asia, especially at weddings. although it appears simple, it's likely that the necklace is made of pure gold, reflecting azula's status and wealth as princess of the fire nation.

the armband azula wears is also reminiscent of the bajuband, an armcuff worn around the biceps for religious festivities, or special occasions like weddings and parties.

again, you'll note that the version azula wears in the show is a lot more stripped down than typical indian jewelry would be, lacking the bejewelled, ornate designs that characterize desi ornaments.

i like to think this is azula's attempt at being an "average" teenager - dressing more simply (or so she thinks) to blend in with the others at the party. of course, the typical fire nation teenage girl probably wouldn't be wearing gold at all, let alone so much of it, and in fact most of the kids at the party seem to be wearing plain jewelry that look more like leather cords. it's a nice visual touch to confirm what the episode shows us: that azula isn't and doesn't know how to be a normal teenage girl, even when she tries.

Combustion Bending

the concept of combustion bending comes from the third eye of Shiva, one of the three gods in the Trimurti. where his counterparts Brahma and Vishnu are called the Creator and the Preserver respectively, Shiva is known as the Destroyer.

he is usually depicted with a crescent moon on his head, a serpent coiled about his neck, and most famously, his third eye in the centre of his forehead. the third eye is meant to represent shiva's innate power, knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, and is said to be able to see through any illusion or lie to reveal the truth. once opened, it releases a powerful blast of fire or energy (sources differ) that will annihilate any evil it detects.

the most famous myth associated with the opening of the third eye is that of Shiva and Kamadeva, the god of love and passion. according to the legend, Kamadeva tried to make Shiva fall for the goddess Parvati by shooting him with an arrow meant to arouse desire (yeah the hindus had cupid too) but Shiva saw through the trick and, in a fit of fury, reduced Kamadeva to ashes with his third eye.

the inextricable interlinking of destruction with falsehood and pretence reveals the true meaning of the third eye: it is not a tool for meaningless destruction, but a powerful spiritual force for truth, clarity and wisdom.

so naturally it makes perfect sense for the show to stick it on a no-name assassin with no other signifying characteristics or personality traits besides mindless killing. that definitely treats this important cultural and religious symbol with the respect it deserves!

speaking genuinely, the way atla depicts combustion bending goes against everything the third eye is actually meant to symbolise. Shiva didn't indiscriminately open his eye any time he was pissed off or wanted to kill someone; in fact, there are only three, maybe four instances of its use noted in legend, the most famous of which i have discussed above. the fact that the third eye was used so sparingly is testament to its incredible power - power that was meant to be wielded carefully and only when necessary.

for the creators to take this incredibly significant, symbolic aspect of hindu iconography and reduce it to nothing more than a "cool" bending tactic, stripping away all its actual spiritual meaning to turn it into a weapon of brute, random violence is... honestly more disrespectful than i can put into words.

Aang's Moral Dilemma

the scene where Aang goes to his past lives for advice on ozai has been confirmed by the creators to be inspired by the scripture of the Bhagavad Gita. this moment draws from a scene between Arjuna and the deity Krishna in the epic of the Mahabharata, which depicts the war for succession between two warring familial factions - the Kauravas and Pandavas.

in the referenced scene, Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, experiences a moment of moral crisis before the Kurukshetra War. torn between his duty as a soldier and his lingering love for his family on the opposing side, he refuses to fight in the battle as he cannot bear the thought of inflicting violence upon those he once loved. Krishna, the Avatar of Lord Vishnu, and Arjuna's charioteer, rebukes Arjuna and tells him that his priority must always, first and foremost, be his dharma (duty). Krishna also explains that death is merely a release: it is not the physical body that matters, but the soul, and so Arjuna is not truly harming those he loved. heartened by this, Arjuna commences the battle with renewed commitment.

the influence here on aang's conversation with the past avatars is clear. like Arjuna, aang is caught between his personal desires and his duty; like Krishna, kyoshi, roku and kuruk advise him to put his desires second to his responsibility as the avatar. where the show differs is that aang is able to fulfil both his desires and his duty, while Arjuna must sublimate his personal wants to the greater good and what is expected of him as a warrior.

this, incidentally, is where i take issue with how the show handles aang's dilemma. from a dharmic perspective, the resolution of this moral conflict fails twofold: not only did aang fail to put his duty (killing ozai) before his own personal desire for non-violence and maintaining the sanctity of his beliefs, but the solution he did choose - energybending - likely caused ozai great spiritual damage, even if it spared him physical harm.

in hindu and dharmic traditions in general, the body is seen as merely a vessel to be discarded. it is the soul that persists through lifetimes, and the quality of one's spiritual actions that determine their next life. throughout the show, bending has always been inextricably linked with spirituality, and so the argument could well be made that - in accordance with dharmic beliefs - stripping ozai of his bending is much more cruel and harmful than merely killing him. for the writers to present energybending as a “humane” or “nonviolent” option that maintains aang’s moral purity is a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic tenets of hinduism and buddhism, both of which view the the non-material or spiritual self as more important than the physical body it inhabits.

ironically then, it is Arjuna who both fulfills his duty and protects his opponents from real harm, while aang accomplishes neither task. had the show stayed true to the moral conflict it was co-opting from the Gita, the real resolution would have been for aang to accept his dharma as a kshatriya (warrior) and do his duty, no matter the personal cost or sacrifice.

like with combustion bending, regrettably this is yet another instance of the writers being happy to cherry-pick "cool" concepts and ideas from hindu beliefs and myths, but failing to understand the true meaning of the lessons they were trying to impart.

though atla is an incredible show and was a hallmark for asian representation at the time it came out, i wish more people would recognize that it did fall incredibly short in many ways. it’s not too much to ask for desi characters to be more than lazy stereotypes, for important iconography be respected, and for the thought-provoking moral questions raised by scripture as ancient and rich as the Gita to be engaged with meaningfully rather than handwaved away in favour of a flashy, easy ending.

for a show that based so many of its fundamental concepts and ideas on hinduism, i think it’s fair to say that atla could and should have done better by the culture and religion to which it owed so much.

[talonabraxas]

The Swastika Symbol 卍 The Buddhist swastika is called "manji" (卍) in Japanese, and it is known as "wan" (卍, 万)" in Chinese. In Sanskrit, it is referred to as "svastika" (स्वस्तिक), which means "conducive to well-being," derived from "su-" (good, auspicious) and "asti" (to be, to exist).

Meaning & Symbolism in Buddhism

In Buddhist tradition, the manji (swastika) is a sacred and auspicious symbol representing harmony, eternity, and the interconnectedness of all things. Its arms, usually turning to the left (counterclockwise, 卍) in East Asian Buddhism or to the right (clockwise, 卐) in Indian traditions, symbolize the revolving forces of Dharma and the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth (Samsara).

Deeper Symbolism

Cosmic Harmony – It represents the balance of opposites (like yin and yang in Taoism), reflecting the unity of all phenomena. Buddha’s Heart and Footprint – In many Buddhist iconographies, the swastika is found on the chest or palms of statues of the Buddha, signifying his infinite wisdom and compassion. The Wheel of Dharma (Dharmachakra) – The swastika is a geometric simplification of the eight-spoked Dharma Wheel, showing the ever-moving cosmic order of the universe. Four Cardinal Directions – It extends to the fourfold nature of existence (North, South, East, West), linking it to space and the infinite expanse of reality.

Esoteric Buddhist Perspectives

In Vajrayāna Buddhism, the swastika often appears in mandalas and yantras as a gateway to higher consciousness. It is also associated with certain Bodhisattvas, particularly Maitreya, the future Buddha.

In Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (Shingon), the manji is a symbol of the primordial truth and the cosmic reality of Mahāvairocana Buddha (Dainichi Nyorai)—the central deity in many tantric practices.

Connection to Other Traditions

In Jainism, it represents the four states of existence: gods, humans, animals, and hell-beings. In Hinduism, it is a solar symbol linked to Surya (the Sun), Vishnu, and Ganesha. In Western Esotericism, the swastika has been used as a solar, alchemical, and Hermetic emblem, predating its later misappropriations.

The Buddhist Swastika (Manji) in Western Hermeticism and Qabalah

The manji (卍 / 卐) in Buddhist symbolism aligns deeply with principles found in Western Hermetic Qabalah, Alchemy, and Tarot, especially when understood as a rotating force of cosmic balance, evolution, and divine will.

1. The Swastika as the Rotating Cross of the Elements (Tetragrammaton & Tiphareth)

In the Western Hermetic tradition, the cross (☩) is a foundational symbol, representing the four elements, the four directions, and the divine tetragrammaton (יהוה - Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh). The swastika, being a rotating cross, adds the idea of motion, transformation, and the eternal turning of the cosmos.

Tiphareth (תפארת), the Solar Sephirah in Qabalah, aligns perfectly with the swastika’s solar connotations, particularly in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The Golden Dawn viewed the swastika as a rotating force that could symbolize either constructive (deasil, clockwise) or destructive (widdershins, counterclockwise) currents, akin to the alchemical cycles of dissolution and coagulation.

This movement mirrors the Hermetic axiom: "As above, so below"—the continual unfolding and refolding of divine patterns in the physical world.

2. Tarot and the Breath of the Swastika (Manji)

If we think of Tarot as a breath cycle, the swastika represents the continuous inhale and exhale of divine energy through the suits and elements.

The Four Arms of the Swastika = The Four Suits of the Minor Arcana Wands (Fire) – Creative motion, the Will in action Cups (Water) – Emotional currents, the inner spiral of the soul Swords (Air) – Thought’s dynamic process, movement in mind Disks (Earth) – The physical realization of spiritual laws

Thus, the swastika aligns with The Wheel of Fortune (X) in the Major Arcana, which reflects the perpetual turning of karma, dharma, and cosmic cycles.

3. The Swastika and the Qabalistic Lightning Flash

In Hermetic Qabalah, the Lightning Flash of Creation, which descends from Kether to Malkuth (forming the path of divine emanation), has a rotational counterpart: the return ascent of consciousness—aligning with the swastika’s cyclical motion.

The descent (clockwise, 卐) aligns with the involution of divine force into matter The ascent (counterclockwise, 卍) represents spiritual return, enlightenment, and Nirvana

This matches the Buddhist idea that the swastika embodies the eternal path of awakening—a journey from illusion (Malkuth) back to divine unity (Kether).

4. Esoteric Alchemy: The Swastika as the Prima Materia

In Alchemy, the swastika symbolizes the dynamic transformation of the Prima Materia (first matter) into the Philosopher’s Stone.

The turning arms represent the alchemical process: Calcination (Fire), Dissolution (Water), Separation (Air), and Conjunction (Earth). In this sense, the manji is a glyph of transmutation—the constant reworking of base consciousness into divine gold.

This echoes Vajrayāna Buddhist teachings, which treat the mundane world as raw material for enlightenment, just as an alchemist transmutes lead into gold.

5. The Swastika as the Key to Magickal Motion (Chokmah’s Whirlwind)

Chokmah (חכמה) in Qabalah is associated with the whirlwind of divine motion—it is not static wisdom but active, living force, the archetypal "Will to Evolve."

In this sense, the swastika is a glyph of Chokmah’s energy descending into creation (Yod, the first spark) The rotation signifies the primal whirlwind, the storm of existence, which eventually crystallizes into form (Binah, structure).

Thus, the manji is a cosmic yantra of divine will in perpetual movement—never fixed, always flowing. Final Synthesis: Manji as the Breath of the Divine

The Buddhist swastika is a universal expression of the Hermetic Great Work:

1.It shows the interplay of creation and dissolution, much like the Tree of Life and the Lightning Flash. 2.It is a breath—inhale (form), exhale (transformation)—mirroring the cycle of Tarot and Qabalah. 3.It represents the eternal journey of the soul, the Wheel of Fortune turning through Samsara toward ultimate enlightenment. -Tarot of Eli

[koolades-world]

I absolutely LOVE your headcanons esp the Indian ones they make me feel quite seen even if I'm from a country that have super similar cultures (Mauritius) 💗🫶

But now I have to ask, I'm the eldest cousin so whenever there's a family gathering I'm usually the one stuck looking after all of my little cousins so if I brought one of the brothers with me they would all be wondering who he is to me and would interview him just being like, "Are you his boyfriend?!?!?!"

Any chance I could get any headcanons for the brothers for this? Completely okay if you can't!

hello! yes of course :)

this request was send in more recently but I just got back from a family gathering (as of 5/25 this is very prewritten haha) and got a fresh taste of this because im the eldest cousin too! i understand your pain haha. all of my cousins are little. chasing after kids you sometimes barely know the name of in a sari, lehenga, or salwar kameez is no fun

god this will be so fun to write!! (there’s still a whole bunch of random aunties, uncles and little kids at the house so I’m hiding since I don’t get to leave until tomorrow) like yesterday, most of this was written on mobile since I’m traveling so excuse autocorrect please :)

enjoy <3

Mc who babysits their younger cousins at a family gathering w/ the brothers

Lucifer

he’s getting war flashbacks /j haha and it’s written all over his face

he left home to get away from his brothers and basically entered an environment that’s exactly the same but with easily one hundred times the people

he’s almost impressed on their ability to never shut up and now knows why you’re so good at handling his family

however, he is dadcifer™️ so he’s great with the kids, and will try his best to answer their questions, even ones regarding your relationship status

Mammon

nothing gets past kids, and they can sense his weakness when he’s talking about you. they are ruthless

before they can break him, you have to step in and tell them to pick one question each to ask. he’s not sure how you’re corralled them so well, or how you can even tell some of them apart to the point of reprimanding them for tricking him. no wonder you can keep his family in line

once he realizes your job isn’t over until the night ends and their parents come to get their kids, he tries to sneak off a few times, but he always ends up with a couple shadows and has to come back

eventually he’s resigned to his fate, and finds he much prefers the cute little babies since they’re more than happy to mess with his jewelry, and he gets to pinch their cute little chubby cheeks <3

Levi

as much as he hates it, the kids love him and whatever device he brought along to play with

after promising to replace anything they break, he sits down and plays games with them and finds out he actually enjoys it

the older ones actually engage in the game with him and ask him game related questions, which he's more than happy to answer, and the younger ones can be handed a disconnected controller and still be kept happy

this is to the point where the kids actually forget to question him about who he is, and only ask if he'll be at the next event. who is he to say no?

Satan

you’re prepared, and he thinks he is too until he gets there haha. but, he keeps it together and adapts well

you’ve thought of just about everything, from wearing extra, cheaper bangles to hand to them to keep them happy to man knowing every trick in the book to get them to finish their dinner and he can only hope to reach that level someday

he's very collected though, he tries his best to deflect their questions and keep them off that topic

however, part of him knows that's impossible and eventually he caves and just answers the questions to the best of his ability, hoping you aren't listening. never have you seen him so out of his element

Asmo

if it’s a dry event and for some reason isn’t on the dance floor, or there wasn’t one to begin with, he’s so in love with the job you hate so much haha

he’s so attentive with the kids and adores them. he’s got lots of tricks up his sleeve to keep them entertained

of course, he owns it when one kid asks if he’s your boyfriend and proudly tells them yes, he is, (even if he’s not) and answers any other questions they have even if you’re embarrassed

now, the kids look forward to seeing him and expect him everytime

Beel

he’s very chill and almost finds it enjoyable, mostly there to keep you from losing your mind

when the kids eventually decide the food they picked out wasn’t what they wanted, and instead whatever he’s eating, he’s more than happy to share with them. after, they’re you’re flesh and blood, so they’re his family too

of course he’s their jungle gym and he takes turns tossing them in the air, and giving piggy back rides

he’s not quite sure how to respond to all of their questions, but as long as you’re alright with it, he’ll answer honestly

Belphie

as a youngest himself, he’s overwhelmed. is this what he’s like?

the kids won’t let him sneak away to nap, because they’re hyper aware of everything and will catch him

honestly, he’s more annoyed than anything, but he might take a liking to a few and spend all his time with them. he feels like he’s being attacked by all the questions

he’s a lot nicer to you after that, since he realized that’s your life, and he only got a small taste of it

[youremyheaven]

Rahu: Obsession, Abuse & Stalking

I was doing some research and I noticed a disturbing pattern emerge among women who have been abused due to someone's obsession upon them.

The woman on the left is Canadian model and actress, Dorothy Stratten (1960-1980) she had Shatabhisha Sun, Revati Moon & Swati Rising

The woman on the right is Divya Bharti, who was an Indian actress (1974-1993) Shatabhisha Sun, Revati Moon & Swati Rising

Dorothy's birthday was on Feb 28 and Divya's was on Feb 25. They were 20 and 19 years old when they were murdered by their partners.

Dorothy was shot to death by her former husband and manager who subsequently shot himself. They were both found dead by the cops.

Divya fell from the balcony of her 5th floor apartment that she shared with her husband and filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala. It was officially deemed an "accidental death" 🙄but numerous conspiracy theories over the years have suggested that her husband may have pushed her off. I am suspicious of people dying due to "accidental drowning/overdose/falling/anything" because 9/10 times its just a very convenient way to murder someone and have it be written off.

I find the deaths of both these women incredibly creepy due to the many similarities between them including the fact that they have the same exact big 3 placements.

Shatabhisha nakshatra's deity is Varuna, was initially the omnipotent force of the universe and the personification of divine authority but after a lot of different journeys he was banished to the bottom of the ocean by Indra and was stripped of his former status and made the God of rains and sea (he had done nothing to prevent a drought so Indra making him the God of rains and sea is a double punishment intended to make him repent and spend his time dealing with the thing he was avoiding).

The theme of having your status stripped from you and someone "punishing" you seems to be prominent in the lives of many Shatabhisha natives unfortunately.

Every pada of Shatabhisha is ruled by either Jupiter or Saturn and both these planets have a very harsh energy.

Nancy Spungen, Shatabhisha Stellium (Sun, Mercury & Rising) was the girlfriend of Sid Vicious. She was found dead in a hotel room at the age of 20 with a single stab wound. Sid died of an overdose before he could be convicted but he is alleged to have stabbed her.

They had a very violent and turbulent relationship.

Jiah Khan- Shatabhisha Sun, Revati Moon, Magha Rising

Jiah was 25 years old when she was found dead at her home which she shared with her boyfriend, Sooraj Pancholi. Her suicide note mentioned her abortion, and sexual & mental abuse by Pancholi. An independent expert confirmed that her death could not have been a suicide but Pancholi was acquitted due to a lack of evidence🙄

Revati is another nakshatra that is closely linked to abuse but is often not talked about in that context.

Revati is the sum total of all nakshatras. Hence it possesses characteristics of all nakshatras. Looking into the symbol of two fish, these fish are moving opposite to each other. Some depictions show they are moving in a circle with each one having its head near the other’s tail. The opposite moving fish indicate two opposite sides of most aspects of life. It means they represent the good and the evil, happiness and sadness, day and night, life and death; and all other such phenomena. Revati is the nakshatra that embraces these seemingly opposite extremes at the same time.

This means that while Revati often grants immense wealth and privilege, it also indicates abuse and violence.

Rihanna- Shatabhisha Sun, Revati Moon & Rising

Rihanna's abusive relationship with Chris Brown is quite infamous. News of it became public after pictures of her bruised face leaked online. Even after this, Rihanna stayed with him and hoped he would change. She only left him after she found out he was cheating on her.

In a 2009 interview after the attack, Rihanna said that Brown threatened to kill her and that their relationship was "dangerous"💀💀im so glad Riri survived and left his ugly ass in the dust

Nicole Brown Simpson- Shatabhisha Rising

unfortunately not all victims survive.

During their marriage, Simpson physically abused Brown. According to a police report of an incident that occurred on New Year's Day in 1989, Simpson shouted: "I don't want that woman [Brown] sleeping in my bed anymore! I got two women, and I don't want that woman in my bed anymore." Brown called the police multiple times to report Simpson's abuse; he was arrested once, in 1989, after which he pleaded no contest to spousal abuse.

Following the divorce, Simpson and Brown had a volatile relationship but eventually reconciled. Audio released during the murder trial of O.J. Simpson revealed that Brown called 9-1-1 on October 25, 1993, crying and saying that Simpson was "going to beat the shit out of me". When the police arrived, Brown was secretly recorded by Sgt. Craig Lally. "He gets a very animalistic look in him," Brown stated. "All his veins pop out, his eyes are black and just black, I mean cold, like an animal. I mean very, very weird. And when I see it, it just scares me."

Nicole Brown Simpson was stabbed to death by OJ who infamously acquitted 🙄🙄

Miranda Cosgrove, Shatabhisha Moon

In 2014, Cosgrove was granted a restraining order from a Los Angeles court against a stalker who had allegedly followed her, sent her unsolicited gifts and threatened suicide. The man was subsequently arrested for violating that order and sentenced to three years of probation. In 2016, a man who had been stalking Cosgrove shot at a woman in a car near Cosgrove's home before lighting himself on fire and shooting himself in Cosgrove's yard. The man was found dead at the scene. He was supposedly going to kill Cosgrove but ended up killing himself.

Shakira- Revati Rising

There is a disturbing video of Shakira's mother in law grabbing her face and asking her to shut up. It is also known that her MIL helped her partner, Gerard Pique cheat on Shakira and that Shakira used to pay her bills?? as well?? Shakira has not spoken up about any violence or abuse but given the circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true.

Duffy, Ardra Sun (Mercury & Venus), Swati Mars conjunct Saturn, Revati Moon and Punarvasu Rising

She was kidnapped in 2010 and taken to a foreign country where she was drugged and raped for 4 weeks. She has since lived under the radar before finally opening up about the ordeal in 2020.

Drew Barrymore, Shatabhisha Sun

She had a stalker who went around asking people in New York about her address? He climbed on stage during her talk show and tried to get close to her and has generally been unhinged af

Bjork, Swati Moon & Vishaka Rising

Bjork had a creepy psychopathic stalker who was obsessed with her for years

On September 12, 1996, López mailed a letter bomb rigged with sulfuric acid to Björk's residence in London, then returned home, recorded a final video diary explaining his motivations, and ended it by filming his suicide by gunshot. Hollywood police found his body and the videos four days after his death; they contacted Scotland Yard, who located the bomb in a London postal sorting office. The parcel was safely detonated, while Björk was unharmed.

This man had been videotaping himself talking about his love for Bjork for a long time and they are superrr disturbing to say the least. He had put up a canvas behind himself while he was preparing to blow his brains out because he wanted his splattered brains to be his final art piece??? the words "best of me" was written on it😨😨

for your own sake i highly suggest not googling about this guy because it is gory and DISTURBING, those videos should not be up on the internet.

George Harrison, Shatabhisha Sun, Swati Moon

Harrison was stabbed 40 times by an intruder (who hated the Beatles) who broke into his house in 1999

the intruder evaded prison time, having been cleared of attempted murder on grounds of insanity. He was placed into a secure psychiatric unit near Liverpool and was released less than three years later.

Harrison died in 2001 from cancer having survived the stabbing.

Olivia Newton John, Ardra Moon, Ketu in Swati

The mass murderer Michael Owen Perry had been obsessed with Olivia for years and stalked her relentlessly. He eventually murdered his family (5 members) and had a list of people he wanted to kill which included Olivia. He was arrested and imprisoned. I cannot find info as to whether he's still in prison or if he was ever released tho.

Kendall Jenner, Swati Sun

She has spoken about the constant issue with her stalker a few years ago on KWK. There are even episodes showing that Kendall was hiding out at her mom's house because she was so terrified.

Kendall had purchased John Krasinski and Emily Blunt's home, then the stalking incidences began. the stalker managed to find out where she was living and he trespasses on the property, her security had to chase him off numerous times, and Kendall contacted the police. Unfortunately, each time he was gone before the police arrived.

This isn't the first time. One stalker ended up being deported while the other took a naked swim at her house and she filed a five year restraining order on him.

Claire Foy- Swati Moon

Her stalker was finally got deported to the U.S. but he was sending 1000s of emails and letters to her and her agent, contacting her family, and showing up at her door and "constantly ringing the doorbell."

Taylor Swift, Ardra Moon

she has had soooo many stalkers over the years. several stalkers have broken into her building. one even slept on her bed and took a shower in her bathroom. thankfully she hasn't been hurt.

Toni Morrison- Shatabhisha Moon

She wrote extensively about child abuse, violence, murder, rape in her novels and they were major themes of her work.

Kesha- Shatabhisha Sun

Kesha sued Dr Luke, her producer for sexual harassment, misogyny, civil harassment, violation of California's laws against unfair business practices, infliction of emotional distress (both intentional and negligent), and negligent retention and supervision. She claimed that Dr. Luke "sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally" abused her since the beginning of their professional relationship. The suit alleged he drugged and raped her on two occasions, made threats against Kesha and her family, and called her derogatory names.

The suit was dropped and the two have come to a mutual agreed settlement as of 2023 because the justice system is fcked up like that

Ellen DeGeneres- Revati Moon

another example of a Revati native suffering abuse is Ellen who was sexually abused by her stepfather

Robert Downey Jr- Revati Stellium (Sun, mercury & venus)

Robert Downey Jr. was born in New York City in 1965 to underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. and actress Elsie Downey. At an early age, his father, who also struggled with substance abuse, introduced him to drugs, allowing him to try marijuana at a party when he was only eight years old. In an interview with People Magazine, Downey Jr. explained how doing drugs with his father became their way of bonding, and that this early exposure to drugs led Downey Jr to struggle with addiction for most of his adult life.

Clara Bow- Saturn, Ketu & Rising in Shatabhisha

Clara Bow was born into a poor family; she was sexually abused by her father and neglected by her mentally ill and often violent mother. She went to Hollywood by way of a beauty contest while still in high school. She was the first "it girl", in fact the term was invented for her.

One night in February 1922, Bow awoke with a butcher knife against her throat; when her mother hesitated, Bow fended her off and locked her up. In the morning, her mother had no recollection of the episode and was later committed to a charity hospital.

Her mental health deteriorated in the 40s and she never left the house and eventually passed away.

Gene Tierney- Shatabhisha Moon

Gene's case is another example of the "sacrifice" and "punishment" theme of Shatabhisha manifesting

Gene had a daughter who was born with severe disabilities (deaf, partially blind, severally mentally disabled) and Gene suffered from manic depression post childbirth. she sought psychiatric treatment and was admitted to Harkness Pavilion in New York. Later, she went to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. After some 27 shock treatments, intended to alleviate severe depression, Tierney fled the facility, but was caught and returned. She later became an outspoken opponent of shock treatment therapy, claiming it had destroyed significant portions of her memory.

she lived in self imposed exile in Texas where she passed away

almost all the people ive mentioned on this list (who are living) live very private lives. being forced to be "low-key" is a major theme. Rahu is a planet that makes an individual very obsessive but also makes other veryyy obsessed with them. this can manifest in really brutal ways.

Rahuvians are often the type of people who will relentlessly stalk someone but they are also the type of people who can be victims of other people's obsession and unwanted attention. Rahu's energies are not for the faint of heart and its incredibly scary what happened to sooo many of the people I have mentioned on this list.

stay safe, be conscious of who you're interacting with and cut off weirdos<33

[bhavesh372]

[conkreetmonkey]

Splatoon 3 is wild because imagine if you were living in Japan due to a recent economic and cultural boom, and suddenly a space shuttle with a mutant house-sized T-rex riding it suddenly burst from the center of Mt. Fuji and disappeared into space without explanation, and all you ever find out about what the fuck that was about is that Zuckerburg mysteriously disappeared the same day and was never seen again, but still "officially" ran Meta through an open secret Queen-Elizabeth-being-in-good-health gaslighting campaign, and everybody kind of suspected he may have been connected but never figured out anything conclusive.

Also the T-rex is now orbiting the earth in the fetal position like the guy from Jojo, and there are rumors of a substance that, if touched, turns you into a half-dinosaur monster. Nobody understands any of this but Meta employees just keep going to work and pretending Zuck still exists. The same 12 prerecorded voicelines constantly squak from the PA system.

Oddly, the statue in front of Meta HQ of a T-rex eating a human changes overnight into one of a giant human eating a tiny T-rex. Nobody noticed the switch, despite the statue being in a constantly bustling area. It happened shortly after the shuttle incident.

Jack Black's tiny clone, Lil' Jack, now wears a headset at all times and has been acting really shady since the incident. Also they're both hyperintelligent, immortal velociraptors found in an ancient cryogenic chamber who spend their days judging college football and eating the legally harvested flesh of hillbillies. Lil' Jack is probably plotting to kill Big Jack, but Big Jack doesn't seem to care, growing fat and lazy, sleeping on public benches in a bed of throw pillows. Also, he's very open about the fact that, as a velociraptor, humans look delicious, but he hasn't actually eaten anybody aside from the aforementioned hillbillies because he's civil.

Everyone is just expected to move on with their lives after this. This is normal to you.

The local art school was recently attacked by giant sea serpents, which were actually hideously bioengineered hillbillies, fulfilling a biblical doomsday prophecy, and they were driven back by Meta's army of minimum wage, part time child soldiers armed with warcrimey jury-rigged weaponry. The sea serpents had giant frying pans grafted into their mouths, which launched primitive tactical nukes made by filling garbage bags with their explosive phlegm. They still exist, and occasionally defend their comrades, but spend most of their time in the deep sea.

The local homeless emo twink everyone's attracted to is a closet millionaire who sells bootleg clothing in exchange for live rats, which he messily devours behind closed doors. He's also 8 feet tall and British and only has one eye.

North Korean refugees now flood the western world, after a greasy 14 year old hipster, under the guidance of Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, beat Kim Jong Un in a mech battle, and the EDM remix of the Japanese national anthem they performed caused like half the soldiers to immediately realize North Korea sucks ass and defect. One of these individuals, 7 foot tall hypergenius, becomes a newscaster alongside a nepo baby rapper with dwarfism who likes to eat entire jars of mayo, and also they're a popular band. Also also, they may or may not be gay. Almost the entire population is gay, so this isn't a huge deal.

The new local newscasters are a famous Japanese lion tamer, an Indian girl with a bloodline trait allowing her to control snakes, and a Brazillian man the size of a smart car who exclusively communicates via grunts.

Gods, souls and zombies are objectively real, and you're effectively immortal because real-life respawning was invented a while ago. It works like a Keurig, but with mucus instead of coffee. Submersion in water kills you.

A good deal of the population is a hivemind. They pretend to be individuals for no reason.

Almost all men are now femboys.

Despite all this, you still have to go to work at 9 tomorrow.

[lotusarchon]

I had to make a whole google doc to sort my thoughts on this, that's how mad I am tbh. My friends have made explanations which you can find here, and here. And while I told myself that after that post I was done, seeing my friend receive a comment like this was the final pushing point I needed.

I'm both going to ramble about Nezha here again, and I'm going to try and explain this in a way that'll get people to understand, as someone who once followed an Eastern religion too + I'm going to be stating my basic thoughts here so maybe some things won't make sense.

Mild info about me: I'm from Trinidad. My family is described with East Indian descent but clearly, I'm not from India itself. My knowledge of Hinduism is rather basic because I quit religion thanks to traumatic experiences related to it, however not lacking fully. From my father's side, specifically his mother, they practice Hinduism and can even be considered devout Hindus (if I'm to believe all the statues and pictures of about almost every single Hindu god). Though my knowledge is basic, understand that I'm not Hindu nor Indian, so of course these are my opinions and my experiences with Hinduism, and I do not advise you taking my word fully to heart. I'm only trying to explain something to the LMK fandom in the best way I know how too, by referencing another Eastern religion that isn't half as popular as Daoism/Buddhism.

There's only one show I know where Hinduism is portrayed, and it's an anime/manga series called Record Of Ragnarok (Shuumatsu No Valkyrie), and from what I know it's not well liked by others (and even banned I think?) because of the fact Shiva is weaker than Zeus and the supposed sexualization of Parvati, Kali and Durga? It's been a while so I could be wrong on this though.

Why am I bringing this topic up to a rant about a lego character though?

#1) Fiction vs Religion and Reality

While one half expresses discontent and discomfort, I've seen others who clearly don't mind because Shiva is still badass and cool. I myself had some qualms about his appearance in the beginning because while I did quit religion, this was a god I used to worship, and seeing him in an anime/manga and be sexualized and simped for was…uncanny, to say the least. Overtime I grew numb to it though because it was genuinely funny and even I, an ex Hindu, found him attractive, and had not much hesitation writing smut about him in past fics. 

Similarly, I can imagine this is how Daoists and Chinese had originally felt about Nezha in Lego Monkie Kid [Only referencing LMK with Chinese deities. I'm aware there could be other media where they're in.] A bit weird at first but then overall got used to it because there's genuinely no harm done, as it's not meant to be an educational retelling of a god, but a fictional portrayal of him.

Returning to the point I mentioned with Shiva. When I first came across this series in 2021 (?), I did not feel too happy and comfortable with the image of a deity I've grown up worshipping as a child. I quit religion when I turned 13, so it's been nearly five years since I've had nothing to do with the main religion of my household; Hinduism. Still, I practically grew up worshipping this god I was taught to fear, and seeing a potrayal of him (which honestly in my opinion) didn't seem like a good thing at the time. 

Why did I eventually stop being bothered? Because this wasn't supposed to be retelling of Shiva. This was just a character with similarities to the god I worshipped, but wasn't the god. The series I watched wasn't even intending to teach audiences about any of the religions and real life figures they portrayed, they simply used them as inspiration to tell a story. They weren't accurate representations, but that was the point. It's a story about gods vs humans from history; of course it wasn't going to be accurate nor stay true to the figure they took inspiration from.

You can imagine then for a cartoon series meant to sell Legos. Lego Monkie Kid contains several characters that are known in Chinese myths and legends/religions. Of the most popular mentioned, there is Sun Wukong, one of the main characters in the series, Tang Sanzang otherwise known as Tripitaka and the Great Monk, Lady Guanyin mentioned in season 1, the one the fandom argues about, Nezha, the Jade Emperor in season 4, and most recently, Nuwa, and Heavenly Pagoda King, Li Jing. There may be others but these are the ones that are most known within the fandom. 

Mind you some of these figures are still very much worshipped now, but, point remains: the series was never intended to be a retelling of these characters stories, nor were they intended to be educational for audiences. They took inspiration directly, gave their own twists, and hence you have the story of LMK, meant to originally promote Legos and then eventually gave way to the series that this fandom belongs too.

These characters are not their source material, nor the origins of which they came from as religious figures. Sun Wukong is a Buddha within JTTW’s ends and if I'm right is still worshipped as such sometimes (?). He didn't hide away into a mountain at the end of his journey. His companions didn't die, nor were they reincarnated, but instead also acquired titles and became Buddhas as well. (Or gods? I frankly don't remember). Tang Sanzang as we've in season 4 was not some sort of brave, astute man in the book but rather a crybaby coward. Need I even point out that Nezha wouldn't have a giant mech to fight people, nor would he have such close deposition with the Jade Emperor? Or the fact that the Jade Emperor would be bested by someone like Azure Lion?

Not even counting Journey To The West and the Fengshen Yanyi, the real Tang Sanzang that Wu Cheng’en took inspiration of most certainly did not have a monkey, a pig, a water demon and a dragon turned horse with him on his journey. 

Why speak of all this?

To make my first point; religion and fiction are two very different things. Religion has existed for who knows how long, and fiction has recently decided to include fictional potrayals of these gods into stories and cartoons. From a writer's perspective, it's really interesting taking something that is a part of religion and writing it into your own works, with your own take on it.

And of course, brings me to the topic of Nezha.

Lego Monkie Kid Nezha is, according to an official writer within the show's team, an adult. Although many fans have their objections about this, supposedly because Nezha in other sources is a child god, and think that the writer only abruptly pointed out Nezha's an adult to save her own skin.

Taking all my points in consideration; let me humour the Nezha is a child god idea. What, exactly, does this have to do with Nezha in Monkie Kid? 

If Nezha, the god within Daoism and Buddhism, is supposedly a child deity, what law says that any other potryal of Nezha has to abide by this? 

By this logic. Shiva in the anime I mentioned above shouldn't be weaker than Zeus. He also shouldn't even be agreeing to fight mortals, as he's a deity far above such petty behavior. Zeus shouldn't be portrayed in books like PJO as a lecherous cheater, because in reality, Ancient Greece consisted of multiple kingdoms and thereby different interpretations of Zeus were merged together which is what consists of the myths we know of him today which is highly disrespectful, and Sun Wukong shouldn't be a mentor to MK, because he's supposed to be a Buddhist, and thereby wouldn't be entertaining fighting nuances.

Fiction doesn't not adhere to reality. The fact I need to say this astounds me because should this not be obvious? Lego Monkie Kid is a cartoon set in some sci-fi futuristic world with lego people walking around, where gods somehow need mechs to go around fighting, and there are animal-like demons/yaoguai walking around here and there. There is literally an arcade in the show with zero gravity. Do you possibly believe for a miniscule second that anything that goes down in a fictional setting will adhere to our reality??

And, even then, humouring the Nezha being a child deity concept > what law says that he has to be portrayed as a child in other pieces of fiction?? Especially when the fictional setting is not meant to be a retelling or for educational purposes, but rather to carry a plot. 

There is nothing, no law, no rules that insists that a religious figure must be portrayed as they are in a legend/myth for a fictional world.

Lego Monkie Kid Nezha is not the deity Nezha. He is a completely different character, which many of you should have realized from the exact moment he was brought into the show. They are not the same person. Never was. 

“Oh, it's disrespectful―” From a writer's perspective, I personally don't think so. If I wanted to make a story that involved a god, I wouldn't keep everything that makes that god who they are. There are some key points I would keep to make the story, but I would ultimately create an OC that shares some attributes to this religious figure, but it wouldn't be him. The show Record of Ragnarok does a good job with this in my opinion, because while many characters share some attributes to the real figures they're inspired by, the writers changed several things to create a proper story, and thereby making these characters OCs and not the actual gods themselves, and of course that logic applies to Lego Monkie Kid.

In the instance, again, Nezha the god from Daoism, is in fact a child deity, Nezha in LMK isn't. Nezha in LMK is someone who's entirely different from the god himself. 

So, the logic this fandom uses confuses me a lot. Do you not understand how to seperate fiction from religion?? Do many of you not understand media literacy, and what a writing process is like?

Sigh. Moving to another point―

#2) Character Designs

Sometimes, when it comes to character designs, anyone could just throw them into anything and think, “Yeah that's good.” Not much thought is given to a character's appearances depending, which I don't really blame as someone who's 1) done literature as a hobby and has seen my fair share of character designs, 2) creates characters myself. It's too hard thinking of a character's appearance, and even then when making them there normally wouldn't be any significance.

Nezha's design in LMK seems to be a huge source of debate when arguing about his age. It was actually brought up in my previous post, specifically that his hairstyle was often used by children at the time. 

I have a bone to pick with this point.

This is Nezha from Lego Monkie Kid:

However, this is Mei from the same show:

Before anyone starts, allow me to point out as a history geek that likes religion and pointless facts over politics: I am aware that there are different hairstyles to show certain things, including one's age and status and sometimes even personality. Do not bring up any points about the differences in these characters hairstyles with an excuse, “Oh, but you should know―”, because I know how hairstyles could be treated within history. 

However. Look at Nezha's hairstyle, and then Mei's. I've never seen the LMK fandom complain about Mei's age, because it was generally believed that MK and Mei are both at least 18 if not older, as the legal age for a driver's license in China is 18. 

Both Nezha and Mei are wearing a ‘bun’ type hairstyle. Mei's is arguably more of twin ponytails (?), but I'm not a hairstylist, so I don't know what they're called. To me they look similar, that's all I'm trying to say. And even if they weren't though―through a modern lense, a hairstyle isn't reserved for just any specific age. Anyone can wear a hairstyle they want. Keep in mind that the creators of LMK are also Western(?), and they chose a hairstyle for these two characters based on personality and appearances. 

A hairstyle is not reserved for any age. Grown women including my aunts have worn hairstyles similar to these just for fun.

That's point one.

Point two; Nezha is a very popular deity, much like Sun Wukong. In terms of recognition, Sun Wukong is very easy to recognize because of his staff and his overall cocky personality. 

Nezha however is an entirely different case. Most media potrayals of him always has the two-bun hairstyle of him, which is what makes Nezha recognizable. If you remove that specific hairstyle of his, you won't recognize him. It's iconic, and pointed out in this scene (The Legend of Hei) where Nezha makes an appearance as well.

[Characters sitting together. White haired boy (Hei + MC) looks at the older, dark haired boy (Nezha). Nezha looks back.]

Nezha: What? You want an autograph?

Hei: You're a boy?

Nezha: Yeah?

Hei: Your hairstyle is cute.

[Nezha looks in front with an annoyed expression.]

Nezha: If it weren't for the recognizability, I'd have changed it long ago.

Hei: Recognizability?

[Nezha removes the buns(? some form of them?) from his head. Three older figures glance at him.]

???: Who are you?

[Scene returns]

Nezha: See?

Aka, point being made: those buns are what makes Nezha recognizable. If he doesn't have that hairstyle, unless it's specifically pointed out, I'm certain majority would not recognize him. 

Some hairstyles are meant to be done for some form of meaning. But sometimes, as is the case with designs, they're just there just because no one wanted to make the characters bald. Using the excuse about Nezha's hairstyle to justify his age as a child is by far the lamest and dumbest excuse I've ever heard of, because the creators did not give him that hairstyle for the sake of some meaning anymore than MK was given his current hairstyle either. It's his logo at this point, ignoring his color scheme aside.

Even then, if the creators of Lego Monkie Kid intended for Nezha to be a child within the show, he would not appear as he is. Lego Monkie Kid has made children models, which we can see here (used from s3 and up in case someone tries to excuse the differences in seasons): 

And of course, Nezha's model;

Despite the perspective and low quality though, he's at least the same height as Red Son here:

If Lego Monkie Kid truly intended for Nezha to be a child, his appearance and model would be similar to the children's in the show. Perspective is difficult to find but you can clearly see he's about the same height as the other adult characters if not taller, and is not small like the child figures we see.

Pink isn't a children's color, and nothing about Nezha's clothing indicates a child. He very much looks like an adult and doesn't exhibit childish behavior as we see Red Son, Mei and MK do.

I've seen fans use his voice to point out he's an adult, but I'm not sure that's a valid point. I say this as someone who has a 13 year old brother and was recently a minor myself. 

Allow me to clarify: a voice isn't a clear proof of age. My father is a 45 year old man but sounds very much like a woman/teenage girl. My brother is 13 and sounds more of an adult than his father. My classmate in highschool was one year older than me and his voice was very high-pitched. 

The voice actors in LMK are directed to speak a certain way for a reason…in English. I'm not sure about Mandarin. In my opinion, Wukong's voice sounds like Son Goku's because it's a reference to the fact Wukong is what inspired Goku. Nezha's probably sounds deep and brooding not because he's a child but because it almost represents his own personality, and probably is a reference from another shonen protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki. MK's voice in the beginning sounds really childish to me but slowly as the events of s3, 4 and 5 happen it gets more deeper almost as a reference to show how his ‘innocence’ is slowly fading. 

Or, I might be looking to into it. Regardless, tdlr, don't use Nezha's voice in your argument. I've seen grown ass men have high pitched voices. 

Returning to my original point however; if you have an ounce of media literacy and understanding, you should be aware that some character designs are chosen for a reason. Nezha's icon is those two bun hairstyle, and the writers purposely chose it so old fans/readers of JTTW and FSYY and maybe other Chinese/Daoists would be able to recognize him and go, “Hey, that's Nezha from―”

Before I got into LMK, I read JTTW and also saw The Legend of Hei and the Nezha 2019 movie, so I knew him because of the hairstyle. And my first instinct of course was to point out, “That's the dude from TLOH!!” when I saw him. So, the hairstyle was chosen for the recognizability, and I highly doubt as a sign of age.

Even then, LMK Nezha aside, moving on to a different point.

#3) Sources Of Inspiration

The 21st century isn't really the first era where people are taking inspiration from other cultures. As a matter of fact, it's been happening for decades, and it's very prominent in religion, which someone of you would know if you both a) actually did proper research, b) gave a shit about what you're researching and c) studied history.

Hilariously, I have done all three of the above. 

I'm going to use a popular example here with Sun Wukong and Hanuman. Hinduism is supposedly largely considered one of the oldest religions in the world. If you truly think about it, certain Daoist deities are loosely inspired or are versions of Hindu gods, which I'm going to use here with a popular example (and provide a link too).

― Sun Wukong and Hanuman. The earliest Vedic records mention one of the supposed known monkey gods, and their similarities make scholars suggest Hanuman inspired Sun Wukong. Specifically his figure in JTTW, where it's speculated that the author must've had a copy of Vedic (?) hymns. While Sun Wukong does predate JTTW, Hanuman definitely has had some influence on him.

Much, much similarly, the deity known as Nezha, is also loosely inspired/based off the figure known as Nalakuvara, who appears in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and often appears as a sexual trickster figure in Hindu and Buddhist literature.

Historically speaking, when it comes to religion and myths, something many people fail to understand is that before there was the idea of writing to tell a story, there was the process known as sharing from mouth to ear. Not in a literal sense, but rather that people often preferred to tell stories via word of mouth back then, and as things always go in history, there will be changes. The proof is literally right there. Nezha was originally known as Nalakuvara, yet when transmitted through Buddhist texts, he became known as Nazha, then Nezha. And as such, the Lotus Prince and Chinese god known as Nezha was created. A combination of Nalakuvara and the child god Krishna.

A lot of people will want to jump on that specific point that mentions Krishna being a child god, so allow me to immediately put you down right there.

Ex Hindu here; I did not even know there was a portrayal of Krishna as a child. Up until I stopped practicing Hinduism, I used to worship Krishna as an adult figure. In the paintings and statues my aunts had for Diwali as a child, he was always showcased as an adult.

Ironically, doesn't this apply for the actual god Nezha too? 

When it comes to religion and myths, many of you forget something very important; there is no such thing as a canon iteration. These aren't shows, these are stories from the past told through different people, and passed through many hands. There is no such thing as a canon version because almost everyone had their own version of a myth or story. Terms you may typically apply to fandoms don't apply to fucking religions and myths, and some of you are so chronically online that you forget it.

#4) The LMK Fandom's Chronically Online Attitude

I'm an ex Hindu who still faintly remembers some bits and pieces from my childhood while practicing this religion, especially during the Diwali period, where little me managed to get new information from library books about the gods my family worshipped. I personally didn't like sitting during the priest's (forgot what he was called) chanting though but the funny white thingy we used to have to wear was fun. 

There are some Hindu gods I'm familiar with, like Lakshmi, Kali, Durga and the other versions of her (I still can't recover from the one statue with her in a fish..) Parvati, Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman (yaah), Rama and Sita, Ganesh (also yah) and of course, Krishna.  I also have watched my fair share of childhood movies and cartoons where the gods were mentioned or present―Karan & Arjun specifically struck the fear in me with Kali 😭😭 holy fuck that movie scared me with the creepy edits jeez T-T. There was also that one cartoon about Rama and Sita”s story specifically Hanuman, and this Indian TV series where this little girl was a loyal devotee to Ganesha (I had no idea rats were one of his uh signature animals holy shit).

I'm rambling here a bit because the childhood memories were fun, but the point I'm going for is though….

I am familiar with these gods I grew up with. And I know about them, maybe not enough but certainly enough to know how to properly respect them from back then. 

And, using Krishna as a prime example; if someone came up to me, or I came across anyone, who argues that the god I know is an immortal child, even though I have worshipped and adult version of him, I'd be so fucking pissed. Krishna is seen as an adult, I worshipped him as an adult, but there are cases where he's a child god, and that's fine! But to have someone tell you that you're wrong about the god you know about because they got some basic information off the internet, undoubtedly, I'm going to be pissed. Especially when it's from a Western fan who has no fucking brain.

So, of course, imagine how devotees of Nezha and Chinese people must be feeling every single time this fandom fucks about with Nezha's age. I saw it myself; people told my friend that a) she was lying and b) her statement is irrelevant just because “I did my proper research, and even if you're Chinese you can still be a proshipper, Nezha's a child deity.”

It's genuinely so fucked up to me how the LMK fandom act towards Nezha's age. You guys will ignore the people who are willing to provide accurate information for the sake of being in the right and accusing people for being a proshipper over a deity they have more experience with than you, a Western fan who has no knowledge of Eastern religion.

It's insane. There are actual Daoist and Chinese who are pointing out the fact Nezha isn't an immortal fucking child. 

You're not only disrespectful, you insane, childish and most importantly chronically online. Nezha the god isn't a fictional character, there's nothing ‘canon’ about him. He's a god who's lived for decades longer than you, and his existence predates yours. People have long sinced worshipped Nezha, and the fact that you can so boldly tell someone they're wrong about the god they've worshipped is so disrespectful.

Do you not realize, as Nezha is worshipped as a child, he's worshipped as an adult? Do you not take into account how absolutely disgusting and horrible you are telling Daoists and Chinese who have stated time and time again the information of Nezha being an immortal child is factually incorrect that they're wrong and know nothing??

I'm repeating my statement; I'm an ex Hindu, but if anyone told me that Krishna's an immortal child too and then point out I'm wrong and my point doesn't matter, I would be seething. And I don't blame my friend who's losing their temper about Nezha's age. 

What amazes me though, somehow, is the fact that. If anyone who was Chinese + Daoist agreed with your claims, as Cole from Twitter once did, none of you would've spoken that way to my friend. But of course, once she points out she's Chinese/ex Daoist and disagrees with you, majority of the opinions switched because, she wasn't agreeing with your headcanon, right? So even though she's Chinese, she's bad because she disagreed with you.

You're all disgusting and fucking weird.

And the fact y'all in this fandom will habitually prove yourselves as hypocrites by attacking people, and then ignoring the ones who are capable of proving you're wrong to cling to a false idea is insane. You guys need some actual help, holy fucking shit. 

Nezha isn't an immortal child. That's a god. If he was intended to be a child in LMK, there would've been statements about it. 

Seperate fiction from religion, and seperate your headcanon from canon and the actual god. If you think this biased headcanon is okay and attacking people that point you out for being wrong is somehow okay, I sincerely ask that you take a break from the internet, and read a book.

No, don't just read a book. Read a history book. Pick up some knowledge, understand how religion and history works. 

Furthermore. The research some of you guys are doing is actually shit, by the way. You guys aren't researching properly if you can pull up with Nezha is 12, thing. If you actually cared about his age, you'd put more effort and actually stop being disrespectful to the people who are giving you the proper information. You only research surface level so you can attack people.

And additionally, stop playing the Devil's advocate. Most of you are just Western fans who think you know everything from reading one book or watching one show. You read JTTW or watch OSP’s videos and suddenly, you know more than an actual Chinese person or Daoist. You look up Wikipedia and think, “Oh yeah, I'll go with this!” And that's it. Most of you at best can provide only three websites at most, and I can bet my ass that these websites with information about Nezha's age was written by a fan who got their information from a shit source.

I love History, and most specifically, I love religion. Not so much the divine aspects as it is about the myths that surround it. Whenever I get into a fandom, I need to find out more about their religion and history. Getting into JTTW, and eventually, LMK, pushed me into a rabbit hole of Chinese myths that I really enjoy learning. But dealing with idiots who think they know more?? It's sickening as shit.

I'd like to think I'm good at literature things because once it's a religion or myth I want to learn everything about it. But I know I don't know everything, and I know especially I have more to learn. I'd never tell someone who is a part or worships the religion/culture I'm learning that they're factually incorrect about it just because I have an opinion and I learnt my info from a random source.

You guys in the LMK fandom are incredibly entitled. The Nezha is 12 controversy is a headcanon, which became worst by that asshat Cole on Twitter. And because so many of you don't want to learn the truth, whenever someone tries to point out and help you, you ignore them or attack them, and deny their heritage.

And honestly?? You guys suck. 

And this is coming from me!! Some of y'all are grown ass adults too!! And yet I'm childish and immature!?!

Brother I literally turned 18 a few months ago, yet I'm 100% certain I'm not throwing a blasted hissy fit over a fucking god the way some of you all who are most definitely adults are doing.

And finally, the one thing that actually does make me laugh is because I'm pretty sure most of you didn't do History classes. One of the most important things my history teacher taught me is; don't use Wikipedia as a source of viable information. Thousands of people are capable of accessing Wikipedia and changing information as they want, and so it's much better to find book solid resources from libraries. I did in fact use Wikipedia too (hypocritical of me yeah) so of course I wouldn't advise using the screenshots I provided from Wikipedia as evidence to the argument, because anything on Wikipedia can be changed. If I'm feeling extra petty I could change something myself to be in the right.

Furthermore, if you dare to bring up only JTTW and FSSY as a plausible argument about Nezha's age, I'm genuinely going to throw hands and fuck your mother. I think my friend also mentioned it in their posts but I'll mention it here too; JTTW does NOT state Nezha's age. I've read JTTW, and aside from Wukong vs Nezha there's nothing else that states Nezha's age. For all we're aware of, Wukong called Nezha a kid just out of spite, and I do it too when I'm arguing with someone. FSSY is the Investiture of the Gods and the ORIGINS!! Do you THINK a book about the ORIGINS of the gods would focus on other aspects about them!!? No!!

I expect some of the arguments I might get are;

"Oh, Nezha [appearances] could be wearing a glamor!" That is a headcanon, as we see nothing in LMK to refute that. Macaque's scar is canon because it's shown within the show. Nezha's appearance has NOT fluctuated since he was introduced. The idea of him using a glamor or illusion is a HEADCANON unless proven by the show. And headcanons are NOT vital.

"But you use Wikipedia too :(" Which I pointed out and made aware of, which is I also doubt that source myself. If any of you did History, your teachers are supposed to INFORM you that using a website is NOT a good idea for backing up information, and it's much better to use books or other trusted sources. In the case of Nezha, I'm trusting actual Daoists/Chinese who knows more about him than I do. It's because I did PROPER research that I even came across a good source of information, aka @ruibaozha, who I'm sure can share more light on this than me! The fact that some of you guys won't even acknowledge them is almost proof that...you're clinging to a headcanon. Jackass.

"But Nezha in JTTW/FSSY are 7/12 and that's where LMK takes it's inspiration from so obviously―" We've seen for a fact LMK does NOT follow JTTW to the letter. Jade Emperor beating Wukong?? Lady Bone Demon being a powerful foe and being trapped in a bunker? Azure even being able to kill the Emperor? Majority of the LMK fandom likes to point out that LMK Macaque and JTTW Macaque are two different people, especially when you claim that Macaque is a bad character because he cannibalized the monkeys. So then, with this logic, JTTW Nezha, FSSY Nezha, and LMK Nezha are also three seperate figures. I swear someone made a post about the differences JTTW and FSSY Nezha have too, but I can't find it so meh. The point still remains though. LMK Nezha are two different people, you're not making any sense to me about that argument. Even then, LMK isn't taking direct inspiration and putting their own twist. Who says anything needs to be accurate??

"The writer only said Nezha's an adult to ship lotuspeach!" Are you faintly aware people, actual Chinese people, have shipped these characters together? Proshippers can come from anywhere but I genuinely doubt every single person is a proshipper because of course, they're aware their god isn't an eternal child. On top of that, in a situation like this another writer would point out that Nezha ISN'T an adult. No one has argued against this claim, so why persist? Where's your logic coming from if not entitlement?

I want this to be the last time I have to talk about Nezha, because I made my blog to write porn and me smooching my favorite LMK characters. I kinda don't really like making discussions like this because that's not the point of my blog.

However...I do like rambling. A lot :)))

Anyways, point blank. LMK fandom needs to grow out of this entitled mindset and stop ignoring the facts from experts. You guys are just being annoying at this point.

My argument isn't really valid tbh, just pointless rambling because I only know basic information. I think you guys should find proper information from accounts online.

Also, if you're gonna argue: don't bring be albeist, racist etc etc. I'm capable of cussing you out without bringing up your mental health, race or identity :)))

[ryin-silverfish]

Trivia collection: Nezha in the Tang-Song period

Quick primer: Nezha originates from an Indian deity that gets incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon and imported into China via the spread of Buddhism, then becomes progressively more sinicized + Daoist-ized as a popular folk deity.

Neither his iconography nor backstories stay the same throughout this long process of localization and syncretism, and the vernacular novels that define his modern popular image come relatively late in Nezha's evolution.

This post focuses on Nezha in the Tang-Song period——when he first appeared in translated ritual texts + when the "returning his flesh and blood" thing showed up in written sources.

...

-Before we get to the defining early ritual texts, we must start with the brief mentions of Nezha/Nalakuvara in translated Buddhist scriptures.

-The earliest mention of Nalakuvara as the son of Pishamen, a.k.a. Vaisravana, appeared in the Northern-Southern dynasty translation of Buddhacharita (佛所行赞). Here, he is not refered to using transliterations that have "Na/Nezha" as its first two characters, but as Naluo Jiupo.

-In Bhaiṣajya-vastu, one section of Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayapiṭaka (根本说一切有部毗奈耶药事), Nezha is brought up in a conversation between Sakyamuni and Ananda. Sakyamuni basically pointed at a mountain and said "100 years after my death, two brothers——Nezha and Pozha——will come along and build a temple here".

-Other scriptures described him as a Yaksha general (in 不空羂索神变真言经), a Devaraja (in 大佛顶陀罗尼), or a "ghost/demon king" (in 吽迦陀野仪轨).

I suppose you can find reasoning for all these readings in the Indo-Buddhist deity he's based on:

1)Nalakuvara the original is the son of Kubera. Vaisravana is either Kubera's epithet or his father.

2) In the Atharva Veda and Satapatha Brahmana, Kubera/Vaisravana rules over either evil spirits or Rakshas.

3) Yaksha/Raksha being among his subjects kinda carried over to the Mahabharata and Ramayana too, in which he's a wealth god who ruled over the city of Lanka, before his half-brother, Ravana, comes along and forced him to move out.

(Nalakuvara also had a wife in Ramayana. Ravana assaulted her, and he put a curse onto Ravana in response.)

4) Buddhism incorporated Kubera into their pantheon as a guardian deity under the name Vaisravana: here, he is the Devaraja of the North and lord of the Yakshas.

5) Because the Indian sources don't have a consensus on whether Nalakuvara's father is a Yaksha/Raksha or a god either, the translated scriptures also can't agree on the specific details of Nezha other than him being a guardian deity.

-It is in Tang Buddhist texts about Pishamen worship that Nezha's status as Pishamen's third son becomes more firmly established.

-However, there are actually 2 different variants of his relation to Pishamen: one said he was Pishamen's grandson, while the other said he was Pishamen's third son.

-The first variant is from Amoghavajra's translation of a ritual text, 北方毗沙门天王随军护法仪轨. In this text, he wields a halberd, "sees all four directions with his fierce eye" (尔时哪吒太子，手捧戟，以恶眼见四方), and will bonk monks and nuns over the head with his vajra club for harboring wicked and murderous thoughts.

-In this text, he is also described as a protector of kings and officials, a subduer of the wicked, and has a mantra one can recite.

-The second variant is found in two other Pishamen-related texts translated by Amoghavajra, 北方毗沙门天王随军护法真言 and 毗沙门仪轨.

-Apart from being Pishamen's third son, both texts also give him the role of pagoda-carrier. In the latter text, it is mentioned that the 21th day of every month is when he hands the pagoda back to his father.

-Another Tang source, 开天传信记, features a story where Nezha protects Xuan Lv, disciple of Śubhakarasiṃha, from a fall, introduces himself as Pishamen's son, and presents a Buddha tooth relic to the Buddhist master.

-He's described as a "youth" here, but honestly, 少年 could refer to anything between a young teen and a young adult. This story has an earlier predecessor in Ennin's travel diary, where he also mentioned Nezha giving a tooth relic to a monk.

-Finally for the Tang dynasty, there is a specific genre of Dunhuang paintings called "Heavenly King Pishamen arrives at Nezha's banquet". Usually, the painting is located on the west wall of the painting cave's antechamber.

[Mogao Cave 146, main chamber ceiling, northwestern corner. Nezha is likely the small figure on the left, clasping his palms together over his head.]

One Dunhuang text, the P.3564 Mogao Cave Merit Records from 933 CE, gives some context on the aforementioned genre: Pishamen goes to Nezha's banquet, but he either arrives late or not a lot of people show up, and Nezha gets so angry that he's ready to stab Pishamen with a sword, until Pishamen reveals that Amitabha is inside his palm and he cheers up again.

-Based on other inscriptions in Cave 72 where the "Nezha Banquet" paintings are titled as "Amitabha Enters the Pagoda and Arrives at Nezha's Banquet" and "Heavenly Lord Pishamen Invites Amitabha into the Pagoda for Nezha's Banquet", we can make some guesses about the above story.

-Perhaps Pishamen promises Nezha that guests/Amitabha will come to his banquet, no one shows up, thus Nezha gets murderously mad at him until Pishamen reveals Amitabha sitting inside his pagoda like a surprise present?

(Sidenote: later, Pishamen gets syncretized with the historical Tang general, Li Jing, and becomes a separate character known as "Devaraja Li". It wasn't a thing in the Tang-Song sources yet, though.)

-Nezha returning his flesh and bone to his parents is a thing that first shows up in Buddhist compendiums of the Song dynasty (景德传灯录，五灯会元) as a Chan riddle. Being a riddle, it just states that he returns his bones to his father, his flesh to his mother, then sits atop a lotus and preached the Buddhist laws to his parents.

-The "return of flesh & bone" may have been a derivative of Nezha's quote in the aforementioned Tooth Relic story, where he's like "I'll even give up my head and eyes, why won't I offer up [the relic]?"

-The way this riddle has been used, though, is very much centered around identity, seeing through the emptiness of the Five Skandas, and the delusion of the false self.

-There's also this Southern Song quote from 如净和尚语录 that described an opera performance scene where Nezha appeared on stage, likely performing the above narrative of "returning his flesh and bones" because he's described as taking off his clothes.

"…十二峰前上戏棚,那咤赤脱点天强。"

-Su Zhe, brother of the famous poet Su Shi, has an entire poem dedicated to Nezha. Here's a translation of the relevant lines, from Meir Shahar's Oedipal God:

The Northern Heavenly King had a son who was mad: He only venerated the Buddha—not his dad. The Buddha, knowing he was crazy and hard to be told, Ordered the father a magic stupa in his left hand to hold. Approaching the Buddha, the child bowed his head, Not unlike revering his dad.

-Aside from that, he's also known in Song sayings and poems for his wrathful demeanor——to the point of often having the adjective "Wrathful" attached to his name (忿怒哪吒).

-Fun fact, the discrepancy between Nezha having 6 arms or 8 arms appears in this period too, though 8 arms are the more commonly accepted version in textual sources.

-Lastly, a story from the Southern Song compendium Yijian Zhi mentions Daoist Master Cheng from the Mt. Mao tradition using Nezha's Fireball Spell to defeat a stone demon. This may be the first appearance of a Daoist-ized Nezha.

TL;DR: Nezha in the Tang-Song period was very much a Buddhist guardian deity who miiiight also be a Yaksha general, most well-known for his wrathful demeanor and multi-headed, multi-armed form.

The earliest mentions of the "Returning of flesh and bones" also don't have its later association with filial piety/father-son conflict, and is mostly a Chan Buddhist riddle.

Bibliography:

付方彦，《哪吒形象流变研究》

郭俊叶，《托塔天王与哪吒——兼谈敦煌毗沙门天王赴哪吒会图》

李小荣, 《那吒故事起源补考》

刘文刚，《哪吒神形象演化考论》

罗俊，《符号学视角下中国古代哪吒形象的演变》

任婧,《从无名氏到大英雄：论哪吒形象的演变与东传》

Shahar, Meir. Oedipal God: The Chinese Nezha and His Indian Origins. University of Hawai'i Press, 2015.

王彦明，《哪吒话头的禅林传播与明清小说的多元互动》

[whencyclopedia]

Chidambaram

Chidambaram (Cidambaram) is an important Chola temple site in Tamil Nadu, southern India. Most of the temples at Chidambaram were built in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The site is dominated by the huge gateway tower of the Nataraja temple but Chidambaram also boasts the first Devi or Amman shrine, the first Surya shrine with the distinctive stone chariot wheels which would adorn many subsequent temples, and the first large Siva Ganga tank. In this respect Chidambaram is something of a transitional site, linking elements of the old and new styles of Indian temple architecture.

The name Chidambaram, one of several from antiquity, derives from the Tamil Cirrambalam, meaning 'little hall'. The site was chosen because according to mythology it was the precise spot where the Hindu god Shiva had once danced in a grove of tillai trees. The dance was, in fact, a competition between Shiva and Parvati and naturally the great Shiva won. The story became a popular subject in Hindu art over the centuries.

The site is enclosed within four perimeter walls and covers a rectangular area of 55 acres. Within the compound are shrines, halls, temples, ornamental gateways, and a large ritual bathing pool, known as a Siva Ganga tank, which is surrounded by cloisters. Inscriptions claim the site was built by various Pandya kings and local rulers but none are contemporary with the dates the buildings were actually first constructed. The walls and east gopura (gateway) may be ascribed with greater certainty, and were probably built by Kulottunga III, who reigned from 1178 to 1218 CE.

The Nataraja temple was constructed between c. 1175 and c. 1200 CE. The actual temple shrine is relatively modest as by now in Indian architecture the gopuras had become the most important structures, at least in terms of aesthetics. The twin sacred chamber was, however, adorned with copper sheets covered in gold by successive Chola kings. The shrine is preceded by a dance hall and large entrance porch with columns (mandapa).

The massive granite and brick east gopura dominates the site but there are three other gopuras on the north, south and west sides (the earliest). The corbelled roofs diminish as the structures rise and are finally topped with the usual barrel-vaulted roof (sala), the eastern gopura also having a row of 13 decorative finials. The east gopura has a proper interior floor at each of its nine levels and there is an interior staircase which climbs to the very top of the building. All four gopuras have false windows on their facades, typical for this kind of structure, and pairs of pilaster columns set at regular intervals. The second floor of each gopura also has a passageway which worshippers ritually walked around. The entrance archways all have coffered ceilings decorated with relief panels.

Of particular note at Chidambaram are the thousands of sculptures adorning its buildings. In particular there are many statues of women in a wide variety of dance postures. Many statues are accompanied by quotations from Hindu literature which provide an invaluable reference for scholars. There are also figures of the four dvarapalas (guardian demons), the dikpalas (cardinal directions), many figures of Shiva performing heroic deeds, various other deities such as Vishnu, Devi, Sarasvati, and, unusually in southern architecture, river goddesses.

Finally, Chidambaram is also famous for its 17th century CE Nayaka ceiling paintings which decorate the Shivakamasundari shrine of the Nataraja Temple. More than 40 panels depict scenes from the life of the saint Manikkavachakar, a devotee of Shiva.

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