Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Life of Mahavira

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Mahavira, the last Tirthankara, was conceived in the womb of Brahmani Devananda, wife of Brahmana Risabhadatta, in Kundagrama (modern-day Tirhut). Devananda experienced fourteen auspicious dreams…

Symbolism of the Dome

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy’s essay Symbolism of the Dome interprets the architectural feature of the dome as a bridge between the physical and metaphysical worlds. The author argues that the origin of…

Janaka and Yajnavalkya

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

This article offers a philosophical analysis of the celebrated dialogue between King Janaka of Videha and the sage Yājñavalkya, primarily as recorded in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. The author…

A Study of the Katha‑Upanisad (IV, 1)

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Reviews

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, Satkari Mookherjree, Mano Mohan Ghosh, Benoy Kumar Sarkar, U. N. Ghoshal, Dhirendra Chandra Ganguly, Chintaharan Chakravarti, Batakrishna Ghosh, Vidhushekhara Bhattacharya, Jagadish Narayan Sarkar

The “Reviews” section offers critical evaluations of contemporary publications on Indian history, religion, philosophy, linguistics and archaeology. Books reviewed include works on the chronology of…

Maha‑Pralaya and Last Judgment

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

The Vedic tradition conceptualizes the afterlife journey (ydna) as a transition between planes of existence, where individuals progress toward the Supreme Self (Paramatman) or face cyclical rebirths.…

The Gudimallam Lingam

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Origin of the Lotus-Capital

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Reviews

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, Subimal Chandra Datta

The *History of Rajputana* (Fasciculus 818) by Rai Bahadur Gaurishankar Hirichind covers nearly 300 years of the Udayapur/Mevar state, from the late 16th to the early 19th century, spanning rulers…

The Webbed Finger of Buddha

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

“The ‘Webbed Finger’ of Buddha” reassesses the interpretation of one of the physical marks (lakṣaṇa) attributed to a Mahāpuruṣa (great person): the jala‑lakṣaṇa. Earlier scholars, including Foucher…

Origin of the Lotus (So-Called Bell-) Capital

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

The article explores the origin of the so-called "Bell-Capital," a architectural element often linked to the lotus motif. The author argues that the Bell-Capital's components—bell, torus, and…

Picture Showmen

By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy