India’s sacred traditions deserve to be understood on their own terms and not reduced to fashionable intellectual provocations or political props. An intricate stone carving of Lord Kartikeya (Murugan), on his divine peacock vehicle (Paravani) at the historic Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur. India recently commemorated 80 years of independence from British rule. However, it is pertinent to question whether our indigenous traditions, civilizational memory, and Devatas, the H