A conversation with the Indologist Wendy Doniger on her wide-ranging study ‘The Cave of Echoes’, and the importance of understanding other peoples’ myths and rituals: https://www.himalmag.com/podcast/wendy-doniger-history-myths-hinduism-india

Welcome to the Southasia Review of Books podcast, where we speak to celebrated authors and emerging literary voices from across Southasia. In this episode, Shwetha Srikanthan speaks to the distinguished Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit and Indian textual traditions Wendy Doniger about her book, The Cave of Echoes: Stories About Gods, Animals and Other Strangers (Speaking Tiger, July 2025).

In The Cave of Echoes, Wendy Doniger writes that, “it is impossible to define myth, but it is cowardly not to try.” For her, the best way to approach myth is not by defining it, but to look at it in action, which is precisely what she has set out to do throughout this book: to explore what myth does, rather than what myth is.

This book is a celebration of the universal art of storytelling and the diverse narratives that shape how people understand their world and their pasts. Drawing on Hindu epics, Biblical parables, Greek myths and modern mythologies, Doniger examines the enduring force of myth and tradition, and how they shape societies. 

She shows how myth not only allows cultures to define themselves, but also how the myths of others can reflect back truths often overlooked in our own. Along the way, Doniger raises critical questions about how we interpret mythic stories, and how different communities across Southasia and beyond engage with these foundational texts and traditions.

This episode is now available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/g9ZB8Tsb5bUSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4QXQSdxK4MF30bV5rXQULW?si=5b1e0acc9cec40f6Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wendy-doniger-on-importance-of-understanding-other/id1464880116?i=1000719434400

Let’s keep the conversation going – please share your thoughts on the episode. Leave us a comment here on Youtube or send me an email (shwethas[at]himalmag[dot]com).

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