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Left is north, right is south
Updated On: 31 March, 2019 09:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Devdutt Pattanaik
In politics, right stands for those who value traditional hierarchy (much like Vedanta) and left stands for those who overturn structures (much like Tantra)

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik
When one faces the rising sun, the back faces the west, the left hand represents the northern side and the right hand represents the southern side. In Hindu mythology, the left hand is called the Vama-patha or the path of the left hand, which is associated with Tantra. However, the right hand is not called the path of the right hand, but is called the southern path: Dakshina-patha, which is the right-handed path or the orthodox Vedic path. In politics, right stands for those who value traditional hierarchy (much like Vedanta) and left stands for those who overturn structures (much like Tantra).
The northern direction is associated with Shiva, but the northern path or the left hand is associated with the goddess Shakti. The southern direction is associated with death, but the southern path is associated with Vedanta, which talks about immortality. Why is north associated with Shiva and immortality and why is south associated with Shakti and death? That is a question to ask.
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