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Krishna in the Hariv...
Krishna in the Harivamsha: Vol. 1
The Wonderful Play of a Cosmic Child by: Andre CoutureThe thirteen texts of this book address various aspects of Krishnas childhood in the Harivamsha. It demonstrates that these stories of Krishnas childhood were carefully composed by brahmanas who knew fully well what they were doing.
$44.00
ISBN: 9788124608241
Year Of Publication: 2015
Edition: 1st Edition
Pages : viii, 362p.
Bibliographic Details : Bibliography; Index
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 23
Weight: 700
Written over a thirty-year period, the thirteen texts of this book some of which have been updated, others translated from the original French address various aspects of Krishnas childhood in the Harivamsha. As a part of a continuous effort to better understand this oft-neglected complement to the Mahabharata, the present book demonstrates that these stories of Krishnas childhood were carefully composed by brahmanas who knew fully well what they were doing.
During the ten or so years he spends as a herder in the forest surrounding Mathura, Krishna prepares himself to kill the evil king Kamsa: when packs of wolves spring from the hairs of his body, he manifests his destructive power; he appears as a true avatara when he dives into the Yamuna to subdue the snake Kaliya; he reveals himself as a new Brahma able to create a new world when he uplifts Mount Govardhana with which he has just identified himself, then sheltering cows and herders in his own body.
It is authors contention throughout these chapters that these episodes cannot be dismissed as a hotchpotch of legends borrowed from the Abhiras or similar pastoral tribes. Neither does one do justice to the genre when one reinterprets the story symbolically, as if it were the product of an overactive imagination. Rejecting these positions, the author instead attempts to show here how these talented storytellers carefully crafted a narrative, often using material drawn from their own Vedic tradition, in order to address the new concerns of their audiences.
Volume I
The Wonderful Play of a Cosmic Child
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1: The Harivamsha, Genre in Context
1.1 The Harivamsha: A Supplement to the Mahabharata
1.2 Akrura and the Bhagavata Tradition according to the Harivamsha
1.3 The Harivamsha and the Notion of Purana
1.4 Possibility of Assigning a Date for the Harivamsha
Part 2: Krishnas Birth in the Harivamsha
2.1 The Story of Samkarshana and Krishnas Births: A Drama Involving Embryos
2.2 Samkarshana and Krishnas Hair Births
2.3 The Problem of the Meaning of Yoganidras Name
Part 3: Krishnas Marvellous Childhood in the Harivamsha
3.1 Cowherd-Settlements and Forests in Three Ancient Versions of Krishnas Childhood
3.2 Krishnas Childhood according to the Harivamsha: Study of the Composition of the Narrative
3.3 Kubja, the Hunchbacked Woman Straightened Up by Krishna
3.4 Krishnas Strange Name of Damodara
3.5 The Winged Mountains: Variations on a Vedic Theme
Conclusion: Birds, Herders and Yogins in the Harivamsha
Bibliography
General Index
Index of Passages
Volume II (Forthcoming)
The Greatest of All Sovereigns and Masters
Part 4: Krishna and the Construction of Dvaraka
Part 5: The Omnipresent Goddess
Part 6: The Epic Narrative Without Oversimplification
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Vada in Theory and Practice $44.00
Vada, meaning debates, dialogues, discussions, was the quintessential of Indian spirit, enabling and promoting the growth of different philosophical and knowledge systems of India. It percolated deep into our mindset and enriched the moral, ethical, religious and sociocultural edifice of anything that was essentially Indian in nature. As continuation of Anvikshiki from the bc era, vada helped thrive Indian traditional knowledge systems. It subsists on diversity and its tradition envisages pluralism.
Most of our Sanskrit works, covering a wide gamut of knowledge systems, are structured in the techniques of debate. This reality applies not only to the philosophical writings, but to Indian medical systems (Ayurveda), Arthashastra of Kautilya and Kamasutra of Vatsyayana as well. Even great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are no exceptions.
Vada culture involved verbal duals, attacks and even violence of speech, and all major religious systems — old or modern — were parties to it. This book also elucidates how vata was vital and critical for the growth of our socio-political fabrics. It shows how some of the major conflicts in philosophical systems were centred around karma, jnana, choice between violence and non-violence, pravritti and nivritti. It also presents the manifestations of vada on a vast canvas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Modern spiritual and religious gurus like Ramana Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti and Vinoba Bhave were men of dialogues. Our scholars have applied the varied techniques of vada against the philosophical and scientific systems of the West to prove them correct.
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Atmopadesh Satak $20.00
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Comparative Literary Theory $32.00
“Two cultures of the world — Greek and Indian — have nourished literature. While the contemporary Western thinking is rooted in Greek thought, especially of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and percolated down to the modern European languages with the advent of Christian thought, the multilingual Indian literary tradition has its base from the classical Tamil, Pali, Prakrt and Sanskrit.
Though cultural specificity marks these two traditions off from each other, the universal human condition that finds expression in all literatures binds them together. This book delves deep into the growth of poetics, theory of literature, literary artefacts, aesthetics of literature as an art form, and dramaturgy and philosophy of literature.
Cultures have given forms as their typical expressions — for India great epics, for Greece tragedies, and for England lyrics. Similarly, different ages of a culture find expression in different forms — Elizabethan age of England in lyrics, sixteenth-seventeenth centuries in drama, eighteenth century in prose, and nineteenth century in novel. India’s genius is in epics and its expression unfolds in sravya-preksa compositions, being singable poetry as its preferred form.
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Aditya Hrdayam $20.00
The ancient Indian tradition and literature accords a supreme place to the Sun in the order of divinities, revering and worshipping it as the life-force of the Universe and the highest Reality. The commentary by Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati in this volume comes as an attempt to unravel the power and mystique of the Sun as explained in the Aditya Hrdayam, a small canto chapter offering obeisance to the Sun God in the immortal epic, Srimadramayanam of Adikavi Valmiki. The book presents the original Sanskrit mantras of the Aditya Hrdayam along with their Roman transliteration and lucid English translation. The verses are accompanied by detailed annotations that describe every term, concept and idea with great clarity. The commentary, easy to follow and fluent in flow, explores the secret of the eternal stotra, Aditya Hrdayam conveyed by Sage Agastya to Lord Rama using which the latter emerged victorious over Ravana. Aditya Hrdayam is hailed as one of the greatest tributes to the Sun by our ancient sages that provides insights into the importance of the Sun as the creator and sustainer of the Universe, the ultimate source of all wealth. The commentary involves copious references to Taittiriya Samhita, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Taittiriya Upanisad, Chandogya Upanisad, Srimadbhagavadgita, etc. , which make it all the more comprehensive and scholarly.
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Aitareya Upanisad $20.00
Yet another masterly piece of Hindu spiritual wisdom, Aitareya essentially reinforces the grand Upanishadic message which is neither a picturesque mythology nor a promise of heaven nor a threat of hell. It is yet another reminder (from the ancient seers) of our cosmic connection showing how this universe, this phenomenal world of ours, and all that is created, whether movable or immovable, are unfolded from one primeval casual Reality: atman, variantly called the Supreme Spirit, Pure Consciousness or Prajnanam Brahma; and how, in turn, atman perceives itself as the one underlying substance of all these phenomena. A distinguished exponent of Vedanta, Swami Muni Narayana Prasad reinterprets this Upanishad, developing refreshing insights into its textual discourse, its meaning, and its message. Also included in this critical commentary are its original Sanskrit text, Romanised transliteration, and verse for verse English translation. Appended to the Rigveda, Aitareya Upanishad comprises three chapters (IV-VI) of the Aitareya-Aranyaka which, in itself, is a continuation of Aitareya Brahmana. And as one of the principal Upanishads is invaluable as much to the discerning readers as to the scholars of Indian philosophy.
