Books

Indian culture is rich and its philosophy is robust, deep and capable of providing convincing answers to all questions. Since explaining the details of advanced philosophy to a layman is very difficult, our ancestors have devised the method of cultivating rituals. Among such rituals is the process of worship. Images, charts of mystic diagrams, paintings, stones and gems have been prescribed for daily worship to the common man. This book is an attempt to explain various forms of Vishnu and iconographical details of such images and also tries to bridge the gap between ritualistic approach to religion and the philosophical background of society. It is a guide to iconographic descriptions for the philosopher and a philosophical account for the simple devotee.

This book is also a window into the evergreen forest of Indian narratives and is full of narratives related to Vishnu's avataras as well as popular tales associated with popular temples. Individual chapters have been dedicated to every form listed in the Shrimadbhagauata. Details of iconographical proportions, interpretations of mudras, ayudhas, and bhangimas have been researched out of authoritative texts of Agamashastras and Shilpashastras. Many unknown forms of Vishnu like Badarayana, Shimshumara, and Gandabherunda have been included to widen readers' intellect. Besides these, Appendices 11 and III deal with Vishnu ayudhas and Vishnu pariuaara, respectively. As the title suggests, the book, however is small, but definitely, is a step toward the infinite.

About the Author

The author, S. Deepak Raj, is a multifaceted genius, having diverse interests in varied spheres of knowledge. Although a Computer Engineer by profession, teaching in an engineering college of repute in Bengaluru, he remains a seeker of the Absolute Truth--God! He believes that the ultimate goal of every living being is to attain freedom from the cycles of birth and death, and to attain moksha which is nothing but an experience of real bliss.

His quest and indomitable thirst for knowledge has made him explore the limitless ocean of our ancient Indian texts-Agamashastras (Vedas), Shrimadbhagauata, Upanishads, Puranas, Tantra ocuments, Shilpashastras, etc.

As an only child of very learned and pious parents, he has combined his acquired knowledge with the imbibed one through his growing years, weaving it into a golden fabric through his simple, yet effective narrative-in an attempt to introduce his favourite God and personal deity Vishnu, to the reader.

Gita Sadhak Sanjivani

The book contains Hindi commentary,
special notes: principal subject and letters in bold type.
Its paper-book is also available in Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil.

 

This is an excellent commentary on Gita by Swamiji. Most revered Swami Ramsukhdasji has searched out many secret and valuable jewels of spiritual ideas from this unfathomable sea of Bhagavadgita and has very kindly given for the welfare of householders and the public at large studying which they may easily attain highest bliss. Revered Swamiji has written this commentary not for profounding any philosophical view-point or for show of his erudition but he has made this fine endeavour for the spiritual benefit of the practising strivers. This commentary is available in different sizes, languages, and in attractive various forms proved itself as a Guru just like a true guide.

• Author : Swami Ramsukhdas


• Language : Hindi


• Cover: Hardcover


• Publisher: Gita Press, Gorakhpur


• Language: Sanskrit Text With Hindi Translation


• Size: 19 cm x 28 cm


• Pages: 1264


• Other Details: Weight of the Books : 1.7 kg

Sri Ramacaritamanasa of Gosvami Tulasidasa enjoys a unique place among the classics of the worldís literature. It is a fine specimen of most exquisite poetry and can compare favourably with the best poems of the world. It was considered to be the best work on Devotion by Mahåtmå Gåndh∂, the Father of the Nation. It is universally acclaimed by all classes of people from Bihar to Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, and from the Himålayas to Gujarat and Maharashtra. In fact, over the years its vast popularity has spread throughout the country and abroad. In a moving tribute to the great saint, Bhårata Ratna

Shri C. Rajagopalcari wrote :
“Tulasidasa made his vision of God into a concrete reality for the commonest of men around him. Tulasidasa could have made himself as grand or obscure as any philosopher, ancient or modern, for he had learning enough for it; but he was too pious to lose himself in that manner. His great love of the common folk enabled him to produce a work (Sri Ramacaritamanasa) that has stood the test of centuries like a rock among philosophers, pandits and lowly men and women”

• Publisher: Gita Press, Gorakhpur


• Cover: Hardcover


• Language: A Romanized Edition with Transliteration


• Size: 11.0" X 7.7"


• Pages: 1118 (B & W Illus: 8)


• Other Details: Weight of the Book: 1.390 Kg.


• Size : 19 cm x 28 cm

Sharada Pradeep: Elevation of Education, Spiritual Remedies.

In a most comprehensive and thorough analysis, the present work identifies Mithuna or Male-Female theme as a symbol pure and simple that occurs and recurs under many contexts and representational assumptions in different phases of Indian culture, art and thought. The author has brought out an exposition of the Mithuna symbol treating fully its implications in manifold contexts and areas of thought such as One And The Many, Male and Female, As An Idyllic Concept, Dampati, Incomplete Mithuna, Eternal Mithuna And Sahaja. As such this symbol now forms the key to analysing several basic ideals permeating different Indian metaphysical systems and mythical formulations as well as their tangible projection in art and iconography through the ages. The accented expression of Mithuna in Indian art and ritual has ever been a thing of wide interest both to scholars and general readers. Dr. Agrawala's work studies this greatly fascinating subject in a new and comprehensive setting, treating the Indian Male-Female theme for the first time in the widest possible range of its existence from prehistoric ages to pre-modern times and of its multiple presence in religious, social and philosophical ideologies and art. Printed Pages: 140 with 223 b/w and 18 four-colour illustrations.

Abhimanyu, like a shooting star, illuminates the horizon of the Mahabharata epic for a few moments and vanishes in trails of glory.

Abhimanyu's father was the great Arjuna. His mother, Subhadra, was the sister of Lord Krishna. In spite of being overshadowed by such powerful personalities, Abhimanyu had no difficulty in finding his rightful place among the greatest of his time.

We know little of Abhimanyu's childhood except his lineage. His marriage to Uttara remained in the shadow of Arjuna's overbearing presence. But in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he came into his own and proved his mettle. His humility as seen in his obedience to Yudhishthira, his idealism in taking up the fatal assignment and his courage in confronting the enemy -all these proclaim a hero greater: than any of the Pandavas.

It took seven of the greatest on the Kaurava side to vanquish the young lion that was Abhimanyu. Youth has seldom scaled such heights in any epic known to mankind.

Vishwambhar or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he was later known, was born at a time when a very large area of northern and eastern India had come under Muslim rule. He showed the people a simple path to reach God, which later came to be known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya not only stemmed the tide of conversion to Islam, but also provided a new life force to Hinduism.

Of the many ways by which devotees can reach Him, Krishna highlights this simple one in the Gita: "Sarvadharman parityajya mamekam sharanam vraja" (Forsaking all dogmas of religion, take refuge in me). This complete surrender to God, known to Vaishnavites as "Prapattivada" leads to Krishna or Rama (both incarnations of Lord Vishnu). To attain complete surrender, Chaitanya emphasized the gopibhava, the method of worship adopted by the damsels (gopis) of Vraja. They loved Krishna deeply, expecting nothing in return. Chaitanya also shunned casteism and preached that all men were equal. "Don't ask a Vaishnava what his caste is." Said the Vaishnavites, "because he who worships Vishnu is His."

But even while preaching love and brotherhood, Chaitanya taught people not to yield to injustice and untruth. Perhaps the first ever non-cooperation movement (satyagraha, as Gandhiji later called it) was launched by Chaitanya. When the Kazi of Nabadwip forbade the singing of bhajans in the open, Chaitanya ordered peaceful mass singing, leading a peaceful procession of hundreds who sang all the way to the house of the Kazi. So

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Known as the Land of the Rishis of Rishi Bhoomi, India proudly claims the heritage of the rishis(sages) as its own. Here, Vishwamitra stands out as a superlative example of the accomplishments of the rishis.
Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya king who constantly explored the realms of immortality beyond the kingdom of earth. His confrontation with Sage Vasishtha convinced him of the superiority of spiritual power over physical strength, and so he set out to attain it.
When he was given the status of Rajarshi, he was not content. This was because the word connoted a rishi who was born a Kshatriya and was considered inferior to a Brahmarshi, a rishi who had been born a Brahmin.
The arduous paths that Vishwamitra had to tread to conquer his passion in order to reach spiritual heights are described in detail, giving us a glimpse of the glory of the rishis.
India was later named after Bharata, the grandson of Vishwamitra.

The encounter between Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana and Bheema, the mighty Pandava prince, is one of the most dramatic incidents in the Mahabharata.
Hanuman is the son of Vayu, the wind-god; and Bheema is the son of Kunti, born by the grace of Vayu. Thus the two can be considered brothers. Hanuman is described as a Chiranjivi - an immortal. This explains how the meeting between the two was possible, though Bheema was born many centuries later. The episode also emphasises the feminine intuition of Draupadi who unerringly chose Bheema for a risky and romantic errand.

Lord Vishnu is known as the preserver in the holy Hindu trinity along with Brahma, the creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Whenever evil is on the rise, Vishnu descends onto the earth to uphold righteousness, preserve justice and annihilate sins.
Vishnu has countless incarnations, but the complete incarnations are ten in number nd are called Dasha Avtar. These ten start with the form of a fish and work their way up to the human form, cast in the image of god.
The tales of these descents or avatars told in various Puranas have contributed in no small measure to make Vishnu one of the most popular Hindu deities. His worshippers are called Vaishnavas. Of the eighteen major Puranas, six are known as the Vaishnava Puranas as they eulogise Vishnu and depict him as the Supreme Self.
According to some scholars, the identification of Vishnu with Vasudeva-Krishna, the deified Yadava hero, contributed significantly to the rise of Vishnu as the greatest of the gods in the hierarchy of the Hindu pantheon. In fact, Vasudeva-Krishna came to be considered the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
Vishnu inspires more love than fear in his devotees. The Bhagwat Purana, from which the tales in this Amar Chitra Katha have been adapted, abounds in narratives of the benevolent acts of Vishnu. Although he is kind and sympathetic, he is never taken in by the apparent devotion of the wicked and wily. Even when they suceed in wresting favours from the other deities, Vishnu maneuvers to bring about their destruction without falsifying the boons given to them by the gods.

The Ramayana is the earliest epic poem written in Sanskrit, and is the oldest work of poetry. Its author, Sage Valmiki is known as the ‘Adi Kavi’ or pristine poet.
It is said that the poem flowed form the compassionate heart of Valmiki when he witnessed the sorrow of a female Krauncha bird when the merciless arrow of a hunter killed its mate. This ‘spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion’ saw the creation of a powerful epic that still inspires that soul of India, 2000 years after it was first written.
The Ramayana is such an integral part of our heritage that our apparent diversities are reflected in differing versions written in various languages. The Ramayanas of Kamban, Tulsidas, Kirtivas and Tunchan, are variations of the same theme.
This sublime theme is embodied in the character of Rama and Sita – the highest ideals of ‘men’ and ‘woman’. The idea that God fulfills Himself through the best of men is conveyed through Rama’s life.
This is the sotry of the Ramayana. The story narrated in the following in the pages is based on Ramcharit–Manas of Tulsidasa.

The story of rama from Valmiki's Epic Ramayana has been often retold with variations, and several versions of it exist in india and other Asian countreis. This story of dasharatha, the father of Lord Rama, is largely based on the legendary epic of Valmiki.

Ravana, the rakshasa king of Lanka, had performed severe penances and obtained a boon from Brahma. No celestial being,be it a yaksha, a gandharva or deva, could kill him. Armed with this boon. he invaded amaravati, the city of the devas, and wrecked havoc among its inhabitants. Distressed, they appealed to Lord Vishnu.

On earth, at that time, Dasaratha, the prosperous, wise and just king of Ayodhya, was engaged in performing a series of sacrifices in order to obtain a son. To help the devas, Vishnu decided to manifest himself on earth and destroy Ravana, since Brahma's boon did not protect Ravana from mortal men. He chose to be born as four sons to the three queens of Dasharatha. As Dasharatha delighted in his growing sons, particularly in Rama, the eldest, little did he dream that a curse hurled at him in his youth would result in separation from his beloved Rama.

Drona, the valiant archer, was second only to Bheeshma among the respected elders of the Mahabharata.
Drona had studied together with Drupada, who later became the king of Panchala, in the ashram of Agnivesha. When he was unable to buy a glass of milk for his beloved son, he turned to his friend for help. But when Drupada humiliated him, he went to Hastinapura and became the teacher of military science to the Pandavas and Kauravas, believing that Arjuna alone, amongst all the Kuru princes, could avenge his shame.
He bestowed special attention on Arjuna, and, succumbing to his own motives of personal vendetta, he even demanded the thumb of Ekalavya, the great archer, despite the cruelty of this dastardly act.

The Mughal Empire founded in the early 16th century began to disintegrate towards the later years of the 17th century. Two people who hastened its end were shivaji along with his Marathas in the Deccan and Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikhs in northern India.

Guru Gobind Singh's short career was not marked by any spectacular achievement on the battlefield. His chief contribution was to convert a pacifist, passive and fatalist community of Punjabi Sikhs into a militant, aggressive and determined brotherhood of the Khalsa. He gave sikhism its five sacred symbols, including the unshorn hair and beard, which made the Sikh members of the one casteless family - the Singhs. He was the chief proponent of the Dharmayuddha philosophy - war for the sake of righteousness - to which he committed his four sons and his following. Guru Gobind Singh was the last of the ten Gurus and one of the greatest poets of the Punjabi language. The Qualities that distinguish the Sikhs of today can be traced back to the tradition started by Guru Gobind Singh

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India is a land of countless legends and stories. Some of them have survived the onslaught of time and remained alive over the centuries. One such story is that of Harischandra, the king famously known for his unmatched honesty.

The stor as it came down to us has many variations from the original narration in the Markandeya Purana. Folk singers, dramatists and poets who handled this story have added several incidents and characters to it – for greater effect. It is worth mentioning that Gandhiji who wrote the famous My experiments with Truth was greatly inspired by a dramatic representation of this story, which he had seen in his boyhood.

This story tells us of a king, who encounters forces immensely more powerful than him with an unflinching faith in integrity.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894) is considered to be one of the greatest writers of Bengali literature. He wrote Kapala Kundala, his second novel, when he was only 28 years old.

It is said that when Bankim Chandra lived in Kanthi, on the coast of southwest Bengal, a kapalik (a Tantric worshipper of Kali or Shiva) frequently visited him. The mystery surrounding the kapalik made a deep impression on Bankim. He conceived the idea of writing a novel about a girl brought up by a kapalik in complete isolation from the civilised world.

The name Kapala Kundala has been taken from the Sanskrit play, Malati-Madhva. In the play, Kapala is the associate of the evil kapalik, Aghora Ghanta, and she is as heinous as her mentor. But although our heroine in Kapala Kundala was also brought up by an evil kapalik, she is full human affection and kindness.

The story of shakuntala originally appeared in the first book of the Mahabharata where the lineage of the chief characters is detailed. It was later adapted with minor changes into a play by kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet and dramatist.

Shakuntala was the daughter of Sage Vishvamitra and Menaka, a celestail maiden. When shakuntala was born, Menaka abandoned her near Sage Kanva's hermitage where he found her and made her his foster daughter. One day King Dushyanta of Hastinapura met her while he was hunting in the forest. Enamoured by her beauty, he married her and returned to his palace, promising to send for her at the soonest. Later, Shakuntala went to his court,Dushyanta did not recognise her, owing to a curse placed on her by sage Durvasa.

In the end, however, the truth of her claims was proved, and Shakuntala and Dushyanta were reunited. Their son Bharat, a direct ancestor of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, is the one who gave our country its name - 'Bharat' .

King Shalivahana is credited with the introduction of a new era named after him, and referred to as the Shalivahana Shaka. It was initiated to commemorate his magnificent victory over Vikaramditya of ujjaini in 78 ad. Even today, Hindu use the Shalivahana Shaka to record births, marriages and other auspicious events.

The Vikrama Charita, a Sanskrit classic composed in the 11th century, supports this view. Apart from this work and few popular legends, there is no concrete evidence to support this theory. Brought up as a potter, the brave and good shalivahana was destined to become a great king, and this prophecy was well fulfilled.

History records that Gautami’s son Shatakarni of the shatavahana dynasty, defeated the powerful King Nahapana of the Satraps. The folklore of Maharashra identifies the same Shatakarni with Shalivahana.

The content for this Amar Chitra Katha title is derived from the Sanskrit classic Kathasaritsagara and Virama Charita, as well as from popular folk tales on this legendary hero.

Soordas, the blind bard of Brij occupies a very eminent position in Hindi literature. He is considered the Valmiki of Brij (a dialect of Hindi), not only because he was the first poet to write in that dialect, but also because hes works have an epic stature.

Soordas was not only the poet, but also a great composer. His songs were so popular that he became a legend in his lifetime.If Brij is understood today from Rajasthan and Punjab in the West to Assam in the East, it is mainly due to Soordas songs. Many of these songs are even included in the Granth Sahab, the holy book of the Sikhs - a testimony to their popularity.

Though he is credited with the composition of 25 works, he probably wrote only seven. Of these, Soor-Sagar has a place fo pride, followed by Soor-Saravali and Sahitya Lahari. According to legend, Soor-Sagar consisted of a hundred thousand songs, though today only a few thousand of these are known and sung.

Soordas was a follower of the Pushti cult, founded by Vallabhacharya which considered Krishna as the supreme incarnation of God who could only be attained only through His grace. Like many other Vaishnavaite cults, the Pushtis also believed that all those who worship God belong to the same brotherhood, irrespective of their caste. Adoration for Krishna, Yashoda's and gopis'(the cowherd girls) The intense love of Radha for him, and the alliance of the latter with the gopis formed the theme of most of his songs.

Vali, Sugreeva and Hanuman have key roles in Valmiki's famous epic, Ramayana. They were the offspring of indra, king of the devas, Surya, the sun-god, and Pavana, the wind-god respectively, taking birth in the mokey tribe to help Vishnu when he was manifest on earth as Rama to destroy the evil Ravana.

Vali became the king of Kishkindha. He loved sugreeva, his brother. But a misunderstanding separated them and they became sworn enemies. Banished from Kishkindha, Sugreeva went to the Rishyamuka Mountains and lived in hiding there. One day, Rama came there in search of Sita, his wife, who had been carried away by Ravana. The events that followed are interestingly retold in our book.