The Dance of Shiva: Fourteen Indian essays with preface and introduction
The collection of essays by Ananda Coomaraswamy on Indian art and culture and other themes, published under the title The Dance of Shiva reflect the many-sided genius of this great savant. The fourteen essays in this collection critically deal with aspects of Indian ethos, art and aesthetics, philosophy, music and Indian women besides essays on Indian and Western and ancient and contemporary themes. Coomaraswamy's discussion on these wide-ranging themes with his mastery of the original source material bear the stamp of his understanding and thorough analysis. In the essay 'What has India contributed', Coomaraswamy has discussed the application of Brahmanical religious philosophy to the problems of sociology. In his words: 'the essential contribution of India is her Indianness.' He aptly sums up the fundamental quality of Indian music when he says that Indian music is essentially impersonal and a purely melodic art with elaborate grace. His essays 'Indian images with many arms' is an answer to the critics of Indian art wherein he has tried to show that what appears bizarre to an Occidental mind is because of lack of familiarity with Indian art traditions and not a sincere attempt to evaluate the works of art on own merits. His thoughts on diverse theme like 'Intellectual fraternity', Cosmopolitan view of Nietzsche', 'Young India' and 'Individuality, autonomy and function' show his awareness to contemporary situation and ideas. The present collection of essays epitomizes Coomaraswamy's greatness and should prove to be of sustained interest and permanent value to all interested in understanding of Indian art and ethos. Printed Pages: 196 with 34 illustrations.
About the Author:
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, the greatest among the Indian art historian, was born in Colombo on August 22,1877. After graduating from the University of London, he became the Director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon. Between 1906 and 1917, when he joined as the Curator of Indian art and formed societies for the study of Indian art. In 1938, he became the Chairman of National committee for India's Freedom. His contributions on Indian philosophy, religion, art and iconography, painting and literature are of the greatest importance as were his contributions on music, science and Islamic art. He died on September 9, 1947.
The collection of essays by Ananda Coomaraswamy on Indian art and culture and other themes, published under the title The Dance of Shiva reflect the many-sided genius of this great savant. The fourteen essays in this collection critically deal with aspects of Indian ethos, art and aesthetics, philosophy, music and Indian women besides essays on Indian and Western and ancient and contemporary themes. Coomaraswamy's discussion on these wide-ranging themes with his mastery of the original source material bear the stamp of his understanding and thorough analysis. In the essay 'What has India contributed', Coomaraswamy has discussed the application of Brahmanical religious philosophy to the problems of sociology. In his words: 'the essential contribution of India is her Indianness.' He aptly sums up the fundamental quality of Indian music when he says that Indian music is essentially impersonal and a purely melodic art with elaborate grace. His essays 'Indian images with many arms' is an answer to the critics of Indian art wherein he has tried to show that what appears bizarre to an Occidental mind is because of lack of familiarity with Indian art traditions and not a sincere attempt to evaluate the works of art on own merits. His thoughts on diverse theme like 'Intellectual fraternity', Cosmopolitan view of Nietzsche', 'Young India' and 'Individuality, autonomy and function' show his awareness to contemporary situation and ideas. The present collection of essays epitomizes Coomaraswamy's greatness and should prove to be of sustained interest and permanent value to all interested in understanding of Indian art and ethos. Printed Pages: 196 with 34 illustrations.
About the Author:
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, the greatest among the Indian art historian, was born in Colombo on August 22,1877. After graduating from the University of London, he became the Director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon. Between 1906 and 1917, when he joined as the Curator of Indian art and formed societies for the study of Indian art. In 1938, he became the Chairman of National committee for India's Freedom. His contributions on Indian philosophy, religion, art and iconography, painting and literature are of the greatest importance as were his contributions on music, science and Islamic art. He died on September 9, 1947.
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Candipathah (Sanskrit Text with English translation)
- Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Ptv. Ltd.
- Author : A. P. N. Pankaj & Bhavana Pankaj
- Language : English
- Edition : January 3, 2013
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- Weight : 740g.
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About the Author
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From the Jacket
Makhan Lal Sen's The Ramayana of Valmiki is a modernized version in English prose of the great Sanskrit epic Ramayana. The appeal and freshness of epic poems transcend all limitations imposed by time, space, age, caste, creed, society, and language. All, irrespective of their age, succumb to the charms and fascinating personalities of its heroes, who have inspired countless men of different generations and spurred them on to perform almost superhuman task. Modern civilization owes most of its dazzling achievements to such inspiration.
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About the Book
Makhan Lal Sen's The Ramayana of Valmiki is a modernized version in English prose of the great Sanskrit epic Ramayana. The appeal and freshness of epic poems transcend all limitations imposed by time, space, age, caste, creed, society, and language. All, irrespective of their age, succumb to the charms and fascinating personalities of its heroes, who have inspired countless men of different generations and spurred them on to perform almost superhuman task. Modern civilization owes most of its dazzling achievements to such inspiration.
Valmiki's Ramayana is something more than an epic. No one has built shrines in honour of Homer's heroes, to worship them as God. In contrast, from the time of its composition to this day, Valmiki's hero never lacked devotees. The reason for this strange phenomenon lies in this: in the Greek epics the cause is ambition, and the effect is the valour of its heroes; in Ramayana the cause is the moral welfare of society and the effect is the ideal conduct of its heroes under the most trying circumstances that destiny can weave. Rama is a personification of all that is expected of an ideal son, ideal brother, ideal husband, ideal prince, ideal ally, ideal commander, and an ideal king.
Translation of epics and rendering them in prose, is, at the best of time, an hazardous and arduous job. Here, the translator has done his best to capture to remarkable degree the grandeur of the epic, the loftiness of its thought, the simplicity and elegance of its diction, and the freshness of its enduring beauty. This book, being one of those rare ones which elevates one's soul, should find a place under every roof.
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