Download or read book The Naraka Cycle written by Sundar Nathan and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Ravan, the teenage crown prince of Asurapura on the continent of Naraka, moments before he must face the dangers of the Aranya jungle as part of the Trial of Seven Days. Almost two weeks later, he emerges from the Aranya and returns to his palace in the city Lanka, triumphant but emotionally drained. His completion of the Trial, however, brings about more complications than he could have imagined. Unlikely alliances with half-snake, half-human Nagas and ten-foot Rakshasas, and shocking discoveries about his own family push Ravan to his limit... “With ‘Ravan’s Trial’, Sundar Nathan has written an epic fantasy story with memorable characters from the great Indian epic, the Ramayana. The story is gripping, familiar characters in new roles with new destinies. Sundar has also done extensive research on the setting for his story. I enjoyed it a lot.” – Viswanathan Anand, Five-Time World Chess Champion “Nathan pieces together an incredibly deep and thoroughly developed realm and breathes life into his main character Ravan, beginning the book with a restrained unpeeling of family plot drivers through the individual days of Ravan’s Trial of Seven Days and a devastating setback. Shifting points of view provide first-hand rich visuals through the eyes of shapeshifters, battle-hardened warriors, lovers, loyalists, enemies, and family as Nathan weaves together an adventure, coming-of-age saga with intricacy to rival “the threads of Harsha’s Song.” – Jamie Michele, Reader’s Favorite
Download or read book The Skandapur a Volume IIb written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-05-09 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skandapurāṇa IIb presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 31-52 from the Skandapurāṇa, with an introduction and English synopsis.
Download or read book Prince of Naraka written by Sundar Nathan and published by Sundar Nathan. This book was released on 2021-12-12 with total page 682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 5 Stars, Reader's Favorite Recommended, US Review of Books Endorsed by Dr. Deepak Chopra, pioneer in integrative medicine & personal transformation Recommended by Vishy Anand, 5-Time World Chess Champion
Download or read book The Skandapur a Volume V written by Peter Bisschop and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skandapurāṇa V presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 92-112 from the Skandapurāṇa, with an introduction and annotated English synopsis. The text edited in this volume includes the extensive myth of Viṣṇu’s manifestation as the Boar (Varāha), who conquers Hiraṇyākṣa and wins back the Earth for the gods; its aftermath, which involves the birth of Varāha’s son Vṛka and Skanda’s finishing of Viṣṇu’s Boar manifestation; Devī’s instructions to the goddesses about donations, fasts and penances; and the continuation of the Andhaka cycle. The introduction addresses the incorporation of Vaiṣṇava mythology in the text, the composition and revision of Adhyāya 112 in the different recensions, and the Dharmanibandha citations of Devī’s teachings.
Download or read book Primary Sources and Asian Pasts written by Peter C. Bisschop and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-11-09 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This conference volume unites a wide range of scholars working in the fields of history, archaeology, religion, art, and philology in an effort to explore new perspectives and methods in the study of primary sources from premodern South and Southeast Asia. The contributions engage with primary sources (including texts, images, material artefacts, monuments, as well as archaeological sites and landscapes) and draw needed attention to highly adaptable, innovative, and dynamic modes of cultural production within traditional idioms. The volume works to develop categories of historical analysis that cross disciplinary boundaries and represent a wide variety of methodological concerns. By revisiting premodern sources, Asia Beyond Boundaries also addresses critical issues of temporality and periodization that attend established categories in Asian Studies, such as the “Classical Age” or the “Gupta Period”. This volume represents the culmination of the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy project Asia Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State, a research consortium of the British Museum, the British Library and the School of Oriental and African Studies, in partnership with Leiden University.
Download or read book The Skandapur a Volume IV written by Peter Bisschop and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skandapurāṇa IV presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 70-95 from the Skandapurāṇa , with an introduction and annotated English synopsis. The text edited in this volume includes the myths of Viṣṇu’s manifestation as the Man-Lion (Narasiṃha), the birth of Skanda, the birth of Andhaka, and Hiraṇyākṣa’s battle with the gods culminating in his victory and capture of the Earth. Thanks to generous support of the J. Gonda Fund Foundation, the e-book version of this volume is available in Open Access.
Download or read book Holy Ground Where Art and Text Meet written by Hans T. Bakker and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-12-16 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 31 selected and revised articles in the volume Holy Ground: Where Art and Text Meet, written by Hans Bakker between 1986 and 2016, vary from theoretical subjects to historical essays on the classical culture of India. They combine two mainstreams: the Sanskrit textual tradition, including epigraphy, and the material culture as expressed in works of religious art and iconography. The study of text and art in close combination in the actual field where they meet provides a great potential for understanding. The history of holy places is therefore one of the leitmotivs that binds these studies together. One article, "The Ramtek Inscriptions II", was co-authored by Harunaga Isaacson, two articles, on "Moksadharma 187 and 239–241" and "The Quest for the Pasupata Weapon," by Peter C. Bisschop.
Download or read book Universal aivism written by Peter Bisschop and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Universal Śaivism Peter Bisschop provides a critical edition and annotated translation of the sixth chapter of the Śivadharmaśāstra `Treatise on the Religion of Śiva’, the so-called Śāntyadhyāya 'Chapter on Appeasement’. The Sanskrit text is preceded by an extensive introduction on its composition, transmission and edition. The Śivadharmaśāstra has arguably played a crucial role in the formation, development and institutionalisation of Śaivism. Through a detailed study of its extensive śānti mantra, Peter Bisschop shows how the text advocates a system in which all worldly and cosmic power is ultimately dependent upon Śiva. The mantra itself is a mine of information on the evolving pantheon of early Brahmanical Hinduism. Thanks to generous support of the J. Gonda Fund Foundation, the e-book version of this volume is available in Open Access.
Download or read book Mapping the P upata Landscape written by Elizabeth A. Cecil and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-09 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Mapping the Pāśupata Landscape: Narrative, Place, and the Śaiva Imaginary in Early Medieval North India, Elizabeth A. Cecil explores the sacred geography of the earliest community of Śiva devotees called the Pāśupatas. This book brings the narrative cartography of the Skandapurāṇa into conversation with physical landscapes, inscriptions, monuments, and icons in order to examine the ways in which Pāśupatas were emplaced in regional landscapes and to emphasize the use of material culture as media through which notions of belonging and identity were expressed. By exploring the ties between the formation of early Pāśupata communities and the locales in which they were embedded, this study reflects critically upon the ways in which community building was coincident with place-making in Early Medieval India.
Download or read book Dak i a Kosala written by Natasja Bosma and published by . This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with the early development of Śaivism in ancient Dakṣiṇa Kosala, the region that roughly corresponds to the modern state of Chhattisgarh, plus the districts of Sambalpur, Balangir and Kalahandi of Odhisha (formerly Orissa). At the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century, this region was under the control of the Pāṇḍava king Śivagupta alias ‘Bālārjuna’ hailing from Śrīpura (the modern village of Sirpur), who was a great patron of religion. Epigraphical evidence, supported by archaeological remains, has shown that by the time of Śivagupta’s reign, which lasted for at least fifty-seven years, Dakṣiṇa Kosala was already a rich center of early Śaivism. In the context of this setting the following research questions were formulated: what circumstances fostered the rise and development of Śaivism in this area, and did the Skandapurāṇa, an important and contemporaneous religious scripture, play any role in that development? An answer to these questions would not only shed light on the religious processes at work in Dakṣiṇa Kosala, but would also touch upon the interplay of political, social, economic and geographical factors.
Download or read book The Skandapur a III written by Yuko Yokochi and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skandapurāṇa III presents a critical edition of the Vindhyavāsinī Cycle (Adhyāyas 34.1-61, 53-69) from the Skandapurāṇa , with an introduction and annotated English synopsis. The work is currently only available in print as an exact reprint done in a smaller book size (15.5 x 23.5 cm) than the first printrun.
Download or read book The World of the Skandapur a written by Hans Bakker and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-06-29 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World of the Skandapurāṇa explores the historical, religious and literary environment that gave rise to the composition and spread of this early Purana text devoted to Siva. It is argued that the text originated in circles of Pasupata ascetics and laymen, probably in Benares, in the second half of the 6th and first half of he 7th centuries. The book describes the political developments in Northern India after the fall of the Gupta Empire until the successor states which arose after the death of king Harsavardhana of Kanauj in the second half of the 7th century. The work consists of two parts. In the first part the historical environment in which this Purāṇa was composed is described. The second part explores six localities in Northern India that play a prominent role in the text. It is richly illustrated and contains a detailed bibliography and index.
Download or read book Of Gods and Books written by Florinda De Simini and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-11-07 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: India has been the homeland of diverse manuscript traditions that do not cease to impress scholars for their imposing size and complexity. Nevertheless, many topics concerning the study of Indian manuscript cultures still remain to receive systematic examination. Of Gods and Books pays attention to one of these topics - the use of manuscripts as ritualistic tools. Literary sources deal quite extensively with rituals principally focused on manuscripts, whose worship, donation and preservation are duly prescribed. Around these activities, a specific category of ritual gift is created, which finds attestations in pre-tantric, as well as in smārta and tantric, literature, and whose practice is also variously reflected in epigraphical documents. De Simini offers a first systematic study of the textual evidence on the topic of the worship and donation of knowledge. She gives account of possible implications for the relationships between religion and power. The book is indsipensible for a deeper understanding of the cultural aspects of manuscript transmission in medieval India, and beyond.
Download or read book Devlok 1 written by Devdutt Pattanaik and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journey into the amazing world of Hindu mythology with Devdutt Pattanaik • Why are most temples dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva or the goddess, but not to Brahma or Indra? • How are an asura, rakshasa, yaksha and pishacha different from each other? • Why did the Pandavas find themselves in naraka rather than swarga? Over several months, EPIC Channel’s ground-breaking show Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik has enthralled countless viewers. Here, finally, is the book based on the first series of the ever-popular show, which will take you on a scintillating tour through the myriad stories, symbols and rituals that form the basis of Hindu culture. Prepare to be surprised and thrilled as Devdutt narrates magical tales about larger-than-life figures—gods, goddesses, demi-gods and demons who you thought you knew well but didn’t. Learn about the intricacies of Hindu thought as he explains the origin and meaning of different creation myths, and throws light on why we believe in a cyclical—not linear—concept of time. This book is your perfect introduction to the endlessly fascinating world of Hindu mythology.
Download or read book Yama written by Devdutt Pattanaik and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2016-10-28 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know you have to go through 84 lakh births before you can be born into human form? Or that Yama is trapped in Naraka because he was the first human? Not everyone goes to the same Swarga or Naraka—do these places have VIP sections that can be reserved? And why did the Kauravas go to Swarga while the Pandavas were stuck in hell? The question of what happens after death is one that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time, and it reaches its symbolic peak in the complex cyclical Hindu tradition. Devdutt deftly unpacks our traditional narratives to uncover the deeper meanings behind well-worn stories. Find out what happens after death in this short, sweet read from Devlok.
Download or read book Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS 2003 Volume 8 Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalayas written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-06-30 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.
Download or read book Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalayas written by International Association for Tibetan Studies. Seminar and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.
