Hinduism and Its Sources

Vediki Prakriya: Shodhpurna Alochanatamak Vistrit Hindi Vyakhya

Vediki Prakriya: Shodhpurna Alochanatamak Vistrit Hindi Vyakhya

Author

Damodar Mehto

The Vivaha: The Hindu Marriage Samskaras

Ceremonial rites and rituals occupy a place of utmost importance in the life of a devout Hindu. In fact there are no vital actions-birth, initiation, marriage, death etc.-which can be allowed to be performed without its appropriate rite or samskara. The number of samskara has been fluctuating but was finally fixed at sixteen.

Marriage is the most important and elaborate out of these sixteen samskaras. Manu enjoins that rituals should be performed in the case of a virgin for legalizing the marriage, legitimatizing children and avoiding public scandal.

The mantras used in the nuptial rites being in Sanskrit are beyond the comprehension of not only the average Hindu but even the common priests entrusted with the duty of conducting the rituals. To overcome this difficulty the present book was originally prepared in Hindi and is now translated into English with the mantras etc. romanized for the benefit of those who do not have adequate knowledge of Hindi, for example especially those whose forefathers had migrated to remote countries during the last one hundred years or so

Selections from the Mahabharata: Re-affirming Gita’s Call for the Good of All

The societal message that the Mahabharata is trying to convey is presented in this book in the form of a ten-point exhortation for the benefit of everyone. Since this message is principally presented, according to the terminology of loksamgraha, in the Bhagavad-Gita (which is the center-piece of the Mahabharata), the style of presentation that has been used here is Gita supporting, which means that it is indirect as well as selective. This book comes with a straightforward explanation of what it means in English, laid out in the form of eighteen chapters.

Author

Dr. Satya P. Agarwal

Mahabharata (Buck)

The Mahabharata is an Indian epic, in its original Sanskrit probably the largest ever composed. It is the story of a dynastic struggle that provides a social, moral, and cosmological background to the climatic battle. The present English rendition is a retelling based on a translation of the Sanskrit original published by Pratap Chandra Roy, Published in the beginning of this century. William buck has condensed the story. The old translation from which he worked covers 5800 pages of print, while his own book is less than a tenth of that length. But by and large, Buck’s rendition reflects the sequence of events in the Sanskrit epic, and he uses the traditional techniques for instance, of stories within stories, flashbacks, moral lessons laid in the mouths of principal characters. There are other English versions of the Mahabharata, some shorter, some longer. But apart from William Buck’s rendition, none have been able to capture the blend of religion andmartial spirit that pervades the original epic. It succeeds eminently in illustrating how seemingly grand and magnificent human endeavors turn out to be astoundingly insignificant in the perspective of eternity.

Publisher’s Preface, Introduction, Part I: In the Beginning, A Mine of Jewels and Gems, The Ring and the Well, Fire and Flame, Indraprastha, The Falling Sand, Part II: In the Middle, 6:00 Nala and Damayanti, 7:00 The Thousand-Petaled Lotus, An Iron Net, Virata, The Invasion, Do Not Tell, Sanjaya Returns, Trees of Gold, The Enchanted Lake, The Night, Part III: In the End, The Blade of Grass, The Lonely Encounter, Parikshita, The Timeless Path, The City of Gates, Notes, Reference List of Characters