Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House

The Advaitic Theism of the Bhagavata Purana

The author of this book takes a detailed look at the core beliefs that are outlined in the Bhagavata Purana during the course of its eight chapters. Through in-depth analysis, he demonstrates how the Bhagavata Purana, as a unified scripture, combines Vedantic non-dualism and Vaisnava devotionalism; and how the Bhagavata non-dualism accommodates the reality of the universe and of the individual selves that are found within it within the reality of Brahman. This marvellous combination of the devotionals and non-dualism in the Bhagavata Purana is said to find its expression in the worship of Krsna as a transcendent and ultimate god by all Vaisnavas. This is according to the author. The discussion and delineation found throughout the chapters highlight “each of the major forces” that are responsible for determining “the religious structure of the Bhagavata,” which “has a significance and meaning for the study of religion beyond that of situating a scriptural text within a religious history.” Students of Indian religion and philosophy will find the current academic work to be very interesting and valuable. The general reader who is interested in Indian history and culture will also find a place for it in their collection of literature..

Author

Daniel P. Sheridan

The Bridge to the Three Holy Cities: The Samanya-praghattaka of Narayana Bhatta’s Trishalisetu

In the Hindu tradition, the study of holy locations and pilgrimages to such places is considered to be a sub-field of the Dharmasastra. This sub-field is known as tirtha. The “Bridge to the Three Holy Cities” (also known as “Tristhalisetu”) of Narayana Bhatta, which was composed in Varanasi in the 16th century A.D., is regarded as the canonical and most authoritative work of the extensive tirtha literature. It was authored by Narayana Bhatta. The book is divided into four parts, but only the third, fourth, and final parts were included in the Anandasrama version that came out in 1915. The first, or “General,” Section of the Samanya-praghattaka, which was not included in that edition, discusses the concept, definition, and distinguishing characteristics of tirthas, and prescribes in detail the procedures and practises of a pilgrimage. However, this section was omitted from that edition. Both a critical edition of the text of the Samanyapraghattaka as well as a translation that has been annotated are included in this book. The practise of making pilgrimages is an important part of Hinduism, and this literature provides a variety of knowledge relevant to that subject.A

Author

Richard Salomon

Ramacaritamanasa in South Africa

Through the strong medium of Awadhi, Gosvami Tulsidasa’s Ramacaritamanasa conveyed to the world the message of Ramabhakti and the principles of Ramarajya. Indentured workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar brought the Ramacaritamanasa all over the world three hundred years after it was written down. This allowed it to be read in every corner of the globe. Between the years 1860 and 1911, many thousands of these labourers made their way to South Africa, bringing with them copies of the Ramacaritamanasa to serve as their central religious text.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the Ramacaritamanasa’s function in the daily lives of Hindi-speaking indentured labourers, as well as their perspectives on Sri Rama and the Ramacaritamanasa. Additionally, the book discusses the indentured labourers’ progency in South Africa. It is clear that Tulsidasa’s goal of instilling a selfless devotion to Sri Rama as the Supreme Deity is being accomplished via the Ramacaritamanasa until this very day. The social and political message that Tulsidasa conveyed also received a great deal of appreciation at the time.

The Ramacaritamanasa is revered as a sacred text among South African Hindus whose ancestry is from Hindi, and these individuals seek peace and direction by immersing themselves in Sri Rama’s Act as deeply as possible. Its function among Hindi-speaking Hindus as a maintainer of religious and cultural traditions is a clear indication of the significance it will continue to have in the next year.

Author

Usha Devi Shukla

Prolegomena on Metre and Textual History of the Rgveda: Metrische und textgeschichtliche Prolegomena, Berlin, 1888

Oldenberg made a distinction between the “original text” of the Rgveda, which is the form in which the rsis composed and recited their hymns, and the “traditional text,” which has been handed down to us in a fixed form by the oral tradition. The “original text” of the Rgveda is the form in which the rsis composed and recited their hymns. Oldenberg conducted a comprehensive analysis of all parts of the traditional text in order to give the original text to the academic community in the form and arrangement that he had uncovered. This was done so that other researchers may benefit from his findings. Oldenberg always intended for the contents that are now being published in this book to serve as a Preface to his planned edition of the Rgveda. This volume is now being published. They are the product of Oldenberg’s in-depth research on the Vedic metre, the principles that underlie the arrangement of the hymns in the Rgveda Samhita, the variations found in the text of the mantras as found in the Rgveda and the later Samhitas and the Brahmanas, orthoepic diaskeuasis, and the two Sakhas of the Rgveda: Sakala and Baskala. Later on, Oldenberg decided against releasing his ‘critical edition’ of the Rgveda as he had originally intended.

Author

HERMANN OLDENBERG,

TRANSLATED BY: V.G. PARANJAPE & M.A. MEHENDALE

Vedic Texts: A Revision: Professor C.G. Kashikar Felicitation Volume

The compilation of critical editions of Vedic texts, which was being done at the time by a number of different Vedic Scholars in India, resulted in the publication of Vedic Texts: A Revision. On the occasion of Prof. C.G. Kashikar’s eightieth birth anniversary, this volume, which consists of the specimens of the forthcoming critical editions of Vedic Texts, is presented to him as a tribute of respectful gratitude for his profound scholarship in the field of Vedic ritualistic studies. The specimens are presented in this volume as a tribute of respectful gratitude. This volume contains excerpts from eight different Vedic books, including the Maitrayani Samhita, Gopatha Brahmana, Aitareya Aranyaka, Baudhayana Srautasutra, and Manava Srautasutra. The academics who have been tasked with the revision of these eight works are already relatively acquainted with the individual works, as well as conversant with the appropriate method of operation. In addition, this volume has a foreword written by Professor R.N. Dandekar, a biographical sketch, biodata, and a bibliography of Professor C.G. Kashikar’s publications and a selection of his papers.

Author

C. G. Kashikar

The Krsna Cycle in the Puranas: Themes and Motifs in a Heroic Saga

Krsna is often regarded as one of the most beloved personalities in Indian literature and religion. The accounts of his life and the actions he performed continue to play an important role in the literary traditions of India right up to the present day. The primary ideas and recurrent images that can be seen throughout the Krsna mythology up to the 10th century are the focus of this book. In the first chapter, the antecedents of the figure of Krsna that may be found in the Vedas are investigated, as are some of the viewpoints that suggest that Krsna can be found in the hymns of the Vedas. An exhaustive survey is made of all of the archaeological and literary evidences, along with their interpretations and discussions by modern scholars, and the second chapter deals with the first historical evidence on Krsna up to the beginning of the Christian Era. This chapter covers the time period from the beginning of the Christian Era to the beginning of the Christian Era. In the third and fourth chapters, an examination of the motifs and themes found in the Krsna saga is presented using a folk-comparative methodology. Particular focus is placed on the parallels between the Krsna saga and the mythology surrounding Hercules. The last chapter provides an overview of the Krsna tales as they were shown in iconography up to the 10th century. In addition to this, there is a collection of images that depict the majority of the iconographical evidence that has been addressed; several of these photographs are being released for the first first time here.

Author

DR. BENJAMIN PRECIADO-SOLIS