From Dasarajna to Kuruksetra

From Dasarajna to Kuruksetra

Author: Kanad Sinha

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-11-24

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0190993456

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Is it true that the ancient Indians had no sense of History? The book begins with this question, and points out how the ways of perceiving the past could be culture-specific and how the concept of historical traditions can be useful in studying the various ways of memorising and representing the past, even if those ways do not necessarily correspond to the methodology of the Occidental discipline called 'History'. Ancient India had several historical traditions, and the book focuses on one of them, the itihasa. It also shows how the Mahabharata is the best illustration of this tradition, and how a historical study of the contents of the text, with comparison with and corroboration from other contemporary sources and traditions, may help us restore the text in its original context in the bardic historical tradition about the Later Vedic Kurus. Is the Mahabharata then an authentic history? This book does not claim so. However, it shows how the text had originated as a critical reflection on a great period of transition, how it dealt with the conflicting philosophies of the transitional period, how it propounded its thesis by creating new kinds of heroes such as Yudhisthira and Krsna, and how the text was reworked when it was canonized by the brahmanas.


Banaras

Banaras

Author: Rana Singh

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2009-10-02

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 1443815799

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Narrating the making of the Hindus’ most sacred and heritage city of India (Banaras) this book will serve as lead reference and insightful reading for understanding the cultural complexities, archetypal connotations, ritualscapes and vivid heritagescapes that maintain India’s pride of history and culture.


The London Jungle Book

The London Jungle Book

Author: Bhajju Shyam

Publisher: Tara Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 9788186211878

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A stunning visual travelogue by an Indian tribal artist showing London as an exotic bestiary.