The Mahabharata story is removed from its mythological elements and the whole theme and characters are placed in the historical time of 12th century B.C in India. Bhyrappa spent five years in researching the social, economic and cultural details of the period.

    In this fascinating collection, Idries Shah shares this insight with us as we read the astonishingly similar versions of tales as they developed throughout the world.

    Crowned emperor of Hindustan at the age of 13, he was mature enough to choose his friends carefully. Enemies and dangerous courtiers, on the other hand, were dispatched mercilessly. For his courage and generosity, his love of the arts and universal justice, history gave Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar an enduring label - 'Akbar the Great'.

    I have seldom coveted anything as I coveted that book." — C.S. LewisBefore portraying Wagner's "Ring," Arthur Rackham (1867–1939) had become England's leading illustrator through his interpretations of fairy and fantastic books: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Rip van Winkle, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, A Midsummer-Night's Dream. With his insight into elves, twisted oaks, and bearded heroes, Wagner was the logical step: with the "Ring," Rackham brought his talent for ethereal watercolor and line into new realms of adult mythology.This edition reproduces, in full color, all 64 watercolor illustrations from Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods (1911) and The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie (1912). The original English and American editions also contained black-and-white vignettes and tailpieces, a selection of which appear here: the original text, a dated English translation of the libretto, has been replaced by comprehensive descriptive captions and an introduction by James Spero.Rackham poured all his mature fancy into the "Ring." The gnarled Nibelung Alberich sports with teasing Rhinemaidens, fiery Loge and lordly Wotan tussle with giants and serpents. An ecstatic Brünnhilde is finally consumed on Siegfried's funeral pyre in perhaps the most successful representation of this scene anywhere, either graphically or theatrically. Wagner's Teutonic forests and caves give Rackham free reign for his brooding, haunting nature backgrounds; characters, costumes, and all the tiny details are painted with such textual accuracy and empathy that today's opera companies who wish to return to staging the "Ring" in the traditional manner turn to Rackham's paintings for guidance.The painstaking reproduction of these artworks brings Arthur Rackham's most heroic visions to the many collectors and admirers who cannot obtain the expensive out-of-print editions. With the aid of the clear captions, the Wagnerian cycle may be followed once again in its most time-honored and rich interpretation.

    This collection of ancient images of women as goddesses and heroines brings together legends, rituals, and prayers from China, Celtic Europe, South America, Africa, India, North America, Scandinavia, Japan, and elsewhere.

    The space-age sounding title was suggested over 800 years ago by "The Blind Ones and the Elephant," a story immortalized in Rumi's Mathnavi.

    A "Who's Who" of fairyland, with entries by fairy name and additional legends, songs, and anecdotes within each entry.

    Revealing the earliest sources of the traditions of Shiva and Dionysus, Alain Danielou reconstructs the fabric of our ancient relationship with creation, vividly relating practices that were observed from the Indus Valley to the coasts of Portugal at least six thousand years ago.

    Bhimrao Ambedkar was born in 1891, in an 'untouchable' caste. He was a bright student in school and encouraged by his teachers. However he had to face insults from peers because of his social background. With persistence and help from some well- meaning people, he became the first matriculate from his community. He went on to study in University of Mumbai, Columbia University in New York and the London School of Economics obtaining multiple degrees including doctorates in political science and economics. He was also admitted to British Bar as a barrister. Back in India he worked as a professor and a lawyer. While pursuing his professional career he started several publications and organizations to fight caste discrimination. He secured affirmative action for untouchables in legislatures and campaigned to open educational institutions for them. After independence, Ambedkar lead the drafting of the Indian constitution as chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee. Ever concerned with social reform, he declared himself a protestant Hindu and engaged in studies of Buddhism. Finally he embraced Buddhism and converted thousands of his followers to the faith. Babasaheb Ambedkar died in 1956, mourned by thousands. Forty years later, he was posthumously awarded the highest civilian honor of Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India).

    

    Work on Myth is in five parts. The first two analyze the characteristics of myth and the stages in the West's work on myth, including long discussions of such authors as Freud, Joyce, Cassirer, and Val�(c)ry. The latter three parts present a comprehensive account of the history of the Prometheus myth, from Hesiod and Aeschylus to Gide and Kafka. This section includes a detailed analysis of Goethe's lifelong confrontation with the Prometheus myth, which is a unique synthesis of psychobiography and history of ideas.Work on Myth is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.

    Vermeule examines the facts and fictions of Greek death, including burial and mourning, visions of the underworld, souls and ghosts, the value of heroic death in battle, the quest for immortality, the linked powers of death, sleep, and love, and more.

    A retelling of 10 fables by Aesop including The Fox and the Crow, The Crow and the Water Jug, and The Lion and the Mouse.

    This is its great fascination. Living here today are people whose culture is still in the late stone age, others who live in the iron age, and yet others belonging to the age of the atom. These are people from the east, from the west, from the north, people like the Bushmen who were here so far back that they always seem part of the sundrenched landscape.In the varied scenic setting of Southern Africa, all these people in widely different ways confronted nature, come to metaphysical terms with the wonders of the land around them, devised their own explanations, myths, legends and romances about the mystery of nature, their own beginnings, the parallel community of ghosts, demons, fairies, monsters and other creatures, good and bad, of the dream world.

    Abridged and illustrated children's version of the story of Ramayan.

    Casagrande, Ernestine Friedl, Robert E. Ritzenthaler, and Victor Barnouw himself.  The tales—which include stories of tricksters, animals, magical powers, and cannibal ice-giants—were told primarily by five members of the Lac Court Oreilles and Lac du Flambeau bands of Chippewa: John Mink, Prosper Guibord, Delia Oshogay, Tom Badger, and Julia Badger.  Wisconsin Chippewa Myths & Tales  is read as much for its fascinating stories as for its scholarship.

    This book not only provides spiritual protection to the sincere student through the many incantations, but may also enlighten the way for every serious person to probe the very possibility of immortality.

    The legend has its roots in the oral traditions of the Celtic peoples - possibly dating to Neolithic times - and is rich in Breton mythology and lore. During years of retelling, the story underwent many changes: new characters appeared, others faded into the background; plot lines were added and dropped, or were given greater or lesser significance. The story presented here is a synthesis of the numerous oral and written versions of the tale which have emerged over the centuries.This version of the work focuses on the female character, Dahut, ruler of the city of Ys and beloved daughter of King Gradlon. In defiance of the Christian moralizing of Saint Guernole, Dahut persists in delighting her people with nightly revelries and wild displays of pagan ritual, despite repeated warnings of divine wrath. Unaware that the handsome stranger she loves is the devil, Dahut gives him the keys to the dike that protects Ys from the sea. In the midst of a violent storm, the stranger vanishes and the doors to the dike open. The city is engulfed by the sea. Gradlon tries to rescue Dahut, but under their combined weights his magical horse begins to sink. To save the righteous king, Guernole strikes Dahut with his staff, and she falls into the ocean. Instantly, the storm dies and the sea becomes calm once again. But Dahut and the city of Ys have vanished beneath the waves.Illustrated with pen and ink drawings by the translator, Deirdre Cavanagh.

    From this position they were acutely receptive to the demands of their gods. The Fifth Sun represents a dramatic overview of the Aztec conception of the universe and the gods who populated it—Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent; Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror; and Huitzilopochtli, the Southern Hummingbird. Burr Cartwright Brundage explores the myths behind these and others in the Aztec pantheon in a way that illuminates both the human and the divine in Aztec life. The cult of human sacrifice is a pervasive theme in this study. It is a concept that permeated Aztec mythology and was the central preoccupation of the aggressive Aztec state. Another particularly interesting belief explored here is the “mask pool,” whereby gods could exchange regalia and, thus, identities. This vivid and eminently readable study also covers the use of hallucinogens; cannibalism; the calendars of ancient Mexico; tlachtli, the life-and-death ball game; the flower wars; divine transfiguration; and the evolution of the war god of the Mexica. A splendid introduction to Aztec religion, The Fifth Sun also contains insights for specialists in ethnohistory, mythology, and religion.