‘Do you then see the bird?’ There was a sense of rising excitement in Drona’s voice. ‘No! I can simply see the eye of the bird, nothing else,’ responded Arjuna without taking his eyes off the target. ‘Now, shoot!’ Drona commanded in a shrill voice. Everyone who stood there saw Arjuna’s arrow whizz past and heard a sharp click. The arrow was stuck in the middle of the bird’s eye. That day, a legend was born. Arjuna was declared a shreshtha, a supreme human talent. Arjuna’s most powerful weapon was not his Gandiva. His power came from ekagrata—his one-pointed concentration. Arjuna re-defined the limits of human achievement. He conquered his enemies with the sword of clarity and the shield of discrimination. In this creative re-imagining of the story of Arjuna, Debashis Chatterjee mines the Mahabharata and discovers nine precious lessons that will enable any one of us to become heroes in our own lives. Whether it is gaining mastery over life, harnessing our will power, or prioritising action choices—these life-lessons from that most charismatic of Pandavas can truly put each one of us on the hero-path. A magical blend of mythology and management, this book is worth reading and re-reading, many times over.

    Written immediately after the partition of the Indian subcontinent, the play is a profound meditation on the politics of violence and aggressive selfhood. The moral burden of the play is that every act of violence inevitably debases society as a whole. Alok Bhalla's translation captures the essential tension between the nightmare of self-enchantment, which the story of the Kauravas represents, and the ever-present possibility of finding a way out of the cycle of revenge into a redemptive ethicality.

    The era of peace marked by the parama dharma, a rigorous code that forbids the spilling of blood, seems about to end. A new and deadly race of beings that destroy and devour anything that lives is gathering outside Kishkindha’s northern frontiers, and invasion is imminent. Hanuman, meanwhile, has been exiled by the intrigues of his aunt, the empress Riksharaja, in order to make way for Vali. Only his cousin Sugreeva, and wise guru Vishwamitra, can help Hanuman as his destiny takes him onward to face himself and a world no one in Kishkindha has known about until now.‘The Kishkindha Chronicles’ re-imagines the ancient prehistory of India from a startlingly new perspective that will make us rethink what it means to be human and animal. Saraswati’s Intelligence is the first book in the trilogy.

    Born out of the sacred fire, Draupadi is no ordinary woman, and her destiny cannot be to walk the beaten path. Witnessing estrangement and betrayal within her own family makes her perceptive and intuitive beyond her years. Complicated marital relationships, a meteoric rise and a fateful loss, humiliation unheard of and a pledge of revenge, all culminating in a bloody war—her ordeal seemed never-ending. Yet she stands up to it all—never succumbing, never breaking. One of the most unforgettable characters of the Mahabharata, Draupadi shows what a woman is capable of. Told with great sensitivity and passion, this book brings alive a character of epic proportions that resonates with every reader across space and time.

    The Golden Bough" describes our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals and festivals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple, this monumental survey shows that savage man was enmeshed in a tangle of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

    Nowhere is his glorious poetic and pictorial legacy more evident than in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, which many consider his most inspired and original work.The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is both a humorous satire on religion and morality and a work that concisely expresses Blake's essential wisdom and philosophy, much of it revealed in the 70 aphorisms of his "Proverbs of Hell." This beautiful edition, reproduced from a rare facsimile, invites readers to enjoy the rich character of Blake's own hand-printed text along with his deeply stirring illustrations, reproduced on 27 full-color plates. A typeset transcription of the text is included.

    The death shocks the students at the school and baffles the police.Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger’s reappearance after 5000 years strikes fear into the hearts of powerful members of a secret society, called the Sangha. Who is he and what is he after?What secrets are Arjun’s uncle and mother hiding and why do they inexplicably decide to leave town for an unknown destination?What is The Pataal Prophecy, that must be decoded even as the world hurtles towards a fate that may doom humanity?In a race against time, Arjun and Maya must join forces with the Sangha to face an ageless and terrible enemy from the depths of Pataal. But can they overcome an ancient power that is out to wreak vengeance?

    Editorial reviews: "Swami Bhaskarananda has written a compact, yet amazingly comprehensive treatment of the essentials of the Hindu view of life, emphasizing the very things one wishes most to know about when first approaching this complicated, and many-sided subject. While there is no lack of books on Hinduism, many are ill-suited to beginners because they do not adequately explain basic concepts. Swamiji's stlye is remarkable for its directness and lucidity, fresh and devoid of cliches to an extent that is truly rare nowadays." Walter Maurer, Professor of Sanskrit, University of Hawaii. "While I have taught an introductory Asian Religions course for some twenty years, I have never been able to find such a helpful work. I shall recommend it enthusiastically for use by our college students." Rev James Roberts, Catholic priest and professor, Religious Studies, Vancouver.

    One should not be surprised, I suppose, that it has remained vital, and immediate, for that is the nature of story. And this is particularly true of the oral tradition, which exists in a dimension of timelessness. I was first told these stories by my father when I was a child. I do not know how long they had existed before I heard them. They seem to proceed from a place of origin as old as the earth."The stories in The Way to Rainy Mountain are told in three voices. The first voice is the voice of my father, the ancestral voice, and the voice of the Kiowa oral tradition. The second is the voice of historical commentary. And the third is that of personal reminiscence, my own voice. There is a turning and returning of myth, history, and memoir throughout, a narrative wheel that is as sacred as language itself." —From the new Preface

    Wonder at Medusa's potent venom, Circe's fierce sorcery and Athena rising up over Olympus, as Nikita Gill majestically explores the untold stories of the life bringers, warriors, creators, survivors and destroyers that shook the world - the great Greek Goddesses.Vividly re-imagined and beautifully illustrated, step into an ancient world transformed by modern feminist magic.'I watch Girl become Goddessand the metamorphosis is moremagnificent than anythingI have ever known.'

    Ironically, it also became the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism.Even as Arundhati Roy began to ask what lay between these two calls for Freedom—a chasm or a bridge?—the streets fell silent. Not only in India, but all over the world. The coronavirus brought with it another, more terrible understanding of Azadi, making a nonsense of international borders, incarcerating whole populations, and bringing the modern world to a halt like nothing else ever could.In this series of electrifying essays, Arundhati Roy challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism.The essays include meditations on language, public as well as private, and on the role of fiction and alternative imaginations in these disturbing times.The pandemic, she says, is a portal between one world and another. For all the illness and devastation it has left in its wake, it is an invitation to the human race, an opportunity, to imagine another world.

    Set against the backdrop of the Mahabharata, Desai attempts to make readers aware that although winning is usually the goal in every war, one should also be ready to face defeat.Through Radheya, readers will learn about Karna and the circumstances which earned him a memorable place in the Mahabharata. From early on, Karna was deprived of familial love. Throughout the course of his life, he suffered at the hands of others. He also felt discarded by his own mother Kunti and was also ridiculed by many because he was born in a lower class. Since Karna’s foundation years were so tumultuous, his immense strength was reduced and he often felt lonely.Nevertheless, through Radheya readers can visualize the development of Karna’s individuality and how he came to earn the title of fearless warrior. This novel is essentially a written tribute to the hero Karna who fought against his own family members while remaining loyal to his friend. Through Karna’s decisions and actions, Desai brings to life the impending dualities of life such as victory and defeat, and doing what is expected versus doing what is right. Through Karna, Desai has tried to universalize the “karma katha”.

    I shall release you -SAKUNTALA When?KING When?When, like a bee, I kiss the bud of your unbruised lipAnd flood my thirsting mouth with nectar.Kalidasa's play about the love of King Dusyanta and Sakuntala, a hermitage girl, their separation by a curse, and eventual reunion, is the supreme work of Sanskrit drama by its greatest poet and playwright (c.4th century CE). Overwhelmingly erotic in tone, in peformance The Recognition of Sakuntala aimed to produce an experience of aesthetic rapture in the audience, akin to certain types of mystical experience.The pioneering English translation of Sakuntala in 1789 caused a sensation among European composers and writers (including Goethe), and it continues to be performed around the world. This vibrant new verse translation includes the famous version of the story from the Mahabharata, a poetic and dramatic text in its own right and a likely source for Kalidasa. The introduction discusses the play in the aesthetic and cultural context of ancient India.

    It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and Plato's Republic. The word gnosis is defined as "the immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence.--P. Randall Cohan

    "Conveys a world that is spiritual, foreign, and entirely accessible."--Vanity Fair. Reading tour.