Curious about the places mentioned in the Ramayana, they set off on a journey of their own, following Rama's route from Ayodhya to the Dandakaranya forest and Panchavati (near Nashik) and on to Kishkindhya (close to Hampi), Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka.Along the way they would discover how closely the narrative of the Ramayana is linked to local folklore, and how the stories of the Ramayana and the moral framework that binds them together still speaks to the people who live in the land across which Rama, Sita and Lakshman made their journey.For the armchair traveller as well as the enthusiast for epic tales, this is a wonderful book with which to revisit the world of the Ramayana.

    More than 400 years after his death, Maharana Pratap is still revered as the supreme symbol of Rajput valour, the indomitable warrior who refused to bow to Mughal emperor Akbar as he fought alone and unaided to preserve his kingdom’s independence.In this stirring retelling of his life, replete with tales of incredible heroism and sacrifice as well as vicious intrigue and murder, renowned historian of Rajasthan Rima Hooja also examines the questions that still engage popular imagination: Who actually won the Battle of Haldighati? How did Maharana Pratap manage to elude capture by the mighty Mughal army for so long? And why did he stubbornly continue to fight on, suffering years of great hardship as he refused to negotiate peace with Akbar? Based on historical sources and contemporary court chronicles but also drawing on Mewari ballads, folklore and legends, this deeply researched yet accessibly written biography of Maharana Pratap is a compelling read.

    It’s Asura Hayagriva who’s gotten away with the sacred scriptures.Lord Vishnu offers to go to the creator’s rescue and takes the guise of Matsya, the fish. King Satyavrath lands up with a tiny gold fish when he’s offering prayers to the Sun God one morning. Is the fish all that it appears to be?How can Satyavrath help the fish?Read more to find out the reason for Lord Vishnu taking the avatar on earth as Matsya. *This is a straightforward story of the first avatar of Mahavishnu, retold in simple English just the way it’s written over the ages. The target audience is the youngsters, children, who don’t know all that much about Indian mythology. It’s also for those parents who are keen to read aloud stories to their children and are looking for suitable books on mythology.

    The Mahabharata is obsessed with the elusive notion of dharma - in essence, doing the right thing. When a hero falters, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. The epic's characters are flawed, but their incoherent experiences throw light on our familiar dilemmas. Gurcharan Das's best-selling book India Unbound examined the classical aim of artha, material well being. This, his first book in seven years, dwells on the goal of dharma, moral well being. It addresses the central problem of how to live our lives in an examined way - holding a mirror up to us and forcing us to confront the many ways in which we deceive ourselves and others. What emerges is a doctrine of dharma that we can apply to our business decisions, political strategies and interpersonal relationships - in effect, to life itself.

    A hundred and forty years hence, Srividya Natarajan and Aparajita Ninan breathe fresh life into Phule’s rather graphic imagination, weaving in the story of Savitribai, Jotiba’s partner in his struggles.In today’s climate of intolerance, here’s a manifesto of resistance.‘Reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Brings smack into the foreground something unequivocally evil’—Hindustan Times

    Aphrodite, the Greek goddess whose love overcame mortality. Mazu, the Chinese deity who safely guides travelers home. Lakshmi, the Hindu provider of fortune and prosperity. These powerful deities and many more are celebrated in gorgeous artwork and enlightening essays that explore the feminine divine and encourage readers to empower themselves. Ann Shen's signature watercolors make Legendary Ladies a unique, gift-worthy homage to the mighty women within.

    The Devas or Gods of the Vedic age were eternal enemies of the Asuras or Demonic races. How could the son of the preceptor of the Gods possibly hope to find love and happiness with the daughter of the preceptor of the Demons? Yet love flowers in the unlikeliest places and so Kacha and Devayani began to dream the impossible dream. Their love was doomed to end tragically but the how and wherefore of the tragedy is what makes their story so unforgettable. But the story doesn’t end there. Instead, it segues (after a gap of a few years) into another: the love triangle of Devayani, her former friend Sharmishtha, and the man they both loved, Yayati. After a quarrel with her friend Sharmishtha, Devayani used her father’s influence and power to force her friend Sharmishtha to live out the rest of her life as Devayani’s personal maidservant. One day, Devayani found herself trapped at the bottom of a well deep in the forest. Soon after, a stranger wandering through the forest, chanced across her.. On learning that he was Yayati, king of a powerful nation, she blackmailed him into a relationship. But unknown to Devayani, Yayati fell in love with Sharmishtha, resulting in a love triangle that presages the plots of countless present-day soap operas. Read on to see how Ashok’s storytelling shines brilliant light upon this gem pried loose from the mosaic of his own Mahabharata Series.

    As Usas, the enchanting goddess of the dawn, she is loved passionately and hated fiercely, leading to a horrific tragedy. As Durga, the invincible warrior, she defeats the savage Mahishasura, whom none of the male gods could vanquish. As Kali, the fearsome dark goddess, she delights in chaos. Yet she is also Shakti, beloved of all, who, when united with Shiva, restores balance to the universe.In this captivating narrative, explore the contrasting facets of the sacred feminine; experience her awesome power, forged on the flames of love and hate; and watch her teach the male-dominated pantheon a lesson in compassion. Witty, engaging and thought-provoking, Shakti: The Feminine Divine will force readers to re-evaluate everything they know about the gods and goddesses and inspire all to embrace the Shakti within.One of the few explorations of the story of the Mother Goddess, Shakti Retold in modern language, this book humanizes the godsWitty and laced with sarcasm, it is a refreshing change from the heavy language of mythological textsDraws analogies with the modern-day situation of women and contains a powerful message of woman empowerment

    Can they summon their warriors and get them ready before it's too late?On the other side of the tumultuous country, young Sakthi, blissfully unaware about the danger that looms over the world, goes about her normal day of slaying demons in the quaint little village of Meghavazhi, and proving to her tribe that she stands leagues above the rest of her people – a feat quite unique, not only to her tribe, but to the rest of the waiting world. Her whole world, however, comes crumbling down on her when she unwittingly finds herself completing the triad, the three tasks which were set forth to identify her as one of the Chosen Hexad.Fear intermingled with the amorous charms of the wonderful land of Kumari Kandam brings forth a stimulating new experience for Sakthi as she gets completely taken in by the people, magic, and wealth of new changes that she has to face. Can she, a young innocent from an obscure village, navigate through the trials and tribunals to earn her place as a worthy member of the Chosen Hexad and stand with the Kings to face the wrath of the Greater Evil? What astounding adventures await the brave princess of Meghavazhi?

    Packed with 50 lists and 500+ entries, it is a multiplex of pointless Bollywood gyaan. Separated in eight logicless sections and with out a contents page (or index), it is a book for dipping into and zipping through. Remember your favourite Bollywood film fast, actionpacked, mad, packed with colourful characters and a little bit of everything? Well, they made this book out of it. About the AuthorDiptakirti Chaudhuri has been a salesman for more than twelve years now having sold soaps, soft drinks, oils and newspapers all over India. His obsessive love for movies is a hereditary disease, which was nurtured during his engineering and MBA college days. When not watching or reading about mov ies, he writes about them on his blog, Calcutta Chro mosome (http://diptakirti.blogspot.com) or discusses them on Twitter (@diptakirti).He has published a book for children on the 2011 cricket World Cup. This is his second book.He lives in Gurgaon with his wife, a son and a daughter. None of them shares his obsessive love for the movies. Yet.

    A few years later, he returns to Banaras to write that book.Plunging into its timeless aura, he roams its ghats and galis, sails through the cool breeze of the Ganga, walks through the heat of funeral pyres. One moment he is observing a sadhu show off his penile strength, in the next he is on a boat with a young woman who has been prophesied to marry seven times; one moment he is in conversation with the celebrated writer Kashinath Singh, who is an atheist, and in the next he is having tea with a globe- trotting priest and a god-fearing doctor ... Ghosh finds a story in every bend as he engages with quintessential Banarasis—their paan-stuffed mouths spouting expletives and wisdom with equal flair—and discovers why they are among the happiest people on earth. Then one evening at Manikarnika, as he emerges from a temple, wearing ash from the cremation ground on his forehead, he finds a bit of Banaras in himself. Aimless in Banaras is not only a sensuous portrait of India’s holiest city but also a meditation on life—and death.

    While some of them form part of the main story and are well known, there are some hidden gems scattered throughout the epic that make for insightful reading. This book contains fifty-one of these hidden gems, including the tales of: - Barbarik- Uttanka- Kartikeya- The Battle between Krishna and Arjuna- The Blinding of ShukracharyaAnd many more. Whether you're a casual reader or a die-hard fan of the Mahabharata, you will find in here tales that will delight and amaze you.

    You’re supposed to have faith.Not a lot is going right for Taran Sharma. First, he stole his annoying brother’s necklace and ran off into the night. Then, his family got taken hostage by spindly creatures of the dead. And to top it all, he’s just been charged with a mission by Lord Ganesha himself! Now, in order to rescue his family from the hands of the preta, he has to undertake a journey more fantastical than he can begin to comprehend.As Taran embarks on an epic voyage that may lead to disastrous consequence, he realizes that having faith, especially in himself, might be harder than he was led to believe.Dive into this riveting adventure to the Veiled Lands, replete with evil Naga armies, mythical creatures and a supervillain who will stop at nothing to reach the elusive Gateway of Moksha.

    Such arguments routinely target Swami Vivekananda, a key interlocutor who shattered many deeply rooted prejudices against Indian civilization. They accuse him of having camouflaged various alleged contradictions within traditional Hinduism and charge him with having appropriated the principles of Western religion to manufacture a coherent and unified worldview and set of practices known today as Hinduism. Indras Net: Defending Hinduisms Philosophical Unity provides a foundation for theories that slander contemporary Hinduism as illegitimate, ascribing sinister motives to its existence and characterizing its fabric as oppressive. Rajiv Malhotra offers a detailed, systematic rejoinder to such views and articulates the multidimensional, holographic understanding of reality that grounds Hindu dharma. He also argues that Vivekanandas creative interpretations of Hindu dharma informed and influenced many Western intellectual movements of the post-modern era. Indeed, as he cites with many insightful examples, appropriations from Hinduism have provided a foundation for cutting-edge discoveries in several fields, including cognitive science and neuroscience.

    Yet the word 'Hindu' is of foreign 18th-century origin. Hinduism is defined as a polytheistic religion, but Mahatma Gandhi famously declared that one can be a Hindu without believing in any god. Hinduism appears to accommodate endless contradictions. It is a religion at least as much of myth as of history - it has no historical founder, no single authoritative book, and few central doctrines." Introducing Hinduism offers a guide to this extraordinarily diverse faith. It untangles the complexities of Hinduism's gods and goddesses, its caste system and its views on sex, everyday life and asceticism. Why do Hindus revere the cow? Must Hindus be vegetarian? Introducing Hinduism explores the links with and differences from Buddhism, Jainism and other religions, and describes the resurgence of Hindu extremism, the phenomenon of Bollywood and the overseas Hindu diaspora.