Mythology and You: Classical Mythology and Its Relevance in Today's World, Student Edition


Donna Rosenberg - 1981
    These tales reveal many universal truths about historical human behavior and have great relevance in today's world.

ಉತ್ತರಕಾಂಡ | Uttarakaanda


S.L. Bhyrappa - 2017
    This is the second time that Mr. Bhyrappa is tackling an epic. Forty years ago, he wrote ‘Parva’, a retelling of the Mahabharata. Parva is in the form of personal reflections of some of the principal characters of the epic.

Ravana: Roar of the Demon King


Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia - 2011
    No less than a god to his own people, he is the sheer embodiment of evil to his enemies. This arrogant demon brooks no hindrance to snatching his heart's desire, and his terror seems unstoppable to gods and humans alike. But he makes a mistake when he abducts the wife of Lord Rama, the exiled divine ruler of Ayodhya.Ravana is a story of a demon, who dared to challenge the gods, and almost got away with it. Ravana's tale is one that will incite awe and fear simultaneously. Whose side was this enigma on, good or evil? The obvious answer seems to be but one: his own. Or was he really? This graphic novel seeks to explore that question, and others.

The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita


Ashṭāvakra - 1953
    Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.

The Little Light (The Guardians of the Lore #1)


Dipa Sanatani - 2019
    But they’re going to have to put their differences aside to help the Little Light - a wise soul, imbued with insight and curiosity - prepare for its birth on Planet Earth, where it has a great and far-reaching destiny... “A part of the Sun will always shine inside the Little Light, come what may. Life can be full of pain, suffering and strife, but this spark will always remain untouched because it belongs to the source of all life on earth. Nothing and no one can take it away because it is a gift from the father to all his children. It can never be tarnished or spoilt. It exists and will continue to burn bright till the death of the physical body.” In her debut novel The Little Light, Dipa Sanatani takes the reader on a voyage of awakening and discovery, ideal for lovers of mythology, spirituality, folklore and fairy tales. On the eve of its birth, The Little Light finds itself in the topsy-turvy world of the Planet Party, hosted in the Cosmic Womb. Here, anything is possible, and anything could happen… and the Little Light must do all it can to listen, learn, and ready itself for the path which will lead it to its destiny on earth. Along the way the Little Light meets Mercury, who bristles at being constantly overshadowed (literally!) by his father, The Sun, a flamboyant figure who wears a gold ring on every finger and bright yellow loafers. As the rest of the Celestial Beings gather, they have to contend with Havah and Dag, the Guardians of the Lore, who know that the Little Light will soon be a tiny baby in a cold, hard world where it will have to struggle for its survival. Alongside the Little Light, we learn there is more to explore in the heavens and on this earth than anybody could ever imagine possible. Endless lives, perpetual cycles of death and rebirth, infinite possibilities for love, happiness, renewal, enlightenment and wisdom… it’s all out there, waiting to be discovered, and waiting to make a change deep within us all.

The Kaunteyas


Madhavi S. Mahadevan - 2016
    At fourteen she is pressed into the service of the temperamental sage Durvasa who grants her a boon. Its first use, however, only brings her adversity and a shameful secret. With marriage to Pandu, Kunti dreams of a better future, but a curse makes him leave the throne of Hastinapur to his sibling, the blind Dhritarashtra, and retreat to the forest. The births of the five Pandavas rekindle Kunti’s hopes of returning to Hastinapur, but these are destroyed once again when Pandu dies suddenly. Kunti journeys to the kingdom, no longer its queen but a widow, a dependant as are her sons. She must now take up the task of guiding them through the long struggle to get their inheritance, a struggle made harder by the discovery that the illegitimate child she had abandoned long ago is alive and a sworn enemy of the Pandavas. Recasting the Mahabharata from the viewpoint of Kunti, The Kaunteyas replaces the idealized mother figure with a fully three-dimensional woman, providing new insights into the epic.

Saraswati's Intelligence


Vamsee Juluri - 2017
    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.

Chanakya Neeti


R.P. Jain - 2013
    He managed the first Maurya emperor Chandragupta’s rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent.Chanakya is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian poltical treatise called Arthasastra. As such, he is considered as the pioneer of the field of economics and political science in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to Classical Economics.Chanakya Neeti is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya’s deep study of the Indian way of life. Chanakya also developed Neeti-Sutras (aphorisms—pithy sentences) that tell people how they should behave. Of these well-known 455 sutras, about 216 refer to rajaneeti (the do,s and don’ts of running a kingdom). Apparently, Chanakya used these sutras to groom Chandragupta and other selected disciples in the art of ruling a kingdom.SOME IMPORTANT SUTRAS  In the common man’s affluence and happiness is the affluence and happiness of the king. In their welfare is the king’s welfare.  The king’s mission should be to constantly make efforts for the welfare of his subjects. It is his duty to maintain orderly administration.  Self-dependent economy is the best economy; it should not be entirely dependent on exports.  Everyone in the society should be equal with equal opportunities.  It is necessary to have an effective land management policy for the development of the resources.  The State should keep a constant watch on the agricultural development.  The law of the land should be uniform for everyone.  The security of its residents should be a priority for the government.

Lies Come True


Emerald O'Brien - 2015
    Ten years later... The body of a young woman is discovered along the path of a park in the same town. The killer is cunning and ruthless, but even the best killers make mistakes. Fiona Wolfe, the second woman to be attacked, survives and reveals a potential link between the current killer and the attack on Avery Hart. Noah Cotter, an ambitious new inspector, becomes drawn to the case when his curiosity combines with his attraction to Avery. The dangerous search for truth appears to be muddied with each shocking secret brought to light, as Avery, Fiona, and Noah realize that when someone is deceived for too long, sometimes... Lies Come True*Free with sign up to Emerald O'Brien's newsletter http://eepurl.com/4YHaX

Being Hindu: Old Faith, New World and You


Hindol Sengupta - 2015
    But what does all that mean to the modern Hindu today? Why do Hindus call themselves so? Is it merely because their parents were Hindus? In what way does the faith speak to those who profess to follow it? What does Hinduism mean to the everyday-practicing or sometimes-accessing ordinary Hindu? Away from the raucous debate around religions, this is the journey of a common Hindu—an attempt to understand why, for so many Hindus, their faith is one of the most powerful arguments for plurality, for unity in diversity, and even more than the omnipresent power of God, the sublime courage and conviction of man. Being Hindu is the exploration of Hinduism in a way you have never seen before—almost through your own eyes.

The Shadow Prince


Stacey O'Neale - 2014
    Discover a world of elemental powers, courage, duty, sacrifice, forbidden romance and a war for the very elements of life. Sixteen-year-old Rowan is an elemental prince. Banished to the mortal world, he doubts he will ever return to Avalon and claim the fire court throne. Until he receives a challenge from his estranged mother. If he slays Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental, princess of the air court, she will abdicate her throne. Is he capable of completing such a heinous task? And what price will he pay if he refuses? Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas. "Filled with betrayal and intrigue, The Shadow Prince is a dark and twisty novella from an exciting new author!" Katee Robert, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism


Shashi Tharoor - 2019
    Although there are hundreds of books on Hinduism, there are only a few which provide a lucid, accessible, yet deeply layered account of the religion’s numerous belief systems, schools of thought, sects, tenets, scriptures, deities, rituals, customs, festivals and philosophies. This book is one of them. In the tradition of classics of the genre like K. M. Sen’s Hinduism and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s The Hindu View of Life, this book captures the essence of Hinduism with brevity, insight and an enviable grasp of the myriad layers and intricacies of one of the world’s greatest religions. It is a book that is especially timely given the rather controversial role that religion has played in countries around the world. The author tells us why Hinduism is a religion that is well-suited to the needs of the world today: ‘In the twenty-first century, Hinduism has many of the attributes of a universal religion—a religion that is personal and individualistic, privileges the individual and does not subordinate one to a collectivity; a religion that grants and respects complete freedom to the believer to find his or her own answers to the true meaning of life; a religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice, even in regard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places great emphasis on one’s mind, and values one’s capacity for reflection, intellectual enquiry, and self-study; a religion that distances itself from dogma and holy writ, that is minimally prescriptive and yet offers an abundance of options, spiritual and philosophical texts and social and cultural practices to choose from. In a world where resistance to authority is growing, Hinduism imposes no authorities; in a world of networked individuals, Hinduism proposes no institutional hierarchies; in a world of open-source information-sharing, Hinduism accepts all paths as equally valid; in a world of rapid transformations and accelerating change, Hinduism is adaptable and flexible, which is why it has survived for nearly 4,000 years.The text of The Hindu Way is embellished with over a hundred photographs and illustrations, many of them in colour, on various aspects of the religion. Based on Dr. Tharoor’s extensive writing on the subject, including the bestselling Why I Am a Hindu, this book gives the reader an unrivaled understanding of Hinduism.

The Death of King Arthur


Thomas Malory - 1995
    All the titles are extracts from "Penguin Classics" titles.Sir Thomas Malory was a knight and estate owner in the mid 15th century, who spent many years in prison for political crimes as well as robbery. He wrote Le Morte d’Arthur, the first great English prose epic, while imprisoned in Nwgate. The epic was published in 1485 by William Caxton, the first English printer. Malory is believed to have died in 1471.

The Cypher


Julian Rosado-Machain - 2011
    A glimpse into a multinational company that is in reality the oldest of secret societies, one that spans close to seven thousand years of existence, weaving in and out of history, guiding and protecting humanity from creatures and forces that most of us believe are only mythology and fairy tales.The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn't be aware of and dangers he shouldn't face, but that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity's future.The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology, but every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we've driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future.

The Life of Marpa the Translator: Seeing Accomplishes All


Tsangnyön Heruka
    In the West, Marpa is best known through his teacher, the Indian yogin Nâropa, and through his closest disciple, Milarepa. This lucid and moving translation of a text composed by the author of The Life of Milarepa and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa documents the fascinating life of Marpa, who, unlike many other Tibetan masters, was a layman, a skillful businessman who raised a family while training his disciples. As a youth, Marpa was inspired to travel to India to study the Buddhist teachings, for at that time in Tibet, Buddhism has waned considerably through ruthless suppression by an evil king. The author paints a vivid picture of Marpa's three journeys to India: precarious mountain passes, desolate plains teeming with bandits, greedy customs-tax collectors. Marpa endured many hardships, but nothing to compare with the trials that ensued with his guru Nâropa and other teachers. Yet Marpa succeeded in mastering the tantric teachings, translating and bringing them to Tibet, and establishing the Practice Lineage of the Kagyüs, which continues to this day.