Beginning with a few aniconic symbols, like footprints, the Bo tree or stupas, in the pre-christian Indian art, Buddhism, over the centuries, came to evolve a be-wildering array of deities in ever-increasing number of pantheons. Interestingly, in Buddhism today, there are perhaps as many pantheons as there are countries, or internal regions or sects within them. Chou Fo P u-sa sheng Hsiang Tsan, in focus here, is one of these many Buddhist pantheons and acknowledgedly the culmination of Lamaist art . Authored by Rol. pahi.rdo.rje, alias Lalitavajra, (1717-1786): an imperial preceptor of Emperor Ch ien-lung (1736-1795), it is a rare set of 360 wood-cuts/xylographs, representing varying forms and manifestations of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, tantric and tutelary deities, arhats, sages, teachers, dharmapalas and protective divinities. It is also accompanied by 360 `eulogies' in Chinese. Two internationally distinguished scholars here team up to present afresh the Chou Fo p u-sa Sheng Hsiang Tsan, aptly called a unique pantheon . Drawing together all the 360 wood-cut images in their vividly enlarged/enhanced versions without compromising their aesthetic integrity, the book not only captures their subtle iconic devices, but spells out as well, in meticulous detail, all their iconic attributes, like body postures, faces, arms/hands, mudras, asanas, vahanas, companions, and whether clam or wrathful. The book also incorporates the names of each deity/deity-form in Sanskrit, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Chinese. Unveiling, for the first time, the images of a veritably unique pantheon, in their enlarged format, and their accompanying Chinese eulogies, the book is bound to fascinate anyone concerned with Buddhist art and iconography.

The Tibetan Iconography of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Other Deities: A Unique Pantheon

Arts & Photography

Lokesh Chandra & Fredrick W. Bunce

Religious

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Ayodhya ka itihasa evam puratattva- Rgveda kala se aba taka (Hindi Edition) [Hardcover] [Dec 31, 2001] Thakur Prasad Verma and S.P. Gupta

Reference

Thakur Prasad Verma, S.P. Gupta

Foreign Language Study & Reference

The Indian perspective has always been holistic and all-inclusive: thought and activity in different fields, at different levels, have been interlinked to produce what has been timeless. Indian arts is a classic example of such amalgamation: it interlinks aspects of art, philosophy, mythology, religion, and mysticism. This book is an attempt to unravel such links with specific reference to the Kathaka dance form. Dr. Ranjana Srivastava explores the roots of Kathaka dance form to reveal its sublime, philosophic, esoteric and divine dimensions. Focussing on inter-relationships, she unfolds how dance embraces other disciplines of Yoga - Tantra, Mantra and Yantra. She discusses the concept of Tantra and its approximation and application to the dance form - the way Kathaka absorbed the sacred knowledge within its form. She deals with the importance and aspects of sound in the Hindu religious scheme and its manifestation in Kathaka. Explaining the significance of the yantra as a diagrammatic/geometric representation and the way it functions, she analyses the techniques of Kathaka which create distinct yantra formations both in the physical movements of the dancer in the surrounding space as well as on the dancing floor. The study abounds in extensive notes to explain numerous terms and concepts and has references to noted works and authors on the subject. The book will be useful to experts and students of Indian art and, in particular, dance and will interest general people keen to know more about India's art traditions.

Tantra Mantra Yantra in Dance

Ranjana Srivastava

Humor & Entertainment

An intellegent study of a complete, explicit and comprehensive grammar of both spoken and textual (compositional) Sanskrit, exploring the characteristics of the Indian intellectual tradition, its impact on literature and philosophy and its present utilization for the study of knowledge representation in computer sciences. Leonard Bloomfield described Panini s Ashtadhyayi (7th century bc) as one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence. It is a complete, explicit and comprehensive grammar of both spoken and textual (compositional) Sanskrit. Most of the reputed and renowned Indian and foreign universities running courses on Indian knowledge systems, study it for its principles of analysis, organization and description. What is of great interest is the theoretical framework that informs this grammar, a framework that has remarkable power to describe human languages, particularly the Indian languages. Panini is the watershed in the linguistic history of India. Before Panini, there was extensive work in phonetics, in morphology and lexicon (in the patha tradition) and in nirvacana (etymology). There is evidence also of the existence of several schools of grammar. In what is characteristic of the Indian intellectual traditions, Panini distilled the available grammatical knowledge and put it in 32000 syllables as if, it has been said, an ocean has been accommodated in a cow s hoof-mark. After Panini, a whole tradition developed and produced rich works by Patanjali, Candrakirti, Jainendra, Bhartrihari, Bhojraja, Hemacandracarya, Bhattoji Dikshita, Nagesha Bhatta and many others. It also inspired work in literature and philosophy and has left its mark on the entire intellectual tradition. In the modern period, there is a spread of Ashtadhyayi studies round the globe and it has proved to be of great interest for the study of knowledge representation in the departments of system sciences. A comprehensive study of the different dimensions of this wonderful grammar enlarges and alters the conceptual horizons of young minds and of all those who care to be associated with the Indian grammatical systems. This book is a record of that adventure.

Dimensions of Panini Grammar

Kapil Kapoor

Inscriptions are the most authentic and vital source for reconstructing the history of India. Epigraphs were composed in Sanskrit in various parts of India and the ancient Tamil country was no exception to this practice. Among the thousands of epigraphs found all over Tamil Nadu, a large number are composed in chaste Sanskrit and these as well as the Sanskrit portions of the bi-lingual copper-plate records serve as an important source of data about the conditions which existed in the ancient Tamil country. These Sanskrit inscriptions are also excellent pieces of prose and poetry and reveal the high standard which this language had attained in the ancient past in the Tamil country. This is a comprehensive and interesting work dealing with the Sanskrit inscriptions of ancient Tamil Nadu belonging to the period of the Pallavas, Pandyas and Colas and their vassals. It focuses attention on aspects of civil and military administration, social and economic life, education, literature and also the religious and cultural conditions of those ages. These inscriptions serve to highlight the cultural richness which Tamil Nadu enjoyed specially under the Pallavas, Pandyas and Colas. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of epigraphy and to the history of Tamil Nadu.

History and Culture of Tamil Nadu: v. 1 (Up to c. AD 1310)

Politics & Social Sciences

Chitra Madhavan

Archaeology

Srimad Bhagavad Gita

Laxmi Narayana Gupt

Warli painting has its own place in adivasi art of India. It takes its name from the Warli tribes of Maharashtra. It seems their roots are in the rock shelters of ancestors found in Bhimbhedka and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh. Warli paintings are pointers -- they fulfil a purpose. Their presence in the hut is auspicious and is said to promote fertility, avert disease, propitiate the dead, etc. They show rituals at birth, marriage, a life full of dance and music, livelihood, connectivity with death and life after death. Artists express a kind of fulfilment they experience that is in harmony with nature and their gods and goddesses. Warli art is simple yet rich. The material used for painting is simple, themes contained therein, philosophy of existence and even life beyond death, all are brought forth in a most elementary format. Many specimens of Warli art are contained in this book. The paintings are expressive with profound truths and project all that one needs to know how to live a happy life. Austere brown wall surface of huts displaying tribal designs with typical rock art motifs make Warli art different from other tribal paintings of India. This book is a modest compilation of Warli art that comes through an unbroken tradition of thousands of years. But Warli art traditions are gradually vanishing. Money elsewhere is pulling artists away from their traditional occupation. Something has to be done by society to create conditions for them, to not get weaned away by lure of commercial avenues. This book is a small effort to save this art from falling off from the pathway of time continuum.

Unique Art of Warli Paintings

Sudha Satyawadi

Can Indian civilization be compared to a thousand-branched tree? What have been its outstanding achievements and its impact on the world? These are some of the questions this book asks. But it also deals with issues confronting more and more Indians caught in an identity crisis: What does it mean to be Indian? What is specific to the worldview developed by Indian culture? How has it dialogued with other cultures? Is it built on durable foundations, or is it little more than colourful religiosity and quaint but outdated customs? And what are the meaning and application of secularism and tolerance in the Indian context? The French-born author, who has been living in India for 33 years, argues that Indian culture is not some exotic relic of the past, but a dynamic force that still has a role to play in defining India's identity and cohesion, and in proposing solutions to today's global challenges. Written in a crisp and engaging style, this thought-provoking volume challenges received ideas on India's culture and invites us to think afresh.

Indian Culture and India's Future

History

Michel Danino

Asia

Dhvani and Structuralist Poetics: Multicultural Studies of Creation of Meaning in Poetry

Bhavatosh Indraguru & Vikalp Parashar

Philosophy

India's wisdom, one may say, attained its maturity in the Vedanta -- the end or culmination of veda (knowledge). Vedanta may be seen as the finest fruit on the tree of India's wisdom, for it brings the seeker that ultimate knowledge that ushers in the gift of self-fulfilment (ananda). Over the centuries, brilliant saint-scholars like Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva have interpreted the Vedanta in different ways. The philosopher-poet Narayana Guru belongs to this class of noted exponents of the Vedanta. And his Vedanta Sutras is a masterpiece in his attempt to restate the original Upanishadic teaching of non-dual Reality -- his most succinct expression of that message. This book presents these sutras along with a highly-perceptive commentary that elucidates the Guru's interpretation of the Vedantic concept in a brilliant style.  Narayana Guru's Vedanta Sutras reveal the essential message of the Vedanta in 24 beautifully-fluent sutras. His simple and direct revaluation and restatement of the Vedanta, in general, has been found to be comprehensive and contemplative in its insight, reconciling the superficial disagreements of the Vedantic schools and restoring the pristine vision of the Upanishadic sages. In this scientific age, his work has often been acclaimed for its relevance. His Vedanta Sutras, compact yet profound in manner, is yet another example of this.  The thoroughly-engrossing commentary of Swami Muni Narayana Prasad is a unique effort. Its hallmark is his clear avoidance of exegesis with greater reliance on his personal conviction. Swami Muni Narayana Prasad places Narayana Guru on par with the sutrakaras like Badarayana, Jaimini, Gautama and Kanada with this beautiful elucidation.

The Vedanta Sutras of Narayana Guru: With an English Translation of the Original Sanskrit and Commentary

Muni Narayana Prasad

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