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Mahagatha-100 Tales from the Puranas
The Puranas of Hinduism are a universe of wisdom, embodying a fundamental quest for answers that makes them forever relevant. Now, for the first time, 100 of the greatest mythological tales from these ancient texts have been handpicked and compiled into an epic illustrated edition. Besides popular legends of devas, asuras, sages and kings, Satyarth Nayak has dug up lesser-known stories, like the one where Vishnu is beheaded or where Saraswati curses Lakshmi or where Harishchandra tricks Varuna. Nayak also recounts these 100 tales in a unique chronological format, beginning with Creation in Satya Yuga and ending with the advent of Kali Yuga. Using Puranic markers, he constructs a narrative that travels through the four yugas, offering continuous and organic action. In such a reading, it is revealed that these stories are not isolated events but linked to each other in the grand scheme of things. That every occurrence has a past and a future. A cause and effect. An interconnected cycle of karma and karma-phal. Delving into the minds of gods, demons and humans alike, Mahagatha seeks a deeper understanding of their motivations. The timelessness of their impulses speaks across the aeons to readers of today. Written in lively prose with charming illustrations, these 100 tales will entertain and enlighten, and make you connect the dots of Hindu mythology like never before.
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Mahagatha Puranatil 100 Katha (महागाथा पुराणातील १
हिंदू धर्मामधील पुराणांमध्ये विश्वामधील ज्ञानभंडार सामावलं आहे. सातत्याने उत्तरं शोधणाऱ्यांसाठी पुराणकथांचं महत्त्व कालातीत आहे. ह्या प्राचीन ग्रंथांमधील शंभर निवडक पौराणिक कथांची सचित्र-संकलित आवृत्ती प्रथमच प्रकाशित होत आहे. देव, असुर, ऋषी आणि सम्राट ह्यांच्या लोकप्रिय कथा या पुस्तकामध्ये समाविष्ट केल्या आहेतच; पण लेखक सत्यार्थ नायक यांनी फारशा ज्ञात नसलेल्या अनेक कहाण्यांचा शोध घेऊन, त्यांचाही अंतर्भाव यात केला आहे. उदाहरणार्थ, विष्णूचा शिरच्छेद; सरस्वती लक्ष्मीला शाप देते, तसंच हरिश्चंद्र वरुणदेवाला फसवतो... या आणि यांसारख्या कथा फारच कमी लोकांनी ऐकल्या असतील. सत्यार्थ नायक यांनी ह्या शंभर कहाण्यांची कालक्रमानुसार मांडणी करून त्या 'नव्या' स्वरूपात सादर केल्या आहेत. सत्ययुगामधील विश्वनिर्मितीपासून सुरू झालेल्या कथांची अखेर कलियुगाच्या आगमनाशी होते. पौराणिक संदर्भ देत त्यांनी चार युगांचा मोठा आवाका असलेल्या वेगवान कथनाची वेधक बांधणी केली आहे. एकूणएक कथा या एकमेकांमध्ये गुंतलेल्या आहेत. ब्रह्मांडामध्ये घटनांची विलक्षण अशी एक साखळी दिसून येते. प्रत्येक घटनेला एक पार्श्वभूमी आहे. वर्तमानकाळ हा भूतकाळाला आणि भविष्यकाळाला जोडलेला असतो. कारण आणि परिणाम यांची अखंड साखळी त्यात आहे. कर्म आणि कर्मफलाचं वर्तुळ पूर्ण होतं.
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Mahagatha 100 Tales From The Puranas
Do you know the story where Brahma and Vishnu race against each other or where Shiva battles Krishna? Where Indra attempts foeticide or where Rama punishes a Shudra? Do you know about Maya Sita or Narada's monkey face? Or why Surya falls from the sky or why Chandra commits adultery? The Puranas of Hinduism are a universe of wisdom, embodying a fundamental quest for answers that makes them forever relevant. Now, for the first time, 100 of the greatest mythological tales from these ancient texts have been handpicked and compiled into an epic illustrated edition. Besides popular legends of devas, asuras, sages and kings, Satyarth Nayak has dug up lesser-known stories, like the one where Vishnu is beheaded or where Saraswati curses Lakshmi or where Harishchandra tricks Varuna. Nayak also recounts these 100 tales in a unique chronological format, beginning with Creation in Satya Yuga and ending with the advent of Kali Yuga. Using Puranic markers, he constructs a narrative that travels through the four yugas, offering continuous and organic action. In such a reading, it is revealed that these stories are not isolated events but linked to each other in the grand scheme of things. That every occurrence has a past and a future. A cause and effect. An interconnected cycle of karma and karma-phal. Delving into the minds of gods, demons and humans alike, Mahagatha seeks a deeper understanding of their motivations. The timelessness of their impulses speaks across the aeons to readers of today. Written in lively prose with charming illustrations, these 100 tales will entertain and enlighten, and make you connect the dots of Hindu mythology like never before.
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Sridevi The Eternal Screen Goddess
Hailed as the first pan-Indian female superstar in an era which literally offered actresses crumbs, Sridevi tamed Hindi cinema like no other. Beginning her affair with the camera when she was four, this doe-eyed beauty conquered Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada industries with performances etched in gold. Taking Hindi cinema by storm with Himmatwala in 1983, Sridevi emerged as one of the most iconic screen goddesses of India, playing characters that went on to become cultural touchstones. A supreme artiste who had mastered all the nine rasas, her comedy was peerless, her dances legendary, her histrionics awe-inspiring and her life a study in contrast, electric on screen, strangely reticent off it. Besides reigning as queen bee for the longest spell among Hindi heroines, she also remains the only actress who was No.1 in Tamil and Telugu cinema as well. Such was Sridevi's megastardom that she emerged as the 'hero' at the box office, towering above her male co-actors. Challenging patriarchy in Bollywood like no other, she not only exalted the status of the Hindi film heroine but also empowered a whole generation of audiences. After a hiatus of fifteen years, she shattered the rules again by becoming the only Bollywood diva to make a triumphant comeback in 2012 with the globally acclaimed English Vinglish. If her life played out forever in the limelight, so did her sudden demise in 2018. Charting five decades of her larger-than-life magic, this book celebrates both the phenomenon and the person Sridevi was. This is her journey from child star to one of our greatest movie luminaries who forever changed the narrative of Indian cinema.
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The Emperor's Riddles
More terrifying than the savage murder of historian Ram Mathur on the ghats of the Ganga are the questions that follow. The letter carved on his face, the cryptic mail he sends his daughter Sia after he dies, more murders piling up. Desperate for answers, Sia turns to esoteric writer and friend Om Patnaik. But what begins as a hunt for the killer, becomes an extraordinary trail of riddles strewn across the country, that must end at the gates of an enigma. Patnaik and Sia race from one riddle to another, towards a royal secret that has remained alive for centuries.