REVIEWS
Some
concepts of Indian Culture–by Prof. N. A. Nikam.
Published by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Rashtrapati
Nivas, Simla-5. Pages 92. Price Rs.
10.
Bacon
in his essay on the Unity of Religion points out the need for separating the
essentials from the inessentials in religion so that fanaticism about the
inessentials may not slash the garment into ribbons or fritters. In marriage is
the exchange of rings as precious as the exchange of hearts? Diversities
of ceremonies, Bacon writes, ‘do set forth the unity of doctrine and religion
hath parts which belong to eternity, and parts which pertain to time.
Every
religion like an avalanche carries in it and with it various accretions which
may be valuable but have nothing to do with the truths of religion. I say
‘valuable’ because as Radhakrishnan states ‘the
village pilgrim who spends all his earnings to have a bath in the
Hence
the need for books like this of Prof. Nikam or of Prof. Sarma or Sri C.
Rajagopalachariar on Hinduism. Of course, Prof. Nikam’s book is not as simple as those by Prof. D. S. Sarma or Sri C. R. Any page at random shows Prof. Nikam’s metaphysical acuteness, his exploration of the
semantics, his acquaintance with epistemology and existentialism, his syncretist expertness in forging links between Kathopanishad and Martin Buber.
As an example, his comment on ‘There is suffering’ will do: The word ‘is’ has
no non-temporal meaning; ‘is’ means ‘arises’ and ‘arises’ means ‘arises because
of’ and the ‘because’ is a cause; but every ‘because’ is not ‘a cause’... (p.
31)
The
basic concepts of Indian culture are known in a popular way. What Prof. Nikam provides is the intellectual and metaphysical
scaffolding for these concepts. A great classical scholar, Owen Barfield,
remarks that a History of Thinking is needed more than a History of Thought.
Prof. Nikam himself states that the incentive for
this book sprang from the interest shown by the students of the
It
is important to note
that detachment is activity
that even sleep is a state of desireless awareness
that it is difficult to say. Atman is
that the philosophy of Indian culture passes
from the Religion of Nature through the Religion of Man to the Religion of the
Imperishable in Man
that
prapatti is the highest form of
devotion as man loses to gain (so vividly and rhetorically described in the
Hound of Heaven)
that
the concept of purusharthas underlines
the importance of human beings to forget which is to dash, in the words of
Bacon, the First table against the Second; and so to consider men as Christians
as we forget that they are men
that
Dharma is ethical hedonism
that
He is Being but he Becomes (in Time and History)
that
Maya and Lila express the ultimate irrationality involved in the antinomial movements in the Absolute
that
Ahimsa is paramo dharmah
enshrined in the famous Rock Edict of Asoka XII:
The faiths of others all deserve to be honoured for
one reason or another. By honouring them, one exalts
ones own faith and at the same time perform a service to the faith of others.
For, if a man exalts his own and because he wants to glorify it, he seriously
injures his own faith. (In this Gandhi Centenary Year this chapter in the book
deserves careful study.)
that
Karma is not Fatalism as largely misunderstood but a concept scientific
in its rigour and precision as it is the application
of ‘if p then q’ to human conduct (it is relevant to cite Maugham’s
opinion that the Karma theory is the most intellectually satisfying
explanation for the incongruities of the world).
that
Yajna postulates the ethics of ‘die to live’ though
this does not subtract: purnasya purnam adaya purnameva
avasishyate.
that
Indian thought is a dialogue,
that
true individuality is liberation from nama and
rupa,
that
even the Gods are Rta-jata,
that
according to Indian culture reason is not merely clarity in thought but nityaaniitya viveka,
that
History is memory and hope,
that
Fiction is a means to truth, and aesthetic experience brings us closer to
Reality than any other and Reality is an indivisible Unity of sat Being,
chit Awareness, Anand Delight,
that
Indian culture affirms audaciously so’ham asmi I am He.
Of
course, there is scope for disagreement here and there. For instance, the title
of the very first chapter The Pathetic Fallacy and the interpretation that
follows that Hindus delighted in personification can be objected to. If Prof. Nikam appreciated Ruskin’s well-known comment on the famous
Homeric line about Castor and Pollux or Max Muller’s
semantic formula that the Tree of Life was earlier than the Tree of Knowledge,
he would have realized that to speak of personification or Pathetic Fallacy is
to look at the Ancients, Hindus or Greeks, through the wrong end of the
telescope; it Is to damn them as scholars like Barfield and C. S. Lewis point
out, with a trite figure of speech. To understand the mental make-up of the
Ancients one has to steep oneself in a line like Wordsworth’s that the sky
rejoiced in the morning’s birth; to call this personification is silly. What
has happened is the ousting of the animistic conception of the universe by the
mechanical. In the words of C. S. Lewis: Man with his new powers became rich
like Midas but all that he touched had gone dead and cold. (English
Literature in the 16th Century, p. 4)
At
a lower level one finds a number of printer’s devils and errors in
transliteration: lightening p. 8, turth p. 22 and 25,
dayata p. 27, stitaprajna
p. 78, dukha p. 81...The book was written on the
heights of Simla; it is a Sermon on the Mount. All
lovers of Indian culture will do well to study it. The I. I. A. S. and its
Director should be thanked in enabling an eminent scholar like Prof. Nikam to give us ‘interesting and suggestive ideas.’
–K. VISWANATHAM
Sanskrit Plays from
Epic Sources–by Henry M. Wells. Publishers: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda. Pages 258. Price: Rs. 15.
Ever
since the manuscripts of thirteen Sanskrit plays were discovered in 1910, there
has been a lively controversy among scholars as to their authorship–whether all
of them are from one hand or they are really products of different periods in
the literary history of India. Currently they are all ascribed to Bhasa though very hesitatingly. Dr. Wells who is well-known
for his indefatigable work in the field of Sanskrit drama, has selected for
rendering in English verse five of these play’s which deal with certain
episodes during the tragic war between the Pandavas
and Kauravas in the Mahabharata. Whether they are to
be treated as five acts of one play or five independent plays is still an open
question.
Introducing
his translation Dr. Wells notes:
“The
five Bhasa plays presented here are clearly in
sequence, some minor non-sequiturs notwithstanding. The Five Nights introduces
us to the great feud, raising ironic hopes that peace may finally be won.
Everywhere, from the first moment to the last, the issue is between peace and
war, reconciliation and violence. In the end, violence prevails and tragedy
results. The happy ending of The Five Nights is, theatrically speaking,
a necessary mirage, similar to that provided by the first act of Shakespeare’s Othello
A descent into unhappiness is moving only when it is precipitated from a
considerable height of happiness.
“This
play, or episode, is followed by the parallel scenes wherein, despair turns
much for the worse, peace is viewed at least as a possibility. In the first
scene, Potsherd as Envoy, a manifestation of Krishna, arriving at the Kuru camp, pleads for peace in vain. In the second scene, The
Embassy, essentially the same action takes place but with the further
intensification that envoy is abruptly transformed into his celestial
manifestation and the allegorical weapons of war enter and clearly portend the
battle to follow. These two plays may be described as a theme with variation.
Two make the ironical, frustrating and tragic point far more forcefully than
one. The fourth episode, up to this stage of the drama the most intense in
emotion and vivid in realisation of poetry, depicts the manner in which a true
hero faces violence and war. Karna’s Task, as
its title indicates, relates to the hero, Karna, but
the dominant thought is in fact that of the Bhagauad
Gita; it is essentially a
philosophical drama, based on the most celebrated philosophical episode of the
great epic. In other words, this is Bhasa’s Bhagavad Gita. Karna here
ironically taking the place of his adversary, Arjuna,
as depicted in the earlier poem. The final play presents the denouement of the
epic, the death of Duryodhana, leader of the Kurus, and, in close relation to this event, the
destruction by mutual enmity of all leaders in both factions. In short,
fratricidal war (the phrase is Bhasa’s) terminates in
destruction and annihilation. The problem posed by The Five Nights is
thus resolved on the note of tragedy.”
Also
included in the volume are translation of Kalidasa’s Vlkramorvasiya and the Uttararamacharita
of Bhavabhuti. The renderings are neither too literal nor too true. Translation
of verses are given in bold type. Though not striking, they are faithful.
A
useful publication that projects the genius of the Sanskrit dramatist in the
English world of letters.
–M. P. PANDIT
Mahakavi
Pampa–by V. Sitaramiah. Published under the auspices of the National
Book Trust, Delhi, by popular Prakashan, 35-cs Tardeo Road, Bombay-34. Price Rs.
20.
This
is perhaps the first full-length study of any Kannada poet presented in
English; and it is a matter for gratification that it is done by a scholar
well-versed both in Kannada and in English who brings to bear on his tusk the
modern critical apparatus in respect of literary study and appreciation. The
present book deals, fortunately, with the first great Kannada poet, Pampa, who lived exactly a thousand years ago, and whose
reputation as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, has endured during all
these centuries in the Kannada country. This study seeks to justify that
reputation and analyses the elements of that greatness in a scholarly way.
Pampa’s forebears came
from the Vengi region (the modern Godavari district in
Andhra) where the Western Chalukyas–an
offshoot of the Western Chalukyas of Badami in Karnatak–had set
up a dominion in the seventh century. Pampa’s father
embraced Jainism, which was then a religion exerting great influence in the
land. Pampa attached himself to Arikesari,
a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from Malkhed (near modern Gulburga)
and succeeded in dominating over the largest portion of India such as no South
Indian dynasty has done before or since. The Rashtrakutas
had wrested power from the Western Chalukyas of Badami
in the middle of the eighth century. But the scions of the Chalukya family
survived as chieftains or feudatories ruling over small regions from Andhra to
Gujarat, and Arikesari was one of these ruling from Vemulavada, near modern Karimnagar.
He
was a great warrior, a great patron of learning and a man of many Parts.
He gifted an Agrahara, Dharma uru, identified with Dambal
near Gadag in the Dharwar district, to Pampa’s family. Apparently Pampa
lived in this ‘heart of Kannada land’ and knew intimately also the Banavasi country (North Kanara),
judging from the loving praise of these regions in his works. In addition to
being a poet, Pampa was a warrior, a comrade-in-arms
of his friend and benefactor, Arikesari.
The
author, in his introductory chapter, describes this historical setting and the
information available about the life of the poet. He also deals with the
doctrines of Jainism, as they form the substance of Pampa’s
Adi-Purana, the life of Vrishabha, the first of the 24 Tirthamkaras
of the Jaina religion.
The
other work of Pampa, on which his fame chiefly rests,
is Vikramarjuna Vijaya
better known as Pampa Bharata, written at the instance of Arikesari
who gave him a year to finish the task.
The
author provides a fascinating summary and critical analysis, high-lighted by
English translations of dramatic passages from Pampa
Bharata.
The
author has chosen to append at the end of the book in Roman transliteration
illustrative passages in prose and verse–60 from Adi
Purana and over 70 from Bharata.
Whether readers ignorant of Kannada can get at the power, the rhythm and
the flow of the Kannada composition through these is more than one can say. For
Kannada readers it is a superfluity, a list containing chapter and verse of the
passages being enough for them.
Sri
V. Sitaramiah writes with enthusiasm, vigour and confidence, and has set an example which might
well be followed by other scholars of Indian literatures.
–K. SAMPATHGIRI
RAO
Mystic Approach to the
Vedas and the Upanishads–by M. P. Pandit. Ganesh & Co. P. Ltd., Madras-17. Pages 126. Price Rs. 3.
Vedas
are an ocean of knowledge, and it is left to the seekers after knowledge to
dive deep into it and have their desired catch, according to their abilities.
Thus ritualists, geologists, biologists, historians
and man, others studied the Vedas and gave their own interpretations of the
Vedic texts. According to Yaska, an ancient etymologist,
Vedas mainly admit of three kinds of interpretations, “as related to the
Rituals, gods the cosmic powers, and life of the Spirit.” Of these the third
kind of interpretation is not available to us and Sri Aurobindo and his
disciples took upon themselves the task of revealing the spiritual meaning of
the Vedas.
The
author, in the introductory part of this book, establishes the fact that the
Vedas are not “notes written by insane persons and preserved by psychiatrists,”
as conceived by Western Sanskrit scholars, but are “pre-eminently scriptures of
the knowledge and practice of the Art of God and Science of the soul” Then he
expounds in a lucid, logical and authentic way the symbolic meaning of the
“Vedic Soma” and the “Sunassepha legend,” “Vedic
Soma” is not merely a plant or juice of that plant but in reality the sap of
delight in life obtained from the Hill of Existence rising from its base on
Earth to the divine summits above,” The stone used in the Soma sacrifice
represents Indra’s word-power, Vak,
the ten fingers for the subtle powers of thought, and the two platters for the
twin principles of knowledge and action in the human system. Thus Vedic Soma
ritual symbolises Inner Sacrifice or Antaryaga.
Sunassepha’s
legend and the ritual Purushamedha in
the Vedas, have nothing to do with human sacrifices in ancient India, as
construed by Indologists. Aditi
in the legend is the “Infinite consciousness, the creatrix
of the universe”, and Sunassepha is the Jiva embodied in man. “He yearns to go back to Her from
whence he came, and desires to be liberated from the three bonds by which he is
tied to a tree,” The tree here represents the entire physical living substance
known by the term matter. The three bonds are nothing but the well-known three
knots or “grandhis called after Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.” The gods to whom he prayed, liberate him. Thus this
legend is symbolic of the agonies of a Jiva in
bondage, his prayers, and his liberation. Purushamedha
is but “an offering to the Supreme of all that belongs to Him, his full
entire being.”
According
to Western scholars, it is a far cry from Vedic thought to Upanishadic
thought. But Sri Pandit, in his masterly way, shows how “Upanishads continue
the Vedic tradition and how they are invaluable manuals of Sadhana.”
This book deserves to be a text book for students of Indology,
Sanskrit literature and Indian culture.
–B. KUTUMBA
Ancient Jewish
Literature–by Krishna Chaitanya.
Published by Orient Longmans. Pages 132. Price Rs. 5.
This
is the fourth in the series of volumes on the history of world literature. It
deals with the Ancient Jewish (or Hebrew) literature. The Jews are an old race
whose paths crossed with those of Assyrians and Bahylonians,
Egyptians and Greeks, and it is fortunate that a record of their travails
through centuries is available. They survived the ravages of man and time by
sheer endurance.
The
earlier belief that in patriarchal times Israel did not have any literature is
now given up. The code of Hammurabi is proof positive
that in the age of Abraham himself the art of writing was widely spread and
that chronicles of events were preserved. The Jehovistic
code of the 9th century, the Elohistic code of the
8th century, the book of Douteronomy of the 6th
century and finally the priestly code chiefly found in Leviticus of the 4th
century are all sources of ideas which are presented by the prophets in poetic
form. The vicissitudes and changing attitudes of the race are recorded. God is
first viewed as righteous will and later as an unfathomable well of love. Still
later the evolution of the society is considered as the gradual working out of
a predestined divine process. Some of the Psalms of the Old Testament are
memorable for their lyrical richness, and, as the author suggests, recall the
Vedic hymns. Similarly, the Song of Songs is comparable to Gitagovinda both in form and tone. The author
concludes his short study with a chapter on Jesus, who, according to him, is
the dramatic fulfilment of all that is precious in
the Jewish tradition.
The
book is helpful as a brief and beautiful survey of ancient Jewish literature
and of particular interest are the author’s suggestive Indian insights.
–L. S. R.
KRISHNA SASTRY
The Poetry of W. H. Auden, The Disenchanted Island–by Monroe
K. Spears. Oxford University Press, London. Price: Rs.
18-75.
Auden is one of those rare
creative phenomena of our time wherein are recorded all the stirs and
vibrations of the age as well as the mystique that transcends any given span of
time. The feeling of aloneness that has been one of the cardinal expressions of
the modern time–of which writers and poets like Synge
and Housman were distinctly premonitive
and the latest version of which is to be found in the philosophy of the nouveile vague school of French writers
striving to restore man to strength through making him completely independent
of the world since “man looks out at the world and the world does not return
his glance” and hence only by refusing communion man could refuse tragedy,
finds expression in Auden thus:
Aloneness
is man’s real condition,
That
each must travel forth alone
In
search of the essential stone...,
And
it is the same Auden who believed in the
mystic–subtle factors behind the material manifestations–that even a physical
disease was only morally symbolic, that a sore throat could mean that the
sufferer had been lying, cancer could mean refusal to make use of one’s
creative powers and rheumatism could mean obstinacy.
Auden, like Frost, has
succeeded in evoking various attitudes to him from his readers. He has been
looked upon as the authentic voice of conscience of generation, and
also as one who betrayed (after he left England for U. S. converted to
Christianity from his somewhat Marxian-Freudian interests).
Thus,
Auden is a wide theme today, and he will remain so
for a long time. His productiveness in 60s has aroused a new interest in him.
The work under review is both an example of that interest and a satisfaction of
the same. The discourses are chronologically ordered and the analyses are
substantive. The author refrains from propounding any single thesis on the
ground that it would be restrictive if not misleading. He is not anxious to
come to a conclusion whether Auden deserves the title
of major poet or not, for his motive is too broad for that: “Light, candidly
personal, ever more rigorously devoted to the naked truth, theses are
disenchantments we deeply need.”
–MANOJ DAS
“The Third Indian rear
Book of Education”–Published by the National Council of
Educational Research and Training. Price: Rs. 14-50.
Sporadic
steps in educational research, initiated even in the pre-independence era, such
as the Sadler Commission’s recommendation, were not pursued seriously and did
not bear fruit. Any concrete work in this regard has only been done after
independence, though it is by no means adequate in quality or output.
The
present book, as the title suggests, is the third in a series of year books of
education sponsored by N. C. E. R. T. An anthology of articles contributed by
specialists in their respective fields, gives a factual appraisal of activities
in educational research and honestly spotlights the deficiencies in each aspect
of the study. Naturally, it gives a wealth of statistics to highlight the
survey.
The
reader is constantly reminded that this country has to cover a very large field
in making research into and devising methods of improving the various aspects
of this all-too-important arena of education.
An
index of how far we are lagging behind is afforded by the fact that till as
late as 1962, only 85 theses for Ph. D. in educational research were approved,
60 per cent of these between 1956 and 1961. And even this small number of
investigations omitted some vital areas such as education and social change,
guidance, legal education, and medical and technical education. The situation
is hardly better in other areas. For example, while “hardly seventy
investigations were carried out in the area of educational philosophy at the M.
Ed. level in India during the period 1939-61”, the studies on the psychology of
learning are of “a very elementary and amateurish character.”
And
though some twenty-one universities offer post-graduate courses in
child-psychology and developmental-psychology, these courses
“continue to be looked upon as they-also-ran.” A lion’s share of all
educational research of the past two decades, however, goes to examinations and
evaluation. But here, again, the quality of work is all but satisfactory. Thus,
for example, while colossal failure in examinations is a baffling challenge to
educationists, “the many aspects of this mammoth problem have not been
subjected to systematic study.”
Education
became a state subject under the Government of India Act of 1919. As a
corollary to this, educational policy is being shaped by politicians. A
research scholar urges cordial relationship between officials and
non-officials. One suggestion is that non-officials should be associated in
drafting educational policies.
Finances
are the sine qua non of everything, and education is no exception. Among
the many suggestions by researchers in this regard are: (i)
allocation of at least 20 per cent of the budget to education; (ii) levy of an
educational cess by local bodies and (iii) private enterprize in education.
–K. V.
SATYANARAYANA
Naishkarmya-siddhi
of Sri Suresvaracharya: By
Swami Satchidanandendra Saraswati. Publishers: Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya, Holenarsipur. Pages
461. Price Rs. 13.
Naiskarmya-siddhi,
according to Suresvaracharya,
means the realisation of the direct knowledge of the
identity between Atman and Brahman following the study and meditation on mahavakyas like tat-tvam-asi,
That Thou art. This realisation lifts one beyond the range of all karma,
action. To this end, the author has written a detailed exposition of the
text tat-tvam-asi so as to conduce to the
elimination of avidya, Ignorance, which
veils one’s own reality from oneself. This work has been commented upon by Jnanottama in his chandrika.
But Swami Satchidanandendra Saraswati, the
well-known expositor of the Sankara Advaita today,
finds that the said commentary is influenced by the post-Sankara
developments and hence does not accurately reflect the approach of Suresvara. To meet this shortcoming and to explain in more
detail the thought of the Acharya, Swamiji has
written a commentary of his own klesapaharini
in Sanskrit which is now published along with the text of Naishkarmya- siddhi. In
the words of Swamiji:
“The
Naishkarmya-siddhi occupies an
important place among the Vedantic works professing
to explain Sankara’s teaching. While the Panchapadika and the Bhamati
try to interpret Sankara’s system each in its own
way, Suresvara’s work has the advantage of being the
production of an immediate disciple of Sankara, who
presents the central doctrine of the latter’s Vedanta in all its essential
aspects and contrasts it with contemporary systems. In the course of the
discussion, it is worthy of note that he refers to (1) the self-established
nature of Atman as unchanging Pure Consciousness; (2) ignorance as the only
obstacle to the knowledge of Atman; (3) the mutual super-imposition of the self
and the non-self in consequence of ignorance only; (4) the distinction of the
means of right knowledge and their objects, no less than the distinction of
action, means of action, and the result of action, as merely the figment of Avidya or ignorance; (5) the enquiry into the nature of
Brahman as a Sastra distinct and different from the
enquiry into the nature of religious works; (6) the Vedantic
texts like Tat-tvam-asi being the means of
right knowledge solely because of their efficacy in removing ignorance; and (7)
absence of anything to be done for one who has gained the supra-rational
intuition of the self understanding through the right meaning of the texts.”
Very
important and useful indices have been given at the end of the work, index of
verses, subject-index of important words, index of verses cited from other
authoritative books.
A
notable addition to literature on Sankara Advaita.
–M. P. PANDIT
Vaidika
Sahitya Charitre–by
N. S. Anantarangachar. Published by Manasa Gangotri, Mysore. Pp. 520. Price Rs. 8-50.
We
doubt if any history of Vedic literature so comprehensive and authentic as this
work has appeared in any Indian language so far. The author’s first-hand
knowledge of the tradition and his close study of the Source-texts are evident
on every page of this valuable treatise which contains an incredible number of
references and citations apart from a cogent and objective presentation of the
subject.
What
are the origins of the Sanskrit language? Was it at any time the language of
the people? What transmutations has it undergone since the Vedic period? Why
are the Vedas considered a Revelation? Why is the study of the Veda
enjoined upon the student? These questions are answered in the
course of a long and informative introduction.
Thereafter
Sri Anantarangachar deals methodically with
the Rik Samhita, the
arrangement of hymns therein, the characteristic features of the
Deities and their functions in the cosmic scheme, secular contents of the
hymns; the Sama Veda, its branches, the mode of recital etc.; the Yajurveda and its two major rescensions;
the Atharva and its special features; the Brahmanas of each Samhita with an
examination of their main contents; the Aranyakas;
the Upanishads; and finally a descriptive enumeration of the various Vedangas. A very satisfying work.
The
author presents all the major viewpoints in Vedic studies, though he does not
indicate his own approach. The book would have been complete with a
statement of his considered position. All the same, here is a work which
deserves to be translated into other Indian languages and prescribed for
general reading in the universities.
–M. P. PANDIT
Vikramorvasiyam–with
Telugu translation and Telugu commentary by Dr. P. Madhava
Sarma. Sri Parameswari
Publications, Chikkadapally, Hyderabad-20. Pages 325.
Price Rs. 5-00
Dr.
P. Madhava Sarma has laid
the students of Telugu literature under a deep debt of gratitude by his
excellent Telugu translation of Kalidasa’s drama Vikramorvasiyam. The first portion of the
text comprises of the original Samskrit text with Telugu translation. Samskrit verses are translated into Telugu prose. The
second part is devoted to an exhaustive commentary. Prose order of the Samskrit
verses is given. Word for word meaning comes next. Explanation of technical
terms, wherever necessary, is given. Points related to characterisation,
figures of speech and Rasa are also dealt with. In the introduction, Sri Sarma deals with the date and works of Kalidasa. The
addition of a few more items like “Kalidasa as a
Dramatist”, “his mind, art, and message” will certainly enhance the value of
the book. We heartily commend this book to all the students of Telugu
literature.
–B.
KUTUMBA RAO
Rajaji
Bhagavadgita translated into Telugu
by K. Srinivasachari. The Little Flower Co.,
Madras-17. Pages 190 Rs. 3
Among
the elder statesmen of India, Rajaji occupies the foremost place today. He wields
his incisive intellect both in politics and in literature with equal skill and
dexterity. There are many books to his credit both in Tamil and English. Here
is a Telugu rendering of his popular book “Kaivilakku”–a
commentary of the Gita in Tamil. The style adopted is simple and the
presentation lucid. It is a welcome addition to the many commentaries on the
Gita. The general reader would find it a good handbook on the Message of the
Lord.
Srimadramayana
Parayanam–Published
by The Little Flower Co., Madras-17. Pages 250. Rs.
3-50.
Man
has to face several problems and difficulties in life–physical, mental,
economical and others. According to Hindu faith he can overcome the
difficulties by reciting every day certain slokas of
Ramayana. For example, for monetary gains he will have to recite the 32nd canto
of Ayodhyakanda; for good health the 59th canto of Yuddhakanda; and for attaining Moksha
cantos 65 to 68 of Aranyakanda. The book suggests the
Parayana of various cantos which would be of great
benefit to the devout Hindus.
–BHAVARAJU