Author: Anant Pai
Publisher: India Book House
Year: 2008
Language: Hindi
Pages: 480
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
Description
This collection includes 15 books titled as follows:
1.Ram ke Purvaj
2.Kumbhakarna
3.Hanuman
4.Pawanputra hanuman
5.Bheema aur Hanuman
6.Lav – kush
7.Gita
8.Krishna – Leela
9.Balaram Ke Kathayen
10.Krishna aur Jarasandha
11.Abhimanyu
12.Rukmini – Parinaya
13.Krishna aur Narakasur
14.Nala Damayanti
15.Arjuna Ke Kathayen
1. RAM KE PURVAJ
Ramayana, the earliest epic poem in Sanskrit, is the oldest work of genuine poetry and in that sense its author, the sage Valmiki is known as the Adi Kavi or pristine poet.
This lofty theme, embodies in the characters of Rama and Sita, the highest ideals of man and woman. The idea that god fufils Himself. In the best of men is conveyed by the life of Rama and that is the story of Ramayana.
The story, narrated in the following pages, is based on Ram-Charit-Manas of Tulsidas.
2. KUMBHAKARNA
Valmiki’s Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana, has caught the fancy of innumerable minds after him. Poems, plays and novels have been written on the Ramayana theme in almost all the Indian languages.
Krittivasa wrote a version of the Ramayana in Bengali nearly five hundred years ago. As he was a poet of the people, his story is written in simple language and has metaphors that are easily understood. Our story of Kumbhakarna has been derived from his Ramayana.
3.HANUMAN
Hanuman, the son of Pavana and Anjana, was born a monkey and yet attained a prominent place among the Hindu Gods, by his sterling character.
Hanuman’s unflinching devotion to Rama has made him the greatest of the Bhaktas (Devotees) ever known. His singular worship of Rama did not make him narrow minded, or supercilious. Instead it made him more compassionate. It helped him to bring consolation to Sita, pining away, forlorn and lonely in Ravana’s Ashoka garden. It helped him to submit himself years later to the buoyant valour of Rama’s children, Luv and Kush.
Serious but never solemn, Hanuman twitted his half-brother Bhima who was out on the quest for the flower Kalyanasaugandhika. This is one of the most charming and popular episodes in the Mahabharata.
4.PAWANPUTRA HANUMAN
5. BHEEMA AUR HANUMAN
The encounter between Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana and Bheema, the mighty Pandava prince, is one of the most dramatic incidents in the Mahabharata.
Hanuman is the son of Vayu, the wind-god; and Bheema is the son of Kunti, born by the grace of Vayu. Thus the two can be considered brothers.
The episode also emphasizes the feminine intuition of Draupadi who unerringly chose Bheema for a risky and romantic errand.
6. LAV - KUSH (SONS OF RAMA)
The story of Rama and Sita was first set down by the sage Valmiki in his epic poem Ramayana.
On returning to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile, Rama banished Sita because of the suspicions of his subjects. In the ashrama of sage Valmiki, she gave birth to her twin sons, Luv and Kush. Based on Uttara-Ramacharita of Bhavabhuti.
7. THE GITA
Bhagavad-Gita or the song of the divine One is a celebrated episode in the epic, Mahabharata. It is in the form of a dialogue between Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapura, and Sanjaya who describes the happenings on the battlefield to the king.
This book does not claim to be an exposition of the Gita, but is only an introduction. We have also taken the liberty of interpreting some of the ideas propounded in the Gita with a view to make them intelligible to the younger age group. The first nine pages of our book are not part of the Gita but are given to provide the back-ground to our young readers.
8.KRISHNA-LEELA
9.BALARAM KI KATHAYEN
Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother, shared all the antics, adventures and deeds of glory of Krishna in childhood. As an adult too, he was second to none in valour, but he chose to remain neutral in the great Mahabharata war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, because he was pained at the thought of bloodshed between kinsmen.
Balarama is also known as Baladeva and Balabhadra. Some episodes from his childhood and the tale of his wedding are narrated in this Amar Chitra Katha.
This story has been so popular all over our country, through the centuries, that even today to most of us the word Swayamvara has specific reference to the story of Krishna and Rukmini. And it is ironical that in the conventional sense it was hardly a Swayamvara.
10.KRISHNA AUR JARASANDHA
Jarasandha was the emperor of Aryavarta (north India) at the time when the Pandavas were ruling at Indraprastha. Most of the kings of North India acknowledged his suzerainty out of fear. Many of those who did not, has been imprisoned by him. To establish the supremacy of the Pandavas it was necessary to subdue Jarasandha.
Mighty men of mythology, be they of the East or of the West, were always characterised by a vital flaw which, in reverse, would turn out to be a vital asset, Karna’s Kavacha (armour) and Achilles heels are classic examples. The secret of the heroes strength often remained locked in this dual nature of their gifts. Only one who knew the secret could vanquish them. Jarasandha’s weak point was known only to Krishna. How he brings about the fall of the mighty and evil emperor is narrated in this Amar Chitra Katha, based on the Bhagawat Purana and the Mahabharata.
11.ABHIMANYU
Abhimanyu, like a shooting star, illuminates the horizon of the Mahabharata epic for a few moments and vanishes in trails of glory. Abhimanyu’s father was the great Arjuna. His mother, Subhadra, was the sister of Lord Krishna. In spire of being overshadowed by such powerful personalities, Abhimanyu had no difficulty in finding his rightful place among the greatest of his time.
We know little of Abhimanyu’s childhood except his lineage. His marriage to Uttara remained in the shadow of Arjuna’s overbearing presence. But in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he came into his own and proved his mettle. His humility as seen in his obedience to Yudhishthira, his idealism in taking up the fatal assignment and his courage in confronting the enemy-all these proclaim a hero greater than any of the Pandavas.
It took seven of the greatest on the Kaurava side to vanquish the young lion that was Abhimanyu. Youth has seldom scaled such heights in any epic known to mankind.
12.RUKMANI PARINAYA
Krishna is the great lover of Indian mythology. Yet the details of the women he had wooed, won and wed are surprisingly limited and perhaps should be confined ton his conquest of Rukmini. Here is the unalloyed romantic tale of none but the brave deserving the fair. Krishna here is the romantic hero par excellence who recklessly carries away his lady-love under the very nose of his rivals. Rukmini is a perfect foil to Krishna in this idyllic tale.
13.KRISHNA AUR NARAKASURA
According to the Bhagawat Purana, Naraksura was born of Mother Earth. Yet in his personality he was a brutish beast.
In South India, the story of Naraka is laced with a woman’s lib edge. As told over there, it is Satyabhama who took up arms against the Asura when, during the battle, Krishna had closed his eyes in momentary exhaustion. The Purana, apparently, has no knowledge of this.
The frequent references to Krishna in our epics and poems, as the enemy of Naraka (Narakari) and even of his deputy Mura (Murari) seem to indicate that the tyrant of Pragjyotishapura was notorious in his times.
14.NALA AND DAMAYANTI
Nala was brave, handsome and skilled in the use of arms and the management of horses. Damayanti, the only daughter of the King of Vidarbha was beautiful and accomplished. When Nala heard of her beauty he began pinning for her. A swan did the delicate job of conveying his love to his beloved remarkably well.
Tales of Shiva - Shiva is the third deity in the Hindu triad. He ought to be the most terrible one because he presides over destruction, whereas Brahma and Vishnu are associated with creation and preservation respectively. Yet Shiva is as much loved by mortals as Vishnu is. He inspires fear in the hearts of the wicked; love and affection in the hearts of the pious.
Hindu mythology sometimes attributes all the three acts of creation, preservation and destruction to Shiva. In the Maheshamurti at Elephanta, all these aspects are combined.
The confrontation between Shiva and Arjuna is one of the many dramatic episodes in the Mahabharata. To the warrior-devotee Arjuna, Shiva appears, most appropriately, as a warrior, a Kirata. The Lord takes pleasure in battling with His devotee before rewarding him.
The story of Shiva appearing as a fisherman is told in the Tamil classic, the Tiruvachagam. The story of Markandeya attaining immortaility by the grace of Lord Shiva is taken from the Skanda Purana.
15.ARJUNA KI KATHAYEN
Arjuna was as devoted to Krishna as Hanuman was to Rama. Our first story, which is based on a folktale popular in South India, is about the encounter between Arjuna and Hanuman both of whom come to realize that Rama and Krishna are one and the same.
Arjuna was trained by Drona, the master of archery, and he acquired powerful weapons by propitiating the gods. But the weapon that made him invincible was his mighty bow, Gandiva, which he obtained from Agni.
Arjuna and his cousin, Krishna, were inseparable, and it was to Krishna that he always turned for guidance. In the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna acted as Arjuna’s charioteer. There were, story shows how Krishna gently, but firmly, corrected Arjuna on such occasions.
Contents
1.Ram ke Purvaj
2.Kumbhakarna
3.Hanuman
4.Pawanputra hanuman
5.Bheema aur Hanuman
6.Lav – kush
7.Gita
8.Krishna – Leela
9.Balaram Ke Kathayen
10.Krishna aur Jarasandha
11.Abhimanyu
12.Rukmini – Parinaya
13.Krishna aur Narakasur
14.Nala Damayanti
15.Arjuna Ke Kathayen