Author: Anant Pai
Publisher: India Book House
Year: 2008
Language: Hindi
Pages: 480
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
Description
This set includes 15 comic books in Hindi titled as follows:
1.Amrit – Manthan
2.Ganesh
3.Shiv Ke Kathayen
4.Vishnu Ke Kathayen
5.Narada Ke kathayen
6.Sayamtaka Mani
7.Druba aur Ashtavakra
8.Kartikaya
9.Garuda
10.Savitri
11.Pralada
12.Harischandra
13.Sati aur Siva
14.Hitopadesa
15.Shiv Parbati
1. AMRIT MANTHAN (The Churning of the Ocean)
The story of how the Devas procured the divine nectar and became immortal after drinking it, is interesting as well as dramatic. It was the ocean of milk which was churned. The great mountain Mandara was the staff used for churning; the serpent Vasuki was the cord. Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise and served as a pivot for Mandara, as it was whirled around. Our version is derived mainly from the Bhagawat Purana and the Mahabharata.
2.GANESH
No traditional Hindu will launch upon a new undertaking without invoking Ganesha, for it is he, as Vighneshwara, prime remover of obstacles, who clears the path to success.
The legends about the birth and exploits of this deity are many; different Puranas giving different versions of the same incidents. Our story, however, is based solely on the Shiva Purana version.
His lineaments are familiar – for song, story and ritual have made them so- elephant head with trunk curled gracefully over a generous pot-belly, four arms bearing his distinctive emblems of godhood and his portly figure mounted on a tiny mouse, his chosen vehicle. There are many interpretations of this unique combination. The most popular is that in the deity are embodied the power and the wisdom of the elephant and the mobility of the agile mouse.
3.SHIVA KI KATHAYEN
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 story of Shiva appearing as a fisherman is told in the Tamil classic, the Tiruvachagam.
The story of Markandeya attaining immortality by the grace of Lord Shiva is taken from the Skanda Purana.
4.VISHNU KI KATHAYEN
Vishnu, the Preserver, is the second of the Hindu triad. Whenever evil is on the ascendant, Vishnu descends on earth to uphold righteousness and to destroy evil.
The tales of these descents or avatars told in various puranas have contributed in no small measure to make Vishnu the most popular of Hindu deities. His worshippers are called Vaishnavas. Of the eighteen major puranas six are known as the Vaishnava Puranas as they eulogise Vishnu and depict him as the Supreme Self.
Vishnu is more a love-inspiring than a fear-inspiring deity. The Bhagavata Purana, from which these tales are adapted, abounds in narratives of the benevolent acts of Vishnu. Although he is kind and sympathetic, he is never taken in by the apparent devotion of evil men. Even when they succeed in wresting favours from other gods, Vishnu manoeuvres to bring about their destruction without falsifying the boons given to them by the gods.
5.NARADA KI KATHAYEN
The divine sage Narada is the most popular figure in Puranic lore. No event of significance takes place in the Puranas that Narada does not have a hand in. He is depicted as a messenger always on the move, visiting the devas, the manavas and the asuras and honoured by all. He is a great devotee of Vishnu.
Although Narada is always referred to with respect in mythology, he is often misunderstood and ridiculed by the common people as a carrier of tales and a mischief maker. However, Narada’s so-called mischief invariably brings about the down fall of the wicked and furthers the cause of the good.
He is credited with the invention of the Veena –the musical instrument – and the authorship of a code of laws, and of Narada Bakti Sutra (aphorisms on devotion).
The three tales include here are based on the Shiva Purana and some popular legends. They tell us how Narada, although a divine sage, at times fell a prey to temptation, and became conceited. Fortunately for Narada, Vishnu was beside him to pull him up every time he succumbed to human weaknesses. Gradually, Narada became free from human failings and attained true equanimity of mind.
6.SYAMANTAKA MANI (The Syamantaka Gem)
The Syamantaka Gem was an ornament of the Sun God. It was a magical charm which had strange effects on its possessor. It did good to a virtuous person and bad to an evil one. When Surya, pleased with his devotee, Prince Satrajit, bestowed the gem on him, no one foresaw the violent upheavals it would cause, least of all the prince himself.
It is said that Krishna had looked at the moon on Chaturthi (the fourth day after the full moon) and soon after was accused of having stolen the gem. To this day, the superstitious will not look at the moon on Chaturthi lest they be accused of theft.
7.DHRUVA AND ASHTAVAKRA
The story of Dhruva is taken from the Bhagawat Purana. Dhruva was hardly five years old when he observed severe penance to win the favour of Lord Narayana (Vishnu). The Lord was pleased with the faith of the child. He appeared before the child and told him that he would rule the earth for 36,000 years and thereafter occupy a very important place in heaven. Even to this day the Pole star is referred to as Dhruva Nakshatra by tradition-loving Hindus.
The story of Ashtavakra is taken from the Mahabharata. While in exile, the Pandavas visited a number of holy places. When they reached the hermitage of Shvetaketu, Sage Lomasha who was accompanying them told them the story of Ashtavakra, the nephew of Shvetaketu.
8.KARTIKEYA
Karttikeya, the commander in chief of the celestial army, is also known as Subrahmanya, Skanda, Guha and Kumara. In the southern states of India, Subrahmanya is a popular deity even today. Among the Tamil-speaking people he is better known as Murukan or Murugan. In the North, he is largely unknown; but he is worshipped in the East, especially in Bengal, where women pray to him for worthy sons. Like Ganesha, he too is a son of Shiva and Parvati, miraculously born. If Ganesha was created by Parvati, Karttikeya was the creation of Shiva, nurtured by Agni, Ganga and Krittikas in turn.
The story of karttikeya is found in the Mahabharata, in the Shiva, Skanda and Brahmanda puranas, and in the Ramayana. Our story is based on the Tamil version of the Skanda-Purana-Samhita.
9. GARUDA
Garuda is a mythical bird and has been held in great veneration in India from time immemorial. Many Indologists hold that this deity is of Dravidian origin.
Garuda is represented as a large white-necked eagle, but his images in the temples who him with a human trunk. Serpents are the natural food of the eagle. The reason for this enmity is traced in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata to the jealousy between Kadru and Vinata, the mother of the serpents and Garuda respectively.
Only Vishnu could have these tow born enemies – Garuda, the mighty eagle and Shesha, the great serpent – wait upon him. He uses Shesha as his couch and Garuda as his mount.
10. SAVITRI
The story of Savitri and Satyavan appears in the Mahabharata. It is one of the many stories told by the sage Markandeya to the Pandavas, in exile. Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava is depressed by having to witness the trials and tribulations of their common wife Draupadi, whose devotion to her husbands only brought her suffering. Markandeya tells him that regardless of what they may have to suffer, chaste and devoted wives will ultimately bring triumph to their loved ones and themselves.
Draupadi’s goodness would ultimately deliver them from their misfortunes, just as the chaste Savitri’s staunch devotion to her husband Satyavan brought good fortune, not only to her parents and her husband’s parents, but also to her own self. For it was her intense devotion that gave her the strength to influence the very God of Death, Yama, to release Satyavan from his clutches.
11. PRAHLAD
Hiranyaksha was slain by Vishnu in his Boar incarnation. Hiranyakashipu hated Vishnu for having killed his brother. But his son, Prahlad, was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried by various methods to sway the mind of his son, but in vain. Ultimately, the evil Hiranyakshipu brought about his own destruction, and the triumph of Prahlad was established by Vishnu.
The story given in this book is based on the Bhagawat Purana and the Vishnu Purana.
12.HARISCHANDRA
India is a land of countless legends and stories. A few of them have survived the onslaught of time and remained alive over the centuries. One such story is that of Harischandra, the king whose honesty was unmatched.
The story as it has come down to us has many variations from the original narration in the Markandeya Purana. This is the story of a king, who when pitted against forces immensely more powerful than himself faces them with an unflinching faith in integrity
13.SATI AUR SHIVA
The story of Shiva’s marriage is symbolic of the perfect fusion of the male and the female principles which, according to a Hindu view of life, are the moving powers behind the universe.
Shiva (the male principle), the Supreme Consciousness, will acquire the power to create and destroy the elements only in conjunction with Shakti (the female principle). That was why Vishnu and others were keen to see Shiva married.
The story of Sati brings home to us in simple terms, the truth and beauty of a lofty Vedic concept.
14. HITOPADESHA
The Hitopadesha is a collection of fables in Sanskrit. This work, attributed to Narayana (11th or 12th century, A.D.), is based on the more famous Panchatantra which was written by Vishnu Sharma more than a thousand years earlier.
Narayana has divided his work into four sections; Mitralabha (Gaining Friends), Suhrudhheda (Causing Dissension Between Friends), Vigraha (Separation) and Sandhi (Union). The tales retold in this Amar Chitra Katha are taken from the Suhrudbheda.
15.SHIVA PARVATI
The Puranas are full of legends about the victories of Shiva over the forces of evil. As Rudra or Bhairava, he is the destroyer of evil. As Shankara or Shiva the auspicious- he restores that which is destroyed. He is also the ideal Mahayogi, a great ascetic, engaged in meditation.
According to Puranic legends, Sati, the daughter of Daksha, is his consort. Daksha however, does not hold his ascetic son-in-law in high esteem. Daksha performs a Mahayajna, to which he invites all except Shiva. Sati finds it difficult to bear the insult meted out to her lord. And when Daksha deliberately slights Shiva, unable to bear the humiliation, Sati enters the sacred fire. She is reborn as Parvati, daughter of Himavat.
Kumara Sambhava of Kalidasa, on which this illustrated classic is based, narrates the enduring love of Parvati for Shiva and her efforts at winning over her beloved by penances and austerities. To this day, the abiding love of Parvati for Shiva is the theme of many a folk song in Indian languages.
Contents
1.Amrit – Manthan
2.Ganesh
3.Shiv Ke Kathayen
4.Vishnu Ke Kathayen
5.Narada Ke kathayen
6.Sayamtaka Mani
7.Druba aur Ashtavakra
8.Kartikaya
9.Garuda
10.Savitri
11.Pralada
12.Harischandra
13.Sati aur Siva
14.Hitopadesa
15.Shiv Parbati