The Puranas in the Light of Modern Science
Author: K. Narayanaswami Aiyar
Publisher:
Published: 1916
Total Pages: 320
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: K. Narayanaswami Aiyar
Publisher:
Published: 1916
Total Pages: 320
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: K. Narayanaswami Aiyar
Publisher:
Published: 1914
Total Pages: 290
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Ganesh Swaminathan
Publisher: Notion Press
Published: 2020-10-13
Total Pages: 318
ISBN-13: 1648507328
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The Puranas, as suggested by their name, describe events deep in the earth’s past. Finding a complete cosmology in the ancient Puranic texts that is mostly aligned to the view of cutting-edge science is almost incredible. This book attempts to do so – through an exploratory analysis. The narrative is pieced together by exploring familiar stories from the Puranas in great depth. In the well-known story of the Descent of Ganga, the extra-terrestrial origin of Earth’s waters has been described in amazing detail. The story of the birth of the Sun God Martanda bears a striking resemblance to the origin of the sun. The Churning of the Milk Ocean recounts the re-appearance of the Moon. The book delves into many such stories along with external evidence to come up with a compelling chronicle of our Universe. The book shows the Puranic texts in a fascinating new light. It also serves as a primer to the general interest reader by tackling some of the questions that modern science is grappling with in its study of the cosmos.
Author: Octavio Paz
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 1998
Total Pages: 222
ISBN-13: 9780156005784
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Paz looks at the people and landscapes of India, based on his years with the Mexican embassy, offering a collection of essays on Indian history, culture, art, politics, language, and philosophy.
Author: Monika Saxena
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-09-03
Total Pages: 255
ISBN-13: 0429826397
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book analyses the diverse ways in which women have been represented in the Purāṇic traditions in ancient India – the virtuous wife, mother, daughter, widow, and prostitute – against the socio-religious milieu around CE 300–1000. Purāṇas (lit. ancient narratives) are brahmanical texts that largely fall under the category of socio-religious literature which were more broad-based and inclusive, unlike the Smṛtis, which were accessible mainly to the upper sections of society. In locating, identifying, and commenting on the multiplicity of the images and depictions of women’s roles in Purāṇic traditions, the author highlights their lives and experiences over time, both within and outside the traditional confines of the domestic sphere. With a focus on five Mahāpurāṇas that deal extensively with the social matrix Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya Matsya, Agni, and Bhāgavata Purāṇas, the book explores the question of gender and agency in early India and shows how such identities were recast, invented, shaped, constructed, replicated, stereotyped, and sometimes reversed through narratives. Further, it traces social consequences and contemporary relevance of such representations in marriage, adultery, ritual, devotion, worship, fasts, and pilgrimage. This volume will be of interest to researchers and scholars in women and gender studies, ancient Indian history, religion, sociology, literature, and South Asian studies, as also the informed general reader.