Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God

Author: none
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141913371
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 608

Book Description
The Purana is one of the two most important and popular Hindu texts, the other being the Ramayana. It is part of the popular tradition, rather than a literary classic like the Upanishads or the Gita. It tells the story of the god Krishna, the supreme godhead of the Hindus and worshipped by them for over two and a half millennia. The most popular stories about him occur in this, the 10th book, which is the climax of the epic. The stories relate to Krishna's childhood and adolescence in the forests of Vrindavan among the herdspeople, delightful tales which lie behind much of Hindu art, appearing in painting, temple sculpture, drama, dance and song.

Krishna

Author: Edwin F. Bryant
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199724318
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 590

Book Description
In the West Krishna is primarily known as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. But it is the stories of Krishna's childhood and his later exploits that have provided some of the most important and widespread sources of religious narrative in the Hindu religious landscape. This volume brings together new translations of representative samples of Krishna religious literature from a variety of genres -- classical, popular, regional, sectarian, poetic, literary, and philosophical.

Bhakti Yoga

Author: Edwin F. Bryant
Publisher: North Point Press
ISBN: 0374714398
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Book Description
From the author of what has become the standard edition of The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, an exploration of probably the most significant tradition in Hinduism, along with a rendering of key texts and parables from that tradition Bhakti Yoga explores one of the eight “limbs” of yoga. In the simplest terms, bhakti yoga is the practice of devotion, which is the essential heart of yoga and of Hinduism in general. In recent times, the term has come to be used in a rather simplistic way to refer to the increasingly popular practice of kirtan, or chanting in a group or at large gatherings. But bhakti yoga is far more complex and ancient than today’s growing kirtan audiences are aware, and embraces many strands and practices. Edwin F. Bryant focuses on one famous and important school of bhakti and explores it in depth to show what bhakti is and how it is expressed. And he supplies his own renderings of central texts from that tradition in the form of “tales and teachings” from an important work called the Bhagavata Purana, or “The Beautiful Legend of God.” This clarifying work establishes a baseline for understanding, and will be welcomed by all serious students of the spiritual heritage of India.

Krishna

Author: D. Anand
Publisher: Abhinav Publications
ISBN: 9788170172802
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
On Krishna (Hindu deity).

Ashtavakra - The Vedic Sage

Author: Gopish Gopalkrishna
Publisher: White Falcon Publishing
ISBN: 9389530881
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 16

Book Description
Who was the creator of Ashtavakra Gita? What is Yudhishtra’s Curse on Womanhood? How first Naga Prathistta was created? Why Hanuman turned red? These are the few exciting tales you will read in this book along with other stories. Bharat (India) is the beautiful country with full of wonders and surprises. This country has many religion, languages, festival, states, and unusual tales as well. This book is the collection of 22 unusual tales and first book of the series “The unusual tales of country called Bharat”. All these stories are different and not related to each other, hence readers will get to know new tales in every chapter. There is always something special about short stories, especially mythological as it always sticks to the traditional rules of the craft. These stories are vibrant and for all ages from children to grandparents. This book is an effort to reach out to more readers and spread the stories of the great land Bharat.

Bhagavata Purana

Author: Ramesh Menon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Puranas
Languages : en
Pages : 1492

Book Description
Even after he has composed the awesome Mahabharata, the Maharishi Vyasa finds no peace. Narada Muni says to him, Ordinary men will be delighted by your work, but what about the Sages of heaven and earth? You have described the human life, its strife and its ends, but you have not yet described the Lord himself. You must turn your great gift to that task; only then will you find peace. Veda Vyasa composes the Bhagavata Purana, in eighteen thousand slokas and twelve kandas. He teaches it to his illumined son Suka, who narrates the Secret Purana to Yudhishtira s heir, King Parikshit, on the banks of the Ganga. The Bhagavata Purana is a living embodiment of the Lord Narayana and claims to bestow moksha merely by being heard. Just before Krishna, the Avatara, leaves the world, Uddhava says to him, leave us a tangible form, Lord, in which we can find you, touch you, and be near you. Krishna enters the Bhagavata Purana with all of his being. This book is a full literary rendering of the Bhagavata Purana, bringing all the wonder, wisdom and grace of the Book of God to the modern reader.

Gita Govinda

Author: Jayadeva
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814740790
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
Jayadeva’s Gitagovínda is a lyrical account of the illicit springtime love affair of Krishna and Radha, a god and goddess manifesting on earth as a cowherd and milkmaid for the sake of relishing the sweet miseries and rapturous delights of erotic love. The narrative framing their bucolic songs was composed under royal patronage in northeastern India in the twelfth century. It was to be performed for connoisseurs of poetry and the erotic arts, for aesthetes and voluptuaries who, while sensually engaged, were at the same time devoted to Krishna as Lord of the Universe. The text at once celebrates the vicissitudes of carnal love and the transports of religious devotion, merging and reconciling those realms of emotion and experience. Erotic and religious sensibilities serve, and are served by, the pleasures of poetry. In the centuries following its composition, the courtly text became a vastly popular inspirational hymnal. Jayadeva's songs continue to be sung throughout India in fervent devotional adoration of Krishna.

The Hare Krishna Movement

Author: Edwin Bryant
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231508438
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 506

Book Description
Dancing and chanting with their shaven heads and saffron robes, Hare Krishnas presented the most visible face of any of the eastern religions transplanted to the West during the sixties and seventies. Yet few people know much about them. This comprehensive study includes more than twenty contributions from members, ex-members, and academics who have followed the Hare Krishna movement for years. Since the death of its founder, the movement, also known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has experienced debates over the roles of authority, heresy, and dissent, which have led to the development of several splinter movements. There is a growing women's rights movement and a highly publicized child abuse scandal. Providing a privileged look at the people and issues shaping ISKCON, this volume also offers insight into the complex factors surrounding the emergence of religious traditions, including early Christianity, as well as a glimpse of the original seeds and the germinating stages of a religious tradition putting down roots in foreign soil.

Krishna's Lineage

Author:
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190279206
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Book Description
Forming the final part of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, the Harivamsha's main business is to supply narrative details about the great god Vishnu's avatar Krishna Vasudeva, who has been a comparatively minor character in the previous parts of the Mahabharata, despite having taken centre stage in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is born in Mathura (some 85 miles south of present-day Delhi). As an infant he is smuggled out of Mathura for his own safety. He and his brother Baladeva grow up among cowherds in the forest, where between them they perform many miraculous deeds and kill many dangerous demons, before returning to Mathura where they kill the evil King Kamsa and his cronies. Thereafter, Krishna is the hero and unofficial leader of his people the Yadava-Vrishnis. When Mathura is besieged by enemies, Krishna leads his people to abandon the town and migrate west, founding the dazzling new city of Dvaraka by the sea. Krishna then repeatedly travels away from that base repeatedly to perform heroic deeds benefitting those in need - including his own people, his more immediate family, and the gods. After narrating the stories of Krishna, the Harivamsha ends by finishing the story of Janamejaya with which the Mahabharata began. The Harivamsha is a powerhouse of Hindu mythology and a classic of world literature. It begins by contextualising Vishnu's appearance as Krishna in several ways, in the process presenting a variety of cosmogonical, cosmological, genealogical, mythological, theological, and karmalogical materials. It then narrates Krishna's birth and adventures in detail. Presenting a wide variety of exciting stories in a poetic register that makes extensive use of natural imagery, the Harivamsha is a neglected literary gem and an ideal starting-point for readers new to Indian literature.

King Of Ayodhya

Author: Ashok K. Banker
Publisher: Penguin Books India
ISBN: 9780143099673
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 604

Book Description
The Original Ramayana Was Written Three Thousand Years Ago. Now, With Breathtaking Imagination And Brilliant Storytelling, Ashok K. Banker Has Recreated This Epic Tale For Modern Readers Everywhere. Rama, Soon To Be King Of Ayodhya, Crosses The Ocean To Wage His War Of Dharma Against The Rakshasa Forces Of The Demonlord Ravana. The Valiant Vanars And Bears Suffer Huge Losses When Ravana Unleashes His Iniquitous Sorcery On Them, Destroying Tens Of Thousands Of Rama'S Loyal Soldiers. Despite The Formidable Odds They Fight On Even As The Warfare Spirals Into A Maelstrom Of Unimaginable Carnage And Brutality. And Then, Ravana Does The Unthinkable. Hovering Over The Battlefield In His Flying Vehicle He Executes Sita In Full Public View, Right Before Rama'S Unbelieving Eyes. Rama'S Grief And Rage Know No Bounds And On This Cataclysmic Day He Finally Draws Upon His Ultimate Reservoir Of Brahman Shakti. Invoking The All-Powerful Dev-Astras, The Bow Of Vishnu And The Arrow Of Shiva, He Prepares For A Reckoning And A Victory Like No Other . . .