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Keeping in mind Lord Krishna’s
popularity among the people, Pavan K. Varma’s The Book of
Krishna is bound to be of interest. A member of the Indian
Foreign Service, Varma is also the author of Krishna: The
Playful Divine. In The Book of Krishna, Varma deals
with the different aspects of Lord Krishna— the mischievous
child, the divine lover, the fearless warrior, the erudite
philosopher who gave us the Bhagavadgita, and the Supreme
God. Quoting from the Puranas, classical literature
(notably Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda), bhakti poetry,
including Surdas’ poetry, and folklore, Varma attempts to
paint a convincing portrait of the charming and complex
personality of the Lord. His use of difficult language, however,
hampers the flow of the narrative. In addition, Varma’s own
interpretations of the myths relating to Lord Krishna intrude
more than illuminate. His explanations are difficult to follow
for someone who is not familiar with the finer points of Hindu
mythology and difficult to swallow for someone who is.
Consider his
explanation of what he calls the "Oedipal undercurrents in
the Radha-Krishna liaison" which manifests itself when
"Radha, a young girl, took him (the toddler Krishna) into
her arms as a mother would her child" : "The concept
of purusha and prakriti could also provide a
metaphysical explanation for Radha’s greater years. According
to the Samkhya-Yoga school of Indian philosophy, all of creation
consists of purusha and prakriti. Prakriti is the
all-embracing material substratum of things. Purusha is
sentience personified. Prakriti, which has always
existed, remains in a state of dissolution (pralaya)
until the mere presence of purusha (purusha-samnidhi)
disturbs the state of its latent equilibrium, and evolution (sarga)
is set in motion. For evolutionary activity, therefore, the
presence of purusha is crucial, but prakriti in
its state of dissolution exists even without it. Radha, the
cosmic symbol of prakriti, had thus to exist prior to the
arrival of Krishna, purusha incarnate." Similar
abstruse passages abound.
Along with
Brahma, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer, Vishnu, the
Preserver, is one of the Trinity. Nanditha Krishna, an art
historian based in Chennai and director of the C.P. Ramaswami
Aiyar Foundation and also the author of The Art and
Iconography of Vishnu Narayana, describes in The Book of
Vishnu, the various incarnations of the Lord. These include
Matsya, the fish; Kurma, the tortoise; Varaha, the boar;
Narsimha, the man-lion; Vamana, the dwarf; Parshurama, Rama with
the axe; Rama, the perfect man; Krishna, the philosopher king;
Buddha, the preacher of peace; and Kalki, the final destroyer.
Since the worship of Vishnu is not widespread in this part of
the country, and little is known about him outside the Vaishnava
community, this book is a treasure trove of information.
Nanditha Krishna links the different incarnations with the
temples and shrines dedicated to particular incarnations in
different parts of the country or even abroad and also to
religious practices that exist today. This gives her narrative a
sense of immediacy and makes it easy for the lay reader to
identify with the Lord. This also imparts to the book a
contemporary flavour. Apart from this, she also gives an insight
into the historical significance of the legends of Lord Vishnu.
It is a compelling read from a writer who is comfortable with
the subject she is dealing with and, best of all, is free from
literary jargon.
"Listen
then to these stories with your inner self," says Royina
Grewal to the reader of The Book of Ganesha, "Suspend
reality and judgement, suspend conventional time frames and
parameters, absorb the subtle and indirect messages, open the
doors to another world where Ganesha is, always was and will be
in all eternity." Appropriate advice to those who venture
into the world of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god. Grewal
quotes generously from sacred texts while her own commentary
gives a sort of continuity to the narrative. The treatment of
the content is, however, somewhat impersonal and one does not
feel involved with the stories. It is factual to the point of
being too academic to sustain interest. Still a diligent reader
will be rewarded with an insight into a host of little-known
facts about Ganesha.
Certainly not your average
Sunday morning read, these books are, nonetheless, interesting.
Recommended for those who want to catch up on all those myths
that grandmother missed narrating!
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