eGranth - Book Newsletter - Nov 2017

Editor’s Note: -  This is our eighth newsletter. Last time my sister was the editor so this time I , Anika am the editor. We have less books in this newsletter. We have been doing the newsletters since April and as November and December are the last months of the year we are doing something different. We have decided to include our top 5-6 books from all the books that we have done. In this issue of the newsletter my favourite books will be there and in the next issue my sister’s books will be there. Hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. - Anika

Secrets of Zynpagua: Birth of Mystery child

By Ilika Ranjan

Mystery: Adventure: Fantasy

Age: 9-11

Reviewed by: Anika

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

Secrets of Zynpagua: Birth of Mystery Child – This is the third book in the Secrets of Zynpagua series which is written by Ilika Ranjan. We have covered the first book and the second book in the August and September newsletters. At the end of the second book, the mermaid kidnaps Radhika and takes her to the Pacific Ocean where she gets the demon planets to bless her unborn son. She and Radhika are taken in by a colony of old people who live in the sea. Her son was very powerful because even though he was not born he could speak and sing. Whenever he sang he would cause a lot of pressure on the eardrums of the others and their ears would start to bleed.  Meanwhile, back at Zynpagua everyone was worried. They sent many people to search for Radhika but she was not to be found. They also had got to know that Pajaro - Leo’s mother was alive and she would be crucial in saving the people from the mermaid’s son. The book then talks about how Leo, Anika, Vivian and Lady Carol try finding Pajaro. They face many hurdles and get many clues and at last they find Radhika. By then the mermaid’s son had been born and he had started liking Radhika and wanted to marry her but was thwarted by Fredrick. They escape from the mermaid’s son and learn from Venus that Radhika would be the one who would be able to defeat him. The book ends with a prophecy. The story will be continued in the fourth book The Serpent’s Shadow’.

 

Brahmanda Purana - Review

Brahmanda Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

Kindle IN, Kindle US

This is the eleventh Purana that I am reviewing which you can probably guess is the Brahmanda Purana. The Brahmanda Purana comes at the last, in the eighteenth position in the list of Mahapuranas. It is a rajasik Purana, a purana that glorifies Brahma. It is not too long or too short. It is medium-sized in length with eighteen thousand shlokas. These eighteen thousand shlokas are divided into 3 parts, purva bhaga, madhyama bhaga and uttara bhaga. These 3 sections are further divided into chapters. There are a total of seventy-one chapters.
I shall give a bit more of introduction and then start the review
This Purana was originally recited by Vayu the wind god on the insistence of some sages in the namisharanya forest after a yagna.
We’re done with the introduction so let us now go into the review.

Markandeya Purana - Review

Markandeya Purana, by Bibek Debroy

This is the tenth Purana that I am reviewing. Its name is the Markandeya Purana as you know. It is actually the shortest Purana. It has only nine thousand shlokas. I noticed that the last three Purana reviews that I had written were all satvik puranas, puranas that glorified Vishnu. I decided that it was time to move on to another type of Purana. I felt I had not written about rajasik puranas, puranas that glorify Brahma apart from the Brahma Purana. Between the rajsik puranas I decided to review the Markandeya Purana. This Purana was actually narrated by four birds to the sage Jaimini. Well, how did this happen and who were these birds who could talk.

There was once a rishi named Drona who married a woman named Tarkshi. One day, Tarkshi went to Kurukshetra when the great war between the Pandavas and Kauravas was happening. Arjuna and Bhagadatta were fighting when one of Arjuna’s arrows hit Tarkshi in the stomach. She died but four eggs fell out of her stomach. Bhagadatta’s elephant had a bell around his neck. A stray arrow sliced it off and it fell over the eggs protecting them till the end of the war. After the war ended a sage called Shamika found the birds and took care of them. They learnt to fly and speak. They bowed to Shamika and asked him to teach them the true knowledge. They then went to live at Mount Vindhya.

Bhagavata Purana - Review

Bhagavata Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

This is the ninth Purana that I am reviewing. Wow! I never knew I had read so many Puranas. This is the Bhagavata Purana as you know. It is the fifth Purana in the list of Mahapuranas. It is a satvik purana, a purana that glorifies Vishnu. It is not too lengthy. It is medium sized and has eighteen thousand shlokas. It is then split up In twelve sections(skandhas) which are further split up into many chapters. The tenth skandha is the longest and talks about Krishna. Let us move on now.

This Purana has been narrated by Romaharshan alias Suta. He was called Suta because his father was a charioteer who are often called sutas. The sages in the Namisharanya forest wanted to know more about Krishna and the shastras so they asked Romaharshana to recite a Purana that had all these things. The Bhagavata Purana was the one that fit the description best so it was recited.