Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Chokshi

 Aru Shah and the End of Time (A Pandava Novel Book 1) (Pandava Series), by Roshani Chokshi

This book was shown to me by my father. My sister had already read this book and didn’t have a great opinion of it. I however, decided to read it and then form an opinion.

‘Aru Shah and the End of Time’ is about a twelve-year old girl named Aru. Aru always feels left out and the odd one out at her school. Her mother is a famous archaeologist, who works at the ‘Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture’ and is always busy with work and business trips. The result of all of this was that her mother would often forget about Aru, her classes and her activities. Everyone would be dropped by their parents and have fancy cars while she would walk to school alone. Desperate to change this, Aru starts using her imagination and creates stories about the imaginary cities and places she has visited. Since, Aru practically lives in the museum she uses the artifacts and statues around her as inspiration. An elephant statue in the museum becomes a wild elephant that she tamed and rescued from India. This works and slowly but steadily Aru starts finding a place for herself in school.

One fatal day, she is visited by three of her classmates, Poppy, Arielle and Burton. This time Aru is trapped in her own lie of being on holiday in France. To make things worse, they are recording every single thing she does so that they can reveal all of her lies to the whole school. She decides to do something very dangerous and forbidden, she decides to light the cursed lamp.

Culture Course by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Culture Course

by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

category: mythology, religion, fiction

Age: 8-12years

Reviewed by: Anika

Link

Weak in history? Well here's a way to learn history easily and in a fun way. Read the Culture Course to improve your learning. This set of books are a lot like the Purna Vidya series that were mentioned in the April edition. The Culture Course series narrate around 15 stories in each book. Based on each story there are 6-7 questions. There is only one difference between the Purna Vidya series and the Culture Course. Purna Vidya mostly talk about stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata whereas the Culture Course books narrate stories about folk tales, Mahabharata and Ramayana stories, stories about great rishis, the foundation of holy places, rituals, etc. These books talk a lot about the holy places in India and rituals performed there. They also talk about stuff from different religions. These books teach you a lot about Hindu culture and at the same time they are very interesting. I enjoy reading and answering the questions in this series.

[this is included in our January 2018 edition of eGranth, our monthly books newsletter]

© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Sita’s Sister by Kavita Kane

 Sita’s Sister

by Kavita Kane

category: mythology, religion, fiction

Age: 8-12years

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

This book is about Urmila. She is a character from the Ramayana who we don’t know much about. Urmila is most commonly mentioned when Lakshman decides to go for exile with Ram. Sometimes we wonder why didn’t Urmila go for exile with Lakshman. She chose to be separated from her husband for fourteen years, rather than to go with him. The Ramayana never really does talk about Urmila. Every time I read the Ramayana, it talks about Ram, Lakshman, Sita, Ravan, Dasharatha, Kaikeyi etc. It never specifically tells us how did Urmila bear these years of separation, and how did she feel when Lakshman decided to go to the forest, leaving her behind. I think Urmila, also known as Sita’s sister was an exceptionally brave woman to bear this separation. This book gives an answer to one of my many questions when I read the Ramayana. The author Kavita Kane knows how to bring out the true feelings of a person in her books. So far, I have read three books of hers and all three of them concentrate on the feelings and thoughts of the person. All her books have been on female characters from the Ramayana or Mahabharata. In this book, it concentrates on all that Urmila feels and thinks. I only felt that it could have done without the romance between Urmila and Lakshman. Otherwise I feel that it was a nice book and I enjoyed reading it. Between the three of Kavita Kane’s books, this was my favourite.

[this is included in our January 2018 edition of eGranth, our monthly books newsletter]

© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Purna Vidya Series

Purna Vidya (series)

by Swamini Pramananda, Sri Dhira Chaitanya

category: mythology, religion, fiction

Age: 8-12years

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

 Purna Vidya is a series of books that explain to us our Hindu Culture, our epics and various stories. They have many books in the series. This particular book is the fifth in the series. Each of the books are on a topic related to Hinduism. This book is on the Mahabharata. It is divided into 18 chapters each one on of the parvas in the Mahabharata. One of the parvas would be given at the start in the form of a story after that there would be questions and activities. It was fun to do the activities. Purna Vidya has many activities that also help us have fun as well as learn our culture. These books that should be read to a child from childhood.

[this is included in our January 2018 edition of eGranth, our monthly books newsletter]

© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

The Puranas Translated by Bibek Debroy

The Puranas

Translated by Bibek Debroy

category: mythology, religion, fiction

Age: 8-12years

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

A Purana is a sacred text. There are many Puranas. It is believed that Vedvyasa or Krishna Dvaipayana had written them. The Puranas together make one crore shlokas. Since this number was too much for mere mortals to read, he summarized it to 4 lakh shlokas. The truth is that no one person wrote the Puranas. Many people wrote them. The eighteen main ones are the ones that Vedvyasa wrote. Puranas are divided into three categories. They are satvik (puranas that glorify Vishnu), tamsik (puranas that glorify Shiva) and rajsik (puranas that glorify Brahma). The Puranas have many stories in them. Most of them are related to the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They also have new and different stories which I have not heard or read them before. Bibek Debroy has translated the Puranas to English abridged versions. Each of the versions have a particular part of the Purana as it would be very tough to give the whole version. They are short and easy to read. I find it very easy to understand as they use simple English. I have also reviewed these abridged versions. So far, I have read and reviewed 13 puranas. They are on my blog. I enjoyed reading the Puranas and look forward to reading all of them.

[this is included in our January 2018 edition of eGranth, our monthly books newsletter]


© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Lanka’s Princess by Kavita Kane

Lanka’s Princess

by Kavita Kane

category: mythology, religion, fiction

Age: 8-12years

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

Lanka’s Princess is about Surpanakha, also called Lanka’s princess. Surpanakha means hard as nails. The youngest and the least cared for in her family, she is the sister of the mighty Ravan. Ravan is an asura and the villain of the great epic the Ramayana. The first opinion that forms in your head, if you have read the Ramayana, is that Surpanakha is an evil shape-shifting monster. She had tried to kill Sita, but had her nose and ears sliced of by Lakshmana, brother of Ram. If you are hearing about the Ramayana for the first time, then after reading this, you too would have formed a bad opinion about her. However, instead of just imagining a shape-shifting witch, try to think from Surpanakha’s point of view. I did this and a question came to my mind. Was Surpanakha evil from the start or did she turn evil later? I read this book and got my answer. The author, Kavita Kane, has tried to sympathize with Surpanakha while being fair to Ram and Lakshman. In this way she has shown both sides of the story. She has succeeded in doing so. I, as a kid, think the book could have done well without the overwhelming romance between Surpanakha and Vidyujiva (Surpanakha’s husband). Others might find this important or interesting, but I didn’t care much. In the book, Kavita Kane describes the small and trivial, yet important events in Surpanakha’s life that has not been written in the different versions of the Ramayana. She has described most of the story from Surpanakha’s eyes, concentrating on her emotions. It has been a nice experience reading this book. This is one of my favourite Indian books. I learnt a lot about a little-known character through this book. I have also reviewed it on my blog, so you can go there for more information on this book.

[this is included in our January 2018 edition of eGranth, our monthly books newsletter]


© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

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.

Brahma Purana, by Bibek Debroy

Brahma Purana

Translated by Bibek Debroy

This time I am reviewing the Brahma Purana. This Purana is the first Purana in the list of Mahapuranas. The Brahma Purana is a rajasik purana, a purana that glorifys Brahma. The Brahma Purana has nineteen thousand shlokas. It is an average Purana in length, if compared to the Skanda Purana that has eighty one thousand shlokas and Markandeya Purana that has nine thousand shlokas. The shlokas in the Brahma Purana are divided into 245 chapters [adhyays].

The Brahma Purana is not only the first Mahapurana in the list but it is also believed to be one of the first to be composed. Due to this it is also reffered. to as the adi purana. The current version of the Brahma Purana is not that old. The Purana also mentions the famous Konarka Sun temple that was not constructed before 1241 A.D. The current text of the Brahma Purana has been reconstructed from material in the Mahabharata, Harivamsha, the Vayu Purana, the Vishnu Purana and the Markandeya Purana.

This Purana has been recited by Romaharshana, a disciple of Vedavyasa to some sages who were performing a yagna.

I would like to tell a story in the Brahma Purana that I found very nice.

Once there lived a cruel hunter. He used to kill birds, animals, sages and brahmanas. One day he caught a female dove. It was raining and it was very cold that day. He took shelter under a tree. That same tree was the home of the female dove’s mate. He was mourning for the female dove as she had not come back. The latter heard him from inside the cage and told the male dove that she was trapped. The male dove wanted to free her but the female dove said that the hunter had taken refuge at their home so it was their duty to serve him. Since the hunter was suffering from cold the female dove asked the male dove to light a fire. Soon the fire was lit. The male dove immolated himself in the fire so that the hunter would have food to eat. The grief stricken female dove asked the hunter to be freed. The hunter did so and the female dove to hurled herself into the fire. The hunter had heard everything and was amazed. The female and male doves were taken to heaven for their selfless acts. The hunter repented for his misdeeds. He was told by the doves to bathe in Goutami Ganga for 15 days and all his deeds would be forgiven. So great was the river Goutami Ganga. The place where the dove immolated themselves is known as kapotatirtha as kapota means dove.

The Brahma Purana talks a lot about the Goutami Ganga. There are many such stories in which the Purana praises this great river. The Goutami Ganga is supposed to be very sacred as it cleanses the sins of a person who bathes in it.

I would now like to enlighten you about the four classes and the four stages of life.
The 4 classes are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra.
Brahmanas have to donate alms, study the shastras, perform yagnas and be well versed in the Vedas. They have to earn a living by teaching and becoming priests at sacrifices.
Kshatriyas have to bear arms, protect the Earth, donate alms and study the shastras.
Vaishyas should donate alms, perform sacrifices and study the shastras. They have to earn a living by trade, animal husbandry and agricultural business.
Shudras have to serve brahmanas. They have to earn a living by being shopkeepers and artisans.

Now let me tell you about the four phases of life.
The first phase {brahmacharya} – This phase is the student hood of life. The individual spends his days studying under his/her teacher.

The second phase {grahasthya} – This phase is the householder stage of life. The individual gets married and has children. He has to serve the gods, guests and ancestors well. It is the householders that provide alms for the sages. Due to this the householder stage is very important.

The third phase {vanaprastha} – This stage is the forest life phase. The individual retires to the forest. He detaches his mind from earthly things. He must eat fruits, berries and leaves. He must wear clothes of bark and skin. He is not allowed to cut and shave his hair.

The fourth phase {sannyasa} – This is the stage in which a brahmana completely detaches himself from things. He gets food from begging

The Brahma Purana talks a lot about the classes and phases of life so I decided to even include it in my review. This Purana is slightly different because it concentrates a lot on some things. Such as:

• The creation and destruction of the Universe.
• The river Goutami Ganga
• Tirthas and sacred places.
• The geography of the Earth.
• Time division, the classifications in people and their life.

I found this different because most Puranas don’t concentrate a lot on a particular subject or topic. They just relate stories and the answers to questions on lots of topics.

I hope you liked and enjoyed reading my review. This is the third book I am reviewing that is written by Bibek Debroy. He has a very nice style of writing and I really enjoy reading his books.
I will soon come back again with another amazing review on another Purana.

• Review of Padma Purana 
• Review Shiva Purana

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Padma Purana, Translatd by Bibek Debroy

Padma Purana (Great Epics of India: Puranas Book 2)

Translated by by Bibek Debroy, Dipavali Debroy

Last time I had written about the Shiva Purana. This time I have decided to write about the Padma Purana. The Padma Purana comes second in the list of Puranas after the Brahma Purana. All 18 Mahapuranas share 4 lakh shlokas between them but they are not equal in length. The Padma Purana is the second longest Purana. It is fifty-five thousand couplets long, second only to the Skanda Purana which is eighty-one lakh couplets long. The shlokas in this Purana are divided into 5 sections. They are:

• Shrishti khanda
• Bhumi khanda
• Svarga khanda
• Patala khanda
• Uttara khanda

The Puranas usually glorify all three main Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva but sometimes they devote more attention towards one god. The Padma Purana is a satvik Purana, a Purana that glorifies Vishnu and describes his avatars in more detail.

Each Purana is believed to be composed in a different kalpa. A kalpa is one of Brahma’s days. At the end of the kalpa the universe is destroyed and at night evil prevails. The next kalpa again starts with the creation of the Universe. The Padma Purana was composed in a kalpa known as the Padma kalpa. It is also agreed that the final form of the Puranas were composed between 300 A.D and 1000 A.D but the earlier sections of the Puranas could have been composed around 500 B.C. Bibek Debroy decides to describe the Bhumi khanda in his version of this Purana.

The Puranas have been recited by Lomaharshana on a request by some sages. I am going to tell you a story which I found very interesting.

One day during the Dvapara yuga there lived a petty and mean thief called Dandaka. He stole from Brahmans, lied, ate beef and drank wine. Dandaka once decided to steal from the temple of Vishnu. His feet were muddy so he wiped it on the threshold before coming in. This action of his had a very unexpected result. Dandaka entered the main chamber of the temple. He thought that the statue was not of use to him but there were other gold and silver objects in the room that he proceded to take. Some objects fell down and awoke some people. Dandaka ran but he stepped on a sleeping snake and died of snake bite. Yama’s servants came to take him to hell for his various crimes but Vishnu’s messengers stopped them. Vishnu’s messengers explained that when Dandaka had wiped his feet, the threshold was dirty. Some dust was brushed away when Dandaka wiped his feet. Due to this all his sins were forgiven and he was taken straight to Vishnuloka. Such are the effects of cleaning Vishnu’s temples.

I really liked this story because it taught me a new fact and was very interesting.
Each of the Mahapuranas is connected with a part of Vishnu’s body. They are as follows:

• Brahma Purana – The head
• Padma Purana – The heart
• Vishnu Purana – The right arm
• Shiva Purana – The left arm
• Bhagvata Purana – The thighs
• Narada Purana – The navel
• Markandeya Purana – The right foot
• Agni Purana – The left foot
• Bhavishya Purana – The right knee
• Brahmavaivarta Purana – The left knee
• Linga Purana – The right calf
• Varaha Puana – The left calf
• Skanda Purana – The body hair
• Vamana Purana – The skin
• Kurma Purana – The back
• Matsya Purana – The fat of the body
• Garuda Purana – The marrow
• Brahmanda Purana – The bones

If we hear the recital of one shloka from the Padma Purana all our sins that have been committed in a single day are washed away. We can obtain lot of punya by donating thousand cows but the same amount of punya can be obtained by hearing the recital of one chapter of the Padma Purana. An enormous amount of punya can be obtained by performing the asvamedha yagna but an equivalent amount of punya can be obtained by hearing the recital of the whole Padma Purana. It is better to hear the recital of texts than performing yagnas.

I enjoyed this Purana of Bibek Debroy’s also. He has used the same pattern and used simple and understandable English. This Purana had many interconnecting stories so you had to remember all the stories to understand the Purana.

I hope all the Puranas are like this and it has been really nice experience reading this Purana too.


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Review of Shiva Purana



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© 2017, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.