Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - July 2017

 

eGranth - The July, 2017 Books Newsletter

Editor: Our July Newsletter is finally out. I know it has come after a long wait and I’m sorry for the delay but we finally completed it. This time we have added two brand new sections. Hope you enjoy the additions. This time I, Anika donned the editor's cap. My sister provided the content for quite a few books. She has given the content for at least eight to nine books and they are very well written. Well here are this issue's sections:

• Epic Reading
• Notable Books
• Classic books
• Yikes! I read what?
• All work no play
• Horrific Horror
• Tickled my stomach

Epic Reading

This section contains books on the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is the first section and has two books. If you are a fan of the Ramayana and all myths related to it, this section is just right for you.

Lanka’s Princess - This is yet another book written by Kavita Kane. This book is about Shurpanakha also called Lanka’s princess. Shurpanakha means hard as nails. She is the sister of 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 Shurpanakha 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. This book is different. It portrays the not well-known side of Shurpanakha. Kavita Kane has tried to sympathize with Shurpanakha while being fair to Ram and Lakshman. She has succeeded in doing so. I as a kid think the book could have done well without the overwhelming romance between Shurpanakha and Vidyujiva. Others might find this important or interesting but I didn’t care about this much. In the book Kavita Kane describes the small and trivial yet crucial events in Shurpanakha life that has not been written in other versions of the Ramayana. She has described most of the story from Shurpanakha eyes and concentrating on her emotions too. It has been a nice experience reading this book. You can also visit my blog to know more about this book. [k] [link]

Scion of Ikshvaku - This book is written by Amish, and is his second series which he has written. The first one was the Meluha series, and this is the second one, the Ram Chandra series. I want to give you a small idea on the storyline. The story covers the birth of Rama, his marriage and it ends when they are in exile and Sita is abducted, and Rama sees the Pushpak Vimana taking off with her. This is not the original Ramayana, but it is a fictional retelling of it. Amish has added his own changes to the story, with the basic storyline. I really liked the book. He added so many twists, which made the story one which you will read. I found each change in the story unique. The start of the book is slow, but later you really start to enjoy it. You might have to read some parts of the book again to understand it. It is a worthwhile book to read. It describes many things in detail, making it simple for the reader to understand. It is very different from the Ramayana and has many things that have been changed, but it does not make it unpleasant to read. [v] [link]

Notable Books

This section has all the must-read books. It contains the books that we thought most children would like. Trust me the books in here are totally amazing. Even if you are reluctant to read the books in here, do not miss them out. There is no need to buy them, just get them as an e-book or borrow it from a friend or library. The moment you start reading these books you will fall in love with them and would want to buy them. If they don't spark your interest follow the fifty-page rule before you put it down. They are totally amazing.

Esperanza Rising - This book is written by Pam Munoz Ryan. It was given to me by my cousin. As most of the books she gives me are nice, I started reading it. The story was about a young girl named Esperanza. It talks about how she struggles in her survival in the escape from Mexico to the United States. It starts with the unfortunate and sad death of her father and the way she her mother and servants, escape from the mercy of her cruel uncles to the United States. Even after reaching the United States luck is no better. They must do very tough work to survive and when things could get no worse, Esperanza’s mother falls sick. Can Esperanza stay strong and support her mother in this struggle? Read ‘Esperanza Rising’ to find out. This book was very nice. It gave the message to show hope and strength in even the worst of times. This book was based on the author’s grandmother’s experience on hermove from Mexico to the United States. There ae a few Mexican words in it which you may not understand but otherwise it was an amazing experience reading this. [k] [link]

Matsya Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy - Review

Matsya Purana - Translated by Bibek Debroy

This time I am reviewing the Matsya Purana. This is the fifth Purana that I am reviewing, that has been written by Bibek Debroy. The Matsya Purana comes sixteenth in the list of Mahapuranas. The Matsya Purana has fifteen thousand couplets. It is a medium sized Purana. There are fourteen thousand shlokas which are divided into two hundred and ninety-one chapters. You might get a bit confused at this point because I earlier mentioned fifteen thousand shlokas but in the fifth line I mentioned the division of only fourteen thousand shlokas. The book doesn’t mention the division of the last thousand shlokas. Well, that must means that the last thousand shlokas have not been divided into chapters at all. The Matsya Purana is a tamsik Purana, a Purana that glorifies Shiva. Lomaharshana is the narrator of the Puranas to some sages in the namisharanya forest.
This Purana was originally recited to Manu by Lord Vishnu in his Matsya avatar. It is also considered as the most holy of Puranas because it was recited by Vishnu himself. Well, the question now is how and when did Manu hear the Matsya Purana? It so happened that Manu was meditating at the foothills of Mount Malaya. A pleased Brahma appeared and asked Manu what he wanted. Manu replied that he wanted to be the one to save the world from destruction in the current era. Brahma granted the boon and disappeared. Soon, the time of destruction dawned. As promised, Manu got a boat and collected all the great rishis and animals in the boat. However, before all this had happened, Manu had found a fish that had kept growing size. It became so large that it was too big for the whole ocean. Well that same fish came back and helped Manu steer the boat in the tossing and turning waves that were engulfing the entire Universe. The fish was none other than Vishnu in his Matsya avatar. Manu asked many questions, and the answers of the fish were written down in the Matsya Purana.

Scion of Ikshvaku, by Amish - Review

Scion of Ikshvaku

This book is based on the Ramayana. It is the first book in a series. It goes up to the part when Sita is abducted. It is a fictional retelling of the Ramayana not the actual story. There are many types of retellings. This book is a type of retelling in which the basic idea remains the same but there are a few twists, changes and additions that make a huge difference to the book. Let me just warn you that before you plunge into the review there are few minor spoilers here and there. Well, here goes.

There are many instances in which there are a lot of changes because it is a fictional retelling. Let me tell you about some of them.

Spoilers and more!
The story starts from before the birth of Rama. It starts with the important battle between Dasharatha and Ravan. The battle is not mentioned in most of the books on the Ramayana that I have read. It could have been an addition but I’m not that sure. The battle was important because it was crucial in affecting the lives and relationship of Dasharatha and Rama. This is one of the biggest changes that Amish has added in the book, but I won’t tell you what it is.

Guess, guess, guess!

Lanka's Princess, by Kavita Kane

Lanka's Princess, by Kavita Kane

This book is about Surpanakha, also called Lanka’s princess. Surpanakha means hard as nails. She is the sister of 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.

Now, the question is, was Surpanakha evil? Or was it because of some event or tragedy she turned evil. Let’s find out.

Linga Purana, by Bibek Debroy

Linga Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

This time I am reviewing the Linga Purana. This is the fourth Purana that I have read and am reviewing. The Linga Purana is number 11 in the list of the eighteen Mahapuranas. This Purana is a tamasik Purana, a Purana that glorifies Shiva. The Linga Purana is a comparatively short Purana because it is just eleven thousand shlokas long. It is divided into two parts. The first part is known as Purva bhaga and has one hundred and eight chapters. The second part is known as Uttara bhaga and has fifty-five chapters.
This Purana like most other Puranas is narrated by Sauti or Lomaharshana, a disciple of Vedvyasa to some sages living in the Namisharanya forest.
There were many interesting stories in the Purana but I would like to narrate one very interesting story.

One story

I’m sure that most of you might have heard about this amazing tirtha named Sthaneshwara tirtha. This tirtha is known as the place where wonderful things happen. I would like to share the story of this tirtha with you.
Once there lived a sage named Dadhichi. He had a friend named Kshupa. Dadhichi was a of the Brahmin class while Kshupa was of the kshatriya class. One day both the friends started arguing about the superiority of brahmins over kshatriyas and vice versa. Kshupa believed kshatriyas were superior while Dadhichi said that brahmins were superior. Soon they had argued as to come to blows. The sage hit Kshupa with his fist on his head. Kshupa had the Vajra {Indra’s thunderbolt} in his position at the time. Using the Vajra, he struck Dadhichi and killed him. Before dying he called out to Shukracharya, the guru of the asuras. Shukracharya knew the art of bringing the dead back to life. He resurrected Dadhichi. Shukracharya then asked Dadhichi to learn the art of bringing dead back to life from Shiva. The sage began immense tapasya and managed to please Shiva. He got three boons. They were:

1. He would be prosperous.
2. His bones would be as hard as the Vajra.
3. No one could kill him.

After obtaining these boons Dadhichi went and kicked Kshupa. Kshupa hurled the Vajra at Dadhichi but the sage was not hurt due to Shiva’s boons. Kshupa started praying to Vishnu to get stronger. Finally, Vishnu appeared and Kshupa desired to be able to kill Dadhichi. Vishnu was unable to do so as Dadhichi was fortified by Shiva’s boon but promised to try. Vishnu went to Dadhichi in the guise of a brahmin. Dadhichi immediately saw through the disguise. Vishnu asked Dadhichi to tell Kshupa he was scared. However, when Kshupa came Dadhichi did not say what Vishnu asked him to say instead he said why should he be scared if Shiva was there. An angry Vishnu hurled the sudarshan chakra at him but of no avail. Then Vishnu threw the Brahma Astra but even that had no effect. Other gods came to help Vishnu in his fight but they too were defeated. Dadhichi took a handful of straw and threw it at the gods. Almost magically the straws turned into burning tridents and burnt everyone. Finally, even Vishnu gave up and Kshupa accepted that brahmins were superior. The place where all of this happened is known as Sthaneshwara tirtha.

The Linga Purana is the fourth Purana that I have read and was interesting to read. Compared to the other Puranas that I have read, this Purana comes at number 3. This Purana concentrates more on the creation and destruction of the Universe. It also talks a lot about the geography of the Earth. The Linga Purana has less stories and most of them have been mentioned in other Puranas. In a few stories, there is a twist which is added to glorify Shiva. The story of Sthaneshwara was the only story that I had not read before.
The other Puranas that I have read and reviewed are the Padma, Shiva and Brahma Puranas. The reviews are all available on my blog.

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Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - May 2017

Editor: This is the May issue of our newsletter. It is the second issue. This time I, Anika Agarwal, am the editor. In the previous newsletter, we had written about the reading that we had done in March. This time we have written about the reading that we have done in April. You might have noticed that we have changed the template of the heading. It might continue in the next few issues before we decide on one that we like best. You also might notice that there are few different books with the same authors as in the previous newsletter. This time we have concentrated the newsletter on many series of books. Read and enjoy!


Puranas: This book is about a Purana. A Purana is one of the sacred texts of the Hindus. a sacred text. There are many Puranas. The truth is that no one person wrote the Puranas. Many people wrote them. There are 18 main ones. These main ones are known as Mahapuranas. It is believed that Vedvyasa wrote the Mahapuranas. Vedvyasa is the same person who wrote the Mahabharata and compiled the Vedas. Mahapuranas are mostly concentrated on the three main Hindu Gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is considered the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. The Vishnu concentrated Puranas are called the ‘satvik puranas’. The Brahma concentrated Puranas are called the ‘rajsik puranas’. The Shiva concentrated Puranas are called the ‘tamsik puranas. All lists widely agree on the numbering of the Puranas except the fourth Mahapurana. Some people say the fourth Mahapurana is the Shiva Purana. While others say the fourth Mahapurana is the Vayu Purana. My sister and I have read four of the Puranas. They were really nice. We have even reviewed them on our bog. The versions of the Puranas that we read were unabridged ones. They were written by Bibek Debroy. His versions were easy and simple to understand. I enjoyed reading them. [Brahmna Purana, Shiva Purana, Padma Purana, Matsya Purana]

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.

Shiva Purana by Bibek Debroy

Shiva Purana (Great Epics of India: Puranas Book 4)

Translated by Bibek Debroy, Dipavali Debroy

This book is about a Purana. Well, what is a Purana? A Purana is a sacred text. There are many Puranas. It is believed that Vedvyasa or Krishna Dvaipayana had written them. The word Vedvyasa is just a title. It means the person who compiled the Vedas. Vedvyasa first divided the Vedas into 4 parts. The Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. After this he wrote the Mahabharata. Mahabharata has one lakh shlokas. Still feeling unsatisfied he wrote the Puranas. 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. They are:

• Brahma Purana
• Padma Purana
• Vishnu Purana
• Shiva Purana/ Vayu Purana
• Bhagwata Purana
• Narayana Purana
• Markandeya Purana
• Agni Purana
• Bhavishya Purana
• Brahma vaivarta Purana
• Linga Purana
• Varaha Purana
• Skanda Purana
• Vamana Purana
• Kurma Purana
• Matsya Purana
• Garuda Purana
• Bhramanda Puarana

These eighteen Puranas are known as Mahapuranas. Every Mahapurana should have 5 things:

• The creation of the universe [sarga]
• The periodical destruction and recreation [pratisarga]
• The solar dynasty [surya vansha] and the lunar dynasty [Chandra vansha]
• The fourteen different eras [manvantaras]
• The royal genealogies [vamshanucharita]

If a purana does not have these 5 things, then it is not a Mahapurana. There is some confusion about the Shiva Purana. Some people say the fourth Mahapurana is the Shiva Purana. While others say the fourth Mahapurana is the Vayu Purana. All the Mahapuranas are mostly concentrated on the three main Hindu Gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is considered the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. The Vishnu concentrated Puranas are called the ‘satvik puranas’. The Brahma concentrated Puranas are called the ‘rajsik puranas’. The Shiva concentrated Puranas are called the ‘tamsik puranas.'

The Shiva Purana is 24,000 shlokas long. It has been told to some sages by Romaharshana alias Lomaharshana, who was a disciple of Vedvyasa. Romaharshana also describes all the 12 Jyotirlingas. They are:

• Somnath
• Mallikarjuna
• Mahakala
• Kedara
• Omkara
• Bhimashankara
• Vishvanatha
• Vaidyanatha
• Nagesha
• Rameshvara
• Tryambaka
• Ghushnesha

I like the story in which Romaharshana describes the curses of the ketaki and champak flower, due to which they are not used to worship Shiva.

The ketaki flower has a unique story from the Ramayana on why it is not used to worship Shiva. The story takes place in the forest where Ram, Lakshmana and Sita were spending their exile. They had just received the news of Dasharatha’s death. Ram as the eldest decided to perform the funeral rights in the forest. He sent Lakshmana to get the required materials. Lakshmana did not return for a long time so Ram set out to find him. It was nearing afternoon and both Ram and Lakshmana had not returned. Sita decided to do the funeral rites herself. Two disembodied hands appeared and claimed to be Dashratha. They accepted the offering. Sita said that Ram and Lakshmana would not believe her. The hands said that the river Phalgu, the fire, a cow standing nearby and a ketaki flower would be the witnesses. Ram and Lakshman returned and did not believe her. Sita asked all 4 witnesses and all of them denied it. Ram and Lakshmana performed the rites and a voice from heaven explained that Sita had already completed it. The Sun God confirmed it. Sita was angry that the witnesses lied. She cursed the Phalgu river that it would only flow underground. The fire would consume all things irrespective of what it was. The cow’s mouth would become impure because it had lied through that. Lastly the ketaki flower would never be used to worship Shiva.

I liked the story because it was a new thing to me and it has not been described in most versions of the Ramayana. The twelve Jyotirlingas also have a different and unique story about them. It is said that at those 12 places Lord Shiva is always there. At those 12 places people did great tapasya and got a boon, with which they asked Shiva to always be there.

The Purana also describes the different types of hell for a person according to their sin. I am also sure the Shiv Purana is a Mahapurana because it has all 5 components needed for a Mahapurana.

If we hear or read the Shiv purana all our sins our forgiven. If we repeatedly read the Shiv Purana, Shiva himself will come to bless the devotees. If one donates the Shiv Purana with a bull and gold gets to live in Shivaloka forever.

It has been a nice experience reading this book and I hope all the other Puranas are the same. Bibek Debroy has used simple English that is easy and understandable.

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© 2017, Anika Agarwal.

Sita's Sister, by Kavita Kane

Sita's Sister, by Kavita Kane

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.