Devi The Devi Bhagavatam Retold

The Devi Bhagavatam is said to have been composed in Bengal in the sixth century CE, in twelve Parvas and 18,000 slokas. The text is only available in Bengali, with Hindi commentaries. It is replete with references to and legends from an obviously pre-Vedic religion of the Goddess. The Devi Bhagavatam is a Shakta Purana. It is for the Shakta what the Bhagavata Purana is for the Vaishnava: his or her most sacred book. The Shaktas worship Shakti, the Eternal Feminine, in all her forms. Devi is Kali and Durga; she is Saraswati, Mahalakshmi and Parvati; she is Sati, Sita and Radha. She is the Mother of the Universe; without her animating power, Shiva becomes shava, a corpse. This book is an abridged literary rendering of the Devi Bhagavatam. It retells all the major legends of the Goddess, as well as some other, less known tales.

Devi, Mother and Protector of the World, is one of the most loved figures of Hindu iconography. In her various incarnations, Devi is warrior, mother, faithful wife, and the fount of knowledge, delivering all that her devotees ask of her. Bulbul Sharma tells the fascinating story of Devi in this book, drawing upon the many strands of myth and legend contained in ancient scriptures and also in folklore. She looks at how these stories were created, how they changed down the ages, and the vision of the world they uphold. Rich in drama and symbolism, these stories live today with the same intensity as they did when they were first told.

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.

There are eighteen Mahapuranas, great Puranas, and the Siva Purana is one of them. Siva is a vivid retelling of the Siva Purana for today's reader. The book contains all the major legends of Siva, bringing them alive again for a new generation.

"No one has ever recorded the voice of Radha – one of the most powerful characters in all of chronicled history. As one half of the indivisible entity ‘RadhaKrishna’ she resonates through millions of lives every day. And yet, her songs remain unsung; her stories stay untold. Until now. This book, entitled an eponymous ‘Radha’; is a collection of 101 poems written in the voice of Radha. This book is Radha speaking to her beloved Krishna in poetry, across the ages, in an endless conversation that ebbs and flows and heaves and rests like the rhythm of a vast ocean. Sometimes she is a young girl, sometimes she is an old woman, sometimes she is petulant in her love for her Krishna, sometimes she is unflinching in her courage in letting go of her beloved Krishna. This book is an imagined conversation between 2 of the most evocative characters of all time. Her Krishna is as present in the writing as Radha is, although he never speaks a word. This is not a love story. This is the love story."

Bhoodevi, the earth, was being ravaged by evil asuras. She turned to the gods for aid but even the powerful trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, were helpless. Concerned by the events, their consorts, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati combined their powers and created Vaishnavi, a woman of unsurpassed strength. Vaishnavi fought and destroyed the asuras but the goddesses asked her to stay on and not return to heaven. Though Vaishnavi did not realize it, her story was only just beginning. Amar Chitra Katha tells the story of Vaishnavi's transformation into the meditating goddess, Vaishno Devi, whose abode in the Himalayas is visited by millions of pilgrims every year.

H.H. is the spoilt, selfish, beautiful widow of the Maharaja of Mastipur. She lives with her dogs and her caretaker, Hans, in an enormous old house in Mussoorie, taking lovers and discarding them, drinking too much and fending off her reckless sons who are waiting hungrily for their inheritance. The seasons come and go, hotels burn down, cinemas shut shop and people leave the hill station never to return, but H.H. remains constant and indomitable. Observing her antics, often with disapproval, is her old friend Ruskin, who can never quite cut himself off from her. Melancholic, wry and full of charm, Maharani is a delightful novella about love, death and friendship.

Blue God opens on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where the Pandava warrior, Arjuna, suffers a crisis of courage. His charioteer, Krishna, expounds the eternal dharma for him. This exposition between two armies is the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindus Bible. BLUE GOD cuts back to Krishnas birth, and back again to the battlefield, and so on, chapter by chapter, until both narratives flow together near the books end. Never before have Krishnas sacred Gita and his colorful personality and life been put together in the same book, certainly not in English by a modern novelist for a modern audience.