Shivram Sharma longed for success. Since childhood, his maverick dad thrust in him the urge to excel in everything. But Shivram turned out to be unsuccessful in every aspect of life. Having failed in education and career, Shivram followed the promptings of his true inner self. He wanted to live in accord with his inner longing. Where did his inner promptings lead him to? The book takes you through the arduous journey of a modern avatar and a must-read for every budding youth. “Reasoning along with Goodness and Truthfulness lead to an undisturbed, peaceful and productive state of mind with success and happy existence”. But why is it difficult to follow this simple motto in life?

2022-23 SSC CGL/CHSL/CPO SI/JE/MTS/GD General Studies Chapter-wise Solved Papers

Most travellers to Vietnam will, at some point, visit a Cham tower or view some Cham artefacts in a museum. These were left behind by the Cham people of the now-vanished kingdom of Champa. They are unique, exquisite and mythical. The people who built and carved these beautiful works once inhabited central Vietnam and the northern part of the south, which stretches over 1,000 kilometres from north to south. Today, with a population of less than 200,000, the Chams live primarily in Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận and other provinces in the Mekong Delta. Champa’s history is broadly divided into three eras: the First Era (5th to 10th centuries), the Second (10th to 15th centuries) and the Third (15th to 19th centuries). This book deals with the First Era, including the three great Houses of Gaṅgārāja, Vicitrasagara and Ujora at three locations. The first house is associated with Simhapura, modern Trà Kiệu in Quảng Nam province. The second house is connected with Virapura and Po Nagar in Panduranga and Kauthara, present-day Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận and Khánh Hòa provinces. The third house is linked with Indrapura, Đồng Dương Monastery in Quảng Nam province. The book also presents an overview of Champa, a description of the Cham tower and maps of Cham ruins in Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế provinces. To collect materials for this volume, the author visited most of the sites mentioned in the book and referred to Cham inscriptions, Chinese and Vietnamese historical works. Dr. Anne-Valérie Schweyer, the Research Director at CNRS (The French National Centre for Scientific Research), an epigraphist and a world-leading scholar in Champa studies, commented and wrote the foreword for the book. She concludes, “Through his travels, Tan Pham unravels the history and art of the Cham kingdoms from the time of their creation to their apogee, while at the same time making their present-day presence visible. It is a great pleasure to follow in his footsteps, which lead to a better understanding of a glorious part of Việt Nam's history.” This book is Volume 3B of the book series, A Traveller’s Story of Vietnam’s Past; it continues where Volume II, One Thousand Years - The Stories of Giao Châu, the Kingdoms of Linyi, Funan and Zhenla, ends. The book has 384 pages and contains 235 figures and illustrations. A shortened Table of Contents is shown below. Chapter 1 – A summary of this book Chapter 2 – A general overview of Champa 2.1 - The land and its people 2.2 - A trip to the past 2.3 - Champa and Đại Việt (10th to 15th centuries) 2.4 - Champa and the Khmer Empire (10th to 15th centuries) 2.5 - The religions of Champa 2.6 - A tour of Champa Chapter 3 – The towers of Champa 3.1 - The design of a Cham tower 3.2 - The bricks and the resin adhesive 3.3 - Champa deities and icons Chapter 4 – Panduranga – Land of the gods and vineyards, the House of Vicitrasagara – Champa (8th to 9th centuries) Chapter 5 – Po Nagar (Mother of the Land) Temple Chapter 6 – Indrapura, the House of Uroja – Champa (9th to 10th centuries) Chapter 7 – Indrapura and Buddhist Monasteries 7.1 - Indrapura and Buddhism 7.2 - The Đồng Dương Buddhist Monastery Chapter 8 – The Cham ruins and artefacts of Quảng Bình province Chapter 9 – The Cham ruins and artefacts of Quảng Trị province Chapter 10 – The Cham ruins and artefacts of Thừa Thiên-Huế province Chapter 11 – Conclusion Appendix 1 – Wuli, Chiêm Động, Ulik and other names of places in Champa Biography

The Shiva Purana is the fifth book in an eighteen-part series on the sacred Hindu texts known collectively as the Puranas. Translated with great rigor and precision, Bibek Debroy recounts the tales of creation and the many myths that surround Lord Shiva in twenty-four thousand shlokas and an introduction that simplifies the myth and history of the Puranas. Brimming with insight and clarity, this translation presents readers with an opportunity to truly understand classical Indian texts. Previous translations by Bibek Debroy include the Bhagavata Purana, the Markandeya Purana, the Brahma Purana, and the Vishnu Purana.

Science fiction-roman.