This Omnibus edition brings together four classic works on Hinduism by renowned scholars, providing the liturgical, historical, anthropological, and individualist's interpretation of the religion. With an introduction by T.N. Madan, this volume will make an excellent and very comprehensive collector's item on the subject of Hinduism.

For more than half a century, T.N. Madan has been a towering influence on the sociological and anthropological studies of family and kinship, cultural dimensions of development, religion, secularism, and Hindu society and tradition. This Omnibus brings together his seminal writings on marriage, kinship, family, and the household in Hindu society. Family and Kinship: A Study of the Pandits of Rural Kashmir, first published in 1965, remains a pioneering ethnographic study of the Kashmiri Pandits, and is considered a classic in the field of world anthropology. The book presents a social history of a people and culture which is currently virtually non-existent in the Kashmir Valley. Drawing upon new theoretical and methodological perspectives, Non-renunciation: Themes and Interpretations of Hindu Culture provides a nuanced understanding of Hinduism as a lived tradition. It explores aspects of auspiciousness, purity, asceticism, eroticism, altruism, and death while focussing on the householder's life in Hindu society. The Omnibus also includes additional essays on the Brahmanic gotra, and the Hindu family and development, along with a short piece on aspects of traditional household culture. It features an autobiographical essay—the author's recollection of growing up in a Pandit home in Srinagar, Kashmir. In the Prologue, T.N. Madan engages with the 'householder tradition' across the cultural regions of India, analysing themes of householdership and renunciation in religious philosophy and ethnography.

This Omnibus brings together two of distinguished sociologist T.N. Madan's books on the concept of the householder in Hinduism. A common thread running through the Omnibus is the focus on life and society amongst the Hindu Kashmiri Pandit community. One of the books discussed in this Omnibus is Family and Kinship: A Study of the Pandits of Rural Kashmir, a pioneering and ethnographically rich account of the Indian family. It is considered to be a classic kinship study and is probably the only study of its kind of traditional Pandit life in the Kashmir Valley. The second book is Non-renunciation: Themes and Interpretations of Hindu Culture, which draws attention away from the ideas of caste and renunciation and focuses instead on the 'householder' in Hindu society. Beginning with an analysis of the ideology of the householder among Kashmiri Pandits the author deals with asceticism, eroticism, altruism and death as elaborations of the householder tradition. The Omnibus also includes a new Preface; a Prologue which introduces the reader to the concept of the householder tradition in Hinduism; an Epilogue-the author's memories of growing up in a Kashmiri Pandit household in Srinagar; and three appendices on related themes.

Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian novelists of the twentieth century. His novels, serialized in periodicals and subsequently published in book form, earned Saratchandra immense fame in the early decades of the century, and established him as Bengal's master storyteller. Even today, seven decades after his death, Saratchandra remains one of the most popular novelists in Bengal, and is widely read in translation across India as well. This collector's edition of Saratchandra's works in English translation brings together the writer's most renowned and best-loved novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features five novels: Srikanta, Devdas, Parineeta, Palli Samaj and Nishkriti. Srikanta is the story of a wanderer who observes the people around him; through them— especially the women he loves and respects, from the sacrificing Annada Didi and the rebellious Abhaya to the housewife Rajlakshmi and the courtesan Pyari Bai— he tries to arrive at an understanding of life. Devdas, on the other hand, is the tragic tale of a man who drives himself to drink and debilitation when he is unable to marry his childhood sweetheart Paro. In Parineeta (Espoused), the orphaned Lalita is secretly in love with her guardian Shekhar, but circumstances conspire to drive the two apart. Palli Samaj (The Village Life) has Ramesh, an engineer, returning to the village of his birth to try and rid it of the backwardness that plagues it, even as he tries to revive his childhood ties with Rama, now a widow. In Nishkriti (Deliverance), the strong-willed Shailaja, the youngest daughter-in-law in a joint family, is made an outcast as a result of a misunderstanding; much later, her elders realize their mistake, just in time to save the family from disintegration. Each of the novels showcases the qualities Saratchandra is famous for: everyday stories told in a simple yet gripping style, strong characters, meticulous plotting, true-to-life dialogue, and unforgettable depictions of life in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Translated especially for Penguin, these classic novels will delight those new to Saratchandra's works as well as those who want to return to them again.

Hinduism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation explores Hinduism and the distinction between the secular and religious on a global scale. According to Ranganathan, a careful philosophical study of Hinduism reveals it as the microcosm of philosophical disagreements with Indian resources, across a variety of topics, including: ethics, logic, the philosophy of thought, epistemology, moral standing, metaphysics, and politics. This analysis offers an original and fresh diagnosis of studying Hinduism, colonialism, and a global rise of hyper-nationalism, as well as the frequent acrimony between scholars and practitioners of Hindu traditions. This text is appropriate for use in undergraduate and graduate courses on Hinduism, and Indian philosophy, and can be used as an advanced introduction to the problems of philosophy with South Asian resources.

The First Volume Of This Collector S Edition Brings Together Five Of Bankimchandra S Best-Known Works In English Translation. Set In The Bengal Of Emperor Jehangir S Time, Kapalkundala Tells The Story Of Nabakumar, A Young Woman Named Kapalkundala Whom He Rescues From A Tantric Intent On Human Sacrifice, And The Beautiful Lutfunnisa Who Has Sold Her Heart On Marrying Him. In Bishabriksha (The Poison Tree), Set In Bankimchandra S Own Time, Nagendra Is Torn Between His Devoted Wife Suryamukhi And The Bewitching Young Widow Kundanandini. Unable To Prioritize Either Of The Women He Cares For, Nagendra Ends Up Losing Both. Indira Is A Lighthearted Tale Of Playful Intrigues: Upendra Does Not Realize That His Wife Indira Is Now Working As A Cook In His Friend S House, And Is Given A Royal Run-Around By Indira And Subhasini, Her Employer. Krishnakanta S Will Is A Tragedy Of Lust, Infidelity, Greed And Death Revolving Around Govindalal, His Wife Bhramar, The Attractive Widow Rohini, And A Stolen Will. Rajani, The Story Of A Blind Girl And Two Men, Sachindra And Amarnath, Is A Psychologically Taut Tale; It Is The First Indian Novel Where Characters Narrate Their Stories In The First Person. Evoking The Bengal Of Yore In All Its Hues, Bankimchandra S Novels Explore Love And Relationships And The Manner In Which Society Shapes Them. Translated Exclusively For Penguin, These Superbly Crafted Novels Are Sure To Hold Readers In Thrall Today Just As They Did Over A Century Ago.