Reprint of the original, first published in 1891.

understood as a nondual reality: an activity that does not exist in itself

In this revelatory volume, Roberto Calasso, whom the Paris Review has called 'a literary institution', explores the ancient texts known as the Vedas. Little is known about the Vedic people who lived more than three thousand years ago in northern India: they left behind almost no objects, images, ruins. They created no empires. Even the hallucinogenic plant, the soma, which appears at the centre of some of their rituals, has not been identified with any certainty. Only a 'Parthenon of words' remains: verses and formulations suggesting a daring understanding of life. 'If the Vedic people had been asked why they did not build cities,' writes Calasso, 'they could have replied: we did not seek power, but rapture.' This is the ardor of the Vedic world, a burning intensity that is always present, both in the mind and in the cosmos. With his signature erudition and profound sense of the past, Calasso explores the enigmatic web of ritual and myth that define the Vedas. Often at odds with modern thought, he shows how these texts illuminate the nature of consciousness more than neuroscientists have been able to offer us up to now. Following the 'hundred paths' of the Satapatha Brahmana, an impressive exegesis of Vedic ritual, Ardor indicates that it may be possible to reach what is closest by passing through that which is most remote, as 'the whole of Vedic India was an attempt to think further'.

The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts is a major contribution in Indian art history. More than a book on the theories of arts, it has far-reaching implications for the way one thinks about the future of indology and art history. It provides a model to be emulated for inter-disciplinary research, not only between the arts but also the sciences and the arts. The book begins by re-examining the imagery of the Vedas and the Upanisads, highlighting some aspects of early speculative thought which influenced the enunciation of aesthetic theories, particularly of Bharata in the Natyasastra. The next chapter introduces a new methodology of analyzing the rituals (yajna) as laid down in the Yajurveda and the Satapatha Brahmana, the best way to focus the relationship between the text and the practice. Four chapters follow – one each on drama (natya), architecture (vastu), sculpture (silpa), and music (sangita). Each presents some fundamental concepts of speculative thought, concerned with each of the arts and purposefully correlates these with actual examples both of the past and the present. The afterward to this second edition remains an event not only because the book benefits from the works published since the first edition, but also because it presents the author’s integral vision and her unique adventure into the boundaries of several disciplines. It demonstrates the efficacy of her earlier approach of investigating the imagery and the metaphors as basic to the discourse of the Indian tradition. She proposes a multi-layered cluster of concepts and metaphors which enable one to uncode the complex multi-dimensional character of the Indian Arts. Also significantly she suggests a deeper comprehension of the relevance of the developments in the field of traditional mathematics and biology for the study of the language of form of the Indian Arts.

The Sanskrit Alphabet consists of 56 Letters. There are Vowels, Semivowels, Row Class Consonants, Sibilants and the Aspirate. The Alphabet is called अक्षरम् in Sanskrit. Each letter is clearly enunciated with correct movement of the Tongue. Nasals lend a distinct twang and the Vedic chants are a delight to hear because of Accented Vowels. Reading an Avagraha, Ayogavaha, Visarga and Anusvara is properly explained as all the letters of the Alphabet are laid out threadbare. A section on Unicodes and Typesetting in Devanagari with fonts and keyboard IME supporting Vedic Extensions adds relevant value. While reading Vedic Texts, we notice some letters, characters and symbols that are in addition to the standard Sanskrit Alphabet. These characters are the accent marks, sandhi symbols, additional letters and punctuation, that are found in Vedic Sanskrit. There are various samhita recensions of the Veda manuscripts available today, and they differ in the usage of accents and symbols, and also in the enunciation while chanting aloud. Each ashram and gurukul and pundit or scholar needs to be aware of the tone and pitch during recitation and chanting of the Vedas. Even university professors and researchers delving into the Vedas need to be aware of the correct meaning and application of these verses. Furthermore, as we move from offset printing and metal type setting to the computer and smartphone era, this book serves as an invaluable resource. This book builds upon our popular title "The Sanskrit Alphabet". Infused with manuscript passages from the Satapatha Brahmana, Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Samhita, Samaveda and Krishna Yajurveda to illustrate Vedic Symbols. A useful and complete book for the novice, the amateur or the Scholar.