The epochal debate between Jagadguru Adi Sankara and the erudite Mimamsakaraka couple, Mandana Mishra and Ubhaya Bharati of ancient Mahishmati, is a fascinating account, told many times. With his astounding commitment to truth, Adi Sankara had to undergo transmigration to seek out knowledge on the householder's way of love and relationship, to eventually win the debate.
Amaru by Shobana Ravi recreates the tale of that transmigration. How did it all unfold? What were the consequences? How did it impact the family of the dead king resurrected to life? How did Sankara's disciples prevent their Master's body from being consigned to flames, while awaiting his return? Amaru takes you to that tumultuous time in history, visualizing the events as they may have transpired.
Partly fictional, Amaru stays broadly close to the events recorded in Sankara Digvijaya by Madhava-Vidyaranya, presenting the Bharat of then-soaked in culture, splendour and a passion for learning, while valorously keeping invaders at bay-spanning the magnificent Karkota dynasty, the sacred Sharada Peetham, the scholarly Nalanda, and much more. In an exhilarating sweep, Amaru brings it all alive vividly-philosophical discussions, emotional upheavals and civilizational history-an action and intellectual thriller that is a page turner.
Shobana Ravi is a popular media person from Chennai, India. She was a newscaster with Doordarshan, India's largest broadcasting organisation.
Her interests range from art and poetry to music and philosophy. She holds a Master's degree in English Literature from Madras University. Her first book, The Catalyst, was a memoir, an account of her spiritual journey. Amaru is her third book and her second novel in English. Her first work of fiction is The Auspicious, which was launched in the year 2020.
A book of immense value for its content and form, Amaru by Shobana Ravi deals with an important phase in Adhi Shankara's life and the time of one of the lesser known kings of Kashmir, Vajraditya. The author is able to intertwine the lives of these two to weave an interesting and readable historical/religious fiction with a remarkable use of imagery and style to draw the riveting attention of the reader. The pivotal theme of the book is based on the metempsychosis of Adhi Shankara's soul into the body of a Kashmiri king for the purpose of further learning to complete a debate, and woven around a well thought out plot by bringing in a few fictitious characters as well.
In Canto 9, titled Establishing The Claim To Be The Master Of All Learning, in the SHANKARA-DIG-VIJAYA THE TRADITIONAL LIFE OF SRISHANKARACHARYA, by Madhava-Vidyaranya (translated by Swami Tapasyananda and published by Ramakrishna Math) the incident, the anchor of this book Amaru, is recorded. The later portion of resurrection is narrated in the Canto 10 of the same book.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
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