The need for a scholarly and comprehensive account of the Vratyas has long been felt The history of the Vratyas is in itself a subject of surpassing Interest. The past is not dead in India. Nobody familiar with the history of India can help feeling that under the thin veneer of modern renaissance age-old forces are at work. It is hoped that the present publication will help focus the interest of indological scholarship on a subject to which it has not paid as much attention as it deserves. An attempt has been made here in coordinating and Interpreting the enormous and widely scattered materials which have been made available to all those who may feel attracted to the story of one of the most brilliant episodes of ancient India, specially of the Vedic age. True, no reliable Vratya chronicles are available except the Vratyakhanda of the Atharva Veda. When the German Indologists acquired an interest in this subject, some of them attempted to weave the materials at hand into a string of connected tale and in this respect Hauer's Der Vratya stands unique. Valuable as it is in many respects in the German language, it does not seem to have been used by scholars (other than German language groups) and has therefore been a sealed book for many.
In my humble study of the subject, I have attempted to satisfy the needs of critical scholarship and to make it interesting and readable. The dissertation has been prepared on the basis of all available sources. An attempt has been made to make it a completely documented work keeping in view the famous historical adage "no document, no history". Every important statement of fact is supported by authoritative reference, though in all cases the final decision has been made by me and I alone am responsible for any error or eccentricities in judgement or otherwise. The theme has been presented by a proper sociological method in the light of various myths and religions and conforming to a rational frame of social order. Here is a critical examination of forces that have moulded the institutions of ancient India.
The cult of the Vratyas seems to belong to the earliest civilisation of India and was once widespread among the indigenous peoples, necessitating conversion through prescribed ceremony. The term 'Vratya was possibly a collective name given to a group of people whose way of life was different from those who claimed to be Aryans. As the primitive peoples of India, they seem to have contributed much to the growth and development of Indian Culture. The work is divided into five chapters and deals with the different aspects of the history and culture of the Vratyas.
Vedas (1293)
Upanishads (481)
Puranas (609)
Ramayana (834)
Mahabharata (330)
Dharmasastras (163)
Goddess (471)
Bhakti (241)
Saints (1289)
Gods (1273)
Shiva (341)
Journal (143)
Fiction (49)
Vedanta (324)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist