|| ॐ ह्रीं श्री पार्श्वनाथाय नमः || || Auṃ Hrīṃ Śrī Pārśvanāthāya Namaḥ || Jay Jinendra अर्धकथानक ARDHAKATHANAK by Banarasidas The First Autobiography in an Indian Language Braj Bhasha text + Hindi translation Translated from the Braj Bhasha into Hindi by Rohini Chowdhury 2007 19.5 x 13 cm 228 pages Paperback Price: Rs. 175 _____ ARDHAKATHANAK (A Half Story) by Banarasidas The First Autobiography in an Indian Language Braj Bhasha text + English translation Translated from the Braj Bhasha into English by Rohini Chowdhury Preface by Prof Rupert Snell 2009 19.5 x 13 cm 356 pages Paperback Price: Rs. 350 A Sanskrit translation of this book is available now! बनारसीदासविरचितम् अर्धकथानकम् संस्कृतानुवादः राधावल्लभ त्रिपाठी 2013 22 x 14 cm 63 pages Paperback Rs. 45 It was more than three hundred and seventy-three years ago, in the winter of 1641, in Agra, that Banarasidas, poet, philosopher and merchant, completed the writing of a unique and remarkable text. The Ardhakathānak, as this text is known, is the story of Banarasidas own life. When he wrote his story, Banarasidas was fifty-five years old. He believed that another fifty-five years of life remained to him since according to tradition, a mans allotted life span is a hundred and ten years. He therefore called his story his aradh kathān, his half a story. Banarasidas died two years after the completion of his Ardhakathānak, so that ironically, what he thought to be his half story became his full story. Banarasi had no precedent in literature or tradition that might have inspired him to write his lifes story, or guided him in his task. His motivation to write his story seemed simple: Let me tell my story to all. The result was an account that is more modern than medieval in tone, and which transcends formulaic conventions and stylized ornamentation. Banarasidas composed the Ardhakathānak in 675 stanzas, mainly in the dohā and caupāī metres. He relates his story in the third person, and recounts the main events of his life in a fast-flowing narrative which he interrupts only to muse on the nature of human existence. Banarasis story is set against a backdrop of Mughal history, spanning the reign of three great kings - the Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan. Banarasidas does not provide us with any political or social commentary of the times, but he does give us some glimpses of a merchants life under the Mughals. This makes the Ardhakathānak important not only from the literary point of view, but also as a historical record of the period. Banarasi charms us with his transparency and frankness, revealing as much of himself as possible. And he punctuates the fast-flowing narrative of his life every now and then to muse on the nature of human existence. At the end of his half a story, Banarasi becomes as intimate to us as an old friend; the ups and downs of whose life we know almost as well as we know our own, and whose intellectual and spiritual struggles we identify with, and perhaps even share. Other works by Banarasi include his magnificent dramatic adaptation of Acarya Kundakunda’s ‘Samayasāra’ known as the ‘Samayasāra Nātaka’ and ‘Banārasī Vilāsa’ which is an anthology of spiritual verses by Banarasi. Rohini Chowdhury has translated Banarasidas Ardhakathānak from the original Braj into modern Hindi and English. Both her translations are elegant and flowing and serve to give us a glimpse into Banarasidas’ writing style. Both books are handsomely printed and sport a beautiful cover. We are happy to sell all three versions. Either singly or as a set. We are proud to make this fine book available at our bookstore and through mail order. At Hindi Granth Karyalay, we have completed 101 years of delighting customers. We are committed to making the best writings on Jainism and Indology available across the world. Which is why, besides our own publications, we stock and sell books from all the major Indological and Hindi publishers of India. We carry a large number of publications, of direct interest to students of Indology, Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. We carry books in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi and Urdu. FAQs 1. We dispatch books after receiving the payment. 2. How to pay us: We accept payments through Money Order and Demand Draft, Visa and MasterCard, NEFT and SWIFT. Else, if you live in India, you could simply deposit the money at any branch of Bank of India. 3. Shipping: We ship books all over the world. 4. A complete list of our own publications: navelgazing.net/2013/03/a-list-of-our-publications_19.html Best regards, Manish Yashodhar Modi हिन्दी ग्रन्थ कार्यालय १९१२ से धर्म, संस्कृति तथा साहित्य की सेवा में HINDI GRANTH KARYALAY Publishers Since 1912 9 Hirabaug CP Tank Mumbai 400004 • भारत • INDIA Telephones +91 22 2382 6739 +91 98208 96128 Email jainbooks@aol
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 11:26:36 +0000
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