FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Mudrarakshasam
Mudrarakshasam is translation, both in Bengali and English, of the drama Mudrarakshasam has originally written in Sanskrit by Visakhadatta. Bidhubhsan Goswami, in his introduction, presents a brief analysis of the special characteristics of the drama. All the seven cantos are presented in original Sanskrit along with their translation.
The Fundamentals of Religion
The present book, written by Nalinikanta Brahma, undertakes a detailed study of the essence of all religions. The author classifies all the religions under three groups: 1. Impersonal, 2. Personal and 3. Supra-Personal. The doctrines and beliefs of all the great regions have been presented in terms of this classification. The author makes a critical assessment of the objections to religion as advanced by Russell, Freud and Marx. The author defends what he calls “ Supre-Personal Religion”. The book ends with an analysis of the possibility of a universal religion.
Language, Testimony and Meaning
The present book, authored by Sibajiban Bhattacharyya, is an analysis of the philosophy of language as one finds in Navya-Nyāya tradition. The book is divided into five chapters: 1. Some Alternative Conceptions of language, 2. Some Themes and Theories of Navya-Nyāya, 3. Epistemology of Testimony, 4. Some Indian Theories of Testimony and 5. Some features of Navya-Nyāya Semantic Theory. This book is an analysis of some of the salient issues in the classical philosophy of language defending the Navya-Nyāya perspective.
Darśana Manīṣā Categories
प्रामाण्यवाद: (Prāmāṇyavādaḥ)
In this book, Harirama Tarkavagisa critically assesses the Mīmāṃśa theory of self-luminosity of knowledge. According to Prabhākara, the knower, the object of knowledge and the knowledge itself are apprehended in one go. The Bhaṭṭa Mīmāṃsakas hold that knowledge is inferred through a property called knownness. Murāri Miśra, another Mīmāṃsaka philosopher, holds that knowledge is known in a subsequent knowledge called introspection. Harirāma, following the footsteps of Gaṅgeśa, argues that since sometimes doubt regarding the validity of knowledge arises in the third moment after the origin of knowledge, the validity of the knowledge is apprehended by something other than the totality of the causal conditions of that knowledge. Harirama further argues that there is something wrong with the thesis that knowledge is self-luminious.
নবদ্বীপ মহিমা (Nabadwip Mahima)
This book is perhaps the first attempt to portray the detailed history of Navadvipa. The author starts the discourse with the history of the name ‘Navadvipa’ along with a description of the relation of Navadvipa to the rest of Bengal during the ancient period. The second part of the book contains a detailed description of the scholars of Navadvipa who worked on Navya-Nyāya, Smṛti, and Tantra. In the third chapter, one finds an elaborate presentation of Sri Chaitanya’s biography along with a discussion on Vaishnava religion. Since Navadvipa was ruled by the king of Krishnagar for a long time, there is a discussion on the rulers of Krishnagar, their contribution to the Navadvipa scholarship as patrons. The author also adds a discussion on the famous musicians, eminent persons trained in English education and business persons of Navadvipa.
মহামনিষী জগন্নাথ তর্কপঞ্চানন (Mahamanisi Jagannath Tarkapanchanan)
This is a short biography of Jagannatha Tarkapancanan written by Alok Kumar Chakravarti. This biography locates Jagannatha in the larger context of Sanskrit Studies in Bengal during the colonial period. His scholarship on different aspects of Hindu society, especially on the Smriti sastra has been explained in detail.
पक्षताप्रकरणम् (Pakṣtā Prakaraṇam)
In this book Jagadśa undertakes a study of the concept of pakṣatā. Pakṣatā is regarded as the cause of inference. Some define pakṣatā as sādhyasaṃśaya. Some others define pakṣatā as siṣādhayiṣāvirahaviśiṣtasiddhyabhāvaḥ. A detailed analysis of all these issues has been done by the author in this book.
BROWSE BY LANGUAGE
Rain in Indian Life and Lore
Rain in Indian Life and Lore is a collection of essays edited by Sankar Sen Gupta. All the essays contain descriptions of folk songs, and folk rituals that one finds in different parts of Indian society through the ages. Since the Vedic time till modern poets like Rabindranath rain has been a source of different kinds of emotions. The essays in the present collection engage in deciphering some of these thoughts.
The Chief Currents of Contemporary Philosophy
The present book, authored by D.M.Datta, is an exhaustive analysis of the main trends in the philosophical world as found in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The book is divided into thirteen chapters: 1. Neo-Hegelian Idealism, 2. Italian Idealism, 3. Indian Idealism, 4. Pragmatism, 5.The Philosophy of Bergson, 6. Realism, 7. The Philosophy of Sense-Data, 8. Emergent Evolution, 9. Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism, 10. Logical Positivism and Analysis, 11. The Philosophical Aspects of Marxism, 12. Existentialism, 13. Japanese Philosophy of Zen and Mu (Nothingness). In the Appendix, the author presents the views of some modern Indian philosophers like Rabindranath Tagore and M.K.Gandhi. Thus the book presents the salient theses of some of the philosophical schools of Europe, America, India and Japan.
A Study of Patañjali
The present book, written by Surendranatah Dasgupta, is a philosophical exposition of the views of Patañjali. There are ten chapters in the book: 1. Introductory: Beginning with Puruṣa and Prakṛti, 2. Puruṣa and Guṇas in Sāṁkhya-Yoga Cosmogony, 3. Cosmic Evolution: An Analysis, 4. Theories of Evolution and God, 5. Ethical Doctrines, 6. Lead to Salvation: Ethical Practices, 7. Yogic Conduct of Life, 8. Analysis of Miscellaneous Doctrines, 9. Sphoṭavāda: Semantic Theory and 10. Recapitulation. In this book, the reader finds a detailed analysis of the entire philosophy of Patañjali.
Ancient Indian Erotics and Erotic Literature
Ancient Indian Erotics and Erotic Literature by Sushil Kumar De is a work on the nature of erotic literature in ancient India. The book consists of chapters: 1. Treatment of Love in Pre-Classical Literature, 2. Treatment of Love in Classical Poetry and 3. Treatment of Love in Prose Romance and Drama. The book ends with a chapter on Ancient Indian Erotics (Kama-Sastra).
Gopinath Kaviraj’s Thoughts – Towards a Systematic Study
This book by Kalidas Bhattacharyya is a collection of Mahamahopadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj Memorial lectures delivered by Kalidas Bhattacharyya in the year 1980. Bhattacharya here explores the works of Gopinath Kaviraj written in the later years of his life. Kaviraj was an extraordinary scholar who was well-versed in both the philosophical and religious literature of India as well as the west. Above all, he was a sādhana. He was principally a Śaiva, particularly of the monistic kind, However, as Bhattacharyya claims, this Śaiva doctrine received certain innovative twists in the hands of Kaviraj and became a kind of Śaiva Dualism. Kaviraj was equally interested in Tantra, Yoga, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Gauḍiya Vaiṣnavism and also Śankara’s Advaita Vedānta. In this book, Kalidas Bhattacharyya explores the notion of Transcendence and the justification of this notion that we find in the works of Gopinath Kaviraj. He discusses the different regions of Transcendence and finally goes on to discuss the idea of Pūrṇatā or Ultimate Perfection as developed by Kaviraj.
