000			01657nam a22001817a 4500
005			20250612121034.0
020			_a9789393214980
082			_a181.482 M2679 B _b29716
100			_aMadugula I S
245			_aBeauty and the Saint: Sankara's Saundaryalahari. _hEnglish
250			_a1st
260			_aDelhi _bMotilal Banarsidass Publishing House _c2023
300			_a251
500			_aSome might say, with great justification, that is foolhardy to write another book about the perennial tantric-devotional classic Saundaryalahari which has an honored place in just about every Indian household, guiding the lives of worshippers and practitioners of Devi rituals ever since Sankara gave the finishing touches to Sri Cakra. Indeed, every verse of the poem has been thoroughly analyzed, the Tantra has been explained, and the supreme beauty of Devi, the consort of Siva, who is an integral aspect of His perfection and His performance. He is simply incomplete without Her. And they, together, constitute Universal Consciousness that is Brahman. My aim is rather humble. While it is true that just about every aspect of the poem has been written about already, it seemed to me that the preponderant philosophy of the text rather choked off its art the poetry. It makes me rather sad that the best Sankara scholars somehow overlooked the literary component of his profoundly beautiful poetic craft. Advaita shines through every poem that he wrote, with all the artistic devices that he employed serving the single unwavering message tat tvam asi, ‘That you are!’
650			_aAdvaita Vedānta philosophy
650			_aSaundaryalahari
942			_cBK
999			_c88066 _d88066