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Book Review
TAMIL
Spiritual discourses
V. N. GOPALA DESIKACHARIAR
KANAKKANDEN THOZHI: Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar; Vikatan Prachuram, 757, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Rs. 65.
THIS IS a collection of discourses of the late Vedic scholar of repute, Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar, on the concept of matrimony according to Hindu dharma. Taking up first the union of Lakshmi with Vishnu when the Goddess manifested during the churning of the Milky Ocean, he traces the event in his absorbing style with appropriate quotations from the Vishnu Purana and the Vedas. Then Rama’s marriage with Sita is delineated with finesse, drawing heavily from Valmiki’s and Kamban’s Ramayana, and Krishna’s marriage with Rukmini, with exquisite verses of the Bhagavata. Archavatara is taken up next and the marriage of Padmavati with Lord Venkatesa of Tirupati is described. After these comes the dream marriage of Andal, as portrayed by her in the hymn “Varanamayiram” (Nacchiar Tirumozhi).
While enchantingly capturing these five divine marriages, the learned author humorously draws comparison, at appropriate places with the present-day happenings, also explaining in detail the significance of the various rituals connected with the marriage ceremony. Editing could have been better. Besides a few factual inaccuracies, the book abounds in glaring spelling mistakes particularly of Sanskrit words and verses transliterated. The book will prove to be a reader’s delight with his penchant for clarifying matters in a simple, engrossing and reader-friendly style.
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