Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India

by Roberto Calasso

Book Overview

In the very best book about Hindu mythology that anyone has ever written (The New Republic) Calasso plunges Western readers into the mind of ancient India. He begins with a mystery: Why is the most important god in the Rg Veda, the oldest of India's sacred texts, known by a secret name--Ka, or Who?

What ensues is not an explanation, but an unveiling. Here are the stories of the creation of mind and matter; of the origin...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679775471
• ISBN13: 9780679775478
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Oh, my

Calasso's works tend to be illuminating and humbling in equal portions, and this is no exception. If you've read any of the ancient stories in more traditional forms -- Hamilton's mythology, or a translation of the Bhagvad-gita for example, you're in for a big surpise. Get ready. And if you think of yourself as reasonably well read, Calasso will make you feel illiterate. This man seems to have read, and digested everything.In this work, Calasso illustrates the religious thought of India through a retelling of many stories. It might be more fair to say reimaging, but I'd hate to mislead you into thinking this is some sort of postmodernist 'recontextualizing' of the stories. Calasso's not trying to subvert the stories, but rather to get inside them. The reader ends up with intuitions, and a sense of complex relationships, rather than a reductionist or reconstructed version of the tales. If you're more familiar with western traditions, I recommend "The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony" as an introduction to his technique. But if you're interested in the people and culture of India but have found the other works either too archaic or new-agey, this is a great introduction.

Incredible for all interested in Hinduism

I cannot understand why anyone would give this book a single star. Having grown up Hindu, I can say that Calasso has given me a retelling of stories from my childhood, and given my valuable insights into those stories.The book is as much a history as it is a novel. It is the history of Indian thought told as a story would be, and with each step Calasso gives us another beautiful conclusion or observation. If there was one part of the book that was flawed, it was the drawn out story of the horse sacrifice, but even there we see how much research Calasso has done. There are benefits to being somone in a culture and writing on it, but there are also benefits to being an outsider. Calasso is one of the best writers on the outside of India. Not only do we see the linkings of Hinduism, we see the linkings of Calasso's mind, and this linking of facts and memes is a major theme of the faith that Calasso presents. The way this book echoes itself is beautiful.In truth, as one critic said, nothing has come out of India that deals with Hinduism so wonderfully in recent years. This simply is the truth, and rather than an insult I think Hindus should read this book and accept the challenge to produce a better work.

Very good!

This book brings Indian mythology to life. Should be read in conjunction with the acclaimed IN SEARCH OF THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION by Feuerstein et al. to obtain perspective on history, archaeology, and connections between India and the West.

Beautiful writing, wierd & wonderful, hard to put down.

Revolutionizes the telling of these stories. Most translations are academic, over anylized and basically better than sleeping pills. This is a telling so heartfelt, poetic, strong and sensuous. He tells the stories with proper details and brevity and never bores. Great to read aloud.

Outstanding work, the best, if not unique!

In the manner of Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Ka is an exposition of the inner meaning of Indian mythology, theology. It has a brilliance that comes directly from what Roberto Calasso writes about. In our world that has so little understanding of what the ancient world was, reading Calasso is an inspiration. Spend time with this book and reread many times. Best regards, Kalev Pehme