Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man

by U.R. Ananthamurthy

Book Overview

Made into a powerful, award-winning film in 1970, this important Kannada novel of the sixties has received widespread acclaim from both critics and general readers since its first publication in 1965. As a religious novel about a decaying brahmin colony in the south Indian village of Karnataka, Samskara serves as an allegory rich in realistic detail, a contemporary reworking of ancient Hindu themes and myths, and a serious, poetic study of a religious man living in a community of priests gone to seed. A death which stands as the central event in the plot brings in its wake a plague, many more deaths, live questions with only dead answers, moral chaos, and the rebirth of one man. The volume provides a useful glossary of Hindu myths, customs, Indian names, flora, and other terms. Notes and an afterword enhance the self-contained, faithful, and yet readable translation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195610792
• ISBN13: 9780195610796
• Release Date: June 1979
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 4.6" x 7.0" x 0.4"

Customer Reviews

A Masterpiece

There are two outstanding features of this book. The first being brilliant storytelling. The tale is a critical look at the life style of the "upper classes" of Hindu society during the early part of the twenthieth century. The plot is deftly interwoven with Hindu philosophy and the result is quite remarkable. The second feature is the tralsation. Having read the original Kannada version, I found the traslation to be very lucid . This is a must read for everyone familiar to the the Indian social setup and also for those who are interested in getting introduced to it.

Excellent

Mr. Murthy's book is delicately told, with exquisite attention to detail. I did one of the inside jacket illustrations for a book of his when I was six, and have liked the man and his work ever since. Look for the new Penguin Paperback of his, _Bhava_ (co-translated by my mom... OK, so I am unfairly partial to his work). Read it and decide.

Excellent symbolic story

I was not excited when I learned that I had to read this for my Religion 1 Class at Dartmouth College because it looked long and boring. In reality, it was a gripping story that ranks up there with the greats. And if you liked Hesse's Siddhartha, you'll like this too.

A great piece of work

A wonderful translation of a outstanding book from its Kannada original. The book traces events in an orthodox Brahmin village in Karnataka. It gently and very sensitively pokes holes in the close mindedness that has typified the so called higher castes in India. The book was writen in the 1960s, but remains relevant today. Accompanied by an outstanding glossary (it is worth buying the book just to read the glossary).

Samskara is a spiritual discovery for the reader, too!

Samskara is a book about a village of Brahmins in India. One man, Praneshacharya, is considered to be the 'holiest' of men. Chaos enters everyone's lives when a very unpopular and 'unholy' Brahmin unexpectedly dies. There is a definite comic element throughout the novel but the consequences of the petty arguing and greed of this colony of Brahmin are quite severe. Throughout it all, Praneshacharya continues on his own journey of spiritual growth. Samskara is simple in language, although full of characters with very similar names. Beneath the simplicity of the language, there is a profundity and complexity of thought, metaphor, and analogy that I never tire of rereading.