South Asian & Himalayan Studies Resources

The Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is is a translation and commentary of the Bhagavad Gita, by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The Bhagavad Gita emphasizes a path of devotion toward the personal God, Krishna

Mahabharata is a mythological book retold by C. Rajagopalachari. It was first published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1958. This book is an abridged English retelling of Vyasa's Mahabharata. Rajaji considered this book and his Ramayana to be his greatest service to his countrymen.

This book brings out all the fourteen unexplored Gitas besides the Bhagavad-Gita and the Anugita in the Mahabharata and ten Gitas in the Puranas to the forefront for the sake of researchers in the field of the Bhagavad-Gita. The Gitas in the Mahabharata on the whole differ from those in the Puranas in form and character. There seems to be no set pattern for the Gita in the Mahabharata whereas the later Puranas seems to have added a Gita resembling the Bhagavad-Gita in all its aspects to enhance its value.

Study of the Puranas as a source for history of early medieval India.

South Asia is a distant, exotic place to most American students. It is also a land of diverse and fascinating cultures, exemplified by the folklore of the region. This book gives students and general readers a thorough introduction to South Asian folklore. Included are chapters on different types of folklore, the place of folklore in popular culture, and the scholarly response to South Asian folklore.

With 600 signed, alphabetically organized articles covering the entirety of folklore in South Asia, this new resource includes countries and regions, ethnic groups, religious concepts and practices, artistic genres, holidays and traditions, and many other concepts. A preface introduces the material, while a comprehensive index, cross-references, and black and white illustrations round out the work. The focus on south Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with short survey articles on Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, and various diaspora communities. This unique reference will be invaluable for collections serving students, scholars, and the general public.