AT THE HEART of Sanatana-dharma lies the experiential realization of values. Prof. M Hiriyanna, a doyen of Indian philosophy and aesthetics declares that Indian philosophy is essentially a philosophy of values. Among the various values that humans pursue, Truth and Beauty constitute the highest peaks between which the river of life flows, enriching itself and the world.
In the words, of D V Gundappa, a consummate polymath of Karnataka, truth and beauty are but correlates, each implying the other. He says, "That which gives reality to life is the same as that which makes life enjoyable. Truth and Beauty are but the root and the fruit of one and the same cosmic tree. Truth is existential reality or significant existence. The truth sought is not a law of physics or chemistry nor a fact recognized by a statistician or a law-court, but a vision of that transcendental principle which makes and holds all life, the central sustaining principle. As truth is related to being, beauty is related to becoming. Mere being, without doing and feeling, can have no value. To have a purpose in being is to have life; and the purpose which evokes the activity of living is beauty. Life is thus a procession from truth to beauty."
From this perspective, truth at the material level constitutes dharma; the Untainted, Absolute Truth is the Brahman, the realization of which, constitutes moksa. In other words, dharma is the application of Truth to the conduct of life and for the procurement of artha; this constitutes Goodness in the worldly sphere. The expression of truth through an artis-tic medium constitutes aesthetic beauty; this is an aspect of kama, i.e., enjoyment that is devoid of selfishness. Beauty in art cannot be created without the realization of the relative and absolute truths. True beauty never fades and never grows stale to one whom it has once captivated; similarly, truth never becomes dry or boring for one who has realized it. Beauty makes for the enlarging of the field of life and makes us see ourselves as a part of the whole; it brings acceptance, self-discipline, and happiness.
DV Gundappa goes ahead to say, "All great literature and art is beauty married to truth the deeper facts of life and Nature and their mysteries expressed in phrase and figure evocative of emotion and convincing to intelligence. The Vedas are that, and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Euripides and Sophocles are that, and Shakespeare and Dante. To divorce beauty from truth is to empty truth of its significance and deprive beauty of its home."
The Greek poet Homer occupies a stature similar to that occupied by the seer-poets Vyasa and Valmiki in India-he is the first epic poet of the West and occupies the highest echelons among the best poets the world has ever seen.
The copies of the first edition were sold in less than a year of its release and we received requests for a reprint. The credits for the quick sales of the book go to the grand epics themselves. It is indeed heartening to see that a work like this, which is largely academic in nature, was received with warmth by the lay and the learned alike.
The first edition was released in December 2023 by Prof. Shrinivasa Varakhedi, the Vice-Chancellor of Central Sanskrit University and was introduced to the world by Satavadhant Dr. R Ganesh. The heartfelt appreciation for the work by the two stalwarts was the greatest reward I could get. The event was also attended by Prof. L. V Shanthakumari and Nadoja Dr. S R Ramaswamy, who I revere as embodiments of wisdom and tranquillity.
It is my singular fortune that India's foremost novelist Padma Bushan Dr. SL Bhyrappa, to whom the work is dedicated, went through the work and expressed his delight to Prof. Shanthakumari and Dr. R Ganesh. He showered his blessings upon me in person, too. He was kind enough to provide a note of appreciation for the work. His words are reproduced below:
I am very glad that this work Indian Perspective of Truth and Beauty in Homer's Epics is going to the second print. This effort by Arjun is laudable since the approach of reviewing Greek and Latin works from an Indian perspective is one of its kind. Given the depth and nuances that the Indian sastras provide, the more and more such comparisons are made, the more we get to respect the profundity and the richness of this great land and its culture.
Among the basic principles of aesthetics enunciated by Bharata-muni, the rasa theory stands supreme, the dhvani aspect as emphasized by Ananda-vardhana and later detailed by Abhinava-gupta stands as the hallmark contribution of India to the aesthetic tradition of the world. These principles apply not only to literature but to drama, dance, music and other forms of art as well. While the Poetics of Aristotle deals largely with literature and dramaturgy, the Indian principles of aesthetics are universal in their appeal and the current work by Arjun stands testimony to this statement.
Like I have mentioned in several of my writings, a great work of literature creatively addresses conflict in human values. The principle of the purusarthas enunciated in the Indian tradition is the master key for all such analysis. Arjun has identified innumerable such instances in Homer's Epics and has ably juxtaposed them with the primordial epics of India - Ramayana and Mahabharata.
I am pleased to know that he has planned many more works under the 'Library of Indo-Hellenic Interface.' 1 look forward to his writings on Latin epics, comparative mythology, and dramaturgy as well.
My best wishes to Sri Arjun Bharadwaj in his endeavours!
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