C. Rajagopalachari (Set Of 4 Books): Mahabharata | Ramayana | Bhagavad Gita : A Handbook for Students | Upanishads

1. Mahabharata : A long time ago, two families were to inherit a vast kingdom known as the Kuru Empire. The five sons of Pandu, called the Pandavas, were brave warriors, each of them born with divine blood running through their veins. They were virtuous, examples of humanity at its peak. They were endowed with wisdom, patience, strength, knowledge and compassion. Their cousins, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, were called the Kauravas. The Kauravas were greedy, always hankering after more wealth. Since neither Pandu nor Dhritarashtra were suited to reign over the kingdom, the throne had to be equally divided between these two families. However, the Kauravas cheated the Pandavas out of their share and drove them into a long exile. They constantly try to kill them throughout their exile, but the Pandavas persist. At long last, they return to claim their rightful inheritance, but the Kauravas are not ready to part with even a portion of the kingdom. With the stage set, the Pandavas and the Kauravas meet in an epic battle on a field which had already been washed several times over with the blood of warriors. On Kurukshetra, they would fight a mighty war which would leave both sides crippled. And on this battlefield, the Blue God, Krishna, explains the righteous duty the Pandavas have to fulfill by exterminating their vile cousins. This is a story of love, avarice, wisdom, patience and respect for one’s fellow man. Every known moral lies hidden in the Mahabharata, and it is for this reason that it is considered one of the greatest stories ever composed.

2. Ramayana : The Ramayana is a crucial part of Indian literature and is the story of Lord Rama s journey. The events that are described in the Ramayana are supposed to have been a part of our history and tell us about the importance of relationships and the duties that come with it. The Ramayana is one among the two greatest Hindu epics. It revolves around the life of Rama and his loved ones. Upon reading the Ramayana, one will realize that it portrays many ideal characters like the ideal wife, the ideal brother, the ideal servant, the ideal king and the ideal father. In the story, Rama s beautiful wife, Sita, gets abducted by the King of Lanka, Ravana. From this point is where the most essential events unfold. The text consists of 24, 000 verses in a total of seven books and 500 cantos. It is best known to spread knowledge about dharma and explores the concept to a great length. The Ramayana has influenced Sanskrit poetry and Indian culture. It is a tale that is told to every Hindu child during their growing years so as to make them aware of their religious roots and its strong values.

3. Bhagavad Gita : A Handbook for Students : The Gita is one of the most authoritative sources of Hindu doctrine and ethics, and is accepted as such by Hindus of all denominations. A study of even selections from it, strengthened by earnest meditation, will enable young men and women to understand the religion of our fathers, which is the background of all the noble philosophy, art, literature and civilization that we have inherited.
There are many excellent translations of the Gita in English and in the Indian spoken languages. For scholars, the commentaries of Sri Sankaracharya and other great religious teachers are mines of knowledge before which any modern notes are but chaff. The following pages are intended for students who have not the equipment and time for studying the original text with any of these great commentaries.
Though The Gita is a chapter in the Mahabharata, one should note that the Gita, as a scripture of Hinduism, stands apart from the Mahabharata. The context has rightly receded into insignificance and has practically disappeared in orthodox Hindu interpretation. To take the battle of Kurukshetra literally and to interpret all that is said in the Gita in the light of the motive of the particular scene would not only not help the student to understand the Gita aright, but may even lead him to error.
It is true that the teachings in the Gita being of universal validity would also be applicable to the Mahabharata scene and must help to solve Arjuna’s problems and doubts. But we shall fail to understand the teaching aright if we are obsessed by the particular scene and seek to interpret the general by the particular. It is a common practice in Sanskrit literature to provide great works with such or other prologues. We should forget the battle-scene when we study the Gita as a scripture of Sanatana Dharma.
There are eighteen adhyayas in the Gita and seven hundred slokas in all. In the following pages 226 slokas are quoted. A study of them is enough to give a fairly good grasp of the Bhagavad-Gita.
The Bhagavad-Gita professes to give nothing new beyond what has previously been taught by the Upanishads. It contents itself with a synthesis of the older teachings.
This book does not propose to give any new interpretation of the Bhagavad-Gita. Let the reader not expect to find in the following pages any old interpretations controverted, any newly invented explanations.
This little book aims at a simplified presentation of the Gita content, and at bringing it within a small compass so as to enable the modern student to understand, in the midst of his other studies, the faith, discipline and ideals that lighted the path of life for our forefathers, and to which is given the name Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.
What is said in the Gita, the Upanishads and other holy books of the world may often be not as precise or clear as we would want it to be. The explanations are not as satisfying as the proofs we find in the physical sciences. This is necessarily so because the matter is wholly different and the approach and methods of application also must differ. Things within the domain of human reasoning can be defined and proved. But for the understanding of things beyond, faith and meditation have to function. The scriptures and holy books may be looked upon as helps to assist reverent meditation, by which alone the human mind can get glimpses into the truth beyond.
To ignore the real is foolish. The unknown is no less real because it is unknown.

4. Upanishads : In the Upanishads, we have a scripture which, among all the holy scriptures of the world, displays the most scientific spirit in connection with spiri- tual enquiry. The sages, whose thoughts and teachings we read in the Upanishads, seem to be as much inspired by constructive doubt as the most modem men of science. Their questions and answers indicate that they lived. in an age when, alongside of conformism and the rigid mainte- nanoe of old practices, men thirsted’ for Truth and the atmosphere was charged with the boldest free- thought: Satyamevajayate nanrtam satyenapantha vitato devayanah.