The Elephant and The River Vol 1

Description

What happens when the elephant meets the river?

“A sweeping philosophical novel that reimagines India’s intellectual traditions through an unforgettable story.”

Fifteen centuries ago, in the lamp-lit courtyards of Simhavaktra near Kañcīpuram, a boy is born who will one day upend the world’s understanding of mind and reality.

Amid the shifting fortunes of the Pallava kingdom, the young Dirghanaga possesses an intellect that terrifies his teachers. Raised on his grandmother’s vibrant epic tales and his uncle’s rigorous Sanskrit grammar, he refuses to settle for comfortable answers. Through butter stealing Krsņa myths, Hanumān’s fiery leaps, inquisitive ants, and even a bee’s sting, his restless mind begins tearing through the undergrowth of tradition.

As Hunnic invasions shatter the great monasteries of the north and an old world trembles, Dīrghanaga embarks on a lifelong quest to map reality through pure reason. Yet every step brings him closer to a deeper mystery.

Blending history, mythology, philosophy and intimate human drama, The Elephant and the River Vol 1 is a reimagining of the childhood of Dinnaga, the prodigious logician whose ideas would one day help teach machines to think.