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The Death of Vishnu
Sources and Further Reading
One of the pleasures of writing The Death of Vishnu has been the opportunity to study the rich store of wisdom and beauty embodied in the mythology and religious texts of Hinduism. There are many references to these sources in the novel, most of which are touched upon in the glossary. The most rewarding way to obtain a deeper understanding of these connections is, in my opinion, to personally discover and explore some of the sources I have encountered. With this in mind, I would like to offer the following selections for further reading.
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First and foremost, the Bhagavad Gita, which I read for the first time while writing the novel. I cannot imagine a more beautiful, moving and inspiring text, so full of poetry and meaning that every verse has the potential to change someone's life. Certainly I found my own values and frames of reference transformed. What's astonishing is the amount of wisdom it contains in a purely secular sense — a universal appeal that transcends its religious roots. The central revelation that forms the heart of The Death of Vishnu is of course the famous eleventh chapter, quoted by Oppenheimer when he witnessed the first atomic explosion. But my attempt has been to permeate the whole novel with the spirit and philosophy that runs through the Gita.
An online version of the Bhagavad Gita is useful. However, it is difficult to match the exquisite lyricism of the widely available translation by Barbara Stoler Miller (Bantam, 1986), which is the version I used. |
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The most helpful source for Indian mythology proved to be the work by Jan Knappert, Indian Mythology, an encyclopedia of myth and legend (Indus imprint of Harper Collins, India, 1991). It was interesting to note that my fact-checker independently chose this book as her main reference as well. The book is written in a lively, anecdotal style that makes it very easy to read from cover to cover. The book not only familiarizes readers with the important deities in the Hindu pantheon, but also conveys a good preliminary understanding of key concepts in Hindu philosophy (such as maya, karma, dharma). |
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Another book that I recommend, both for its storybook narrative and its splendid illustrations (several on color plates) is Vishnu: An Introduction by Devdutt Pattanaik (Vakils, Feffer and Simons, Ltd, Mumbai, 1998). I particularly like the way the author points out that the evolution of the incarnations of Vishnu is consistent with scientific evolution as we know it (starting in water with Matsya the fish, and progressing through the turtle Kurma to terrestrial animals to man).The author also has a parallel work Shiva: An Introduction (1997) to which I expect to refer for my next novel, The Age of Shiva. |
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Myths and Legends of India by J. M. Macfie (Rupa and Co, Noida, India, 1993) is an excellent source for those who want to read more on the topic, with forty-six selections from various ancient texts, all presented as lively short stories. |
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I think I first got interested in Indian mythology when in the seventh grade I read the classic work by one of India's most well-known writers: Gods, Demons and Others by R. K. Narayan (first published 1965). This is mythology with a twist --interpreted by a village storyteller, with little nuggets of quirkiness and wisdom enlivening each tale. See the story of Draupadi included here -- surely it is easy to trace the connection to a tale in my novel? |
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In contrast to the Gita, the Upanishads are a much more demanding read. One really has to pore over each passage to glean its meaning, but that meaning is there -- paradoxical, yet pure and rewarding. The version I have been reading is the translated selection by Juan Mascaro (Penguin Classics, 1965). |
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Although I only touch on it tangentially in the novel, the beautiful and mighty Koran is another text I studied while researching this novel. For those who may not have encountered this great religious text before, the selections by Thomas Cleary in The Essential Koran (Castle Books, 1998) offer a simple yet satisfying starting point. |
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In addition to the many excellent new Indian writers, here are my classic favorites. First, Rabindranath Tagore, the only Indian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. We encountered a short story of his in the eighth grade, and I remember reading all the books I could find by him in our school library. Also V. S. Naipaul, who, though not Indian (he is from Trinidad with family roots in India), writes with a definite Indian sensibility. A House for Mr. Biswas is a masterpiece, especially in the way English is used so successfully in conveying the foreignness of the conversations. And while I'm at it, let me again plug the other classic book I mention in my interview with Michael Cunningham: The Sheltering Sky, by Paul Bowles. |
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-Manil Suri, 2002 |
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