The Tale of Carvaka: The Hindu Hedonist-Philosopher

by Varadaraja Raman

Ananda is a bright youngster with a keen and questioning mind who enjoys life. He and friend Sukarma grow together, but circumstances take them along different paths.Sukarma becomes an ascetic, foreasking worldly pleasures, while Ananda encounters frustrations and tragedies. When his father dies, he follows the rituals, but finds them to be of no avail. He rejects all traditional beliefs, proclaims his atheism and becomes a preacher of hedonism.In the end, Ananda and Sukarma are drawn to a confrontation and the opposing worldviews are brought into the open.This is the story of how Ananda became Cârvâka.

298 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2005

Reviews

[Aathavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes a fantastic job of expounding Carvaka ideas. The book does an excellent job of pointing out the inconsistencies in vedic logic quoting from across the vedas and upanishads. The author has also poetically rendered some verses from the puranas (Satyavan) and the ideas of Carvaka which made for entertaining reading.

But who is Manga Randreas?! Is this a pen name?