Sacred Tales Of India

The author reveals that the idea entered his mind of writing on our ceremonial lore which consists of an immense stock of curious legends transmitted from mouth to mouth for ages past. In the zenana of Bengal alone has the sacred fire of this knowledge been kept burning and, were it not for their wives, sisters, and daughters, it would long since have been extinguished. The ceremonies which he has mentioned are almost exclusively performed by women, and the sterner sex takes little or no part in them, as a rule not even knowing where or when they take place. This rare and valuable book is a collection and compilation of 20 fairy tales that hold sacred meanings and which are recited and recounted at the time when fasts are kept. The tales are earthy and child like in their simplicity and are primarily recited in Bengal. Each story is told to illustrate the power of the Goddesses and Gods. This work gives an insight into the domestic life of their women in one of its highest bearings. The foreign reader may, perchance, find amusement in these faint echoes from an unknown world. If studiously inclined, he may trace curious and farreaching analogies between the traditions and ceremonies of their womenfolk and those of other nations of the world, past and present. It contains four illustrations by P. Ghose. This book is a reprint of the 1916 edition.