Veda Mimamsa: The Prologue

by Anirvan and Sumita Bhattacharya (Tr.)

Srimat Anirvan Veda Mimamsa in three volumes constitutes a landmark in the field of Vedic studies. The interpretation and the significance of the Veda have been considered baffling and often, contentious issues. The explanation of the meaning of Veda has ranged from primitive animism to the most sublime yearnings of human heart.

Anirvan views the Veda as the fountainhead and the sustainer of the entire spiritual quest of the Bharatvarsha from the earliest times to the present day. This quest, according to him, basically is a quest for light, a pursuit of illumination. And according to him it is still vigorously alive. His work is suffused with the spiritual and mystic quality of Sri Aurobindo's interpretation, the poetic delicacy of Tagore's language and thoroughness of German scholarship. As Anirvan was a Sanyasi and a mystic a unique insight and lucidity characterize his interpretation of the Veda.

About the Author:

Anirvan the mystic poet commentator of the Veda was born in 1886 in Bengal, now in Bangladesh. His original name was Narendra Chandra Dhar. He had a uniformly brilliant academic career; earned scholarship in matriculation and stood first in Sanskrit in both B. A. and M.A. examinations of Calcutta University.

Raised in a monastic environment since childhood, Narendra Chandra was consecrated as a Sannyasi by Swami Nigamananda in 1927. Anirvan was the Director of the Kokolamukha-based Bangiya Saraswat Math in Assam for 12 years, Professor at Rishi Vidyalaya and later became the Acharya of the Institute. He was also the editor of the Aryadarpan Patrika. His celebrated work Veda-Mimamsa earned him the Rabindra Purushkar. Anirvan's translation of Life Divine was hailed as 'A Living Translation'.

About the Translator:

Sumita Bhattacharya worked as a sub-editor and later as the Assistant Quality Controller in Northen India Patrika. She also worked as assistant Editor of Sundaram the journal on art and culture brought out by North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad. She also worked for the British Civil Service, U. K. for sometime. Her articles have been published in 'The Times of India', The Pioneer NIP etc.