Pride Goeth Before a Fall (Ten Stories Culled Out from Mahabharata)

Back of the Book

PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL
Pride, as we all know, leads us downhill. Yet, all of us, even the Gods and our epic heroes, at one time or another, are ensnared into this trap. Is there any hope?

Yes, as these stories from folklore and the Mahabharata tell us, once having learned our lesson, it is possible to live a better life!

"I am sure, these stories will give a direction to the children and their parents and enable them to make a deeper study of our Puranas and Itihas and share its precious message with others."

Swami Chinmayananda
.... Krishna blessed them all and said, "So long as you remember that there is an unseen hand which guides you .... , you will not have a chance to suffer "

This is many other words of wisdom intersperse with the fun-filled stories. The author, Sri CL. Purushothama Rao is a seasoned Mission worker with a deep knowledge of our ancient literature but also, with the ability to mould it for children so that they may enjoy the tales and learn from them.

It is the cardinal insistence of our Rishi culture from Vedic times that the world would be a better place to live in, if a better value system is followed by the people.

Society is constituted of individuals and therefore, as the individual so would be the society. lf individuals live the baser values of animals; selfish, aggrandising, fighting, living only on instincts and impulses, that society will be an unholy place for peace and joy to arrive and dance.

When the individuals are taught to appreciate, and trained to live the healthy, noble values, an evolved and a civilised society blossoms. Such a society would invoke mutual respect and concern, creating an atmosphere condusive to Peace and Progress.

Our Puranas and Itihases like the Ramayana and Mahabharata are inexhaustible treasure-houses of such healthy values.

With the present day cry on the need for a value- based education in our country, the stories from our Puranic literature would provide perennial and easily assimilable source of guidance to the young men and women and through them serve to rebuild the society.

I congratulate Shri Purushothama Rao, a dedicated and seasoned Mission worker of Bangalore, for taking the initiative and judiciously culling out of our Puranic literature, a few stories under the title “Pride goeth before a fall’, highlighting the importance of a value-based life-style.

I am sure, these stories will give a direction to the children and their parents and enable the to make a deeper study of our Puranas and Itihases and share its precious message with others.

This book contains ten stories culled out from Mahabharata, keeping in view the main theme, viz., ‘Pride Goeth Before a Fall’. Two of the stories – “Aswatthama accepts his defeat” and “Bhima and Arjuna learn a lesson in humility” are based on the folklore while the rest are selected directly form Mahabharata. It is written in simple English, chiefly for children to evoke interest in Mahabharata stories and through them love for the great epic.

Most of these stories were first published in ‘Balavihar’ magazine for which I am grateful to the concerned authorities.

I am deeply indebted to the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Bombay, for bringing out this in book form.