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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
The erudite Mr. Ambedkar has diligently pointed out inconsistencies in Hinduism and the Vedas. Fo all this, the book deserves a 5-Star rating.
However, even after repeated stoppages and starts I could not plod on and finally gave up on the premise - do I really care? There's enough controversy and disconsonance around us as it is!
However, even after repeated stoppages and starts I could not plod on and finally gave up on the premise - do I really care? There's enough controversy and disconsonance around us as it is!
The research Ambedkar has done is astounding. Even though I skipped some parts where there are quotes from scriptures, I absolutely read every bit put forward by Ambedkar.
It is important to read this book in the context of history. Today, lot of research has been done on history of Ancient India but during Ambedkar's time that was clearly not the case. Moreover, he does have his own biases which again is to be expected from any historical work. Despite of all these things, he has gone over almost every scripture with a comb and tried to untangle the mess that is Hindu scriptures. This book should be made part of syllabus for study of Indian history. Even at University level, this book was hardly talked about and I am sure it has to do with how it attack core idea of Hinduism.
I will be rereading this book again few years down the line for sure.
It is important to read this book in the context of history. Today, lot of research has been done on history of Ancient India but during Ambedkar's time that was clearly not the case. Moreover, he does have his own biases which again is to be expected from any historical work. Despite of all these things, he has gone over almost every scripture with a comb and tried to untangle the mess that is Hindu scriptures. This book should be made part of syllabus for study of Indian history. Even at University level, this book was hardly talked about and I am sure it has to do with how it attack core idea of Hinduism.
I will be rereading this book again few years down the line for sure.
informative
medium-paced
I felt Dr. Ambedkar’s frustration in this book. His desperate attempt to tell the world the inconsistencies of hinduism. He puts a strong argument by outlining the inconsistencies of vedas and the ideas put forth by vedas such as Kali yuga. However, he failed to build a coherent narrative of the riddles of hinduism, as the title prescribe.
The foundations of discrimination built upon a parochial traditional value system of Hinduism is annihalated by Dr Ambedkar with his writing.
Few chapters (riddles) on origin of caste, supremacy of Upanishads over Vedas, treatment of untouchables are really thought provoking but for the most part, the book relies only on orientalist explanations and translations to prove its murky points.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar deserves an appreciation for the prodigious collection of ancient literature (and that too in the non-internet era) on numerous topics but that he is prejudiced and seems to have written with a sole purpose of bashing Brahmanism is quite evident.
Good luck reading this one without falling asleep.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar deserves an appreciation for the prodigious collection of ancient literature (and that too in the non-internet era) on numerous topics but that he is prejudiced and seems to have written with a sole purpose of bashing Brahmanism is quite evident.
Good luck reading this one without falling asleep.
The only works more retconned than Star Wars by Lucas are the sacred books of Hinduism. Thousands of generations of Brahmins have manipulated and modified, many cynically and some with noble intentions, the Vedas, smritis, shrutis, sutras, puranas, epics, brahmanas, etc. that it is difficult to invoke even one value as something Hinduism stands for without a contradiction evoked somewhere in all those books. Thence the riddles.
There's all kinds of weird stuff in there but Dr. Ambedkar's riddles are only those that were/are relevant to (then) contemporary Indian society. To be sure, the riddles as a work was unfinished and uncompiled by the time of his death. They were edited and published by the BAWS committee and now, in the edition I've read, a selected few were recompiled, edited and released with annotations.
The riddles were selected probably for their importance to counter the current Hindutva narrative in India. They all challenge some of the most deeply held beliefs of Hindus, although some more successfully than others. The first riddle included is the one of the difficulty in knowing whether one is Hindu or not- the concept of Hinduism is so nebulous that anywhere from 10% to 85% of Indian citizens are Hindus, based on your definition. Further riddles question the institutions of ahimsa, varnashrama, the yugas, and Rama and Krishna, from religious, social, and political perspectives. The specific riddles on varnashrama are most informatory while the ones on Rama and Krishna seem incomplete and inaccurate in places.
Navayana's annotations in the book, like their counterparts in Navayana's Annihilation of Caste, are often not useful. The first problem is that they are too numerous. They ruin the flow. No text needs annotations in every page, especially that of a writer as lucid as Dr. Ambedkar. Secondly, they are sometimes redundant or unnecessary. If Dr. Ambedkar quotes some Indophile author, I don't need to know the biography of that author and the origin of his interest in Vedas. I would Google if I felt the need to check them out.
Dr. Ambedkar's writing is as incisive and precise as in his other works and I wish he were able to finish all the riddles and compile them into a cogent and complete work. Buy partly due to fate and partly due to supreme negligence and barbarity of Indian government, we only have a partial work. Even then it is extremely informative and important and is worth more without Navayana's annotations.
There's all kinds of weird stuff in there but Dr. Ambedkar's riddles are only those that were/are relevant to (then) contemporary Indian society. To be sure, the riddles as a work was unfinished and uncompiled by the time of his death. They were edited and published by the BAWS committee and now, in the edition I've read, a selected few were recompiled, edited and released with annotations.
The riddles were selected probably for their importance to counter the current Hindutva narrative in India. They all challenge some of the most deeply held beliefs of Hindus, although some more successfully than others. The first riddle included is the one of the difficulty in knowing whether one is Hindu or not- the concept of Hinduism is so nebulous that anywhere from 10% to 85% of Indian citizens are Hindus, based on your definition. Further riddles question the institutions of ahimsa, varnashrama, the yugas, and Rama and Krishna, from religious, social, and political perspectives. The specific riddles on varnashrama are most informatory while the ones on Rama and Krishna seem incomplete and inaccurate in places.
Navayana's annotations in the book, like their counterparts in Navayana's Annihilation of Caste, are often not useful. The first problem is that they are too numerous. They ruin the flow. No text needs annotations in every page, especially that of a writer as lucid as Dr. Ambedkar. Secondly, they are sometimes redundant or unnecessary. If Dr. Ambedkar quotes some Indophile author, I don't need to know the biography of that author and the origin of his interest in Vedas. I would Google if I felt the need to check them out.
Dr. Ambedkar's writing is as incisive and precise as in his other works and I wish he were able to finish all the riddles and compile them into a cogent and complete work. Buy partly due to fate and partly due to supreme negligence and barbarity of Indian government, we only have a partial work. Even then it is extremely informative and important and is worth more without Navayana's annotations.