Sartha  (English, Paperback, S. L. Bhyrappa)

Sartha: The Caravan is a historical novel by Kannada novelist, S. L. Bhyrappa. This edition contains an English translation of the original work.

Summary of the Book

The 8th Century A.D. was a tumultuous age for India. In this age, a Vedic Brahmin travels through the country with a trade caravan. Although he pretends that it is for personal reasons, he is travelling with them at the behest of his liege, the King. The King wants information about the trade secrets of the caravan, and he has chosen this unlikely Brahmin to be his spy. However, the Brahmin doesn’t realize that he is about to be educated in an entirely different world of ideas, ideas which run rampant in India at the time. He encounters the ideals of Buddhism, and he begins to ponder the difference between his own Vedanta tradition and the tradition of the Buddhist monks. He meets several legendary figures, such as Shankaracharya, Mandana Mishra, Ubhaya Bharati and Kumarila Bhatta, and he comes to Nalanda, the seat of Buddhism itself. The country is swiftly converting to Buddhism, and Hinduism might be at its lowest point, but there is another change in the horizon: one heralded by raiders from the west, those who worship a new God, their One and Only God.

About S. L. Bhyrappa

Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa is an Indian novelist writing in Kannada. He is considered to be one of the most popular Kannada novelists in the modern age. He was presented the 20th Saraswati Samman in 2010, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Pampa Award and the Nadoja Award.