Creation and Existence in Indian Tradition

Creation is a puzzle, so is the existence of the created world. Human kind has been trying to unlock this riddle for thousands of years. At the 13th India conference of WAVES, scholars explored the different facets of this puzzle with erudite precision. Answers to questions like – how did life appear, how did it develop, and how is it sustained – were intellectually and philosophically argued. Rigvedic hymns like Purusha and Nasadiya present a glimpse of Vedic findings, which are further expanded and elaborated in other Sanskrit literary and philosophical works like Puranas, and Itihasa etc. Understanding the operation of the universe was essential and foremost to the ancient people, and it remains so even to the modern day scientists and scholars of Sanskrit and philosophy. This present volume, the third publication of WAVES, comprises twenty three selected papers written in English and Sanskrit on the theme. Creation and Existence in Indian Traditions. Papers by well known scholars of Sanskrit Studies such as, Prof. Rama Nath Sharma, Dr. Soma Basu, Prof. Bhu Dev Sharma, Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar, Prof. Bhaskar Nath Bhattacharya, Dr. Veda Vrata Aalok, and Prof. Asha Rani Tripathi certainly amplify the value to this literary effort. Most of the papers in this volume focus on the various aspects of Indian insights on creation and existence of this universe. We hope that scholars of Vedas and Sanskrit will find these papers interesting and thought-provoking, and consequently this publication will inspire the readers for deeper research and study of Indian intellectual traditions.