Darshan vb (135 résultats)

Paperback. Etat : new. Paperback. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi: Vijayanagara Civilization Under the Soul of Stone is a sweeping exploration of one of India's most extraordinary sacred landscapes - a place where mythology, empire, art, and living devotion converge. Set in the dramatic terrain of Hampi, the book traces how the Virupaksha Temple became both the spiritual nucleus of the Vijayanagara Empire and the enduring heart of a city that once dazzled the world.The narrative begins by situating Hampi within its ancient sacred geography, known as Pampa Kshetra, where river, hill, and legend intertwine. Long before the rise of Vijayanagara, the region was revered as a Shaiva pilgrimage center linked with the goddess Pampa and Lord Shiva as Virupaksha. This mythic and spiritual foundation gave the landscape a sacred identity that would outlast political change.From this sacred beginning, the book moves into the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century - a powerful state that emerged during a time of cultural upheaval in South India. The founders established their capital at Hampi, deliberately aligning imperial authority with sacred legitimacy through patronage of the Virupaksha Temple. Religion became an instrument of statecraft, and the temple stood as a symbol of divine sanction.At the height of the empire, Hampi grew into one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the medieval world. Drawing on accounts of foreign travelers, the book reconstructs a bustling capital of markets, festivals, and monumental architecture. Yet amid palaces and bazaars, the Virupaksha Temple remained the spiritual axis around which civic and ritual life revolved.A substantial portion of the work explores the architecture of devotion within the temple itself. The reader is guided through its sacred axis, towering gopuram, pillared mandapas, and the quiet intensity of the garbhagriha. The temple is revealed not as static stone, but as a carefully designed cosmic diagram that directs the devotee's spiritual journey from the outer world to inner realization.The book also delves into the artistic language of the temple - its sculpted pillars, ceiling paintings, and symbolic motifs. Through these carvings and murals, stone becomes scripture, narrating myths, expressing philosophical ideas, and reflecting the artistic brilliance of the Vijayanagara age.Ritual life forms another living layer of the temple's story. Daily worship cycles, annual festivals such as the Virupaksha-Pampa Kalyanam and the grand Rathotsava, and the role of music and dance reveal how the temple functions as a vibrant center of communal and spiritual life. These practices connect present-day devotees with centuries of unbroken tradition.The narrative then turns to the catastrophic Battle of Talikota (1565) and the destruction of Hampi. Palaces fell and markets vanished, yet the Virupaksha Temple survived. The book explores the reasons for this resilience, emphasizing the power of community devotion and the difference between political monuments and living sacred institutions.In the centuries after the empire's fall, Hampi transformed from imperial capital to sacred town. The temple became a bridge across time, sustaining ritual continuity while surrounded by ruins. Pilgrimage, memory, and faith preserved the temple's vitality, ensuring it remained a living shrine rather than a relic of history.Philosophical reflections deepen the narrative by examining Shaivism, the balance of masculine and feminine divine principles, and the temple as a spiritual machine. These chapters reveal how theology, architecture, and ritual intertwine to create a space designed not only for worship, but for inner transformation.< Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. …

Etat : New.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Etat : New.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Etat : new. Paperback. The Moon is not barren. It is a warehouse - and the race to claim it has already begun.Buried in the lunar soil is a resource that exists on Earth in quantities so tiny they are almost fictional: Helium-3, an isotope implanted by four billion years of solar wind, capable of fueling a new generation of fusion reactors that could power human civilization for thousands of years - cleanly, without carbon emissions, without radioactive waste. Whoever extracts it may control the energy future of the planet.But Helium-3 is only part of the story.The Moon's permanently shadowed polar craters contain hundreds of millions of tonnes of water ice - confirmed by the LCROSS impact mission in 2009. That ice is not merely water. It is rocket propellant, breathable oxygen, and the economic foundation of a permanent human presence beyond Earth. Its discovery transformed the Moon from a scientific curiosity into the most strategically valuable real estate in the solar system.In Mining the Moon, journalist, historian, and geopolitical analyst VB Darshan examines every dimension of this emerging frontier: The Science. How the Moon formed from a planetary collision 4.5 billion years ago, what resources it accumulated across geological time, and why its polar craters are among the coldest - and scientifically richest - places in the inner solar system.The Technology. How you mine in vacuum, in low gravity, with robots that cannot be repaired and equipment that must survive 300-degree temperature swings. What autonomous AI systems, electromagnetic mass drivers, and in-situ resource processing actually look like - and how far from readiness they truly are.The Economics. The supply chain from lunar regolith to cislunar propellant depot to Earth market. The break-even calculations. Which resource streams have real near-term commercial viability - and which depend on a fusion reactor that has not yet been built.The Geopolitics. The United States has Artemis. China has the International Lunar Research Station. India landed at the south pole in 2023. All three are targeting the same geography, under different legal frameworks, with no agreed rules for what happens when they meet at the same crater. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty says the Moon belongs to no one. It does not say who owns what they extract.The Law. The Outer Space Treaty's critical silence on resource ownership. The Artemis Accords that 23 nations have signed - and China and Russia have not. The legal vacuum that is narrowing with every launch, and the governance framework that must be built before the first serious conflict erupts at the lunar south pole.The Ethics. Does the Moon have intrinsic value? Who decides how its resources are distributed? Why are the communities most in need of the energy security it could provide the communities with the least voice in how it is governed?The Wider Vision. Space tourism. Far-side radio observatories that can see the birth of the first stars. The Moon as a propellant depot that makes Mars missions affordable and the asteroid belt accessible. And the Helium-3 fusion torch ships that could, one day, carry humanity to the outer solar system.Mining the Moon is authoritative, honest about uncertainty, and written for intelligent readers who want the complete picture - not just the optimistic headline. It covers 18 chapters across six Parts, with four reference appendices, a technical glossary, and a full bibliography. The Moon has waited 4.5 billion years. The rockets are now fuelling. The decisions being made today - about ownership, governance, and equity - will shape the cislunar economy for Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. …

Etat : As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Etat : New.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Etat : New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Etat : New.