Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Śātātapa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Śātātapa is one of the ancient authors of a smṛti, quoted by others like Yājñavalkya, Parāśara, Viśvarupa and Haradatta, especially on the topic of prāyaścitta or expiations for sins. His work seems to have been both in prose and in verses. The prose-work in the form of sutras and the one in verses may have been different compilations.

Works by Śātātapa[edit]

Contents of Śātātapa Smṛti[edit]

The manuscript of a Śātātapa Smṛti discovered has twelve chapters dealing with the following subjects:

  1. Prāyaścittas
  2. Vivāha - marriage
  3. Vaiśvadeva - offering of cooked food for all gods, a domestic rite
  4. Śrāddha - obsequal rites
  5. Rules about taking food
  6. Aśauca - observance of ceremonial impurities
  7. Etc.

Contents of Karmavipāka[edit]

Another work called Karmavipāka attributed to Śātātapa contains different subjects like:

  1. Gifts of land
  2. Eulogy of brāhmaṇas
  3. Rites for those who meet violent or accidental death
  4. Certain penances

Vṛddha-Śātātapa[edit]

One more work called Vrddha-Śātātapa has also been quoted by the writers and commentators of dharmaśāstras.


References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore