SARTHA LITERALLY MEANS A TRADING CARAVAN. IN ANCIENT INDIA, SUCH CARAVANS WOULD TRAVEL TO DISTANT LANDS TO TRADE WITH THEM. SARTHA IS A REMARKABLE NOVEL, WHICH WORKS SIMULTANEOUSLY ON TWO PLANES. IT IS A PHYSICAL JOURNEY ACROSS INDIA, AS WELL AS A SPIRITUAL INWARD JOURNEY OF AN EIGHTH-CENTURY SCHOLAR BORN TO A TRADITION OF VEDIC STUDIES. NAGABHATTA, THE SCHOLAR, IS DEPUTED BY AMARUKA, THE KING, TO STUDY THE SECRETS OF CARAVANS OF OTHER LANDS IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY OF HIS KINGDOM. DURING HIS EXTENSIVE TRAVELS, NAGABHATTA BECOMES A WITNESS TO AND COMES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DOZENS OF RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL MODES. UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AND PEOPLES ARE DEPICTED IN A HISTORICALLY CHANGING TIME IN THE HISTORY OF INDIA. THE NOVEL IS A RESULT OF A DEEP AND EXTENSIVE STUDY OF HISTORY AND RESEARCH CONDUCTED AT ACTUAL LOCALES, LIKE NALANDA. IT SEARCHES, CREATIVELY, THE ROOTS OF CONFLICTING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS WHICH INDIA IS CONSTANTLY FACING. BHYRAPPA IS WELL KNOWN FOR HIS PROFOUND STUDY OF PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS. IN SARTHA, HE GOES BACK IN TIME TO RECREATE THE ATMOSPHERE OF A BYGONE ERA WITH AN AUTHENTICITY THAT IS HIS HALLMARK. THROUGH THIS GRIPPING NARRATIVE, A VAST PANORAMA OF THE PAST UNFOLDS BEFORE US. IT IS A NOVEL THAT ABOUNDS IN DETAILS OF EIGHTH-CENTURY INDIA, CREATING AN EXPERIENCE THAT IS RICH AND STRANGE--STRANGE TO READERS UNINITIATED INTO THE WEALTH AND DIVERSITY OF THE INDIA OF MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. SARTHA CAN BE DISCUSSED AT SEVERAL LEVELS. IT IS A HISTORICAL NOVEL PAR EXCELLENCE, DEFYING WESTERN CRITICS` OPINION THAT INDIAN FICTION LACKS HISTORICAL SENSE. ON ANOTHER LEVEL, IT IS A PICARESQUE NOVEL, IN SO FAR AS IT CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE ESCAPADES OF THE PROTAGONIST. ON YET ANOTHER PLANE IT IS A METAPHYSICAL NOVEL, DEALING WITH THE PHILOSOPHY OF ADVAITIC THOUGHT. FINALLY, IT IS A ROMANCE, A VERY READABLE STORY ABOUT THE TRUE LOVE OF NAGABHATTA AND CHANDRIKA. आठव्या-नवव्या शतकात घडणारी कथा 'सार्थ'. 'सार्थ' म्हणजे 'व्यापारी तांडा'. कथेची सुरुवात होते ब्राह्मण नागभट्ट आणि राजा अमरुक यांच्यात असणा-या मैत्रीने. राजा अमरुक हा स्त्रीलंपट आहे. नागभट्टाचा हा बालपणीचा मित्र आहे. नागभट्टाच्या पत्नीला हस्तगत करता यावे म्हणून तो नागभट्टाला हेरगिरीच्या निमित्ताने सार्थांबरोबर राज्याबाहेर पाठवतो. वर्ष-दीड वर्ष सरल्यावर नागभट्टाला बातमी मिळते की, आपल्या पत्नीने आणि जिवलग मित्राने आपल्या विश्वासघात केला आहे. पुन्हा घराकडे न फिरकणे, हेच त्याला योग्य वाटते. भाषेवर प्रभुत्व असणारा नागभट्ट एका नाटक मंडळीच्या संपर्कात येतो. कृष्णावर आधारित असणा-या नाटकात त्याला मुख्य भूमिका साकारण्याची संधी मिळते. 'कृष्णानंद' नावाने त्याची कीर्ती सर्वदूर पसरते. बायकोने केलेल्या विश्वासघाताने खचलेला नागभट्ट त्याची नाटकातली सहकलाकार असणारी नटी 'चंद्रिका' हिच

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