Sarmistha's Post

#Bookreview: The Lady Who Carried the Monk Across the River by @pavanvarma1953 published by @penguinindia "Radiant in his arms, she knew then that the crossing was sanctioned by the powers of the cosmos. And she had willed it, because she was a woman in love. At this moment, she was glorious in her effulgence, she was Draupadi wreathed in mysteries, virtuous as Uma, elusive as Sarasvati, Kali's revenge, Usha's foil, Rati personified, undaunted as Sati, blessed by Parvati, Shakti's coil, a goddess on fire, refulgent and free. She was Mandakini at the confluence of the journey to the sea." The book The Lady Who Carried the Monk Across the River by Pavan K.Varma based on an old Zen parable coupled with lessons from Vedas and other religions.A deeply meditative, reflective and thought provoking book against the background of the pristine Himalayas, an incident of a monk carrying a lady across the river sparks a debate between a spiritual mentor Brihaspati and his disciple Kevala which lasted for five days. During the five days, their exchange implores the readers to think about human morality, monkhood, love, desire, renunciation and true bliss.The author throws light on the backstory of the three characters, their circumstances before embracing celibacy and the reason they choose to forgo the life of a householder.He portrayed how the meaning of renunciation, morality, desire and true bliss changes from a person to another. The Lady who carried the monk across the river caught my attention from the very beginning. An introspective novel, it made me pause and ponder on several occasions during my reading journey.The characters are well developed and explored.The natural elements are used as metaphors.The river mirrors the nearly insurmountable inner conflicts, the heavy downpour reflects the opposition by the judgemental society.I loved the way, Pavan K.Varma so effortlessly wove the events of past and present of Brihaspati, Gyan and Kevala together which defined their course of life. I would love to recommend this book to readers who love mythology and reflective stories.

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This post was published on 08th May, 2026 by Sarmistha on her Instagram handle "@the_littlebit (Sarmistha)". Sarmistha has total 3.8K followers on Instagram and has a total of 1.7K post.This post has received 71 Likes which are greater than the average likes that Sarmistha gets. Sarmistha receives an average engagement rate of 2.21% per post on Instagram. This post has received 13 comments which are than the average comments that Sarmistha gets. Overall the engagement rate for this post was lower than the average for the profile. #Bookreview has been used frequently in this Post.