Book Description
With over 60 stunning plates of original art, PRINCE OF DHARMA is a bold and glorious rendering of the life of the Buddha sensitively told by Ranchor Prime.

About the Author
Ranchor Prime works as a freelance writer and broadcaster and as an advisor on religion and conservation to the Worldwide Fund for Nature in Britain and India. He is the author of Hinduism and Ecology and Ramayan: A Tale of Gods and Demons and contributes to many books on religion and the environment. Awarded 1983 National Art Award for Master Craftsman by the President of India, B. G. Sharma is recognized as the foremost living painter of Indian miniatures. Famous throughout India for his originality in composition, design, and ornamentation, he has influenced and inspired many other artists on the subcontinent. While Sharma is accomplished in the traditional schools of Kangra, Kishangarh, and Mughal painting, he has developed a unique style that has contributed significantly to both traditional and contemporary Indian art.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With so much interest in the teachings of Buddhism, what do we actually know about the life of Siddhartha, who later became known as the Buddha? Traditionally Buddhists have emphasized his teachings of compassion and forbearance, summarized in his sermons and in the Dhammapada, and less attention has been placed on his life. However, his story is inspiring in its simplicity and in the personal example he set by his renunciation.

Prince of Dharma tells this moving story, taken from the classical sources handed down to us from ancient India, with the help of 50 exquisite paintings by the renowned Indian artist B. G. Sharma. Hindus have long honored the Buddha has a divine incarnation, and the artist has approached his task with all the devotion of a traditional Hindu who reveres the Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. His paintings add a unique and fresh new vision, heart-warming and colorful, to the cannon of Buddhist religious art that has grown up over thousands of years.

At a time when religious intolerance threatens world peace, it is worth remembering the shared reverence for the Buddha that has allowed Hindus and Buddhists to live peacefully side by side in Asia for 2500 years. "Prince of Dharma" is a unique presentation of the Buddha's story, because it draws upon the classic sources of both the Buddhist and the Hindu tradition to tell the story of a man who was born a Hindu prince, but who by his constant questioning and personal magnetism founded a new religious path that transformed the life of India and much of Asia.

Author Biography: Ranchor Prime works as a freelance writer and broadcaster and as an advisor on religion and conservation to the Worldwide Fund for Nature in Britain and India. He is the author of Hinduism and Ecology and Ramayan: A Tale of Gods and Demons and contributes to many books on religion and the environment.