{"product_id":"2026200014123-secondhand-while-the-gods-play-shaiva-oracles-and-predictions-on-the-cycles-of-history-and-the-destiny-of-mankind","title":"While The Gods Play: Shaiva Oracles And Predictions On The Cycles Of History And The Destiny Of Mankind","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: First US Edition\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom one of the twentieth century's most authoritative interpreters of Hindu philosophy and religion comes a sweeping vision of cosmic time and human destiny that challenges the very foundations of modern thought. While the Gods Play presents the ancient Shaiva oracles — sacred Sanskrit texts long preserved within India's esoteric traditions — and argues that these prophetic writings contain startling, precise predictions about the cyclical nature of history, the decline of civilization, and the ultimate fate of the human species. Alain Daniélou, drawing on decades of immersive study in India and his command of Sanskrit, constructs a rigorous and luminous account of the Shaivite cosmological framework, illustrating how the great cycles of time — the yugas — map with uncanny accuracy onto the trajectory of the modern world.\n\nDaniélou's prose carries both the authority of a scholar and the conviction of a genuine initiate, weaving together mythology, metaphysics, and social prophecy into a cohesive and deeply unsettling portrait of where humanity stands in the grand sweep of cosmic time. The work stands as a counterpoint to Western linear narratives of progress, insisting instead on a universe governed by rhythmic creation and destruction, presided over by the indifferent magnificence of Shiva. Translated from the French by Barbara Bailey, Michael Baker, and Deborah Lawlor, this edition makes Daniélou's most provocative and visionary argument accessible to English-speaking readers — leaving one to wonder whether the gods are still playing, and what role we unknowingly perform in their drama.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49161007202523,"sku":"2026200014123-SECONDHAND","price":60.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/61ab0daa-697f-4411-ab14-e492ab879280.png?v=1787188872","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200014123-secondhand-while-the-gods-play-shaiva-oracles-and-predictions-on-the-cycles-of-history-and-the-destiny-of-mankind","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}