Namita Singh

Preface

THE BASIS FOR DIVYA IS HISTORY, BUT HISTORY COLOURED BY imagination. It is an endeavour to portray the motives of man and the dynamics of his world. I have attempted, as a literary experiment, to add realism to a fictional tale played out against a historical background. That this portrayal may contain errors is entirely possible. We do not have extensive knowledge of that period of history, nor can I lay claim to any store of scholarly learning. I, therefore, approached the historical setting with an imagination restrained by an awareness of my shortcomings, but impelled by my fascination with this classical period of the history of India. This may not be acceptable to knowledgeable readers, who may be turned off by any resulting inaccuracies.

We study and analyse our past with the idea of learning about our future. In spite of our failings in the present, we find clues to our capabilities in our past. History does not repeat itself as individual incidents. History means change, but individual and collective striving for survival and progress has always been present in the sequence of change; it is the moving force behind all change.

The study of history analyses the creative urges of an individual and his society as circumstances change. Human beings not only change their existing circumstances, they also strive to create new circumstances. Just as man changes his natural and material conditions, so also he creates his social conditions.

History is not a matter of belief, but of analysis. History is the self-examination by man of his past. Just as the constant flow of fresh water in a river does not change the nature and the name of the river, in the same way a people does not change because of the changes brought about by the process of life and death, and social organizations. From their collective creative forces and their past attempts to alter their circumstances, they learn to resolve the present and find inspiration to create the future.

The most spectacular truth to emerge from efforts made by man to learn from the analysis of history was that man is a creator and not a creation. The world is man’s creation. Our own sages realized this when they said: Nothing is greater than man.

Even more powerful than man himself are his beliefs and the social structure he creates. He can be defeated by his beliefs and the social system. Then again it is in the power of man to change it. Divya is an attempt to portray that truth, by the power of imagination, playing on the background of a colourful period of our history.

I am painfully conscious of the lack of depth in my knowledge of history. If I had not received generous help from Shri Vasudev Sharan Agarwal, PhD, Director, Lucknow Museum; Shri Moti Chand, PhD, Head of Archaeology, the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay and Shri Bhagwat Sharan Upadhyaya, this book probably would have been full of unforgivable errors. I am also obliged to Bhadant Bhodhanand, senior monk of the Buddha Vihar in Lucknow, through whose kindness I was able to learn about the religious practices of Buddhism.