Bring home a concise, research-based roll of remembrance for the young of Bharat. SHASTRA & SHAASTRA: The Weapon and the Wisdom presents 216 stories of kings, queens, warriors, saints, tribal leaders, village rebels, revolutionaries, prisoners, women of resistance, soldiers of Azad Hind, and naval ratings who stood against conquest, colonial power, humiliation, and the loss of freedom.

The book begins with Raja Dahir of Sindh in 712 CE and closes with the Royal Indian Navy Uprising of 1946, just before Bharat became independent. Each story is short, sharp, and self-contained, helping readers encounter one life, one moment, and one act of courage at a time.

The title carries the moral heart of the work: Shastra is the weapon; Shaastra is the wisdom that gives the weapon its rightful purpose. Courage is honoured not for violence, but when it protects dharma, dignity, freedom, society, sacred geography, and the weak.

What's inside

• 216 stories of armed defenders and revolutionaries of Bharat

• Historical span: 712-1947

• 258 pages

• A5 book format

• Language: English

• First Edition: 2026

• ISBN: 978-93-6123-218-3

• Short, focused, self-contained entries for steady reading

• Appendix: Further Defenders to Remember

• Glossary and selected reading for continued study

What readers discover

• Why Bharat's armed resistance is a story of more than twelve centuries, not a movement beginning only in 1857

• Early civilizational defence and sovereign resistance from Sindh, Kashmir, Rajasthan, the Deccan, Vijayanagara, Mewar, the Sikh world, the Ahom kingdom, and other regions

• Resistance to Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion across coasts, kingdoms, villages, forests, and frontiers

• Regional uprisings, the struggle of 1857, and the continuing resistance that followed its defeat

• Abhinav Bharat, India House, the Berlin Committee, the Ghadar movement, HRA, Kakori, HSRA, Chittagong, and revolutionary networks

• The courage of women, tribal and indigenous leaders, peasant rebels, prisoners, underground organisers, and young martyrs

• Azad Hind, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, and the Royal Indian Navy Uprising

• The distinction between Shastra as the instrument of resistance and Shaastra as the wisdom that binds courage to dharma

• How archive, inscription, official record, memoir, ballad, oral tradition, and community memory can all preserve the past, while requiring careful reading

• Why remembrance should create clarity, gratitude, discipline, unity, and responsibility - not hatred

Who this book is for

• Teenagers, youth, adults, and families

• Parents and grandparents seeking meaningful history for the next generation

• Schools, colleges, libraries, temples, satsangams, and heritage groups

• Readers interested in Indian history, resistance movements, freedom fighters, military history, and civilizational memory

• Meaningful gifting for students, teachers, families, institutions, and national occasions

Reading approach

• Read one life at a time rather than rushing through the book

• Use the compact entries as starting points for deeper study

• Follow unfamiliar names and regions through the selected reading and additional sources

• Discuss what each defender protected: land, dharma, honour, society, sacred geography, community, swarajya, or freedom

• Keep the book in family, school, temple, and community libraries as a continuing roll of remembrance

Shipping and enquiries

• India orders through itihasapurana.com

• Overseas enquiries: call +91 94990 22560 or email learnourdharma@gmail.com

• Bulk and trade enquiries welcome for schools, temples, libraries, institutions, and heritage programmes

• For outreach programmes and institutional orders: call +91 94990 22560 or email learnourdharma@gmail.com

Product quick facts

• Product: SHASTRA & SHAASTRA - The Weapon and the Wisdom (Book)

• Subtitle: Armed Defenders and Revolutionaries of Bharat, 712-1947

• Theme line: Two Hundred and Sixteen Stories of Courage, Dharma, and Freedom

• Author: Sriram Lakshminarayanan

• Entries: 216 stories

• Pages: 258

• Book size: A5

• Language: English

• Edition: First Edition, 2026

• ISBN: 978-93-6123-218-3

• Publisher: Itihasapurana

• Themes: Resistance | Dharma | Courage | Freedom | Civilizational Memory | Bharat

• Audience: Teenagers | Youth | Adults | Families | Schools | Temples | Libraries