Detailed Summary of Samskara – Chapter III
SAMSKARA by U. R. Anantha Murthy

SAMSKARA by U. R. Anantha Murthy
Characters
Praneshacharya – learned scholar and priest of Durvasapura
Naranappa – a Brahmin who leads a non-Brahminical life
Garudacharya – a relative of Naranappa
Shyama – Son of Garuda
Shripati – Son-in-law of Lakshmanacharya
Chapter – III
Praneshacharya Recollects Naranappa’s Past
Praneshacharya goes through the palm leaf texts to find a solution to Naranappa’s funeral rites while the Madva Brahmins are in Parijatapura to inform about Naranappa’s death.
The thought of Naranappa makes Praneshacharya realize how he has been a problem all through his life. Praneshacharya recollects a bitter conversation when he went to Naranappa’s house to meet him. Naranappa disrespected and treated him with contempt. He also remembers how Naranappa made Garuda’s son Shyama and Lakshmana’s son-in-law Shripati to go astray from Brahminical tradition. Shyama ran away from home and joined the army, while Shripati almost took the lifestyle of Naranappa. He even remembers the day when he brought Muslims with him to the Ganapathi temple stream and caught the sacred fish. During their heated conversation Naranappa has said, “I’ll destroy Brahminism, I certainly will. My only sorrow is that there’s no brahminism really left to destroy in this place – except you.”
Vocabulary
Page 20
1. riffling /rɪfəliŋ/ – verb
Meaning: searching quickly
Example – Then he sat down among his palm-leaf texts, riffling them for the right and lawful answer.
2. incited – verb
Meaning: encouraged (others to do some mistake).
Example – Naranappa had incited Shyama to run away from home and join the army.
3. lolling – verb
Meaning: sitting relaxed
Example – He was lolling on a soft mattress, and showed some courtesy by getting up.
Page 21
4. sneered – verb
Meaning: spoke without respect
Example – He didn’t take counsel well, and talked his head off; sneered at the Acharya and Brahmin ways.
5. hedonist /hi:dnist/ – noun
Meaning: the thinking that pleasure is very important
Example – I belong to the “Hedonist School” which says – borrow, if you must, but drink your ghee.
Page 22
6. decadent – adjective
Meaning: immoral
Example – In this decadent age, common men follow the right paths out of fear.
7. dishevelled – adjective
Meaning: untidy
Example – Naranappa was probably drunk; his eyes were bloodshot, his hair was dishevelled.
8. welled up – phrasal verb
Meaning: surfaced, emerged
Example – A desire welled up in the Acharya, a lust to swoop on Naranappa like a sacred eagle.
9. swooped – verb
Meaning: moved quickly and suddenly downwards through the air
10. Talons – noun
Meaning: sharp nails (of birds that prey on other birds and animals)
Example – He looked as if the sacred bird of prey had swooped and held him in its talons.
Page 24
11. wilted – adjective
Meaning: almost dying
Example – He will tie another wilted sister-in-law round my neck, just to get at my property.
Page 25
12. rigmarole /rɪgmərəʊl/– noun
Meaning: a long and unnecessary complicated process that is silly
Example – As Praneshacharya stood silently listening to Naranappa’s words, he bagan to worry: is this a drunkard’s rigmarole?
Page 26
13. quaffed/kwɔ:f/ – verb
Meaning: drank heartily
Example – Then he winked at the Acharya, quaffed the liquor in his cup and let out a loud long belch.
14. luscious – adjective
Meaning: sex arousing
Example – He gave up telling the luscious Puranic stories in the evenings and started on moral tales of penance.
Leave a Reply