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Siddhartha – an Indian Tale by Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

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ShrutSangam GyanBhandars JainTatvaGyanshala

Siddhartha – an Indian Tale by Hermann Hesse is about a son of a Brahman who in his quest for the truth rejects his father’s faith. His way is through asceticism, meeting with the Buddha, love adventures and a secular life until he calms down and finally finds enlightenment. In many ways, the novel is a poetic parallel to the life of the Buddha. The book, Hesse’s ninth novel, was originally written in German, in a simple yet powerful and lyrical style. It was first published in 1922 after Hesse had spent some time in India in the 1910s. I guess Hermann Hesse also had familiarized himself with the works of the Danish author Karl Gjellerup, who wrote a very similar story 16 years earlier: The Pilgrim Kamanita. Read more