Aseem Misra's Second Book

Guru Pad Kanjगुरु पद कंज

The Lotus Feet of the Guru

and the duties of today's teacher, learner, parents, and institution

Before Mother Sītā. Before Rāma Himself. Before Hanumān. In the Rāmacaritamānasa, Gosvāmī Tulsīdāsa bows to the Guru first — this book brings together everything he says about why.

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By Aseem Misra · in Hindi & English

Guru Pad Kanj — Hindi edition cover Guru Pad Kanj — English edition cover

About the Book

One idea, followed all the way through

Guru Pad Kanj is an attempt to bring together, in one place, the principle, the story, and the reflection behind the Guru's glory in Shrī Rāmacaritamānasa — complete in both Hindi and English.

Not a retelling of the epic, and not a commentary on everything in it — just one thread, drawn out carefully: what the Mānasa itself says about the Guru, in the Mānasa's own words.

A Sequence Worth Noticing

The Guru, before Rāma Himself

Gosvāmī Tulsīdāsa did not begin the Rāmacaritamānasa with "Rāma." He begins with Sarasvatī and Gaṇeśa. Then Bhavānī and Śiva. And already, in the third verse — the Guru.

1 · Sarasvatī & Gaṇeśa 2 · Bhavānī & Śiva 3 · The Guru Sītā, Rāma & Hanumān

"The Guru comes even before them."

How the Book Is Built

Seven kāṇḍas, one journey

Scattered across all seven kāṇḍas of the Mānasa are the verses where Tulsīdāsa speaks of the Guru. This book gathers them in sequence — and alongside each verse, the very story in which it was spoken.

The result is a single, sequential journey of Guru-centred thought — drawn out from across the whole epic.

Bāl Kāṇḍa Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa Araṇya Kāṇḍa Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa Sundar Kāṇḍa Laṅkā Kāṇḍa Uttar Kāṇḍa

The Verse Behind the Title

बंदउँ गुरु पद कंज कृपा सिंधु नररूप हरि।
महामोह तम पुंज जासु बचन रबि कर निकर॥

"I worship the lotus feet of the Guru — an ocean of grace, the very form of Hari in human shape — whose every word is a multitude of sun-rays, scattering the mass of darkness that is great delusion."

Rāmacaritamānasa · Bāl Kāṇḍa

The Final Section

From the Mānasa to today

The book closes with a code of forty-eight duties — twelve for each of today's teacher, learner, parent, and institution — every duty traced back to the verse it rises from.

12 Duties

Today's Teacher

Rooted in what the Mānasa itself asks of one who teaches.

12 Duties

Today's Learner

What it means to receive a teaching, in the spirit it was given.

12 Duties

Parents

The quiet part parents play before a Guru ever enters the picture.

12 Duties

The Institution

What a school or institution owes the relationship it hosts.

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Choose your edition

Complete in both languages, on the store you already use.

Guru Pad Kanj — Hindi edition cover
Hindi Edition

गुरु पद कंज

Guru Pad Kanj — English edition cover
English Edition

Guru Pad Kanj

Two Small Requests

Read it. Then help it travel.

  • 1 Read the book — and don't hesitate to say what's missing. That will be worth more than any praise.
  • 2 If you like it, please tell teachers, learners, and their parents or guardians too — so they can benefit from it as well.
"This book is an attempt to bring before everyone that aspect of Indian, Hindu, and Sanātan dharma-culture which has always been beneficial and guiding — for every person, in every part of the world."

About the Author

Aseem Misra is the author of Guru Pad Kanj, his second book — a study of the Guru's glory as it unfolds across the Shrī Rāmacaritamānasa, written for teachers, learners, parents, and institutions alike.