From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan: Letters to the Homeland

From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan: Letters to the Homeland by H. P. Blavatsky (Pre-reform Russian: «Изъ пеще́ръ и де́брей Индоста́на: пи́сьма на ро́дину»; tr. Iz peshcher i debrei Indostana: pis'ma na rodinu) is a literary work by the founder of the Theosophical Society Helena Blavatsky.[note 1] She published it under the pen name Radda Bai in serial installments (letters) from 1879 to 1886 in Moscow in the periodicals Moskovskiya Vedomosti and Russkiy Vestnik, edited by Mikhail Katkov.

The first part of these letters was published in a single volume in 1883 as an appendix to the journal Russkiy Vestnik.[note 2] The second part of the letters was published in 1884–1886. The series obviously was never finished as it broke off rather suddenly.

The Russian literary critic Zinaida Vengerova noted that this Blavatsky's book has "somewhat a mystical coloring" due to numerous stories and the author's arguments about the secret wisdom of the Hindus, which does not detract from its literary significance.

The close acquaintance of the writer with the Indian sights allows her to be very entertaining to talk about the "most diverse aspects of the life" in modern and ancient India. Simply, "but very artistically," she describes the covering India from immemorial times magnificent buildings, on which the past millenniums had no influence.