Seven Hundred Elegant Verses
Seven Hundred Elegant Verses

Author: Govardhana

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-12-01

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0814737374

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When Go·várdhana composed his "Seven Hundred Elegant Verses" in Sanskrit in the twelfth century CE, the title suggested that this was a response to the 700 verses in the more demotic Prakrit language traditionally attributed to King Hala, composed almost a thousand years earlier. Both sets of poems were composed in the arya metre. Besides being the name of a metre, in Sanskrit arya means a noble or elegant lady, and Go·várdhana wished to reflect and appeal to a sophisticated culture. These poems each consist of a single stanza, almost as condensed and allusive as a Japanese haiku. They cover the gamut of human life and emotion, though the favorite topic is love in all its aspects. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org

Mahabharata Book Seven (Volume 2)
Mahabharata Book Seven (Volume 2)

Author:

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-04-01

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1479813834

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Volume Two of "Drona" begins in the aftermath of tragedy. As evening falls, Arjuna journeys wearily back to camp and is greeted by the ashen faces of his brothers. Before they speak, he guesses the worst. And the worst is right: his son Abhimanyu is dead. Arjuna is inconsolable. Insensible with rage, he vows to take revenge on the boy’s killers. He swears that if they are not dead before another day passes, he will set himself alight. The world seems to shudder at his words.

Language of the Snakes
Language of the Snakes

Author: Andrew Ollett

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2017-10-03

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 0520296222

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At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Language of the Snakes traces the history of the Prakrit language as a literary phenomenon, starting from its cultivation in courts of the Deccan in the first centuries of the common era. Although little studied today, Prakrit was an important vector of the kavya movement and once joined Sanskrit at the apex of classical Indian literary culture. The opposition between Prakrit and Sanskrit was at the center of an enduring “language order” in India, a set of ways of thinking about, naming, classifying, representing, and ultimately using languages. As a language of classical literature that nevertheless retained its associations with more demotic language practices, Prakrit both embodies major cultural tensions—between high and low, transregional and regional, cosmopolitan and vernacular—and provides a unique perspective onto the history of literature and culture in South Asia.

Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication
Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication

Author: Brian P. Gault

Publisher: SBL Press

Published: 2019-09-13

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 088414383X

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Explore metaphors in the exquisite and enigmatic poetry of Song of Songs One of the chief difficulties in interpreting the Song's lyrics is the unusual imagery used to depict the lovers' bodies. Why is the maiden's hair compared to a flock of goats (4:1), the man’s cheeks likened to garden beds of spice (5:13), and the eyes of both lovers described as doves (4:1; 5:12)? While scholars speculate on the significance of these images, a systematic inquiry into the Song's body metaphors is curiously absent. Based on insights from cognitive linguistics, this study incorporates biblical and comparative data to uncover the meaning of these metaphors surveying literature in the eastern Mediterranean (and beyond) that shares a similar form (poetry) and theme (love). Gault presents an interpretation of the Song's body imagery that sheds light on the perception of beauty in Israel and its relationship to surrounding cultures. Features Exploration of the Song's use of universal themes and culturally specific variations Discussion of the Song's literary structure and unity

Gita Govinda
Gita Govinda

Author: Jayadeva

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-12-01

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 0814740790

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Jayadeva’s Gitagovínda is a lyrical account of the illicit springtime love affair of Krishna and Radha, a god and goddess manifesting on earth as a cowherd and milkmaid for the sake of relishing the sweet miseries and rapturous delights of erotic love. The narrative framing their bucolic songs was composed under royal patronage in northeastern India in the twelfth century. It was to be performed for connoisseurs of poetry and the erotic arts, for aesthetes and voluptuaries who, while sensually engaged, were at the same time devoted to Krishna as Lord of the Universe. The text at once celebrates the vicissitudes of carnal love and the transports of religious devotion, merging and reconciling those realms of emotion and experience. Erotic and religious sensibilities serve, and are served by, the pleasures of poetry. In the centuries following its composition, the courtly text became a vastly popular inspirational hymnal. Jayadeva's songs continue to be sung throughout India in fervent devotional adoration of Krishna.

Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Ravana
Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Ravana

Author: Bhaṭṭi

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2009-04

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 0814727786

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To the dry bones of grammar Bhatti gave juicy flesh in his poem, telling the Indian story in Sanskrit. This book is both a poetic retelling of Rama's adventures, and a compendium of grammatical and rhetorical examples for students.

Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Ravana
Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Ravana

Author:

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-10-01

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1479886939

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To the dry bones of grammar Bhatti gave juicy flesh in his poem, telling the greatest Indian story in elegant Sanskrit. Composed in the fourth century CE, in South India, ”Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Rávana” is both a poetic retelling of Rama’s adventures, and a compendium of grammatical and rhetorical examples for students. Bhatti’s study aid to Pánini’s groundbreaking grammatical treatise, the “Eight Books,” gives examples disguised as the gripping, morally improving “Ramáyana” story. In Bhatti’s own words: “This composition is a lamp to those whose eyes have language as their goal.” Tradition has it that an elephant ambled between Bhatti and his pupils, interrupting their outdoors grammar class. By Hindu law this intrusion canceled class for a year. Lest time be lost, Bhatti composed his poem to teach grammar without textbooks. Ever since, “The Death of Rávana” has been one of the most popular poems in Sanskrit literature.

Mah_bh_rata
Mah_bh_rata

Author: Adam Bowles

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 684

ISBN-13: 0814799957

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"published in the geek chic format" - Bookforum"The Book of Karna" relates the events of the two dramatic days after the defeat of the great warriors and generals Bhishma and Drona, in which Karna - great hero and the eldest Pandava - leads the Kaurava army into combat. This first volume of "Karna" depicts mighty battles in gory detail, sets the scene for Karna's tragic death, and includes a remarkable verbal duel between Karna and his reluctant charioteer Shalya, the king of the Madras, as they hurl abuse at each other before entering the fray.

Mahabharata Books Ten and Eleven
Mahabharata Books Ten and Eleven

Author:

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-04-01

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 1479837997

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The great war of the Maha bharata is over. Or is it? This is a single extended family wracked in conflict. Both sides succumbed to treachery. Ashva tthaman, the young leader of the three survivors on the losing side, is incensed at his father’s murder. He returns after dark to the now sleeping encampment. The sacrifice of the unsuspecting champions, the "Dead of Night," ensues. The five sons of Pandu have escaped. After a final confrontation, a missile crisis, Ashva tthaman concedes defeat but redirects his missile into the wombs of the victors’ women. They miscarry, and cannot hope for more children. Now the survivors, victors and vanquished, must struggle to comprehend their loss. "The Women" of both sides are confronted by their men’s mangled corpses in a masterpiece of horror and pathos. But their potent curses must be curbed to usher in a new era. Maha bharata Books Ten and Eleven give voice to the vanquished, to the psychology of loss and the conflicting desires for understanding and revenge.