Author: Eminent Contributors
Editor(s): A N D Haksar
Publisher: Indian Council for Cultural Relations
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 268
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8122408842
Description
Sanskrit has an unbroken literary tradition of at least three thousand years. As the principal language of India’s thought and culture for much of this time, it has a unique position in national identity.
The vast literature of Sanskrit is a major component of India’s cultural heritage. Its study occupies an important place, both in traditional learning and in current scholarship about Indic civilization. But the fruit of this knowledge has, to a considerable extent, stayed within the domain of the specialist. While the great sacred and philosophical works are well known, other aspects of Sanskrit literature have had comparatively less public exposure.
The present volume seeks to fill this gap for general readers, both in India and abroad. Focused mainly on classical literature, it is based on scholarship of the first rank and attuned to a broader interest.
Sixteen distinguished Indian and foreign experts comment here on different aspects of Sanskrit’s literary treasure house, ranging from the famous epic, dramatic, poetic and prose works to anthologies, epigrams and the inscriptional poetry found in and outside India. Also reviewed are Sanskrit linguistics, poetics and mathematics, together with contemporary writings and modern Sanskrit studies abroad.
This book give revealing glimpses of a magnificent literature. It includes also an introductory overall appraisal from the Vedic times onwards. A special feature is a select anthology of translated excerpts from celebrated Sanskrit classics to enable the literature to speak for itself.
Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Evolution of Sanskrit Literature: A Reappraisal
The Adikavya and the Legacy of Rsi Valmiki
Poetry of the Mahabharata
Sanskrit Linguistics and Mathematics in Ancient India
Bhasa and Kalidasa: the Inseparable Divergence
Prakrt Poetry: Hala’s Sattasai
Classical Sanskrit Prose Literature
Public Poetry in Sanskrit
The Major Dramatists
The Development of Aesthetics and Literary Criticism in India
Anthologies; Gnomic Verses and Aphorisms
Give and Take: Sanskrit Poetry in Context
The Contribution of Kashmir to Sanskrit Literature
Some Peripheral Literature: Lexicography and Medicine
Contemporary Sanskrit Writing
Sanskrit Studies Abroad
A Treasury of Translations
Appendices
Appendix 1: Some Sanskrit Educational Institutions in India.
Appendix 2: Some Indian Publishers of Sanskrit Books
Contributors
Index