The Magic Doe
Qutban Suhravardi's Mirigavati
Published on 19. January 2012
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-19-984292-6 (ISBN)
Description
Mirigavati or The Magic Doe is the work of Shaikh Qutban Suhravardi, an Indian Sufi master who was also an expert poet and storyteller attached to the glittering court-in-exile of Sultan Husain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. Composed in 1503 as an introduction to mystical practice for disciples, this powerful Hindavi or early Hindi Sufi romance is a richly layered and sophisticated text, simultaneously a spiritual enigma and an exciting love-story full of adventures. The Mirigavati is both an excellent introduction to Sufism and one of the true literary classics of pre-modern India, a story that draws freely on the large pool of Indian, Islamic, and European narrative motifs in its distinctive telling of a mystical quest and its resolution. Adventures from the Odyssey and the voyages of Sindbad the Sailor--sea voyages, encounters with monstrous serpents, damsels in distress, flying demons and cannibals in caves, among others--surface in Suhravardi's rollicking tale, marking it as first-rate entertainment for its time and, in private sessions in Sufi shrines, a narrative that shaped the interior journey for novices. Before his untimely death in 2009, Aditya Behl had completed this complete blank verse translation of the critical edition of the Mirigavati, which reveals the precise mechanism and workings of spiritual signification and use in a major tradition of world and Indian literature.
Reviews / Votes
We are very fortunate to have this remarkable work in a sparkling verse translation whose brio effortlessly carries the reader forward. All is well supported by a rich introduction. This is the work, and I must say the labour of love, of a brilliant young scholar of the University of Pennsylvania, Aditya Behl, who died in 2009 aged forty-two. His teacher, Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago, has ensured that it has been published. It should undermine the ignorance which has surrounded Hindavi literature and, most importantly, bring it to a wider audience. * Francis Robinson, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 160 mm
Width: 236 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
476 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-984292-6 (9780199842926)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
01/2012
Oxford University Press Inc
€55.80
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
12/2011
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€21.99
Available for download
Persons
Aditya Behl (1966-2009) was Associate Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Wendy Doniger is Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago
Editor
Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of ReligionsMircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago
Translation
Associate Professor of South Asian StudiesAssociate Professor of South Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Content
Foreword: In Memory of Aditya Behl by Wendy Doniger ; Introduction ; The Prologue ; The Story of Mirigavati and Rajkunvar ; Envoi ; Notes