
The Lineage of the Raghus
Kalidasa(Author)
Harvard University Press
Published on 2. January 2024
Book
Hardback
608 pages
978-0-674-29259-8 (ISBN)
Description
A new English translation of Raghuva?sa by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, who inspired such modern writers as Goethe and Tagore.
For a millennium and a half, Kalidasa's works-from The Cloud Messenger to The Recognition of Shakuntala-have delighted audiences in India and beyond. Although the renowned poet and dramatist inspired many literary works over the centuries, little is known about his life. He likely lived in central India in the late fourth or early fifth century.
Kalidasa's The Lineage of the Raghus, or Raghuva?sa, belongs to the Sanskrit literary tradition of mahakavya, or court poem. It recounts the lives of ancient kings in the suryava?sa, the Solar Dynasty who ruled from the capital city of Ayodhya. The poem describes, among other episodes, the quest for offspring by Dilipa, a descendant of the primordial king Manu; the world conquest of his son Raghu, which offers a panorama of the Indian subcontinent; the exploits of the famous Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu; and the debaucheries of Agnivarna, which jeopardize the future of the lineage.
This volume presents a new edition of the Sanskrit text in the Devanagari script alongside a fresh English translation of this enduring epic.
For a millennium and a half, Kalidasa's works-from The Cloud Messenger to The Recognition of Shakuntala-have delighted audiences in India and beyond. Although the renowned poet and dramatist inspired many literary works over the centuries, little is known about his life. He likely lived in central India in the late fourth or early fifth century.
Kalidasa's The Lineage of the Raghus, or Raghuva?sa, belongs to the Sanskrit literary tradition of mahakavya, or court poem. It recounts the lives of ancient kings in the suryava?sa, the Solar Dynasty who ruled from the capital city of Ayodhya. The poem describes, among other episodes, the quest for offspring by Dilipa, a descendant of the primordial king Manu; the world conquest of his son Raghu, which offers a panorama of the Indian subcontinent; the exploits of the famous Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu; and the debaucheries of Agnivarna, which jeopardize the future of the lineage.
This volume presents a new edition of the Sanskrit text in the Devanagari script alongside a fresh English translation of this enduring epic.
Reviews / Votes
A fine edition that should appeal both to the serious Sanskrit reader and the more casually interested English-speaking one. -- M.A. Orthofer * Complete Review *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
671 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-29259-8 (9780674292598)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Csaba Dezso is Associate Professor at Eoetvoes Lorand University, Budapest. Dominic Goodall is Professor at the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient. Harunaga Isaacson is Professor at the University of Hamburg.