Epic Nation

Epic Nation explores in detail the appropriations and reimaginings of the Mahabharata as a text in the Pauranik genre which served several purposes in the late colonial period-they provided alternatives to colonial constructions of Indian history, they served as forms of protest and resistance to colonial rule, and they provided an ideological support for the nationalist movement. Pamela Lothspeich discusses the ambiguous relationship between myth and history, the debates and controversies regarding the Hindi movement, as well as the complex issue of communalism in the construction of an idealized Hindu past. A wide range of writings have been covered-from the elite, 'canonical' writers such as Mahavirprasad Dvivedi, Maithilisharan Gupt, and Ramcharit Upadhyay, to the relatively under-estimated playwright Badrinath Bhatt and the Parsi commercial theatre of Kathavacak. The Epilogue traces the trends in Pauranik literature, in the post-1940 era, in relatively newer forms such as the short story and the novel, and also film and TV.
With a glossary of literary terms, an appendix citing Hindi literature based on the Mahabharata (1866-2008), and detailed bibliography, Epic Nation would be of interest to students and researchers of literature, history, and cultural studies, as well as general readers.