Translated with Notes and Introduction by
John T. Roberts
This
volume presents poems from the Prakrit Sattasai. The Prakrit language is a less well known
and more "common" descendant of Sanskrit, the classical language of India. As
such it was not used for the same purposes as was Sanskrit, but produced quite a bit of
literature all its own. Actually a number of Prakrits were used, each with its own
character. The anthology upon which this book is based is a tenth century compilation of
earlier poems in Maharashtri or poetic Prakrit. The poems concern rural life, love and
nature for the most part, and are glimpses of the life and times of old India. In this
short work the author has included translations of selected poems from the anthology
arranged by subject, with discussions of the various groupings. There is an introductory
chapter concerning the Prakrit language, its usage, aesthetic and poetic forms,
translation techniques and difficulties, and a discussion of this particular anthology. It
is conceived as a readable, yet scholarly introduction to Prakrit poetry-folk poetry of
old India-meant for the average interested reader, yet useful to the scholar. These poems,
except for an occasional few, have not been previously translated into English.
This
volume presents poems from the Prakrit Sattasai. The Prakrit language is a less well known
and more "common" descendant of Sanskrit, the classical language of India. As
such it was not used for the same purposes as was Sanskrit, but produced quite a bit of
literature all its own. Actually a number of Prakrits were used, each with its own
character. The anthology upon which this book is based is a tenth century compilation of
earlier poems in Maharashtri or poetic Prakrit. The poems concern rural life, love and
nature for the most part, and are glimpses of the life and times of old India. In this
short work the author has included translations of selected poems from the anthology
arranged by subject, with discussions of the various groupings. There is an introductory
chapter concerning the Prakrit language, its usage, aesthetic and poetic forms,
translation techniques and difficulties, and a discussion of this particular anthology. It
is conceived as a readable, yet scholarly introduction to Prakrit poetry-folk poetry of
old India-meant for the average interested reader, yet useful to the scholar. These poems,
except for an occasional few, have not been previously translated into English.
