Mah bh rata (including Harivam a) and R m yan a, the two great Sanskrit Epics central to the whole of Indian Culture, form the subject of this new work.The book begins by examining the relationship of the epics to the Vedas and the role of the bards who produced them. The core of the work, a study of the linguistic and stylistic features of the epics, precedes the examination of the material culture, the social, economic and political aspects, and the religious aspects. The final chapter presents the wider picture and in conclusion even looks into the future of epic studies.In this long overdue survey work the author synthesizes the results of previous scholarship in the field. Herewith a coherent view is built up of the nature and the significance of these two central epics, both in themselves, and in relation to Indian culture as a whole.

This is an introduction to philosophy but with a difference. Through out the book metaphysical issues are shown to be rooted in the history of philosophy. At the same time the author`s tratment of each issues leads right into the contemporary situation. Philosophy can scarcely be defined,the author says, but philosophizing can be `shown`. The various section of the book show in a fresh way what such philosophizing can be like.

The two great epics of (old) India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are written in a language, which differs from so-called classical Sanskrit in many details. Both texts still are of an enormous importance in India and other countries. Because of this, a grammar describing all the different characteristics of epic Sanskrit has been missed until now. The Grammar of Epic Sanskrit will now close this gap.

Mahābhārata (including Harivaṃśa) and Rāmāyaṇa, the two great Sanskrit Epics central to the whole of Indian Culture, form the subject of this new work. The book begins by examining the relationship of the epics to the Vedas and the role of the bards who produced them. The core of the work, a study of the linguistic and stylistic features of the epics, precedes the examination of the material culture, the social, economic and political aspects, and the religious aspects. The final chapter presents the wider picture and in conclusion even looks into the future of epic studies. In this long overdue survey work the author synthesizes the results of previous scholarship in the field. Herewith a coherent view is built up of the nature and the significance of these two central epics, both in themselves, and in relation to Indian culture as a whole.

Explore Sanskrit literature, the classical language of India, representing a rich cultural tradition from the time of the Vedas in the second millennium BC until Late Antiquity. The leading works of Indian epic poetry are the ‘Ramayana’ and the ‘Mahabharata’, as well as The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature and Sangam literature. These texts are among some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written. The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents a comprehensive range of Sanskrit epics, including the complete ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’, with illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to the leading works of Sanskrit epic poetry * Concise introduction to the epic poems * Complete ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’, with scholarly footnotes * Excellent formatting of the poems * Rare other Sanskrit epics appearing for the first time in digital publishing - explore the rich heritage of Sanskrit literature * Easily locate the sections you want to read * Features a biography on the leading poet Kalidasa * Bonus text of Arthur Anthony Macdonell’s ‘A History of Sanskrit Literature’ * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to see our wide range of poet titles CONTENTS: The Hindu Itihasa Ramayana by Valmiki (Translated by Ralph Thomas Hotchkin) Mahabharata by Vyasa (Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli) Other Sanskrit Epics Buddhacharita by Asvaghosa (Translated by E. B. Cowell) Saundarananda by Asvaghosa (Translated by E. H. Johnston) Selections from ‘Raghuvamsha’ by Kalidasa (Translated by Arthur W. Ryder) Selections from ‘Kumarasambhava’ by Kalidasa (Translated by Arthur W. Ryder) Shishupala Vadha by Magha (Cantos I-IV) (Translated by M. S. Bhandare) Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi (Translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt) Bhattikavya by Bhatti (Canto I) (Anonymous translation 1867) The Biographies A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell Kalidasa: His Life and Writings by Arthur W. Ryder Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of poetry titles or buy the entire Delphi Poets Series as a Super Set

At the hand of the hero Karna this book offers a model for 'heroic religion', having to a large extent shaped not only the Indic epics, but also cognate Indo-European epics, such as Homer's Iliad.

Indira Viswanathan Peterson provides an introduction to the Sanskrit court epic (mahākāvya), an important genre in classical Indian poetry, and the first study of a celebrated sixth-century poem, the Kirātārjunīya (Arjuna and the Hunter) of Bhāravi. Sanskrit court epics are shown to be characterized both by formalism and a deep engagement with enduring Indian values. The Kirātārjunīya is the earliest literary treatment of the narrative of the Pandava hero Arjuna's combat with the great god Śiva, a seminal episode in the war epic Mahābhārata. Through a close analysis of the structural strategies of Bhāravi's poem, the author illuminates the aesthetic of the mahākāvya genre. Peterson demonstrates that the classical poet uses figurative language, rhetorical devices, and structural design as the primary instruments for advancing his argument, the reconciliation of heroic action, ascetic self-control, social duty, and devotion to God. Her discussion of the Kirātārjunīya in relation to its historical setting and to renderings of this epic episode in literary texts and temple sculpture of later periods reveals the existence of complex transactions in Indian civilization between the discourses of heroic epic and court poetry, political ideologies and devotional religion, Sanskrit and the regional languages, and classical and folk traditions. Selections from the Kirātārjunīya are presented in poetic translation.