The Papers Included In This Book Are An Exhaustive Survey Of The Recent Sanskrit Literature And An Extensive Assessment About Its Relevance To The Contemporary Society. Sanskrit Literature Has Been Made Richer, Both In The Form And Content, By The Authors Of The 20Th Century, Who Are Very Much Open And Alive To The Contemporary Developments And Problems And Who Are Enthusiastic About Introducing Innovative Ideas Into Sanskrit Literature In Order To Enrich It Further. It Was Also Admitted That Still Much Is To Be Done To Widen The Field Of Sanskrit And This Can Be Made Possible By The Participation Of More Number Of Sanskrit Scholars. Havings Its Roots Firmly Struck In The Ground The Eternal And Speaking Tree Of Sanskrit Should Blossom New Flavour And Speaking The Fragrance Of Which Will Be Carried To Every Root And Corner Of The Word.

The present work is an analytical account of classical Sanskrit literature in its historical perspective. It is divided into six books, containing several chapters, each dealing with a particular branch of Sanskrit learning. The work is full of references; the footnotes refer to a variety of sources, legendary, inscriptional, numismatic, architectural and literary. The writer has exploited all the relevant material of the journals, catalogues, annals, reports and other documents in discussing the vexed problems of the date, place, genealogy of the authors and the literary tendencies of their compositions. His methodology of literary criticism is rationalistic and bears the stamp of the modern scientific age. The elaborate index, the critical introduction, the exhaustive bibliography, the list of abbreviations, the table of transliteration and a supplement are the most useful additions to this interesting and instructive work of literary history.

Study of 19th century Sanskrit literature.

This book presents a fresh perspective on the works of canonical figures of Sanskrit literature. In the process, it raises interesting questions: Is Vālmīki’s Sīta a feminist archetype? Is infidelity a virtue of Cārudatta of the play, Mṛichchhakatika? Is Mudrārākṣasa of the seventh century an existential play? It answers such queries convincingly in a thoughtful and informative prose. Narrating the Indian doctrine of Rasa, the book explores whether evocation of rasa is a subjective phenomenon or, as a famous neurologist averred, universal. Juxtaposing the heroism of Achilles and Rāma, the book tempts the reader to evaluate their poetic influence in building an ideal human society. Drawing parallels between the nobility of Cordelia of Shakespeare and Śakuntala of Kālidāsa, it highlights the power of love, be it filial or otherwise. It is through such refreshing explorations in an engaging style that this book introduces Sanskrit literature to the modern reader.

Culture of Encounters documents the fascinating exchange between the Persian-speaking Islamic elite of the Mughal Empire and traditional Sanskrit scholars, which engendered a dynamic idea of Mughal rule essential to the empire's survival. This history begins with the invitation of Brahman and Jain intellectuals to King Akbar's court in the 1560s, then details the numerous Mughal-backed texts they and their Mughal interlocutors produced under emperors Akbar, Jahangir (1605–1627), and Shah Jahan (1628–1658). Many works, including Sanskrit epics and historical texts, were translated into Persian, elevating the political position of Brahmans and Jains and cultivating a voracious appetite for Indian writings throughout the Mughal world. The first book to read these Sanskrit and Persian works in tandem, Culture of Encounters recasts the Mughal Empire as a polyglot polity that collaborated with its Indian subjects to envision its sovereignty. The work also reframes the development of Brahman and Jain communities under Mughal rule, which coalesced around carefully selected, politically salient memories of imperial interaction. Along with its groundbreaking findings, Culture of Encounters certifies the critical role of the sociology of empire in building the Mughal polity, which came to irrevocably shape the literary and ruling cultures of early modern India.