This groundbreaking collection features romantic ghazals, devotional quatrains, medieval battles, separated lovers, Buddhist nuns seeking the divine, Ram’s battle against a demon army and more!
By Lopamudra Basu
A groundbreaking anthology
This anthology with a foreword by Ranjit Hoskote consists of excerpts from ten classical works that have been translated and published by the Murty Classical Library of India as complete volumes. These works represent nine languages from South Asia (Hindi, Kannada, Pali, Panjabi, Persian, Sanskrit, Telugu, and Urdu), and span a period of 2500 years.
This groundbreaking project of producing modern translations of South Asian classical works emerged as a result of a generous endowment from Rohan Narayana Murty, a technological entrepreneur and humanities enthusiast, and the leadership of Professor Sheldon Pollock, an eminent South Asian historian and Sharmila Sen, editorial director of Harvard University Press. The present collection marks the tenth anniversary of the project and is intended to give readers a taste of the full-length volumes often produced as bilingual editions with the South Asian language original texts and the English translations often set side by side.
Quest for spiritual growth
The collection begins with selections from the Therigatha, which is a collection of verses attributed to the earliest Buddhist nuns, translated from the Pali. The excerpt includes the names of ancient Buddhist nuns like Sumedha, Punna, Dhira, and Mutta, among others. Several of these women relinquish the life of the body in the quest for nirvana, recognizing the transience of earthly pleasures and seeking liberation in Buddha. Similarly, the translation from Bhairavi’s Arjuna the Hunter (Kiratararjuniya) by Indira Vishwanathan Peterson posits Arjuna’s dilemma between his earthly role as a warrior and his quest for spiritual growth. It is ultimately the narrative of a human glimpse of the divine through Arjuna’s encounter with Lord Shiva who promises the warrior unmatched heroic glory in battle.
Longing for the divine
The longing for the divine is a recurrent theme in the classics chosen, especially in the medieval selections from Guru Granth Sahib, Surdas’s poetry, and Sufi lyrics of Bullhe Shah. While Guru Nanak is known as the founder of the Sikh religion, he is presented here as a talented poet who perfects the saloku form derived from the Sanskrit sloka. His language is an archaic form of Punjabi but draws on a variety of other languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian.
In the “Morning Hymn” Guru Nanak sings of the unity manifested through all spheres of creation by the singular and indivisible aspect of the divine. While Guru Nanak’s verses present a more philosophical notion of the divine, Surdas’s poetry represents an intensely personal relationship with Krishna through the ardent longing of many of his female companions seeking him. Readers are reminded in the introduction that the poetry attributed to Surdas is more plausibly part of the “Sur” tradition rather than the work of a single poet.
However, the oldest extant manuscript of the Sur collection dates back to 1582 and consists of 289 poems. The language is Braj Bhasha, one of the dialects that goes on to become modern-day Hindi. Sur’s lyrics are passionate and often erotic, replete with the “nail marks” gifted by the Lord to the beloved’s breast as well as expressing the intense agony of separation. The voice of the lyrics alternates between Sur directly addressing his lord Shyam as well as expressing the voice of a female lover longing for Krishna. The erotic longing of the lover for the beloved functions as a metaphor for the longing of the human devotee for union with the divine.
An unorthodox invocation
A similar quest for the divine is visible in Bullhe Shah’s eighteenth-century Sufi lyrics. One remarkable poem excerpted in this collection is about playing Holi. The poem begins with the line “I will play Holi after saying bismillah.” This is a shockingly unorthodox juxtaposition of a Hindu festive ritual with a Muslim holy invocation. The ritual of Krishna playing Holi with the gopis is unabashedly captured by the Sufi poet to express his bliss and ardor for the divine. This poem is also a vivid expression of the syncretic nature of South Asian devotional traditions, which cannot be confined within the strict boundaries of orthodox religions. This is a heartening reminder at a time of increased religious intolerance and bigotry in this region.
Richly observed vignettes
Although the collection is heavily weighted towards religious and devotional classics, it does contain excerpts from Abu’l Fazl’s Akbarnama. This is a very different genre. It is the official biography of Emperor Akbar. In the section excerpted here, we catch a glimpse of everyday military and hunting activities of the royal Mughal entourage. It is fascinating to witness how wild elephants are captured and tamed as well as how Akbar handles a rebellious vassal. The richly observed vignettes help modern readers recreate the ethos of the Mughal Empire.
Although this is a secular text, the heroic impulse is also witnessed in the religious text of Tulisdas’ Ram Charit Manas. Although ostensibly a retelling of Valmiki’s Ramayana, this text in Hindi, and particularly the excerpt is a description of the epic battle between Rama and the Lankan king Ravana aided by the monkey army, reminiscent of Homeric descriptions of the Trojan War. Lakshman, Rama’s brother is fatally wounded and the trajectory of the battle is unclear till Hanuman transports a mountain containing an herb that saves Lakshman’s life.
A rich collection of 10 Indian classics
Overall, this is a rich selection of South Asian classics, representing a variety of languages and religions. The texts complement each other by expanding on a variety of common themes and tropes. They boldly defy received notions of religious and devotional traditions. This book could be of interest to a wide variety of readers, and I can see it as a useful resource for college courses.
It successfully accomplishes its mission to whet the appetite of readers for more: paving the way for the exploration of full texts from the Murty series. The only dissatisfaction that may arise is the realization that some favorite classics are not on the list. For example, while the ghazal is represented by Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib is absent. This is because the Murty Library is still expanding as more classics get translated and published. As the collection increases, the variety of classics accessible to a global audience will hopefully expand. For the non-specialist reader, this collection is awe-inspiring in not only presenting the richness and plurality of South Asian history but also revealing how our present reality is inextricably woven with our past.
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Lopamudra Basu is a professor of English and Philosophy and Chair of the Literature Committee at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University.
Courtesy: India Currents