Songs of the Saints of India

by John Stratton Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer

Book Overview

The verses of the great poets of north India stand at the fount of the Hindi language, and many would say that they also represent its greatest flowering. In addition to their major religious significance for Hindus, these poems treat universal themes, have great popular appeal, and even today are well known to Indians in every walk of life. The beloved authors are revered not only as poets but also as saints, and hagiographical literature about them...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195052218
• ISBN13: 9780195052213
• Release Date: October 1988
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.2" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Read it for class

I read this for class. It's very interesting and has a good and somewhat short sum-up of the writers' lives and controversies (more opinionated and somewhat factual than it is a scholarly analysis). The poetry is very interesting, but if you do not know anything about Indian religious traditions, then reading this may get you a little lost.

excellent anthology

This book is a great starting point for those interested in the North Indian Bhakti and Sant movements. The text gives you both a helpful introduction to the individual poets themselves and a nice short sample of some of their poems. A book that should be in every library of those interested in Indian religion.

A skilled rendering of beautiful material

Hawley and Jurgensmeyer compile the jewels of North Indian bhakti poetry in a book that is written (by Hawley) in a scholarly but unpretentious and readable style. The translations (by Hawley and Jurgensmeyer) are beautiful and faithful to the originals, and provide an excellent summary of medieval poetry central to both the Hindu and Sikh traditions.