The Recognition of Shakuntala: Kashmir Recension

By William Jones, Kālidāsa, Moreshwar Ramchandra Kale, et al.

Book Overview

This play was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe; it attracted considerable attention (among others, from Goethe), and indeed pained surprise that such a sophisticated art-form could have developed without the rest of the world noticing. A good deal of that surprise will be revived by the hitherto untranslated Kashmirian recension. Kali·dasa's The Recognition of Shakúntala is a play that scarcely needs introduction. Among the first works of Sanskrit literature translated into European languages, its skilful plot of thwarted love and eventual redemption has long charmed audiences around the world. Shakuntala's story is a leitmotiv that recurs in many works of Indian literature and culminates in the master Kali·dasa's drama for the stage. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814788157
• ISBN13: 9780814788158
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Clay Sanskrit
• Length: 419 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

The Recognition of Sakuntala (Thrift Edition) by kalidasa

His works never cease to astound me...

A Most Beautiful Play

Kalidasa is India's greatest Sanskrit poet and playwright. Many centuries later, his commitment has not flinched to remain India's most respected bard. When you've read world's greatest plays, you must then read him for the proverbial dessert. For most people, drama was invented in Greece, yet Kalidasa didn't know that, being apart by sea and time. So far as he is concerned, he was as much an inventor of this art. `Recognition of Sakuntala' is a beautiful love story of a married king with a country girl, his deserting her and eventually reclaiming back, by the aid of gods. I've several translations of this play, but Johnson's version is probably the best - at least in English. If Shakespeare or Tolstoy gratify you, Kalidasa will as much.