The Life of Harishchandra by Raghavanka
In Raghavanka's poetic masterpiece The Life of Harishchandra, a powerful sage tests King Harishchandra's commitment to truth. He suffers utter deprivation but refuses to yield. This spirited translation, the first from Kannada into any language, brings one of ancient India's most enduring legends to a global readership.
[This] 13th-century epic by the Veerashaiva poet, Raghavanka, is a path-breaking work in many waysIt is the first Kannada epic to give up Sanskrit meters (vruttas) and narrate the entire epic in a native meter called Shatpadi (a six-line stanza, similar to Spenserian stanza in English)… As a translator, [Vanamala Vishwanatha] has done a remarkable job of recreating the experience of the Kannada epic in English… A brilliant work, faultlessly produced. -- C. N. Ramachandran * The Hindu *
The Life of Harishchandra, Vanamala Viswanatha’s lucid, playful and sympathetic translation of Kannada poet Raghavanka’s Harishchandra Kavya, brings this medieval text to rich and vibrant life… Since 2015, a steady trickle of excellent translations has been quietly coloring our literary landscape. The Life of Harishchandra is among the most recent of these. -- Arshia Sattar * The Hindu *
Raghavanka’s Harishchandra Kavyam [is] rendered into limpid, eminently readable English by Vanamala Viswanatha… [There are] many virtues that grace Viswanatha’s translation of this rich text. Her erudition is obvious; but with it she also shows a fine ear for the poet’s rhythms in her prose translation. Her occasional verse translations evoke the lyricism of the original while her spritely dialogue brings out its surprisingly contemporary dramatic qualities. With prose, verse and drama, her translation acquires an interesting texture, making The Life of Harishchandra a truly remarkable achievement. -- Shanta Gokhale * Pune Mirror *
The Life of Harishchandra, Vanamala Viswanatha’s lucid, playful and sympathetic translation of Kannada poet Raghavanka’s Harishchandra Kavya, brings this medieval text to rich and vibrant life… Since 2015, a steady trickle of excellent translations has been quietly coloring our literary landscape. The Life of Harishchandra is among the most recent of these. -- Arshia Sattar * The Hindu *
Raghavanka’s Harishchandra Kavyam [is] rendered into limpid, eminently readable English by Vanamala Viswanatha… [There are] many virtues that grace Viswanatha’s translation of this rich text. Her erudition is obvious; but with it she also shows a fine ear for the poet’s rhythms in her prose translation. Her occasional verse translations evoke the lyricism of the original while her spritely dialogue brings out its surprisingly contemporary dramatic qualities. With prose, verse and drama, her translation acquires an interesting texture, making The Life of Harishchandra a truly remarkable achievement. -- Shanta Gokhale * Pune Mirror *
Vanamala Viswanatha is Visiting Professor at the School of Education, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780674545663 |
| ISBN 10 | 0674545664 |
| Title | The Life of Harishchandra |
| Author | Raghavanka |
| Series | Murty Classical Library Of India |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Harvard University Press |
| Year published | 2017-01-09 |
| Number of pages | 688 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |