The tale of King Suratha and its literary reception: texts and translations from the Surathotsava and the Durgāvilāsa

Sarkar, Bihani 2018. The tale of King Suratha and its literary reception: texts and translations from the Surathotsava and the Durgāvilāsa. Asian Literature and Translation (ALT) 5 (1) , pp. 146-266. 10.18573/alt.36

Preview

PDF - Updated Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This article is a companion piece to 'Licence and Faithfulness: Taking liberties with kathā in classical Sanskrit poetry and aesthetics' (Journal of Indological Studies, Kyoto University, Nos. 26-27 (2014-2015). It contains the texts and the first English translations of the tale of King Suratha from two mahākāvyas, the Surathotsava by Someśvaradeva and the Durgāvilāsa by Rāmakṛṣṇa. A full literary and historical analysis of these texts and their illumination of the issue of poetic licence and its implicitly free, creative and subversive nature is to be found in the other article. The Surathotsva and the Durgāvilāsa together exemplify the literary heritage of the Devīmāhātmya a Purāṇic work treated as scripture containing the archetype of the Suratha story. The tale of the king contained in these mahākāvyas diverges in many ways from the scriptural source, but most prominently in a new emphasis on Suratha as nāyaka, the swashbuckling hero whose exploits showcase heroic prowess, adventure, daring and kingly glory. In these stories we see Suratha tempted by gorgeous women, create cities out of magic and preside over spectacular courts as Dharma personified.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PM Hyperborean, Indian, and Artificial languages P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Additional Information:	This article does not have all DOIs and pagination displayed correctly (the article DOI on the first page of the PDF is incorrect). The editor was told to amend the PDF in October 2018 but has not yet done so. 8/1/19
Publisher:	Cardiff University Press
ISSN:	2051-5863
Date of Acceptance:	1 March 2018
Last Modified:	06 May 2023 02:05
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/118200

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item