Hymns and Songs of Purandaradasa

Poetry. South Asian Studies. The uniqueness of Purandaradasa's hymns and songs lies in the fact that his was a vehicle not solely powered by the bhakti doctrine contained in them, but the daily language of intercourse that ordinary people could hear, remember and sing. If the French were to term Guillaume Dufay their Purandaradasa, then one could judge the universal reach of this composer from Karnataka, whose compositions are sung in every part of South India, in places where his language, Kannada, is not necessarily spoken.

The translations in this collection succeed in demonstrating how Purandaradasa (1485-1565) uses day-to-day incidents to emphasize the value of love and devotion as the highest indication of good conduct. Dinesh Hassan's translations reveal the absolute relevance of such compositions to our own times; our world is as riddled with confusion and anger as the final years of Purandaradasa's life themselves were. His translations convey Purandaradasa's use of everyday idiom and often racy vocabulary, and the grace of the writer's sophistication in his supplications as well us more worldly compositions. If the French were to term Guillaume Dufay their Purandaradasa, then one could judge the universal reach of this composer from Karnataka, whose compositions are sung in every part of South India, in places where his language, Kannada, is not necessarily spoken. Readers can sense here how Purandaradasa melds sound and sense. Rajini Pani, Long Island University

A book of contemporary translations of the ancient Hindu poet Purandaradasa.