Synopses & Reviews
This book presents the life stories and poems of six well-known saint-poets of north India -- Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas -- who have contributed more to the religious vocabulary of Hinduism in north India today than any voices before or since. In worship, in education, even in politics, modern Hinduism sings their tune.
With a biographical and interpretive essay on each poet and a selection of representative verses in original translation, this book offers a complete introduction to a literature that transcends the boundaries we associate with religion, and those of India as well. This new edition of the Songs of the Saints of India will appeal to travellers, students, and anyone eager to hear the music of north Indian religion and see its hidden contours.
Review
'We have waited long for an anthology of Hindi bhakti of this range, authority, and literary excellence.' -- A K Ramanujan
'The author's deep knowledge of the bhakti traditions of north India is evident both in their choice of representative poetry for each of the six saints and in the renderings of their poetry, which are so skilfully fashioned that one can easily hear the nuances of each poet's voice in registers of contemporary English.' -- The Journal of Asian Studies
'This is one of those rare and wonderful books that makes first-rate scholarship immediately accessible to the non-specialist.' --Religious Studies Review
Synopsis
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 abounds, even in the form of comic books and popular motion pictures. Songs of the Saints of India serves as an introduction to six of the best known of these poets--Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas--with a biographical and interpretive essay on each and a selection of representative verses in original translations.
Synopsis
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 abounds, even in the form of comic books and popular motion pictures. Songs of the Saints of India serves as an introduction to six of the
best known of these poets--Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas--with a biographical and interpretive essay on each and a selection of representative verses in original translations.
About the Author
John Stratton Hawley, Professor of Religion at Columbia University, is a specialist in the devotional traditions of North India.
Mark Juergensmeyer is Director of Global and International Studies and Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Revised Edition