The Killing of Shishupala (Murty Classical Library of India) - Hardcover

Magha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674660390 ISBN 13: 9780674660397

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Magha’s The Killing of Shishupala, written in the seventh century, is a celebrated example of the Sanskrit genre known as mahākāvya, or great poem. This adaptation from the epic Mahābhārata tells the story of Shishupala, who disrupts Yudhishthira’s coronation by refusing to honor Krishna, the king’s principal ally and a manifestation of divinity. When Shishupala challenges Krishna to combat, he is immediately beheaded.

Magha, who was likely a court poet in western India, draws on the rich stylistic resources of Sanskrit poetry to imbue his work with unparalleled sophistication. He expands the narrative’s cosmic implications through elaborate depictions of the natural world and intense erotic sensuality, mixing myth and classical erudition with scenes of political debate and battlefield slaughter. Krishna is variously portrayed as refined prince, formidable warrior, and incarnation of the god Vishnu protecting the world from demonic threat.

With this translation of The Killing of Shishupala, presented alongside the original text in the Devanagari script, English readers for the first time gain access to a masterwork that has dazzled Indian audiences for a thousand years.

About this title

About the Author:

Paul Dundas is Reader in Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0674660390
• ISBN 13: 9780674660397
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 832