An Alakra Reader (Paperback)

Yigal Bronner

ISBN 10: 0231224265 / ISBN 13: 9780231224260

Published by Columbia University Press, New York, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. Classical Indian poetics prized the skillful use of alakāras, or "ornaments"-literary figures of speech. Across more than a millennium, Sanskrit writers developed and elaborated an account of literary embellishment that is perhaps the world's most complex and long-standing theory of figuration. Yet it remains the least studied of India's major classical systems of thought. An Alakāra Reader is a groundbreaking panoramic overview of this tradition, presenting extensive and accessible translations of key works that span its history, from the sixth century CE to the eighteenth. These texts vividly show how Indian theorists analyzed simile, metaphor, allegory, and dozens of other figures that are distinctive to their world. Yigal Bronner's commentary makes Sanskrit concepts of ornamentation approachable while placing them in historical context. He provides a new account of the history of Sanskrit poetics, showing how it underwent successive waves of theoretical revolutions and emerged as a prestigious field that attracted a variety of scholars in the early modern era. Featuring many previously untranslated texts, An Alakāra Reader is an essential resource for the study of classical Indian thought, the intellectual history of South Asia, and comparative literature. It reveals the depth and nuance of Sanskrit's "science of ornaments" for anyone interested in poetic theory, figuration, and aesthetics across world traditions. Classical Indian poetics prized the skillful use of alakaras, or ornamentsliterary figures of speech. An Alakara Reader is a groundbreaking panoramic overview of this tradition, presenting extensive and accessible translations of key works. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Alakra Reader (Paperback)
• Publisher: Columbia University Press, New York
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231224265
• ISBN 13: 9780231224260
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Classical Indian poetics prized the skillful use of alaṅkāras, or “ornaments”―literary figures of speech. Across more than a millennium, Sanskrit writers developed and elaborated an account of literary embellishment that is perhaps the world’s most complex and long-standing theory of figuration. Yet it remains the least studied of India’s major classical systems of thought.

An Alaṅkāra Reader is a groundbreaking panoramic overview of this tradition, presenting extensive and accessible translations of key works that span its history, from the sixth to eighteenth century CE. These texts vividly show how Indian theorists analyzed simile, metaphor, allegory, and dozens of other figures that are distinctive to their world. Yigal Bronner’s commentary makes Sanskrit concepts of ornamentation approachable while placing them in historical context. He provides a new account of the history of Sanskrit poetics, showing how it underwent successive waves of theoretical revolutions and emerged as a prestigious field that attracted a variety of scholars in the early modern era.

Featuring many previously untranslated texts, An Alaṅkāra Reader is an essential resource for the study of classical Indian thought, the intellectual history of South Asia, and comparative literature. It reveals the depth and nuance of Sanskrit’s “science of ornaments” for anyone interested in poetic theory, figuration, and aesthetics across world traditions.

About the Author

Yigal Bronner is a Sanskritist whose areas of interest include literature, literary theory, and South Asian intellectual history more generally. He worked on this volume while teaching in the Department of Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and now teaches in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta. His books include Extreme Poetry: The South Asian Movement of Simultaneous Narration (2010) and A Lasting Vision: Dandin’s Mirror in the World of Asian Letters (2023).