Mirigavati or The Magic Doe is the work of Shaikh Qutban Suhravardi, an Indian Sufi master who was also an expert poet and storyteller attached to the glittering court-in-exile of Sultan Husain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. Composed in 1503 as an introduction to mystical practice for disciples, this powerful Hindavi or early Hindi Sufi romance is a richly layered and sophisticated text, simultaneously a spiritual enigma and an exciting love-story full of adventures. The Mirigavati is both an excellent introduction to Sufism and one of the true literary classics of pre-modern India, a story that draws freely on the large pool of Indian, Islamic, and European narrative motifs in its distinctive telling of a mystical quest and its resolution. Adventures from the Odyssey and the voyages of Sindbad the Sailor--sea voyages, encounters with monstrous serpents, damsels in distress, flying demons and cannibals in caves, among others--surface in Suhravardi's rollicking tale, marking it as first-rate entertainment for its time and, in private sessions in Sufi shrines, a narrative that shaped the interior journey for novices. Before his untimely death in 2009, Aditya Behl had completed this complete blank verse translation of the critical edition of the Mirigavati, which reveals the precise mechanism and workings of spiritual signification and use in a major tradition of world and Indian literature.
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This is a complete translation of the Mirigavati, which is both an introduction to Sufism and one of the true literary classics of pre-modern India, a story that draws freely on the large pool of Indian, Islamic, and European narrative motifs in its distinctive telling of a mystical quest and its resolution.
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Foreword: In Memory of Aditya Behl by Wendy Doniger ; Introduction ; The Prologue ; The Story of Mirigavati and Rajkunvar ; Envoi ; Notes
We are very fortunate to have this remarkable work in a sparkling verse translation whose brio effortlessly carries the reader forward. All is well supported by a rich introduction. This is the work, and I must say the labour of love, of a brilliant young scholar of the University of Pennsylvania, Aditya Behl, who died in 2009 aged forty-two. His teacher, Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago, has ensured that it has been published. It should undermine the ignorance which has surrounded Hindavi literature and, most importantly, bring it to a wider audience.
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"In this elegant, beautifully paced translation of the Mirigavati, Aditya Behl displays the verve and luminosity that sparkled from every page of his own tragically short life. Wary of 'keys to the scriptures,' he nonetheless finds one written into the text itself and thus unlocks a literary secret 500 years old. This is a work of sustained genius-a genius, alas, ever young." --John Stratton Hawley, Professor of Religion, Barnard College, Columbia University
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Selling point: One of the literary classics of pre-modern India. Selling point: An accessible introduction to Sufism.
Aditya Behl (1966-2009) was Associate Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Wendy Doniger is Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago
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Selling point: One of the literary classics of pre-modern India. Selling point: An accessible introduction to Sufism.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780199842926
Publisert
2012
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press Inc
Vekt
476 gr
Høyde
160 mm
Bredde
236 mm
Dybde
25 mm
Aldersnivå
UP, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
240

Oversetter
Redaktør

Biographical note

Aditya Behl (1966-2009) was Associate Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Wendy Doniger is Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago