Modern Sanskrit

Dialogues across Times, Spaces, and Religions
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-41299-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History

This book explores aspects of Sanskrit cultural production from the last two centuries, paying attention to Sanskrit’s inherently dialogical nature and pluralism within Indian history. It demonstrates how the use of classical Sanskrit in the present creates conversations with established practices of the past, and suggests that the decision to use Sanskrit at all is, in a postcolonial world, to enter into a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Throughout the modern period Sanskrit writers, speakers, and proponents have continually engaged with interlocutors both near and far. They have addressed historical events and contemporary social issues, embraced other forms of literature, and experimented with new genres. The volume reflects on the various registers in which Sanskrit writing can appear, the relationship with established and new religious traditions, the performative aspects of Sanskrit, and its role in teaching and learning. Highlighting the multiplicity of Sanskrit, the book will be of particular interest to scholars of religious studies, language, literature, and South Asian studies.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Patton, Laurie L.

Preston, Charles S.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Bringing Modern Sanskrit into Dialogue  Part One: The Polyphonies of Modern Sanskrit  1. ‘India Has Utterly Changed’: Shivaji and Modernity in a Colonial Sanskrit Novel 2. Gandhian History in Epic Style: Kshama Rao’s Satyagraha Gita  3. An Epic 20th-century Sanskrit Life: Baladev Upadhyaya and Srinivas Rath’s Baladevacarita-mahakavyam  Part Two: Modern Sanskrit in Performance  4. Locating Sanskrit: Dialogues of Village and City in Twentieth-Century Sanskrit Drama 5. Performing Shakuntala in Sanskrit: Between Text and Performance 6. A ‘Refuge’ for Sanskrit Drama: Amateur Kutiyattam in Contemporary Kerala  Part Three: Modern Sanskrit in Interreligious Dialogue  7. Pravartaniya Sadvidya Bhuvi: Sanskrit Learning in a Gujarati Religious Community 8. Modern Buddhist Sanskrit in Sri Lanka: A Study of Davuldena Gñanissara’s Yatidutam  9. Muni Jambuvijaya and the Jaisalmer Bhandar: Tracing a Jain Monk’s Manuscript Preservation Efforts  Part Four: Sanskrit, Identity, and the Politics of Recovery  10. Imagining Sanskritland: Shapeshifting “Sanskrit-speaking” Villages and Indian Census Data 11. Hidden Murtis: The Sanskrit Students of Radcliffe College  Index

Über Autor(innen)

Laurie L. Patton is President of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has served as President of the American Academy of Religion. She was previously President of Middlebury College, Dean of Arts & Sciences and Durden Professor of Religion at Duke University, and before that Charles Howard Candler Professor of Religion at Emory University, USA.

Charles S. Preston has a PhD in History of Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, USA.