Indian Kavya Literature : Vol. III. The Early Medieval Period (Sudraka to
Visakhadatta)/A.K. Warder. Reprint. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1990,
vi, 306 p., ISBN 81-208-0448-1.
Indian Kavya Literature : Vol. III. The Early Medieval Period (Sudraka to
Visakhadatta)/A.K. Warder. Reprint. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1990,
vi, 306 p., ISBN 81-208-0448-1.
Contents: 20. Drama in the +3 : Sudraka; contemporary lyric poetry. 21. Pose in the +3 and +4; Sarvasena and epic. 22. Dramatists of the +4 and other developments in Kavya. 23. Mentha; fictions of about the +5. 24. Kalidasa. 25. Pravarasena, Syamilaka and Samghadasa. 26. Amaruka. 27. Bharavi. 28. Subandhu (II) and Kavya in the +6. 29. Visakhadatta. Index. Appendix.
"Volume III in this series presents some of the most celebrated classical writers of India, including Sudraka, Visnusarman, Kalidasa, Pravarasena, Amaruka, Bharavi, Subandhu and Visakhadatta. A new analysis and appreciation of their poetry, drama and fiction is offered, in the light of Indian literary criticism, especially of the important critical works only recently recovered from scattered manuscripts. During the disastrous later middle ages (about the thirteenth century and later), most of the earlier literature was destroyed by invading fanatics and plunderers. In order to offer a more complete picture of the early medieval literature, an effort has been made here to resurrect, from the critics and elsewhere, such once famous writers as Sarvasena, Candragomin, Matrgupta, Mentha and Brahmayasas, together with what is known of the mysterious 'Vikramaditya'. To provide some social background to such aspects of criticism as trends in the characterisation of heroes, the history of the period (+200 to +600) is briefly touched on at the beginning of some of the chapters.
The sculpture photographed on the dust jacket, courtesy of the National Museum, New Delhi, is believed to represent a scene from the Toy Cart, though it seems more likely to be from some earlier play.
Volume I on Indian Literary Criticism discusses the aesthetics of the Natyasastra and numerous later writers on that controversial subject, especially Abhinavagupta and Bhoja; poetics or the study of the language of kavya by a series of critics, notably Bhamaha, Vamana, Anandavardhana, Rudrata and Kuntaka; the genres or forms of kavya as analysed in the Natyasastra, Bhamaha, Rudrata, Abhinavagupta, Bhoja, Sagaranandin and others. A chapter on the neglected subject of the construction of plays clarifies the principles of building a plot round the main action in a conflict, the details of the method of giving substance and emotional depth to the plot and such matters as the time scale of a classical performance. The social background of kavya is discussed, beginning with the Kamasutra, in order to show for whom the literature was written as well as the ideal of pleasure in which the enjoyment of theatre, and literature generally, plays an essential part. The volume includes the Bibliography for volumes I-III.
Volume II begins with the description of the literature itself. Here are shown the origins of the tradition known as kavya, then the early masterpieces in several genres which established classical norms, or rather suggested ideals towards which later authors might aspire. Kavya is universal and its genres relate to its various public and private audiences: the theatre in city and village, epic recitation, novels for private reading, lyrics for small groups of connoisseurs and so on. Among the classics discussed in this volume are the Ramayana, the great novel Brhatkatha of Gunadhya, the epics of Asvaghosa, the lyric anthology of Satavahana and the plays of Bhasa." (jacket)