THE INDONESIAN MAHABHARATA : ADIPARVA--THE FIRST BOOK/translated from the original classical Kawi text by I. Gusti Putu Phalgunadi. 1990, 305 p., $26. (Satapitaka Series No. 360)
Contents: Introduction: 1. Impact of the Mahabharata on Indonesian society. 2. Historical importance. 3. Isana dynasty. 4. Kawi language. 5. Manuscripts and printed editions. 6. Translation. 7. Resume. 8. Authorship. Kawi text and English translation.
"Mahabharata has evoked the subtlety and richness of the soul of Asia. Centuries have listened to its words, and witnessed presentations in the performing arts. Sanctuaries and palaces have seen its sculptures and paintings. In Indonesia, the Mahabharata has been most vibrant in literature as well as in the performing arts. Known in these isles as the Astadasa-parva and in a shortened form as Parva, it has continued to excite the creative talent of the people. Eight parvas are extant in old Javanese prose adaptations: all works of great literary merit. They were rendered into Javanese in the tenth century: the Indonesian Virataparva records the date of its premier recitation as 12 November 996. Simple and lucid, they tell the story vividly and with fluency.
"The Adiparva is the first of the eighteen parvas of the epic. As a source for Wayang Purva stories, it plays a major role in the mind of Indonesia. During the last one thousand years Indonesian society has been deeply influenced by the stories of the epics and the Puranas, particularly by Krsna and Arjuna. The universal presence of these mythological heroes pervades almost every sphere of Indonesian life. The complete Indonesian Adiparva has been translated into English for the first time in this work. It provides a new point for students of the culture, literature, visual and performing arts of South-East Asia.
"The present rendering of the Adiparva is the first in the projected English translation of all the available parvas. It is a guide to profound unity of ritual and repertoire, myth and meaning, cosmic transcendence and intrinsic dynamism of life in South-East Asia, where the epic has been written, recited, sculpted and performed over a millennium." (jacket)