The Modernity of Sanskrit

by Simona Sawhney

Prompted in no small part by opposition to the total appropriation of the Sanskrit tradition in India by the Hindu nationalist right, Sawhney (South Asian literature and literary theory, U. of Minnesota) interrogates how modern audiences--including scholars and general audiences and Indians and non-Indians--read Sanskrit texts. The question, for her, concerns both the act of reading and the status of Sanskrit in contemporary India. She addresses the question by exploring how such intellectuals and writers as Rabindranath Tagore, Hazariprasad Dvivedi, M. K. ("Mahatma") Gandhi, Mohan Rakesh, Dharamvir Bharati, Buddhadeva Bose, and Jaishankar Prasad understood Sanskrit texts and the act of interpreting early texts. She argues that each in their own way saw the turn to Sanskrit texts as a necessary task, often a culturally and politically urgent one, and explores the political and cultural implications of their various Sanskrit projects. Ancient Sanskrit, in this treatment, is seen as interpreted through modern concerns and understandings and thus is understood itself as a project of modernity. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008