In the Great God's Hair: Translated from the Original Manuscript

by Francis William Bain

F.W. Bain translated this work from the original Sanskrit, and offered this as an introduction, "The name of the little Indian gable, here presented to the lover of curiosities in an English dress, is ambiguous. We may translate it indifferently, The New Moon in the hair of the God of Gods, or else, She That Reduces the Pride of Gods, Demons, and all the Rest of Creation, that is the Goddess of Beauty and Fortune. To those unfamiliar with the peculiar genius of the Sanskrit language, it might seem singular, that two such different ideas should be expressible by the one and the same word. but it is just in this power of dexterous ambiguity that the beauty of that language lies." Francis William Bain was born on April 29, 1863 and lived until March 3, 1940. He enjoyed a wide variety of pursuits in his life, ranging from being an amateur footballer to serving as a professor of history in British India. Yet he considered himself primarily a writer, specializing in fantasy, which he claimed to have translated from Sanskrit. However, these works were not directly taken from Hindu manuscripts, but were rather a mixture of Orientalism and Bain's interest in fantasy. Although it was revealed that Bain was lying about the origins of such works as In the Great God's Hair, his readership was unaffected. However, it is important for readers of to know that the views that this work imparts on marriage, love, and religion, are largely those of Bain's and not a true reflection of Hinduism.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1904

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting tale. It set up is quite short, a man is kicked out of his kingdom and travels to a far off land. He meets up with a princess and they decide to elope together. She sends him off with a bracelet to buy them provisions to travel and then the majority of the book is the princess having a conversation with Indra about the role of the wife, how her and her husband are destined to be together. Some of it is quite hard reading as it is largely along the vein of the husband must be lord and master and a woman is not happy or complete unless a man is ruling over her! Not quite the ideal one would like in a fairy tale, but once again all is not as it seems as it turns out the woman is a goddess in disguise and has been set up to make fun of all the other gods (which she manages perfectly). While some of it made for some uncomfortable reading it was still an interesting story. I have no idea how closely these stories are to the Indian originals, there's a lot of footnotes about difficult words to translate, but I also have the feeling that some of them may have been changed for the intended audience. Still I'm finding this series fascinating.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The titles in this series indicate some aspect of the Vedic/Sanskrit Religion Philosophic Tradition. The Great God is Shiwa whose matted hair catches and conducts the descent of the river.

Beautifully translated.