The Recognition of Shakuntala (Clay Sanskrit Library) Book

The Clay Sanskrit Library will consist of 100 major works of classical literature.

Each book in the Clay Sanskrit Library is published in the original Sanskrit, in Roman script, on the left-hand page, and in English translation on the right. Twenty-seven leading scholars from eight countries are cooperating to produce fresh new translations that combine readability and accuracy.

The projected list of Clay Sanskrit Library volumes will include all books of the two Indian epics: the Ramáyana and the Maha?bhárata, as well as a rich selection of classical Indian literature (Kavya). Each book will be published in a jacketed hardcover edition, in a compact 4.5" x 6.5" format, designed to bring the great literature of India to the general public, scholars, and students.

The Recognition of Shakúntala by Kali?dasa Edited and translated by Somadeva Vasudeva This play was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe; it attracted considerable attention (among others, from Goethe), and indeed pained surprise that such a sophisticated art-form could have developed without the rest of the world noticing. A good deal of that surprise will be revived by the hitherto untranslated Kashmirian recension. Kali?dasa?s The Recognition of Shakúntala is a play that scarcely needs introduction. Among the first works of Sanskrit literature translated into European languages, its skilful plot of thwarted love and eventual redemption has long charmed audiences around the world. Shakúntala?s story is a leitmotiv that recurs in many works of Indian literature and culminates in the master Kali?dasa?s drama for the stage.