1999
First Published
3.79
Average Rating
272
Number of Pages
* Sakuntala is an enigmatic figure in Indian mythology—a woman variously repressed, assertive and submissive * Combined texts and new interpretations The importance of Sakuntala as personifying Indian womanhood in Indian literature and culture is undisputed. This book attempts to explore some of the links between culture, history and gender and between literature and history, through reading variant versions of the narrative of Sakuntala. These include the stories in the "Mahabharata", the play by Kalidasa, and the 18th century "katha" in Braj. The transformation of Sakuntala from an autonomous, assertive figure in the "Mahabharata", to the quintessential submissive woman in the Kalidasa version, is carefully examined by the author through a fascinating reading of the texts and translations of the play in India and Europe.
Avg Rating
3.79
Number of Ratings
73
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
40%
3 STARS
23%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
5%
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Author
Romila Thapar
Author · 22 books
Romila Thapar is an Indian historian and Professor Emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A graduate from Panjab University, Dr. Thapar completed her PhD in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Her historical work portrays the origins of Hinduism as an evolving interplay between social forces. Her recent work on Somnath examines the evolution of the historiographies about the legendary Gujarat temple. Thapar has been a visiting professor at Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the College de France in Paris. She was elected General President of the Indian History Congress in 1983 and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 1999.
