It is multi-volume series work. The main pupose of this work is literary
criticism, evaluating a great tradition of literature and to present
comprehensive study of sanskrit literature. So far 6 volumes have been
published. Each volume presents literature itself in successive periods of
its development.
This second volume in the series on Kavya Literature begins the description
of the literature itself. The most original feature of the present study,
as compared with other books in English on Indian literature, is that the
literature is presented and discussed from the point of view of the Indian
tradition itself. The author has first presented the literature from within
the Indian tradition, then he has given discussions on the kavyas
presented, from the old Indian critics, finally crooss-references are
inserted in square brackets to the relevant paragraphs of Volume I. The
discussions of the old critics become more frequent and intensive in the
later chapters of this volume (especially Chapter XVI), reflecting their
tastes and the gradual establishment of classical standards.
Among the classics discussed in this volume are the Ramayana, the great
novel Brhatkatha of Gunadhya, the epics of Asvaghosa, the lyric anthology
of Satavahana and the plays of Bhasa.
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