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Lilavai / Kouhala ; edited and translated by Andrew Ollett.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English, Prakrit languages Original language: Prakrit languages Series: Murty classical library of India ; 29.Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2021Description: xxxvi, 387 pages ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780674247598
  • 9780674251731 (pbk.)
Contained works:
  • Koūhala. Līlāvaī
  • Koūhala. Līlāvaī. English
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 891.3 KOU 23 022986
LOC classification:
  • PK5013.K8 L513 2021
Summary: "The Prakrit romance Līlāvaī, an early ninth-century poem attributed to Kouhala and set in modern-day coastal Andhra Pradesh, is the most celebrated work in the genre. Complexly narrated in the alternating voices of its heroines and heroes and featuring a cast of semi-divine and magical beings, it centers on three young women: Līlāvaī, princess of Sinhala (today's Sri Lanka); her cousin Mahanumai, princess of the mythical city Alaka; and Kuvalaavali, Mahanumai's adopted sister. Following a prophecy that Līlāvaī's husband will rule the earth, the princess happens upon a portrait of King Hala of Pratishthana and immediately falls in love. While journeying to meet him, she hears her cousins' tales of their lost loves, and then vows not to marry until they are reunited. To win Līlāvaī's hand, King Hala journeys to the underworld, faces monsters, and overcomes armies. Līlāvaī explores themes of karma and female desire, notably privileging women as storytellers. A new edition of the Prakrit text, presented in the Devanagari script, accompanies a new English prose translation"--
List(s) this item appears in: New Collections - May 2025
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Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore 891.3 KOU 022986 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 022986

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"The Prakrit romance Līlāvaī, an early ninth-century poem attributed to Kouhala and set in modern-day coastal Andhra Pradesh, is the most celebrated work in the genre. Complexly narrated in the alternating voices of its heroines and heroes and featuring a cast of semi-divine and magical beings, it centers on three young women: Līlāvaī, princess of Sinhala (today's Sri Lanka); her cousin Mahanumai, princess of the mythical city Alaka; and Kuvalaavali, Mahanumai's adopted sister. Following a prophecy that Līlāvaī's husband will rule the earth, the princess happens upon a portrait of King Hala of Pratishthana and immediately falls in love. While journeying to meet him, she hears her cousins' tales of their lost loves, and then vows not to marry until they are reunited. To win Līlāvaī's hand, King Hala journeys to the underworld, faces monsters, and overcomes armies. Līlāvaī explores themes of karma and female desire, notably privileging women as storytellers. A new edition of the Prakrit text, presented in the Devanagari script, accompanies a new English prose translation"--

In English and Prakrit; Devanagari script.

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