Songs of the Saints of India

by John Stratton Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer

Book Overview

The six poets presented here -- Ravidas, Kabir, Nanak, Surdas, Mirabai, and Tulsidas -- have contributed more to the religious vocabulary of Hinduism in north India today than any voices before or since. In worship, in education, even in politics, modern Hinduism sings their tune. For half a millennium, these saints' poems have circulated from the banks of the Jumna to the rice fields of Bihar and back to the deserts of Rajasthan, providing a language...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195694201
• ISBN13: 9780195694208
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Read it for class

I read this for class. It's very interesting and has a good and somewhat short sum-up of the writers' lives and controversies (more opinionated and somewhat factual than it is a scholarly analysis). The poetry is very interesting, but if you do not know anything about Indian religious traditions, then reading this may get you a little lost.

excellent anthology

This book is a great starting point for those interested in the North Indian Bhakti and Sant movements. The text gives you both a helpful introduction to the individual poets themselves and a nice short sample of some of their poems. A book that should be in every library of those interested in Indian religion.

A skilled rendering of beautiful material

Hawley and Jurgensmeyer compile the jewels of North Indian bhakti poetry in a book that is written (by Hawley) in a scholarly but unpretentious and readable style. The translations (by Hawley and Jurgensmeyer) are beautiful and faithful to the originals, and provide an excellent summary of medieval poetry central to both the Hindu and Sikh traditions.