1st Edition
The Buffalo Century Vāñcheśvara Dīkṣita’s Mahiṣaśatakam: A Political Satire for All Centuries
The Buffalo Century is a keen exploration of satire and its role in society and politics. Written in praise of a buffalo, Vāñcheśvara Dīkṣita’s Mahiṣaśatakam is timeless in its treatment of power, and its subversion. In resurrecting eighteenth-century Tanjore for the modern reader, Kesavan Veluthat lifts the poem beyond its immediate literary context and situates it in a contemporary global political setting.
Presenting a modern English translation along with the Sanskrit text, this work provides a fare that is as rich in double entendre as it is in its onomatopoeic metaphors. A literary triumph and the voice of an age, this book will be a key text for students and scholars of history, political science, sociology, literature, especially Sanskrit and comparative, and cultural studies.
Preface
Introduction: laughter in the time of misery
Mahiṣaśatakam: text and translation
Appendix 1
Appendix 2 Śleṣārthacandrikā, a commentary
Biography
Kesavan Veluthat is Director of the Institute for the Study of the Heritage of Coastal Kerala. He was educated in Calicut and New Delhi. He taught history in different Indian universities including Calicut, Mangalore and Delhi, and he has been a visiting professor in many Indian and foreign universities. His publications include Brahman Settlements in Kerala, The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India, The Early Medieval in South India and Notes of Dissent: Essays on Indian History.
