The Ocean of Mirth

Book excerpt: The Ocean of Mirth brings together an English translation and an analytical interpretation of a singularly crucial, but obscure, Sanskrit medieval text, the Hāsyārṇava-Prahasanaṁ of Jagadēśvara Bhaṭṭāchārya. As a political satire, the volume finds significant resonances among contemporary questions of politics and society across the world, and examines the tension inherent in the clash of ideas such as freedom and order. In an unabashed celebration of disorder as the only way to fight violence, tyranny and autocratic impulses, Hāsyārṇava suggests no return to a Golden Age or to the rule of an iconic king; nor is there a promise of a saviour—a political farce that ends without any denouement in sight. One of the first authentic English translations of a neglected Sanskrit text from medieval India, this translation throws up interesting questions regarding values such as freedom, violence, order, chaos and disorder. This volume will be a major intervention in the discovery of a significant non-canonical text of classical literature and will be indispensable for students, scholars and researchers of politics, philosophy, sociology, Indian literatures, Indology, comparative literature and culture studies.