Publisher |
DK Print World Ltd |
Publication Year |
2015 |
ISBN-13 |
9788124608036 |
ISBN-10 |
8124608032 |
Binding |
Paperback |
Language |
(English) |
Weight (grms) |
355 |
Love Songs of Narsinh Mehta is a commentary on Narsinh Mehta’s love songs. Narsinh (1408-65), a Vaishnava bhakti poet of medieval India, is considered as the adi-kavi of Gujarat. He is also regarded as a shringara kavi, a poet of romance. The quintessence of his bhakti is prem and his prem has inherent bhakti, and therefore his poetry is regarded as shringara bhakti kavya. Essentially shringara is the romantic celebration of the other, and when Narsinh's other is none other than Krishna, his shringara kavya becomes Krishna bhakti, where Krishna is both divine and human, at the same time. Singing for Krishna, Narsinh celebrates his swami through amorous verses and divine surrender like Jayadeva.
He sat in a temple and relentlessly sang for his Lord, living through absolute poverty. Nothing made him more jovial than singing the glory of his Krishna. The only man for Narsinh is Krishna, and for the latter Narsinh is a woman at heart. Narsinh, through his songs, brings in the cue of all romantic feelings and moments, recreates the idyllic Vrindavana in one’s mind, and he returns that Vrindavana a Vaikuntha with the footfalls of his Krishna.
Through this commentary, the author Harsha V. Dehejia introduces one to the fullness of Narsinh’s poems, thereby making one known to Narsinh in and out.
Harsha V. Dehejia
Harsha V. Dehejia has a double doctorate—one in medicine and the other in Ancient Indian Culture, both from Mumbai University. He is a practising physician, and Professor of Indian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His main interest is in Indian Aesthetics. A widely respected aesthete and art collector, he has written extensively on Indian art and culture, including Parvati, Goddess of Love (1999); Despair and Modernity: Reflections on Modern Indian Paintings (2000); A Celebration of Love: The Romantic Heroine in the Indian Arts (2004); Celebrating Krishna: Sensuous Images and Sacred Words (2005); Gods Beyond Temples (2006) and A Festival of Krishna (2008).
Harsha V. Dehejia
DK Print World Ltd