LANGUAGE IN INDIA

A NEW BOOK SERIES OF CLASSICAL SANSKRIT LITERATURE
Barbara Jester

Sanskrit is one of the world's oldest languages, combining great beauty, enormous variety, and more than 3,000 years of continuous history and development. It also has a reputation as one of the most difficult languages to learn.

But nothing could be further from the truth, according to long-time Sanskrit admirer and scholar John Clay. In fact, his conviction that Sanskrit should be accessible to the average reader led Clay to establish the Clay Sanskrit Library, a striking new series of Sanskrit texts co-published by the JJC Foundation and New York University Press.

Sanskrit literature dates back to 1,500 B.C.E., and continued to proliferate through the first millennium of the Common Era. In that time, Indian writers and poets produced a huge body of literature that still exists today, ranging from plays and novels to short stories and poetry. Yet these works remain unfamiliar to most readers, unlike the classical literature of Greece and Rome. Though often considered the third classical language - after Greek and Latin - Sanskrit retains a reputation as an esoteric and complex language.

Clay is hoping that reputation will change with his new project. The Clay Sanskrit Library will reintroduce contemporary readers to some of the best works of Sanskrit literature, including the great national epics of India-the Mahabhárata and the Ramáyana. Each pocket-sized volume will feature the original Sanskrit text-written in Roman characters-opposite a fresh English-language translation. The books will be printed on high-quality paper at a price of $22.00 each.

The project itself has been a complex undertaking. When Clay first began to talk about creating a library of classical Sanskrit literature, he says, "No one believed it was possible." But Clay refused to become discouraged. Trained as a classicist, he first encountered the Sanskrit language while in high school. The London school he attended had a long-standing connection with India, and it was as a curious teenager, roaming through the school's collection of books about the country, that Clay began to study Sanskrit. Though he chose not to pursue a career in academia, Clay's love of Sanskrit remained, and after retiring from a long career (he retains his title of chairman emeritus and director of Clay Finlay, Inc., a portfolio management company), he returned to the study of Sanskrit literature.

Clay's persistence paid off when he brought the series to the attention of New York University Press, which will co-publish the books with the JJC Foundation.

Today, 27 leading scholars from eight countries are cooperating to produce new translations of classical Sanskrit texts, focusing on drama, poetry, and novels, including the famous Indian epics. Spearheading the effort is Richard Gombrich, general editor of the Clay Sanskrit Library and Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, where he has taught Sanskrit and Indian studies since 1965. Gombrich, like Clay, hopes that this series will make Sanskrit more accessible:

It has always amazed and saddened me that the many glories of Sanskrit literature are known to so few people," says Gombrich. "One problem, no doubt, has been the lack of readable and accurate translations; another has been that there are so few resources to help those who would like to explore the texts for themselves. With this series, John and I hope to kill two birds with one stone, and at long last to integrate an acquaintance with Sanskrit literature into the culture of curious and sensitive people the world over.

The texts chosen for the Clay Sanskrit Library reflect the vibrant literary culture of the classical Sanskrit period, taking readers on an adventurous journey through the palaces and gardens of ancient India. These stories come to life with dancing girls and courtiers, merchants and holy men, peacocks and elephants.

The first volumes in the series were published in May of 2005, with an ultimate goal of publishing 100 volumes in the next five years.

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