"This admirably produced and well-translated volume of stories from the Sanskrit takes the Western reader into one of the Golden Ages of India. . . . The world in which the tales are set is one which placed a premium upon slickness and guile as aids to success. . . . Merchants, aristocrats, Brahmins, thieves and courtesans mingle with vampires, demi-gods and the hierarchy of heaven in a series of lively or passionate adventures. The sources of the individual stories are clearly indicated; the whole treatment is scholarly without being arid."—The Times Literary Supplement
"Fourteen tales from India, newly translated with a terse and vibrant effectiveness. These tales will appeal to any reader who enjoys action, suspense, characterization, and suspension of disbelief in the supernatural."—The Personalist
Introduction The King and the Corpse The Faithful Suitors The Transposed Heads The Three Fastidious Brahmins The Three Sensitive Queens The Man Who Changed Sexes The King and the Spiteful Seductress The Son of Three Fathers The Boy Who Sacrificed Himself Four Who Made a Lion The Rejuvenated Hermit The Insoluble Riddle The Tale of Two Bawds The Man Who Impersonated God Visnu The City of Gold The Red Lotus of Chastity Gomukha's Escapade Two Tales of Destiny Destiny Triumphant Destiny Conquered The Perfect Bride The Buddhist King of Taxila The Brahmin Who Knew a Spell Mahosadha's Judgment The Prince and the Painted Fairy Two Kingdoms Won The First Prince's Story The Second Prince's Story The Travels of Sanudasa the Merchant A Note on the Sources
Overview
"This admirably produced and well-translated volume of stories from the Sanskrit takes the Western reader into one of the Golden Ages of India. . . . The world in which the tales are set is one which placed a premium upon slickness and guile as aids to success. . . . Merchants, aristocrats, Brahmins, thieves and courtesans mingle with vampires, demi-gods and the hierarchy of heaven in a series of lively or passionate adventures. The sources of the individual stories are clearly indicated; the whole treatment is ...