[INDOLOGY] Publication announcement

Sat Dec 13 22:27:08 UTC 2025

As for "my" Sanskrit verse, the first and last paada are as in the
Bhaagavata-puraa.na.
Including the bha-vipulaa in the first paada.
I have always appreciated the occasional vipulaas in Madhav's ;slokas,
which are like refreshing salt grains in the poetic dish that is being
served (together with all other metres employed skillfully).
(Don't know how much the final published Kaavya has kept these occasional
vipulaas.)
We are mostly familiar with (metrical) definitions of the ;sloka which
concern only the strict pathyaa, such as  पञ्चमं लघु सर्वत्र   etc.
A probably unique metrical definition of the ;sloka which *does* take into
account the vipulaas is the one formulated by an unduly neglected and
largely forgotten western pioneer in the study of Sanskrit metrics, A.L.
Chezy, also the first and so far last western scholar to summarize his
scientific conclusion in Sanskrit (in his *La Théorie du Śloka, ou mètre
héroïque sanskrit*, Paris, 1827).
Distinguishing four three-syllabic "places" in a hemistich of a ;sloka (not
counting each paada's first and last syllable as that is laghu or guru, *ad
libitum*), he indicated which of the eight possible three-syllabic "feet"
of Indian metrics -- which he gives in the sequence, ma, na, ra, ja, sa,
bha, ya, ta for which he invented a mnemonic paada, maa no raajaa
sabhaam yaatu -- are permissible in each of the four "places" and which are
excluded.
The resulting scheme he summarized as follows in a definition which
illustrates itself:
   प्रथमे द्वितीये स्थाने   रः स्यान्नान्यत्र कर्हिचित् ।
   द्वितीये नो नान्यत्रास्तु   सस्तु त्यज्येत सर्वशः ॥१॥
   द्वितीये मो नभौ रः स्युर्   यस्थाने यदि मन्यसे ।
   चतुर्थे त्वपि जान्नान्यां   मात्रां लेखितुमर्हसि ॥२॥
(Admitting that the visual scheme on p. 10 may be more clear to most of us,
I attach it here in the hope the Indology List server will allow it to
reach interested readers.)
Chezy was in addition, I believe, the first and last to give a
*prescriptive* definition, which is also clear from the Sanskrit subtitle
of his work:
   श्लोकरचनाविधिः
(freely translated: "How to Compose a ;Sloka")
Later studies of the ;sloka such as the one by Oldenberg are strictly
descriptive and historical.
This longish excursus is not to distract the attention from Madhav's new
Kaavya, but in order to return to it with even more appreciation:
After Chezy's initial prescriptive approach based on his laborious study of
a large number of epic and classical metrical texts in Sanskrit
manuscripts, extremely rare in Europe, kept in the French royal library
(current BNF), and after the subsequent one-and-a-half century of
occidental descriptive-historical studies (on the basis of editions which
become more and more available), we have here a Kaavya showing not only a
fusion of the occidental and oriental horizon, but also a
neither-prescriptive-nor-descriptive,* creative* approach in which we have
witnessed the verses in flexible ;sloka or strict sragdharaa etc. flow more
and more effortlessly in a single perfect stroke -- occasional adjustments
have been instructive but increasingly rare -- from Madhav's poetic vision
(pratibhaa or dhiiH).

Best, Jan

On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 14:39, Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu> wrote:

> Dear Jan,
>
>     Thank you for your congratulatory message. The beauty of the modern
> age is such that I could share my poetry daily with many readers almost as
> it was [and is] being composed. I started writing these verses casually
> almost eight years ago, but gradually this poetry has almost taken over my
> heart, so much that by the time I wake up in the morning, a verse is ready
> to be written down. I am still teaching Nyaya and Vyakarana to a few
> students, but the Krishna poetry always remains at the front of my mind.
> And finally thank you for your beautiful Sanskrit verse.
>
> Madhav
>
> Madhav M. Deshpande
> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
> Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
>
> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 4:32 AM Jan E.M. Houben <jemhouben at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear Madhav,
>>
>> Congratulations on this fantastic, monumental achievement.
>> Your work really makes आधुनिकसंस्कृतवाड़्मयम् progress and prosper.
>> We moreover experience in your verses, whatever I have succeeded to read
>> till now from the abundant pre-publications, a profound originally and
>> beautifully expressed bhakti and emotional force, which brings them to the
>> level of Kāvya.
>> Hence, with some small variations to a well-known verse of the
>> Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, and with reference to your extraordinary poetic vision
>> (धीः) :
>> अहो वयं धन्यतमाः येषां नस् तादृशः सखा ।
>> धिया यस्य मतिर् जाता अस्माकं निश्चला हरौ ॥
>>
>> All best,
>>
>> Jan
>>
>> On Fri, 5 Dec 2025 at 15:16, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Friends,
>>>
>>> I am glad to announce the publication of my Sanskrit Krishna poetry,
>>> with my English and Hindi translations, in three volumes, by Motilal
>>> Banarsidass and the Kendriya Sanskrit University, Delhi. I am
>>> eagerly waiting for my own copies. Here are the details of the publication:
>>>
>>> *श्रीमाधवकर्णामृतम् सप्तविंशतिशतकात्मकं काव्यम् (Śrīmādhavakarṇāmr̥tam
>>> saptaviṃśatiśatakātmam Kāvyam)*, by Professor Madhav M. Deshpande, (3
>>> Volumes), Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2025.
>>>
>>> *ISBN:* 9789371005197, 937100519X
>>>
>>> *Regular price*
>>>
>>> *₹ 2,695.00*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.mlbd.in/products/shrimadhavkarnamritam-saptavinshashtakatam-kavyam-3-volumes-by-madhav-murlidhar-deshpande-9789371005197-937100519x?srsltid=AfmBOori7PgaLEwjzbssM8tTXwp0csdmrzaTFJZShLJQRPhlthH2lRq6
>>>
>>>
>>> Madhavakarņāmṛta is a collection of 2,700 Sanskrit verses on Krishna,
>>> composed by Dr. Madhav Murlidhar Deshpande and translated by the poet
>>> himself into English and Hindi. For several years, Dr. Deshpande composed
>>> these verses daily and shared them across various online platforms. Written
>>> in a variety of vivid Sanskrit meters, the verses portray Krishna in
>>> diverse forms, expressing deep emotion and devotion. They reflect the
>>> intense bond between the devotee and the divine and have been widely
>>> appreciated by readers. The painting featured on the cover was created by
>>> Mrs. Pranita Saklikar of San Jose, California.
>>>
>>>
>>> DR. MADHAV MURLIDHAR DESHPANDE is an accomplished Sanskrit poet and
>>> scholar. Born in Pune in 1946, he received both traditional and modern
>>> training in Sanskrit and has been honored with several awards. After
>>> completing his M.A. at Pune University in 1968, he earned his Ph.D. from
>>> the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. He then served as Professor of
>>> Sanskrit at the University of Michigan from 1972 to 2017. Dr. Deshpande has
>>> published 15 books and over 200 scholarly articles on Sanskrit-related
>>> topics. Alongside his academic work, he has been composing Sanskrit poetry
>>> since his youth and continues to do so today. He currently resides in
>>> California, USA.
>>>
>>> Madhav M. Deshpande
>>> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
>>> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
>>> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
>>> Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore,
>>> India
>>>
>>> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> *Jan E.M. Houben*
>>
>> Directeur d'Études, Professor of South Asian History and Philology
>>
>> *Sources et histoire de la tradition sanskrite*
>>
>> École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, Paris Sciences et Lettres)
>>
>> *Sciences historiques et philologiques *
>>
>> Groupe de recherches en études indiennes (EA 2120)
>>
>> *johannes.houben [at] ephe.psl.eu <johannes.houben at ephe.psl.eu>*
>>
>> *https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben
>> <https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben>*
>>
>> *https://www.classicalindia.info* <https://www.classicalindia.info>
>>
>

-- 

*Jan E.M. Houben*

Directeur d'Études, Professor of South Asian History and Philology

*Sources et histoire de la tradition sanskrite*

École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, Paris Sciences et Lettres)

*Sciences historiques et philologiques *

Groupe de recherches en études indiennes (EA 2120)

*johannes.houben [at] ephe.psl.eu <johannes.houben at ephe.psl.eu>*

*https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben
<https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben>*

*https://www.classicalindia.info* <https://www.classicalindia.info>
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