"The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance." --Willis G. Regier,The Chronicle Review "No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience." --The Times Higher Education Supplement "The Clay Sanskrit Libraryrepresents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes." --New Criterion "Published in the geek-chic format.
" --BookForum "Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs." --Tricycle "The Book of Virszlig;ta" details the Pszlig;ndavas' 13th year in exile, when they live disguised in King Virszlig;ta's court. They suffer the humiliation of becoming servants; a topic explored both through comedy and pathos. Having maintained their disguise until the very end of the year, then their troubles really begin. Bhima is forced to come to Drszlig;upadi's rescue when King Virszlig;ta's general, K?chaka, sets his sights on her. Dury?dhana and the Tri?gartas decide to invade the defeated Virszlig;ta's kingdom, unaware the Pszlig;ndavas are hidden there. In the ensuing battles the Pszlig;ndavas play a crucial role, save Virszlig;ta and reveal their true identities.
The book ends in celebration, with the Pszlig;ndavas ready to return from exile and reclaim their kingdom. However, the battles in "Virszlig;ta" foreshadow the war to come, proving it will not be easy. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org.