The Love of Krishna

This is the first critical edition in transcription with facing English translation of a medieval Sanskrit text that is known in most parts of India, especially in Bengal. The Krsnakarnāmrta ("Nectar to the Ears of Krishna") is a devotional anthology of stanzas in praise of the youthful Krishna, "the dark blue boy," "Lord of Life," lover of the milkmaids in Indian legend, and an incarnation of the great God Vishnu. Of its importance there can be no doubt: for many devout Indians it is a Book of Common Prayer, whose short and ardent hymns to the Lord Krishna come frequently and familiarly to mind.

Frances Wilson here provides a masterly English translation of this moving expression of religious adoration. Collating over seventy manuscripts, she has established an authoritative Sanskrit text, including its literary and critical history. In the full introduction, she discusses the legends that have arisen about its author, the mysterious Līlāśuka Bilvamangala.

Medieval Sanskrit studies have in the past been much neglected by European scholars. In breaking free of the classical traditions of Sanskrit philology, Wilson has produced a work that is of profound relevance to the study of Indian civilization today.