Culture of Ceylon in Medieval Times by Wilhelm Geiger; Heinz BechertReview by: Ernest BenderJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 107, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1987), pp. 847-848Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/603394 .

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Brief Review of Books 847

medieval Indian history and art, these volumes stand as an important contribution and will remain a useful source for many years to come.

JOHN F. MOSTELLER

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Great Encounter: A Study of Indo-American Literary and Cultural Relations. By R. K. GUPTA. Pp. viii + 276. Riverdale, Maryland: THE RIVERDALE COMPANY INC. 1987.

This volume, with its ambitious title, is essentially a chrono- logical outline of all the major contacts between India and the United States. It begins with an interesting section about the 18th century connections between India and the United States through travelers, mercenaries and the shipping trade. The rest is basically a review of secondary literature about the influence of India and Indian thought on major American writers and the effect of America and American ideas on a few Indian ones. That America's "spiritual" interest in India is not new is shown by the early impact of Rammohun Roy, albeit in an age when Americans were more interested in exporting religion rather than in importing it. The work of William Jones and other early Orientalists was also known in academic circles, but popular literature continued to portray India as a place of mystery and savagery. The part of the book devoted to a summary of the research done on the Indian influence on Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Melville and Twain is the most coherent as a unit, and it shows the crystallization of India's status in the West as a source of spiritual truths.

On the Indian side, Gupta mentions Vivekananda, Tagore and more recent writers who have experienced America firsthand and gone back as well as political leaders (such as Lala Lajpat Rai) who came to the United States in the early 20th century to escape British persecution. Educated Indians, of course, seized the dichotomy of Western materialism and Eastern spiritualism as a platform as well, helping to continue the stereotype into modern times. Missionary-type contribu- tions to the popular American misconceptions about India, which culminated in Katherine Mayo's vituperative Mother India (1927), are also pointed out. Popular Indian images of America came from films, but Gupta finds that the relatively greater coverage of America in Indian newspapers balances the residue of fantasy (p. 213) somewhat. Area studies pro- grams and the steady growth of the Indian immigrant population in the United States are also seen as factors in the growth of mutual knowledge.

Since R. K. Gupta's book is a survey, it is appropriate that it has a thorough index of individuals mentioned in the text.

Printed in India and fairly well produced, the book contains a few minor mechanical irregularities. The Great Encounter may serve as a useful starting point for in-depth investigation on a particular aspect of Indo-American cultural relations.

SAGAREE SENGUPTA KOROM

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Devotional Songs of NarsT Mehtd. Translated by SWAMI

MAHADEVANANDA, with an introduction by SIVAPRIYA-

NANDA. Pp. 146. Delhi: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS. 1985. Rs. 80.

As one of the earliest (15th century according to the introduction to this volume) and most beloved of Vaisnav Gujarati poets NarsT (Narsimh) Mehta deserves the interest of bhakti scholars who may not be able to read the original. Apparently, no English translations have been available except for excerpts in histories of Gujarati literature.

The selection of poems in Swami Mahadevananda's book reflect the variety of modes in which Narsi composed, al- though the somewhat stilted style does not do justice to the original. Although these poems still circulate in song form in Gujarat, the crude rhymes in some of the selections inhibit the lyrical potential of the translation. The continuous popular transmission of his work is attested to by the relative modernity of the language (p. 17), which has made any kind of critical analysis very difficult.

The best use for Devotional Songs of Narsi Mehtd will be to acquaint the non-Gujarati reader with the contents of the medieval poet-saint's reputed corpus of works.

SAGAREE SENGUPTA KOROM

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Culture of Ceylon in Medieval Times. By WILHELM GEIGER.

Edited by HEINZ BECHERT. Pp. xxiii + 286. (Veroffent- lichungen des Seminars fur Indologie und Buddhismus- kunde der Universitat Gbttingen, Nr. 4) Stuttgart: FRANZ

STEINER VERLAG WIESBADEN GMBH. 1986. DM 58.

A second, unrevised edition of the great Tabropanologist's posthumous studies which to our great good fortune Pro- fessor Bechert discovered and prepared for the 1960 publica- tion. The book, the data for which Professor Geiger worked the Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Ceylon, made an inestimable contribution to an understanding of Sinhalese/ Sri Lankan cultural history-as well as to the cultural history

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848 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

of the general area of South Asia. It has been out of print for over twenty years. This, therefore, is a significant publication. A mere scan of the table of contents-the limits of space do not permit duplication-should whet the interest of the serious researcher. We are in Professor Bechert's debt once again, and happily so.

ERNEST BENDER

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Apabhramsa of Hemacandra. By KANTILAL BALDEVRAM

VYAS. Pp. 30 + 197. (Prakrit Text Series No. 23) Ahmeda- bad: PRAKRIT TEXT SOCIETY. 1982. Rs. 8.00.

An edition, based on five manuscripts, with a translation, accompanied by critical and grammatical notes, of the fourth

pada, sUtras 260 to 448, of the eighth adhyaya, comprising the Apabhramga grammatical section of the Siddhahema- candragabdanusasana, the Prakrit grammar by the noted Jain savant of the 12th century A.D. The introductory essay discusses the connotation of the term, apabhramsa, in the course of the development of the Indo-Aryan languages and the treatment of the language by grammarians, ancient and modern.

ERNEST BENDER

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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