Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics
In this article, I examine the popular Victorian poem <i>The Light of Asia</i> (1879) and its reception and adaptation in late nineteenth and early twentieth century colonial India. Authored by the popular writer, Sir Edwin Arnold, <i>The Light of Asia</i> is typically regard...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/3 |
| _version_ | 1797543600659103744 |
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| author | Douglas Ober |
| author_facet | Douglas Ober |
| author_sort | Douglas Ober |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, I examine the popular Victorian poem <i>The Light of Asia</i> (1879) and its reception and adaptation in late nineteenth and early twentieth century colonial India. Authored by the popular writer, Sir Edwin Arnold, <i>The Light of Asia</i> is typically regarded as one of the foundational texts of modern Buddhism in the western world. Yet significantly less has been said about its influence in Asia and especially in India, where it has as an equally rich and varied history. While most scholarship has focused on its connections to the Sinhalese Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and his popular campaigns to ‘liberate’ the MahaBodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, the singular focus on Dharmapala has obscured the poem’s much more expansive and enduring impact on a wide array of colonial Indian publics, regardless of caste, region, religion, ethnicity or language. The article explores the early history of its numerous adaptations, dramatizations, and translations in various regional languages. In providing an analysis of the poem’s Indian publics, the article shows how regional, political, and cultural idioms formed in multilingual contexts enable different readings and how literary and performative cultures interacted with colonial conceptions of religion, nation, and caste. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:47:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-edfaa8d1e49c4a40b9f62406abcb5680 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:47:57Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-edfaa8d1e49c4a40b9f62406abcb56802023-11-21T02:30:40ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872020-12-01101310.3390/h10010003Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian PublicsDouglas Ober0Centre for India and South Asia Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, CanadaIn this article, I examine the popular Victorian poem <i>The Light of Asia</i> (1879) and its reception and adaptation in late nineteenth and early twentieth century colonial India. Authored by the popular writer, Sir Edwin Arnold, <i>The Light of Asia</i> is typically regarded as one of the foundational texts of modern Buddhism in the western world. Yet significantly less has been said about its influence in Asia and especially in India, where it has as an equally rich and varied history. While most scholarship has focused on its connections to the Sinhalese Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and his popular campaigns to ‘liberate’ the MahaBodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, the singular focus on Dharmapala has obscured the poem’s much more expansive and enduring impact on a wide array of colonial Indian publics, regardless of caste, region, religion, ethnicity or language. The article explores the early history of its numerous adaptations, dramatizations, and translations in various regional languages. In providing an analysis of the poem’s Indian publics, the article shows how regional, political, and cultural idioms formed in multilingual contexts enable different readings and how literary and performative cultures interacted with colonial conceptions of religion, nation, and caste.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/3modern BuddhismEdwin ArnoldLight of AsiaIndiapublic culturecolonialism |
| spellingShingle | Douglas Ober Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics Humanities modern Buddhism Edwin Arnold Light of Asia India public culture colonialism |
| title | Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics |
| title_full | Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics |
| title_fullStr | Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics |
| title_short | Translating the Buddha: Edwin Arnold’s <i>Light of Asia</i> and Its Indian Publics |
| title_sort | translating the buddha edwin arnold s i light of asia i and its indian publics |
| topic | modern Buddhism Edwin Arnold Light of Asia India public culture colonialism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT douglasober translatingthebuddhaedwinarnoldsilightofasiaianditsindianpublics |