पृष्ठम्:Birds in Sanskrit literature.djvu/२८५

Excerpts from reviews: "This splendid book is a study of many of the bird names found in Sanskrit literature, from the ancient books of the Rig Veda, and the classical epics of the Mahabharata and the Rāmāyaṇa to the ancient lore of the Puranas and on through the works of later Sanskrit literature: didactic fables, ethical poetry and then the literature in the Prakrits and Pali. K.N. Dave covers considerable ground and he covers it in a way that will keep the attention of those who enjoy ornithological studies, as well as those who have a general interest in Indian and Eastern literature." -JOHN A.C. GREPPIN, Times Literery Supplement, 27, Dec. 1985 The author clearly scoured the Sanskrit literature for bird references, and this makes the book an excellent starting point for a real ornithologist to tackle the issue, with the help of a translator. As it stands it is useful in understanding how the ancient writers saw and classified birds, but would have been more helpful if the author had made some attempt to date the works to which he refers (though dating texts is a very contentious issue amongst Sanskritists). Too little attention has been paid to the likelihood of names transferring from species to species through time, though the author was clearly aware of the very northern, even outside-Indian, bias of the very earliest writings (the Vedas). Compared to analyses of other ancient texts, notably the Bible and ancient Egyptian material, this book, though substantial, is ornithologically disappointing, but is a mine of fascinating folklore. -ANTHONY CHEKE, Journals of British Ornithologists Union, p.123, Vol. 129, 1987. MOTILAL BANARSIDASS Delhi Mumbai Chennai • Kolkata Bangalore Varanasi Pune. Patna E-mail: mlbd@vsnl.com Website: www.mlbd.com Code: 18423 ISBN 81-208-1842-3 9788120 818422