Translation of Maithilisharan Gupt's Saket

Abstract

Maithilisharan Gupt’s Saket, written in 1932, is an epic Hindi poem presenting the story of the Ramayana from a humanized and highly emotional perspective. As the work of a National Poet written during a time in which nationalist sentiments were rising in India, this poem necessarily reflects the author’s views towards his country and its future. Additionally, Gupt has imbued the poem with his personal devotion as well as his insightful understanding of the emotional profiles of characters whose perspectives have gone unamplified in past retellings. This translation is prefaced with some analysis of the effects of these unique approaches to and interactions with the Ramayana epic. However, as a primarily creative work, this translation aims to articulate the bhaava or sentiments found in Gupt’s words and the feelings generated when reading this poem. Additionally, particularly salient literary features and cultural references have been highlighted to aid the reader in understanding some of the subtleties of Gupt’s poem.