Love divine and translingualism in classical Hindi poetry

Book section : Chapter

Classical Hindi poetry is a rich treasury of experiencing the Divine. While intra-Indian translingualism created a community of taste for this experience, the same translingualism may be a challenge for translations beyond the subcontinent. In their search to express and communicate their ultimately ineffable divine experience, Saints and poets often deployed love imagery. There are endless variations of situating divine love. The speaker can assume the role of a female beloved, of a friend of the divine couple, or of a first wife whose husband forgets himself in false delights. The most important medium of such communication was the short, sung poem with a refrain called pad as well as the recited sabad. This article illustrates the transmediality of this poetry in which singing and imaging play important roles and examines their translatability into English and other languages, including Hungarian.

Authors: Bangha, I

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: L’Harmattan
• Host title: Translingualism in Mystical Poetry: Eastern and Western Parallels
• Place of publication: Budapest
• Publication date: 2026-02-01
• Language: English
• Subtype: Chapter