Panditaraja Jagannatha's Gangalahari: With the Commentary by Sri Sadasiva and English Translation

by Irma Schotsman

Jagannatha (1572-1665) was a famous Sanskrit poet residing at the Delhi Durbar where Emperor Sah Jahan bestowed on him the honourable title of Panditaraja. He feel in love with a Muslim woman at the court and was consequently excommunicated by the Brahmin community. Thereafter he went to Varanasi, where he composed the poem known as Gangalahari, verses entreating Goddess Ganga for purification.

Irma Schotsman (1935) from the Netherlands retired early from her job because of health problems. In 1985 she began studying Sanskrit in Kathmandu (Nepal). In 1990 she moved to Varanasi (Benares, India) where she continued her studies. Reading Sanskrit language has given her so much satisfication that she is now working on word-by-word translations for students (Asvagosa's Buddhacarita, 1995; Hanuman in Valmiki's Ramayana, forthcoming). The present work on Gangalahari is meant as an introduction on how to read Sanskrit commentaries.