Sattasa – CDmp3 (Recituje Alena Vrnov)

This Czech-language MP3 audiobook presents an anthology of ancient Indian poetry. Traditionally, the selection was compiled under the title Sattasa by King Hlah of the Stavhana dynasty, who ruled in the early first century in what is now Andhra Pradesh; according to other accounts, the anthology dates from approximately the second to fourth centuries AD. The so-called collection of seven hundred stanzas contains verses inspired by the beauty of nature, rural life and, above all, the pleasures and pains of love, with shepherds, a millers wife, gardeners and hunters among its figures. The lyrical poems, which occasionally reveal a sense of humour, are written in Prakrit, a popular language that, unlike high Sanskrit, retains an earthy and playful quality. Oldich Fri translated and adapted the selected verses in 1947, and nearly eighty years later the prominent Czech actress Alena Vrnov brings them to life again through her exceptional performance.