Aditya Narayan Dhairyasheel Haksar (born 3 December 1933) is a well-known translator of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

classics into English. Born in

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

, central

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, he is a graduate of

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He was a career diplomat, serving as Indian High Commissioner to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, Minister in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Ambassador to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and he also served as Dean of India's

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for members of the U.S. foreign service community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreign ...

and President of the U.N. Environment Programme's Governing Council. Haksar is noted for his collection of translations from Sanskrit. He has increasingly focused on the '' kathā'' or narrative Sanskrit literature, the manuscript archive of which may amount to some 40,000 volumes. This is in part because many generations of orientalist scholars had overlooked this rich tradition in favor of more ancient religious texts. His ''kathā'' translations include '' Shuka Saptati'', and the first ever renditions into English of ''Madhavanala Katha'' and '' Samaya Matrika'', respectively published as ''Madhav & Kama'' and ''The Courtesan's Keeper''.

List of works

Translated

#''Tales from the

Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' ( IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, , "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.

'' (1992) #''The Shattered Thigh & Other Plays of Bhasa'' (1993) # Dandin's '' Tales of the Ten Princes'' (1995) # Fables from

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

's ''

Hitopadesha ''Hitopadesha'' (Sanskrit: हितोपदेशः, IAST: ''Hitopadeśa'', "Beneficial Advice") is an Indian text in the Sanskrit language consisting of fables with both animal and human characters. It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom and ...

'' (1998) # the story collection '' Simhasana Dvatrimsika'' (1998) #'' Shuka Saptati- Seventy Tales of the Parrot'' (2000) #The '' Jatakamala'' ''of Arya Shura'' (2003) with a foreword by H.H. the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

#''Madhav and Kama - A Love Story from Ancient India'' (2006) # the verse anthology '' Subhashitavali'' (2007) #''The Courtesan’s Keeper - Samaya Matrika'' of Kshemendra (2008) #''Three Satires from Ancient Kashmir'' of Kshemendra (2011) # Vatsyayana's ''

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...

'' (2011) #''The Seduction of Shiva - Tales of Life and Love'' (2014) #''Suleiman Charitra of

Kalyana Malla Kalyanamalla or Kalyan Malla was a 15th–16th-century Indian poet and writer of ''Ananga Ranga'' aka 'Stage of the Bodiless One', a sanskrit manuscript on 'Art of Love'. The arch-poet Kalyan Malla was a prince, a grandson of King Trailyokyacha ...

'' (2015) #'' Raghuvamsam'' of

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

(2016) #''The Ending of Arrogance – Darpadalanam'' of Kshemendra (2016) #''Three Hundred Verses'' of Bhartrihari (2017) #'' Ritusamharam – A Gathering of Seasons'' by

(2018) #''A Tale of Wonder – Kathakautukam'' by Srivara (2019) #''Chankaya Niti - Verses on Life and Living'' (2020) #'' Vikramorvashiyam – Quest for Urvashi'' by

(2021)

Edited

*''Glimpses of Sanskrit Literature'' (1995) for the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...

. *''A Treasury of Sanskrit Poetry'' (2002) for the

References

External links

A. N. D. Haksar
at

Penguin India Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a smal ...

A. N. D. Haksar
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Haksar, A. N. D. 1933 births Living people The Doon School alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Allahabad alumni Sanskrit–English translators Panchatantra 14th Dalai Lama Translators of Kalidasa High commissioners of India to Kenya High commissioners to Seychelles Ambassadors of India to Portugal Ambassadors of India to Yugoslavia United Nations Environment Programme People from Gwalior