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Résumé de Ballades et légendes anciennes de l’Inde
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You will love this book if you enjoy tales told in rhyme, the old Indian legends, and strong heroines. It suits anyone curious about how one poet joined two worlds.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
What does a young woman say to Death when he comes for her husband? In the first poem of this book, Savitri does not simply beg. She argues, she walks beside him through a dark forest, and she keeps talking until the god of death gives way.
Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan is a book of verse by Toru Dutt, a young poet from Calcutta who wrote in English and died in 1877 while still in her twenties. She retells tales from Indian epics and from the Vishnu Purana, and adds poems from her own life. You get brisk rhymes, clear pictures and heroes who face power with a calm mind.
Dans ce résumé
- 1Savitri chooses a husband the sages warn againstFree
- 2Love and duty walk with Death
- 3Savitri wins the god of death by wisdom
- 4Two short ballads of anger and of awe
- 5The hermit and the hind, and the boy who became a star
- 6Buttoo and Sindhu show courage under injustice
- 7Prehlad defies a tyrant and his own fear
- 8The poet's own world: Sita, France and a tree at home
Point clé 1 sur 8
Savitri chooses a husband the sages warn against
The book opens with Savitri, the only child of the king of Madra. Her father has longed for her through years of prayer, and he lets her roam as she pleases. She walks in the woods and learns from the old sages. Her charm is a purity so plain that no man can look at her with a base thought.
One summer morning she sees a tall young man among the sons of the hermits. His name is Satyavan. His father was once a king, but he is now blind, driven from his throne, and living in the forest. Savitri carries her new feeling home.
Then the sage Narad arrives at the palace. He praises Satyavan as the best of men. Yet he begs Savitri to choose another husband. The young prince has only one year to live.
The king listens in dread and describes the miseries of a widow's life. Savitri answers calmly. A woman gives her heart once, and she cannot call it back just because the future is dark. Fate may rule us, she says, but the right must be our guiding star. Narad blesses her choice.
A vow kept with open eyes carries more weight than a promise made in ignorance.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Ballades et légendes anciennes de l’Inde
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 21,800 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 30 min
Questions about Ballades et légendes anciennes de l’Inde
What is Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan about?
It is a book of verse that retells tales from Indian epics and the Vishnu Purana, such as Savitri, Prehlad and Dhruva, and adds poems from the poet's own life, including sonnets and a tribute to a tree.
Who was Toru Dutt?
She was a young poet from Calcutta who wrote in English and French and spent time in Europe. She died in 1877. This book of retold legends and personal poems is the work for which she is best remembered.
Who is Savitri in the first poem?
She is the only child of the king of Madra. She chooses Satyavan, a hermit's son, though a sage warns her that he has one year to live, and she meets Death in the forest.
Are the poems in the book hard to read?
Most are ballads with short, rhymed lines and clear stories, so they follow easily by ear. The Purana poems use plain blank verse, and the closing poems are short pictures of gardens and memories.
What is the main message of the book?
Many of the poems say that duty, love and conscience should guide a life even under threat. Savitri, Prehlad and Sindhu each hold to what they believe, and the poet's own poems end in gratitude.
Cite this edition
Dutt, Toru. Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-ballads-and-legends-of-hindustan.
Dutt, T. (2026). Ancient ballads and legends of Hindustan. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-ballads-and-legends-of-hindustan (Original work published 1882)
Dutt, Toru. Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-ballads-and-legends-of-hindustan.
@book{dutt2026ancient,
author = {Dutt, Toru},
title = {Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ancient-ballads-and-legends-of-hindustan},
note = {First published 1882}
}
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