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The Demon's Daughter: A Love Story from South India
The Demon's Daughter (Prabhavati-pradyumnamu) is a sixteenth-century novel by the south Indian poet Pingali Suranna, originally written in Telugu, the language of present-day Andhra Pradesh. Suranna begins with a story from classical Hindu mythology in which a demon plans to overthrow the gods. Krishna's son Pradyumna is sent to foil the plot and must infiltrate the impregnable city of the demons; Krishna helps ensure his success by having a matchmaking goose cause Pradyumna to fall in love with the demon's daughter. The original story focuses on the ongoing war between gods and anti-gods, but Pingali Suranna makes it an exploration of the experience of being and falling in love. In this, the work evinces a modern sensibility, showing love as both an individualized emotion and the fullest realization of a person, transcending social and cultural barriers.
The translators include an afterword that explores the cultural setting of the work and its historical and literary contexts. Anyone interested in the literature and mythology of India will find this book compelling, but all readers who love a good story will enjoy this moving book. Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman have provided an elegant translation that will serve well the contemporary reader who wishes to encounter a masterwork of world literature largely unknown in the West.
The translators include an afterword that explores the cultural setting of the work and its historical and literary contexts. Anyone interested in the literature and mythology of India will find this book compelling, but all readers who love a good story will enjoy this moving book. Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman have provided an elegant translation that will serve well the contemporary reader who wishes to encounter a masterwork of world literature largely unknown in the West.
138 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2006
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April 27, 2021
the demons daughter: a love story from south India by Pingali Surana, the title intrigued me as I was curious as to what kind of Indian love story it would be, if it would be a copy and paste of Bollywood love movies or something new and I must say I was quite impressed especially with how well it portrayed Hindu beliefs. With it being of Hindu origin as it includes gods such as Vishnu, Lakshimi, brahma Krishna and Indra and even including the caste system of India by mentioning the brahmins which included priests it is able to go and tell a story that many Indian readers would be able to understand quickly and people like myself would be able to relate to as we would be able to draw connections with our beliefs and the story, while also teaching others about the mythology of Hinduism if they are not familiar with it.
The story begins with a conflict being presented as the evil demon Vajranabha is planning to overthrow the gods, this is confronted by the gods coming up with a plan to be able to kill the demon king Vajranabha before he kills the gods. this leads to Kirshna, the god of protection and compassion to go and send out Indra the thousand Eye'd god to devise a plan on how to infiltrate Vajranabha’s city to kill him. This further leads to multiple events taking place within the beginning of the story as the gods try and figure out how to solve their problem, this then has the reader bounce back and forth between Kirishna and Indra to cover both of their stories and how they end up developing plans to deal with their conflict which in theory seems complicated and confusing, but it helps cover important parts of the story very quickly to not bore the reader with the development of the plans. the first being Vishnu thinking of how to infiltrate the city after the actor named Bharda is introduced in page 13, and is then harassed by brahmin teenagers. the second being Indra taking orders to find a solution and go and rally the geese together to be able to spy on the demon king's city as they are seen by everyone and are able to relay information back to the gods to plan their attack.
Firstly, Krishna who is very much shown to perfectly fit their role as the god of protection comes up with a plan to kill the demon king Vajranabha after overhearing brahmin boys say to the actor Bharda who has wondered into the city “You call us thieves? people like you are the real source of thievery you gain entrance to any city with ease, because your actors. All day long you delude people with your plays. You take note of alleys and backroads, and at night you burgle your way into houses. If anyone tries to stop you, you strike them down. Quiet as dead lice, you take whatever you fancy. Thats your usual way of life, as everyone knows.” (Page 14 chapter 1) and by taking advice from the god Vishnu to follow whatever a brahmin boy says, this leads to Krishna devising a plan but left with the question of who would enter the city to kill the demon king whilst the actor Bharda distracts Vajranabha, thus leaving the reader to wonder what will happen next with Krishna's plan while also introducing them to a new important character within the story, while also simultaneously showing the status that brahmins hold within the caste system by showing how even the gods listen to and consider what they say.
Meanwhile, Indra calls together the geese to spy on Vajranabha’s city which fits his character as the thousand Eye'd god well by using the vast number of geese to be his eyes and spy on the city for him to develop his own plan that falls in line with his character, this later leads to a goose named sucimukhi telling Indra that they have been within the city and have overheard the doom of Vajranbha’s kingship. This is due to the geese overhearing two women talk between each other stating that, the goddess Parvati, the goddess of marriage, love and fertility had come into one of the girls' dreams expressing that they have found a husband for her named Pradyumna, who is the son of Krishna, and that he would marry her after the demon Vajranbha is killed so that they may both rule the city together as one and free it from its demon king. This is then later revealed by the goose that the girl was actually Prabhavati, the daughter of the demon king Vajranbha who was so excited hearing about her future marriage and the death of her father to be the new ruler of the city alongside her new husband showing her disapproval for her father and how he rules over the city, with this now added into the story it gives the reader an idea of how the rest of the story will play out and how the story will live up to the title of the book.
With the foundation of the story now set by introducing important characters such as Krishna, Prabhavati, Pradyumna, Indra, Bharda and the demon king Vajranbha, along with the conflict of the story to eventually build up to the climax of how the demon kill will be killed and if Prabhavati and Pradyumna will be able to marry each other, it has more than proved itself to be a very engaging story to read through, especially for other Hindu's to read through as I believe it definitely is more entertaining of a read if you know about the god’s already and their conflicts. All in all, the demon's daughter: A love story from South India is an amazing book that should definitely be considered whenever someone has the chance to read a quick interesting book as it can be found on amazon, aleph book company and at Barnes and nobles.
The story begins with a conflict being presented as the evil demon Vajranabha is planning to overthrow the gods, this is confronted by the gods coming up with a plan to be able to kill the demon king Vajranabha before he kills the gods. this leads to Kirshna, the god of protection and compassion to go and send out Indra the thousand Eye'd god to devise a plan on how to infiltrate Vajranabha’s city to kill him. This further leads to multiple events taking place within the beginning of the story as the gods try and figure out how to solve their problem, this then has the reader bounce back and forth between Kirishna and Indra to cover both of their stories and how they end up developing plans to deal with their conflict which in theory seems complicated and confusing, but it helps cover important parts of the story very quickly to not bore the reader with the development of the plans. the first being Vishnu thinking of how to infiltrate the city after the actor named Bharda is introduced in page 13, and is then harassed by brahmin teenagers. the second being Indra taking orders to find a solution and go and rally the geese together to be able to spy on the demon king's city as they are seen by everyone and are able to relay information back to the gods to plan their attack.
Firstly, Krishna who is very much shown to perfectly fit their role as the god of protection comes up with a plan to kill the demon king Vajranabha after overhearing brahmin boys say to the actor Bharda who has wondered into the city “You call us thieves? people like you are the real source of thievery you gain entrance to any city with ease, because your actors. All day long you delude people with your plays. You take note of alleys and backroads, and at night you burgle your way into houses. If anyone tries to stop you, you strike them down. Quiet as dead lice, you take whatever you fancy. Thats your usual way of life, as everyone knows.” (Page 14 chapter 1) and by taking advice from the god Vishnu to follow whatever a brahmin boy says, this leads to Krishna devising a plan but left with the question of who would enter the city to kill the demon king whilst the actor Bharda distracts Vajranabha, thus leaving the reader to wonder what will happen next with Krishna's plan while also introducing them to a new important character within the story, while also simultaneously showing the status that brahmins hold within the caste system by showing how even the gods listen to and consider what they say.
Meanwhile, Indra calls together the geese to spy on Vajranabha’s city which fits his character as the thousand Eye'd god well by using the vast number of geese to be his eyes and spy on the city for him to develop his own plan that falls in line with his character, this later leads to a goose named sucimukhi telling Indra that they have been within the city and have overheard the doom of Vajranbha’s kingship. This is due to the geese overhearing two women talk between each other stating that, the goddess Parvati, the goddess of marriage, love and fertility had come into one of the girls' dreams expressing that they have found a husband for her named Pradyumna, who is the son of Krishna, and that he would marry her after the demon Vajranbha is killed so that they may both rule the city together as one and free it from its demon king. This is then later revealed by the goose that the girl was actually Prabhavati, the daughter of the demon king Vajranbha who was so excited hearing about her future marriage and the death of her father to be the new ruler of the city alongside her new husband showing her disapproval for her father and how he rules over the city, with this now added into the story it gives the reader an idea of how the rest of the story will play out and how the story will live up to the title of the book.
With the foundation of the story now set by introducing important characters such as Krishna, Prabhavati, Pradyumna, Indra, Bharda and the demon king Vajranbha, along with the conflict of the story to eventually build up to the climax of how the demon kill will be killed and if Prabhavati and Pradyumna will be able to marry each other, it has more than proved itself to be a very engaging story to read through, especially for other Hindu's to read through as I believe it definitely is more entertaining of a read if you know about the god’s already and their conflicts. All in all, the demon's daughter: A love story from South India is an amazing book that should definitely be considered whenever someone has the chance to read a quick interesting book as it can be found on amazon, aleph book company and at Barnes and nobles.
February 1, 2024
A random pick at the bookstore, this follows a classic mythological tale so it’s not my ideal story format. BUT the language is just simple so beautiful my eyes felt happy to read the pretty pretty words. The afterword honestly may have taken this book to a 4/5 stars it was very interesting. Unfortunately, I just can’t boogie with their concept of individualism in this tale!
July 27, 2012
In a voice mellifluous as a gentle shower of honey, without faltering, without throwing in filler words, very gracefully, the goose made a highly learned presentation. […] She also demonstrated her proficiency in poetry, dramaturgy, poetics, music, and erotic science.
The goose Sucimukhi was taught by Saraswati, Goddess of Learning and Speech, and given the title “Mother of Similes and Hyperbole.” In this gorgeous, witty, sensual fifteenth-century novel from south India, she helps resolve a war in Heaven by match-making between Pradyumna, Krishna’s son, and Prabhavati, the daughter of a demon king.
If you skim the genealogies at the very beginning, you don’t need to already have a background in Indian myth and religion to appreciate this short novel, which can be enjoyed on many levels: as a love story told in luscious, Song of Solomon-like metaphors; as a love story punctuated by metafictional commentary and sly parodies of the overblown conventions of love stories; as myth; as a small taste of fifteenth century Telegu literature.
Unlike a lot of literature which was clearly hot at the time but not to modern readers’ erotic tastes… this is still hot. At least, I thought so. There are many more explicit passages, but I was particularly taken with this one, in which Prabhavati’s girlfriend helps her arrange her hair for her first meeting with her beloved, and breaks into spontaneous poetry:
If you let your hair down, you look beautiful.
When you let it hang halfway, you look beautiful, too.
If it gets tangled, you’re beautiful in a different way.
If you comb it down, even more so.
You can braid it, roll it into a bun, or better still
tie it into a knot on the side.
You’re beautiful with that hair every which way.
It’s long, black, and so thick
you can’t hold it in one hand.
No matter how you wear it,
you’ll trap your husband with your hair.
Translated and with notes by Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman.
The goose Sucimukhi was taught by Saraswati, Goddess of Learning and Speech, and given the title “Mother of Similes and Hyperbole.” In this gorgeous, witty, sensual fifteenth-century novel from south India, she helps resolve a war in Heaven by match-making between Pradyumna, Krishna’s son, and Prabhavati, the daughter of a demon king.
If you skim the genealogies at the very beginning, you don’t need to already have a background in Indian myth and religion to appreciate this short novel, which can be enjoyed on many levels: as a love story told in luscious, Song of Solomon-like metaphors; as a love story punctuated by metafictional commentary and sly parodies of the overblown conventions of love stories; as myth; as a small taste of fifteenth century Telegu literature.
Unlike a lot of literature which was clearly hot at the time but not to modern readers’ erotic tastes… this is still hot. At least, I thought so. There are many more explicit passages, but I was particularly taken with this one, in which Prabhavati’s girlfriend helps her arrange her hair for her first meeting with her beloved, and breaks into spontaneous poetry:
If you let your hair down, you look beautiful.
When you let it hang halfway, you look beautiful, too.
If it gets tangled, you’re beautiful in a different way.
If you comb it down, even more so.
You can braid it, roll it into a bun, or better still
tie it into a knot on the side.
You’re beautiful with that hair every which way.
It’s long, black, and so thick
you can’t hold it in one hand.
No matter how you wear it,
you’ll trap your husband with your hair.
Translated and with notes by Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman.
December 6, 2021
A Book Review of The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India
The Demon’s Daughter is a sixteen-century novel written by Pingali Suranna, a South Indian Poet. The book was originally written in Telugu and thus translated by David Dean Shulman and Velcheru Narayana Rao. The Demon’s Daughter begins with a story of Hindu mythology, in this story a demon named Vajranabha planned to overthrow the gods. Together Indra and Krishna decide to send Krishna’s son Pradyumna to ruin this plot. To do so he must infiltrate the city of the demons; to ensure Pradyumna's success Krishna sends a goose named Sucimukhi to help influence Pradyumna to fall in love with Prabhavati the demon's daughter. Separating from the original mythological story, Suranna focuses on the emotions and experiences of falling and being in love.
The story takes place mainly between the settings of Dvaraka and Vajapuri. Dvaraka is described, “This city is like a dancer just emerged from behind the curtain that is the ocean to entice and delight. Or she is the Goddess perched between the dark ocean and dark forests, like Lakshmi on Vishnu’s breast” (Suranna 7). The God Krishna and his son Pradyumna occupy the area. Pradyumna is the son of Krisha and his most prized wife, he is praised as holding the characteristics of a classic hero and being the embodiment of the god of love. He is strong, courageous, and has great magic skills, along with this Pradyumna is also considered incredibly handsome. This is fitting to the precious metals and jewels surrounding him as it is home to not a god but also heroes. All these characteristics add to Pradyumna's pride which is shown as his biggest fault but also a driving factor making him long even more for his lover. Vajapuri is the city of demons, it is a greatly fortified area requiring the king's approval for anything to enter. Vajapuri consists of many beautiful ponds and lakes giving home and food to the geese. The city of Demon is ruled by Vajranabha and is home to both him and his daughter Prabhavati. Prabhavati was created by the goddess Parvati; she was of incredible and immeasurable beauty. She remained between the kingdom wall all this time, this causes Prabhavati to be ultimately shy. Her only friend was Ragavallari who helped Prabhavati get through the trials of being tortured by her love. It can be said that Prabhavati and Pradyumna are both naïve as they feel helplessly in love with each other after simply seeing an image of the other. The character Sucimukhi served an important purpose in the novel, she was a goose who often spent time in Vajapuri’s ponds in the palace. Thus, she was ordered by the gods to bring together Prabhavati and Pradyumna to get rid of Vajranabha. Sucimukhi is a well-spoken bird trained by the goddess of speech herself. The goose was very trusted and loyal but could always recount to others specifics and speak with no filter, what I would say is her fault. Despite this Sucimukhi offered great advice to Prabhavati and Pradyumna, bringing them together and serving as a way of communication between the two.
Overall, The Deamon’s Daughter was a great read. The wording inside the book was beautiful and the imagery created by Suranna created a movie in my head. Suranna took the original mythological story and changed it to a different perspective focusing on the love in this story. He highlighted their desire and lovesickness from being apart as well as incorporated a refined eroticism. The work and themes were addressed differently than regular western literature so in addition to the original novel the translators offered an afterword at the end of the chapters. This was a nice addition to the novel and helped broaden my understanding of the story and culture that created this work. The Demons Daughter: A Love Story from South India can be purchased on Amazon as an eBook for $26.95 and as a paperback version for $29.95.
The Demon’s Daughter is a sixteen-century novel written by Pingali Suranna, a South Indian Poet. The book was originally written in Telugu and thus translated by David Dean Shulman and Velcheru Narayana Rao. The Demon’s Daughter begins with a story of Hindu mythology, in this story a demon named Vajranabha planned to overthrow the gods. Together Indra and Krishna decide to send Krishna’s son Pradyumna to ruin this plot. To do so he must infiltrate the city of the demons; to ensure Pradyumna's success Krishna sends a goose named Sucimukhi to help influence Pradyumna to fall in love with Prabhavati the demon's daughter. Separating from the original mythological story, Suranna focuses on the emotions and experiences of falling and being in love.
The story takes place mainly between the settings of Dvaraka and Vajapuri. Dvaraka is described, “This city is like a dancer just emerged from behind the curtain that is the ocean to entice and delight. Or she is the Goddess perched between the dark ocean and dark forests, like Lakshmi on Vishnu’s breast” (Suranna 7). The God Krishna and his son Pradyumna occupy the area. Pradyumna is the son of Krisha and his most prized wife, he is praised as holding the characteristics of a classic hero and being the embodiment of the god of love. He is strong, courageous, and has great magic skills, along with this Pradyumna is also considered incredibly handsome. This is fitting to the precious metals and jewels surrounding him as it is home to not a god but also heroes. All these characteristics add to Pradyumna's pride which is shown as his biggest fault but also a driving factor making him long even more for his lover. Vajapuri is the city of demons, it is a greatly fortified area requiring the king's approval for anything to enter. Vajapuri consists of many beautiful ponds and lakes giving home and food to the geese. The city of Demon is ruled by Vajranabha and is home to both him and his daughter Prabhavati. Prabhavati was created by the goddess Parvati; she was of incredible and immeasurable beauty. She remained between the kingdom wall all this time, this causes Prabhavati to be ultimately shy. Her only friend was Ragavallari who helped Prabhavati get through the trials of being tortured by her love. It can be said that Prabhavati and Pradyumna are both naïve as they feel helplessly in love with each other after simply seeing an image of the other. The character Sucimukhi served an important purpose in the novel, she was a goose who often spent time in Vajapuri’s ponds in the palace. Thus, she was ordered by the gods to bring together Prabhavati and Pradyumna to get rid of Vajranabha. Sucimukhi is a well-spoken bird trained by the goddess of speech herself. The goose was very trusted and loyal but could always recount to others specifics and speak with no filter, what I would say is her fault. Despite this Sucimukhi offered great advice to Prabhavati and Pradyumna, bringing them together and serving as a way of communication between the two.
Overall, The Deamon’s Daughter was a great read. The wording inside the book was beautiful and the imagery created by Suranna created a movie in my head. Suranna took the original mythological story and changed it to a different perspective focusing on the love in this story. He highlighted their desire and lovesickness from being apart as well as incorporated a refined eroticism. The work and themes were addressed differently than regular western literature so in addition to the original novel the translators offered an afterword at the end of the chapters. This was a nice addition to the novel and helped broaden my understanding of the story and culture that created this work. The Demons Daughter: A Love Story from South India can be purchased on Amazon as an eBook for $26.95 and as a paperback version for $29.95.
November 29, 2021
I was satisfied with my choice to read The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India written by Pingali Suranna, Velcheru Narayana Rao, and David Shulman. The novel was well depicted with its back story of the mythology for the gods played in the story. I enjoyed the novel because I favor stories that entitle love as the main theme. As much as I appreciate a hard cover book to read from. Reading this novel online due to covid was not compromising. I used the Valencia library guide to help read the novel online. Even though I read the novel online, the story did not lose my interest. I was able to continue where I left off in the captivating love story.
The story begins with a demon named Vajranabha who intended to overtake the divine kingdom and become the new ruler. In failure of begging for his power back, Indra seeks help from Krishna. As Vajranabha lies happy in Vajrapuri, Krishna has devised a plan to disguise as actors to break into the impenetrable city of Vajrapuri. To successfully complete the plan to kill the demon the gods will use Sucimukhi to help control the other characters soley by the sly way of which she talks so profoundly. Sucimukhi is a goose whose presence is welcomed in Vajrapuri. Making the goose well equipped to take on the mission to gain information to report back to the gods. For instance, Sucimukhi was able to find out that “if Pradyumna is to marry Prabhavati, there’s certain to be war” (Suranna 16). The goose was able to use her eloquent choice of words to manipulate Pradyumna and Prabhavati into falling deeply in love with each other. Not knowing the destined end that is to come.
One strength for The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India is that Suranna used individualized emotions to express love in a modern tone. As Suranna stated on page 86 “this is far from the standardized themes of desire in classical Indian literature”. Suranna used Rati to describe the pleasure the characters felt, which, in fact, helped elevate the story from traditional Indian views. With each chapter the setting is clear and concise and changes between the perspective of each character throughout the story. The disadvantage about the constant change in setting and perspective is the chance the readers will become confused and will feel a sense of repetition when reading the future passages. For example, the endless similes and metaphors that describe Prabhavati beauty “can’t touch even a billionth of her beauty” ( Suranna 28) can become repetitive when read from multiple perspectives. This makes the readers focus on the physical aspect of the characters and lacks the description of their personalities. Overall, The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India is a must-read novel that I enjoyed reading and gave me insight on the modernized transformation of Telugu.
The story begins with a demon named Vajranabha who intended to overtake the divine kingdom and become the new ruler. In failure of begging for his power back, Indra seeks help from Krishna. As Vajranabha lies happy in Vajrapuri, Krishna has devised a plan to disguise as actors to break into the impenetrable city of Vajrapuri. To successfully complete the plan to kill the demon the gods will use Sucimukhi to help control the other characters soley by the sly way of which she talks so profoundly. Sucimukhi is a goose whose presence is welcomed in Vajrapuri. Making the goose well equipped to take on the mission to gain information to report back to the gods. For instance, Sucimukhi was able to find out that “if Pradyumna is to marry Prabhavati, there’s certain to be war” (Suranna 16). The goose was able to use her eloquent choice of words to manipulate Pradyumna and Prabhavati into falling deeply in love with each other. Not knowing the destined end that is to come.
One strength for The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India is that Suranna used individualized emotions to express love in a modern tone. As Suranna stated on page 86 “this is far from the standardized themes of desire in classical Indian literature”. Suranna used Rati to describe the pleasure the characters felt, which, in fact, helped elevate the story from traditional Indian views. With each chapter the setting is clear and concise and changes between the perspective of each character throughout the story. The disadvantage about the constant change in setting and perspective is the chance the readers will become confused and will feel a sense of repetition when reading the future passages. For example, the endless similes and metaphors that describe Prabhavati beauty “can’t touch even a billionth of her beauty” ( Suranna 28) can become repetitive when read from multiple perspectives. This makes the readers focus on the physical aspect of the characters and lacks the description of their personalities. Overall, The Demon’s Daughter: A Love Story from South India is a must-read novel that I enjoyed reading and gave me insight on the modernized transformation of Telugu.
April 15, 2022
one thing I do like about this this story that it establish the heritage and who the gods are along with how they were given their position of power. Then establishes who is a well-known and beloved to the people though hated by the other gods. For example, the god Indra hated the demon king Vajrapuri for taking over his kingdom and that there were no consequences for that. But going back to Vajrapuri, after taking the kingdom he them demands that no one that he did not invite into the city was not allowed it even said that he did not welcome the wind in the city and therefore there was no wind there.
But the build up to help leading the two lovers Prabhavati and Pradyumna, the daughter to the Demon King and the son of his Enemy. It was told that their Pradyumna and their son would be the down fall to the Demon King, but they had not met nor known about each other till a well versed goose had told them of each other, and from their descriptions they had fallen for another, though Pradyumna had already had taken a lover he was determined to meet Prabhavati, who was given a painting from the gods of what her future husband and was desperate to meet him.
The two lovers came up with a plan to meet by having Pradyumna and his brothers disguised as Actors, who were well recommended to come to the city by the. Well versed goose who told the Demon King, which allowed them entry into the Kingdom. Giving the young lovers a chance to meet and get marries. After their wedding night, his brothers married her sister and kept their secret identities from the Demon King for years and all the princesses had sons, they were old enough to become skilled achers until their grandfather had found out about their existence. The Demon King was enraged and went to kill them and was killed by Pradyumna and his brothers. After these events, Indra had immortalized the Lovers, their son and their family and are still living many blissful days. One thing to add about this was that the demon king was not a tyrant to his people or his daughters, he was well loved and when he was killed. The city was extremely sad for their loss and I found that quite interesting.
But the build up to help leading the two lovers Prabhavati and Pradyumna, the daughter to the Demon King and the son of his Enemy. It was told that their Pradyumna and their son would be the down fall to the Demon King, but they had not met nor known about each other till a well versed goose had told them of each other, and from their descriptions they had fallen for another, though Pradyumna had already had taken a lover he was determined to meet Prabhavati, who was given a painting from the gods of what her future husband and was desperate to meet him.
The two lovers came up with a plan to meet by having Pradyumna and his brothers disguised as Actors, who were well recommended to come to the city by the. Well versed goose who told the Demon King, which allowed them entry into the Kingdom. Giving the young lovers a chance to meet and get marries. After their wedding night, his brothers married her sister and kept their secret identities from the Demon King for years and all the princesses had sons, they were old enough to become skilled achers until their grandfather had found out about their existence. The Demon King was enraged and went to kill them and was killed by Pradyumna and his brothers. After these events, Indra had immortalized the Lovers, their son and their family and are still living many blissful days. One thing to add about this was that the demon king was not a tyrant to his people or his daughters, he was well loved and when he was killed. The city was extremely sad for their loss and I found that quite interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2021
When I signed up to read this book for my literature class I was very excited based on the title and the synopsis. The excitement was automatically gone when I just start reading the introduction of the story. As a book worm, the introductions are my favorite part when starting a novel because it usually settles the story with background and information. This part of the book helps to engage the reader to start the first chapter but I was completely turned off by it when starting The Demon’s Daughter.
The Introduction does effectively settle the time period and setting of the story which is ancient history/fantasy and love story. My favorite about the introduction is the background of the writing style used for it to be translated. The text was originally written as a “kavya’s” which is a series of sustained narratives in verse but translators have argued that this text, in particular, The Demons Daughter, is a novel (Surana). This also goes on to more history about Telugu literature history about the political powers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century.
I tried to get through this book to the best of my ability but it wasn’t what I expected it to be which was a letdown. I couldn’t keep up with the setting after chapter one or even the characters. I wish I was able to know the original language to actually enjoy this book. Most translated novels don’t get the same authentic effect that the writer included when they originally write the book and this was one of them.
The Introduction does effectively settle the time period and setting of the story which is ancient history/fantasy and love story. My favorite about the introduction is the background of the writing style used for it to be translated. The text was originally written as a “kavya’s” which is a series of sustained narratives in verse but translators have argued that this text, in particular, The Demons Daughter, is a novel (Surana). This also goes on to more history about Telugu literature history about the political powers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century.
I tried to get through this book to the best of my ability but it wasn’t what I expected it to be which was a letdown. I couldn’t keep up with the setting after chapter one or even the characters. I wish I was able to know the original language to actually enjoy this book. Most translated novels don’t get the same authentic effect that the writer included when they originally write the book and this was one of them.
November 16, 2025
This was quite a different read and a hidden gem as I have not read something like this before. Fist fe pages were about the author and his hereditary story and last few pages were of how the story was described and what it meant and what are the emotions.
The character I loved was Sucimukhi who was the mediator between many to make the things happen as wanted by Gods and Krishna. The Love story of Pradyumna and Prabhavati was more of love without seeing. At least Prabhavati has seen him in photo. There is parallel love story of Samba and Gada with daughters of Sunaba whose was brother of Vajranabha. H;ow future things were predicted and who were there husbands will be and falling without seeing and dreaming is something we see in mythology which is contrary to current world and it was more of getting Gandharva vivah and making love portrayed then understanding of each other and knowing more about each other.
The story was in collection of prose and poem in simple language.
We all doesn’t know much about the successors of Krishna and their story much which is available and yet to be discovered and this is one of them.
I enjoyed reading it as am a fan of mythology. Got to read this as BOTM in my Bookclub.
The character I loved was Sucimukhi who was the mediator between many to make the things happen as wanted by Gods and Krishna. The Love story of Pradyumna and Prabhavati was more of love without seeing. At least Prabhavati has seen him in photo. There is parallel love story of Samba and Gada with daughters of Sunaba whose was brother of Vajranabha. H;ow future things were predicted and who were there husbands will be and falling without seeing and dreaming is something we see in mythology which is contrary to current world and it was more of getting Gandharva vivah and making love portrayed then understanding of each other and knowing more about each other.
The story was in collection of prose and poem in simple language.
We all doesn’t know much about the successors of Krishna and their story much which is available and yet to be discovered and this is one of them.
I enjoyed reading it as am a fan of mythology. Got to read this as BOTM in my Bookclub.
October 17, 2025
A mythical love story between Krishna’s son Pradyuman and the demon’s daughter Prabhavati that feels less like love and more like a feverish infatuation. It celebrates the sensual body yet often slips into objectification, reading more as erotica than romance. What redeems it is its defiance of societal norms — a union that dares to exist outside the boundaries of the “acceptable.”
March 14, 2022
It's a very average translation unlike Sound of Kiss, the plot - the poetry didn't hold on like the other translation of his that I read earlier.
I think - if I read it in Telugu it may have made sense.
I think - if I read it in Telugu it may have made sense.
January 8, 2025
An important work from medieval Telugu literature (Pingali Surana, along with Tenali Rama, is traditionally considered one of the ashtadiggajas of Krishnadevaraya's court; though some historians date him a few decades later).
V.N. Rao and Shulman credit this as being possibly the first work of South Indian literature to explore the theme of individuality. I can't comment on that claim, but it certainly is feels very different from previous tellings of the same story. The characters have a rich inner monologue, articulating their trains of thought, instead of being inscrutable to the reader. For the first time, there is a theme of privacy of written communication meant for others. Lots of layers of symbolism and word-play, too.
V.N. Rao and Shulman credit this as being possibly the first work of South Indian literature to explore the theme of individuality. I can't comment on that claim, but it certainly is feels very different from previous tellings of the same story. The characters have a rich inner monologue, articulating their trains of thought, instead of being inscrutable to the reader. For the first time, there is a theme of privacy of written communication meant for others. Lots of layers of symbolism and word-play, too.
January 16, 2020
Love that is heavily ornamented and beauty that supersedes the very words to describe it, a poetic notion that brings love from the ancient to capture the essence of it, as far as possible.
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April 17, 2022Mid 16th
His better known novel https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
His better known novel https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
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