The Buffalo Century: Vāñcheśvara Dīkṣita’s Mahiṣaśatakam: A Political Satire for All Centuries

The Buffalo Century is a keen exploration of satire and its role in society and politics. Written in praise of a buffalo, Vāñcheśvara Dīkṣita’s Mahiṣaśatakam is timeless in its treatment of power, and its subversion. In resurrecting eighteenth-century Tanjore for the modern reader, Kesavan Veluthat lifts the poem beyond its immediate literary context and situates it in a contemporary global political setting.
Presenting a modern English translation along with the Sanskrit text, this work provides a fare that is as rich in double entendreas it is in its onomatopoeic metaphors. A literary triumph and the voice of an age, this book will be a key text for students and scholars of history, political science, sociology, literature, especially Sanskrit and comparative, and cultural studies.