Texts, Traditions, and Sacredness

This book presents a critical reading of Kristapura?a, the first South Asian retelling of the Bible. In 1579, Thomas Stephens (1549-1619), a young Jesuit priest, arrived in Goa with the aim of preaching Christianity to the local subjects of the Portuguese colony. Kristapura?a (1616), a sweeping narrative with 10,962 verses, is his epic poetic retelling of the Christian Bible in the Marathi language. This fascinating text, which first appeared in Roman script, is also one of the earliest printed works in the subcontinent. Kristapura?a translated the entire biblical narrative into Marathi a century before Bible translation into South Asian languages began in earnest in Protestant missions.

This book contributes to an understanding of translation as it was practiced in South Asia through its study of genre, landscapes, and cultural translation in Kristapura?a, while also retelling a history of sacred texts and biblical narratives in the region. I