The Conquest of Madhura: Gangadevi's Madhura Vijaya

The Madhura Vijaya is a 14th century court epic by a princess of the Vijayanagara Empire. Its historical importance is matched only by its literary qualities – the editors who rediscovered it, in 1916, noted that it was so good that some scholars couldn’t accept it had been written by a woman. The poem celebrates the victory of the Vijayanagara Empire’s crown prince, Kampa, over the Persian-ruled Madurai. In addition to battle scenes awash with blood, gore and plenty of poetic fantasy, the poetess describes how her husband Kampa passes the time between wars with his bevy of beautiful wives. The Rasala edition comprises about 200 of the original Sanskrit verses alongside a new English translation.