Amaru Shataka

Amaru Shataka

The Amaruśataka or Amarukaśataka (अमरुशतक, "the hundred stanzas of Amaru"), authored by Amaru (also Amaruka), is a collection of poems dated to about the 7th or 8th century.

The Amaruśataka ranks as one of the finest lyrical poetry in the annals of Sanskrit literature, ranking with Kalidasa and Bhartṛhari's Śṛngâraśataka. The ninth-century literary critic Anandavardhana declared in his Dhvanyaloka that "a single stanza of the poet Amaru ... may provide the taste of love equal to what's found in whole volumes." Its verses have been used by poets and critics as examples and standards to judge other poems by. Andrew Schelling describes it as "love poetry original and vivid as that produced anywhere on the planet".

Its subject is mostly Sringara (erotic love, romantic love) including aspects such as love, passion, estrangement, longing, rapprochement, joy and sorrow, etc. Greg Bailey notes that it is "as much about the social aspects of courting, betrayal, feminine indignance and masculine self-pity as it is about sensuality". Similarly, Schelling notes: "All the flavours or nuances of love are said to lie within the book, though you'll notice that the emphasis falls more on the bitter taste of separation or betrayal than on the sweetness of consummation."