This volume presents poems from the Prakrit Sattasai. The Prakrit language is a less well known and more "common" descendant of Sanskrit, the classical language of India. As such it was not used for the same purposes as was Sanskrit, but produced quite a bit of literature all its own. Actually a number of Prakrits were used, each with its own character. The anthology upon which this book is based is a tenth century compilation of earlier poems in Maharashtri or poetic Prakrit. The poems concern rural life, love and nature for the most part, and are glimpses of the life and times of old India. In this short work the author has included translations of selected poems from the anthology arranged by subject, with discussions of the various groupings. There is an introductory chapter concerning the Prakrit language, its usage, aesthetic and poetic forms, translation techniques and difficulties, and a discussion of this particular anthology. It is conceived as a readable, yet scholarly introduction to Prakrit poetry-folk poetry of old India-meant for the average interested reader, yet useful to the scholar. These poems, except for an occasional few, have not been previously translated into English.