About Arjundas Adhikari
Discover how former Hare Krishna monk and traditional Indian drama expert Andrew Horn, AKA Arjundas Adhikari, came to write A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna – a stunning new English-language translation of Rupa Goswami’s classic spiritual Sanskrit Indian drama Vidagdha Madhava.
Andrew Horn
Arjundas Adhikari is the pen name of British translator, impresario, and traditional Indian theatre expert Andrew Horn. The son of neuroscientist Sir Gabriel Horn and grandson of Methodist minister and socialist peer Baron Soper, Andrew chose a different path to his famous forebears, being drawn towards Eastern spirituality from a young age.
For 20 years, from the ages of 18 to 38, Andrew served as a Hare Krishna monk. Upon his initiation, he was given the Hindu name ‘Arjundas Adhikari’, which translated from Sanskrit means ‘The servant of Arjuna’ (referring to the legendary hero of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata).
As a serving member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a well-known branch of Hinduism, his days were spent in devotion to Lord Shree Krishna one of the most respected and popular of all Indian divinities, and his consort, the goddess Srimati Radharani (also known as ‘Radha’).
Arjundas Adhikari
As a monk, Andrew immersed himself in Hindu culture, learning and reciting the classic texts and mastering Sanskrit. While based predominantly at the UK’s spiritual heart of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the temple of Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire, his deep understanding of the ancient and rich Hindu culture were enhanced by yearly pilgrimages to India.
It was during this time that he first discovered the works of celebrated 16th century Hindu guru, poet and philosopher Rupa Goswami (1489–1564). These included one of Goswami’s greatest literary masterpieces, the drama Vidagdha Madhava (A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna). Having been instrumental in the adaptation and staging of numerous traditional Indian dramas within the wider community, including local schools, as part of his outreach work with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Andrew was delighted to bring the Vidagdha Madhava by Rupa Goswami, an unforgettable romantic drama about Lord Shree Krishna’s youthful exploits, to a Western audience.
Further plays followed, including adaptations of Sufi legends and an ambitious retelling of the Ramayana, and upon leaving the temple in his late thirties, Andrew started his own theatre company which toured both nationally and internationally, including Africa and the Middle East.
Translating the Vidagdha Madhava
A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna
Subsequently, Andrew pursued another of his loves, art, opening a gallery and event space in central London in 2013, which he ran for five years and which attracted celebrities including comedian Ricky Gervais and boxer Anthony Joshua.
But while he enjoyed great success as an entrepreneur, Andrew still had a burning ambition yet to achieve. Since his first exposure to the Vidagdha Madhava by Rupa Goswami, and unimpressed by the few English translations available to Western audiences, he had wanted to produce a definitive adaptation. Aided by his familiarity with Sanskrit, he went back to the original manuscript and painstakingly rendered it in English, sensitively capturing the lyricism of Rupa Goswami’s verse while correcting the errors and inaccuracies which he had found in previous translations. In total, he spent three years on his passion project, which was published in 2023 through Maple Press as A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna. Since its release, the book has been praised by both journalists and readers alike as the most accurate and pleasing English translation of the Vidagdha Madhava available.
Andrew is now hard at work on a new translation of another of Rupa Goswami’s spiritual Sanskrit plays, again focused on Lord Shree Krishna, but in the meanwhile looks forward to A Portrait of Lord Shree Krishna being enjoyed by fans of traditional Indian theatre and world literature, and hopes that his work inspires theatre groups and schools to stage Goswami’s masterpiece for new audiences young and old.
Paurna. [Putting on a stern face.] That doesn’t sound
to me to be a strong enough response!
Radha. [Passionately.] Response? I yell! He cups My
mouth immediately – what chance?!
I’m frightened, try and run – He spreads His arms out –
blocks the way!
Cowering at His feet, He bites My lip distressingly!
Mother, I cannot be safe. That plume-crowned boy’s so
vicious!
