Our costumers have a chance to listen for a great poem of Shota Rustaveli in three languages. This will give them a sense of Georgian language sounds, harmony and tunes, to understand it through English translation made in XIX century. Russian translation is also available.

SHOTA RUSTAVELI
Shota Rustaveli was the greatest Georgian poet of the XII century. There are no written records of his life. The only authentic record we possess of him is his great epic poem, "The Knight in the Tiger's Skin", (another title - The Man in the Panther’s Skin) in the introduction to which the poet, incidentally, remarks that he is a contemporary of Queen Tamar. It was the epoch of the greatest consolidation of the might of the Georgian realm and the renascence of its cultural life. Subsequently, during the course of three centuries, as a result of devastating invasions of Eastern conquerors, the cultural life of Georgia fell into a decline.

These centuries have left but very few works of literature. But the renascence of the intellectual life of the country which began in the XVI century brought to the fore a number of poets whose works permit us to form a conception of the immense popularity of Rustaveli at that time. Nearly all the poets of that period mention his name, address themselves to him as to their Muse and beg his permission to write verse. The influence of Rustaveli on their works bore a semblance of almost despotic authority. It was only by the end of the XVII century that Rustaveli's poem, having crystallized into an unsurpassable model and having ceased to be an object of imitation, liberated Georgian literature from the captivity in which it had been held by it, while the general course of its development was still illumined by the great poem.

It would be difficult to name another poet in whose works both intellectual and emotional forces are revealed simultaneously and so powerfully as we observe it in Rustaveli's poem. He loves to ponder on various phenomena of life, to draw conclusions and to make generalizations. Along with this, the whole poem is permeated with lyricism and pathos, sometimes attaining the height of veritable exaltation.

Rustaveli does not trouble himself with the common things of everyday life. He is interested exclusively in the general interrelations among .men and in the character of the principal human emotions. Resorting to hyperbole and over coloring, he constantly strives to grasp the main essence of the phenomena he depicts and to raise it to the height of a principle. Speaking of poetry, Rustaveli says that it is "one of the oldest branches of wisdom". He considers it the duty of a poet and a proof of his talent to be able to evoke great emotions, inflaming the heart with the words of his poems.

According to a popular tradition, Rustaveli journeyed to Jerusalem when well advanced in years and died there in one of the Georgian monasteries, having attained a venerable age.

Three versions are available to be purchased: Georgian, Russian and English. All audio files are in mp3 format, mono.
Important note: Audio versions are especially useful for people with disabilities (poor eyesight or completely blind, other physical and mental limitations that result from different health problems and make it more difficult to read books). They can download mp3 files, copy them onto local PC or portable digital audio players (mp3 players – iPod for instance) and listen for them at any time.

Georgian audio version. mp3 format.
Reads: Mr. Guram Sagaradze
4 files for downloading total: 48 Mb. Duration: approximately 2 hours.
Price: 9 USD
Georgian printed (exactly as Georgian audio version) version.
177 pages. Illustrations by S. Kobuladze included. Adobe Reader format (pdf) . 8.27x11.69 inches. 1.55 MB
Price: 9 USD

English audio version. mp3 format. Translation of Ms. Majory Wardrop
Reads: Mr. Jim Scrivener
4 files for downloading total: 48 Mb Duration: approximately 2 hours.  
Price: 9 USD

English printed (exactly as English audio version) version.
191 pages. Illustrations by S. Kobuladze included. 1.47 MB Adobe Acrobat format (pdf extention) 8.27x11.69 inches
USD 9

Russian audio version. mp3 format
Translation of Mr. Nikolai Zabolotski
Reads: Mr. Michael Ulianov
4 files for downloading total: 48 Mb. Duration: approximately 2 hours.
Price: 9 USD

Russian printed (exactly as Russina audio version) version
Translation of Mr. Nikolai Zabolotski. 205 pages. Illustrations by S. Kobuladze included. 5.2 MB Adobe Acrobat format (pdf extention) 8.27x11.69 inches
Price: 9 USD
Предлагаем русскую версию всемирно известной поэмы Грузинского поэта 12 века Шота Руставели «Витязь в тигровой шкуре». Переводчик - Николай Заболоцкий. В продаже имеется печатная версия в формате Adobe Acrobat, которую можно распечатать на Вашем принтере, а также точный вариант этой версии перевода в виде аудио версии в формате mp3 файлов. Эта версия хороша для людей с плохим зрением или другими ограничениями физической активности, мешающими длительному чтению литературы. Они могут переписать mp3 файлы на свои портативные аудио плееры и слушать бессмертную поэму в любое удобное для них время. Читает поэму знаменитый Михаил Ульянов.

Поверьте мне (человеку - не особенно любящему поэзию) – эта поэма, несмотря на более чем 800 летний возраст, современнее многих сегодняшних литературных произведений, имеет захватывающий сюжжет и полна мудрых высказываний, которые не устареют, пока на Земле существует человек.

Оплата производится кредитной картой имеющей международное хождение. Вы получите доступ к скачиванию файлов с моего сервера, после того, как Американский банк подтвердит легитимность вашей оплаты (как правило в течении 24 часов), что связано с многочисленными нарушениями использования пластиковых карт в Интернете.

«Витязь в тигровой шкуре».
Аудио mp3 формат
Перевод: Николай Заболоцкий.
Читает: Михаил Ульянов. Продолжительность около 2 часов
4 файла: 48 Mb
Цена: 9 USD

«Витязь в тигровой шкуре». Печатная копия (точно соответствует аудио формату)
Перевод: Николай Заболоцкий. 205 страниц. Иллюстрации: Серго Кобуладзе. 5.2 MB Формат: Adobe Acrobat (pdf расширение)
Размер страниц: 21 x 29.3  см
Цена: 9 USD