Crossing the Lines of Caste

Informationen zum Autor
Adheesh A. Sathaye is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at University of British Columbia.

Klappentext
Crossing the Lines of Caste offers a cultural-historical analysis of the legends of Visvamitra, a sage who is said to have used his ascetic power to change his caste and become a Brahmin. It reveals how and why mythological culture has played an active role in the construction of Brahmin social power for more than three thousand years.

Zusammenfassung
Crossing the Lines of Caste offers a cultural-historical analysis of the legends of Visvamitra, a sage who is said to have used his ascetic power to change his caste and become a Brahmin. It reveals how and why mythological culture has played an active role in the construction of Brahmin social power for more than three thousand years.

Inhaltsverzeichnis
List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Note on Transliteration; Abbreviations; About the Companion Website; Introduction: Crossing the Lines of Caste; Foundations; 1. Poet, Priest, and Prince: Glimpses of Visvamitra in Vedic Literature; 2. Genealogy of the Brahmin Other in the Sanskrit Epics; Adaptations; 3. Spinning the Brahmin Other in the Early Puranas; 4. Geo-Mapping the Brahmin Other in Regional Puranic Literature; Confrontations; 5. Encountering the Brahmin Double in Medieval India; 6. Becoming a New Brahmin in Modern India; Conclusions: Texts, Performances, and Hindu Mythological Culture; Catalogue of Visvamitra Legends; Bibliography; Index

This book makes us appreciate how fortunate we are to have reached a point where a single young author can show command of texts from multiple periods, genres, and South Asian languages to present an inside story that never stops retelling itself from the Rig Veda into modern times. For a class, or for the general reader, I can think of no better introduction to the peccadillos of Hinduism.

Auteur
Adheesh A. Sathaye is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at University of British Columbia.

Texte du rabat

Crossing the Lines of Caste offers a cultural-historical analysis of the legends of Visvamitra, a sage who is said to have used his ascetic power to change his caste and become a Brahmin. It reveals how and why mythological culture has played an active role in the construction of Brahmin social power for more than three thousand years.

Contenu

List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Note on Transliteration; Abbreviations; About the Companion Website; Introduction: Crossing the Lines of Caste; Foundations; 1. Poet, Priest, and Prince: Glimpses of Visvamitra in Vedic Literature; 2. Genealogy of the Brahmin Other in the Sanskrit Epics; Adaptations; 3. Spinning the Brahmin Other in the Early Puranas; 4. Geo-Mapping the Brahmin Other in Regional Puranic Literature; Confrontations; 5. Encountering the Brahmin Double in Medieval India; 6. Becoming a New Brahmin in Modern India; Conclusions: Texts, Performances, and Hindu Mythological Culture; Catalogue of Visvamitra Legends; Bibliography; Index