1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910454032203321

Autore

Hiltebeitel Alf

Titolo

Rethinking India's oral and classical epics [[electronic resource] ] : Draupadī among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits / / Alf Hiltebeitel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago, Il., : University of Chicago Press, c1999

ISBN

1-282-06992-6

9786612069925

0-226-34055-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (576 p.)

Disciplina

294.5/923046

294.513

294.5923046

398.20954

Soggetti

Draupadī (Hindu mythology)

Rajput (Indic people) - Religious life

Dalits - India - Religion

Hinduism - Relations - Islam

Islam - Relations - Hinduism

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 513-542) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Maps and Tables -- Plates -- Acknowledgments -- Conventions -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Oral Epics -- 3. The Elder Brothers and the Heroes of Palnāḍu -- 4. The Epic of Pābūjī -- 5. Opening Ālh ā -- 6. The Nine-Lākh Chain -- 7. The Story of Kṛṣṇāṃśa -- 8. Kurukṣetra II -- 9. Time-Routes through the Kṛṣṇāṃśacarita -- 10. Their Name Is Legion -- 11. The Ballad of Rāja Desing -- 12. Barbarīka, Aravāṉ, Kūttāṇṭavar: Furthering the Case of the Severed Head -- 13. The Myth of the Agnivamśa -- 14. Draupadī Becomes Belā, Belā Becomes Satī -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Throughout India and Southeast Asia, ancient classical epics-the Mahabharata and the Ramayana-continue to exert considerable cultural



influence. Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics offers an unprecedented exploration into South Asia's regional epic traditions. Using his own fieldwork as a starting point, Alf Hiltebeitel analyzes how the oral tradition of the south Indian cult of the goddess Draupadi and five regional martial oral epics compare with one another and tie in with the Sanskrit epics. Drawing on literary theory and cultural studies, he reveals the shared subtexts of the Draupadi cult Mahabharata and the five oral epics, and shows how the traditional plots are twisted and classical characters reshaped to reflect local history and religion. In doing so, Hiltebeitel sheds new light on the intertwining oral traditions of medieval Rajput military culture, Dalits ("former Untouchables"), and Muslims. Breathtaking in scope, this work is indispensable for those seeking a deeper understanding of South Asia's Hindu and Muslim traditions. This work is the third volume in Hiltebeitel's study of the Draupadi cult. Other volumes include Mythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra (Volume One), On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess (Volume Two), and Rethinking the Mahabharata (Volume Four).