Papers by Danielle Feller
Cracow Indological Studies Vol. XXVI, No. 2, 2024
In the Mahābhārata (MBh), whipping is mainly resorted to by charioteers while driving their horse... more In the Mahābhārata (MBh), whipping is mainly resorted to by charioteers while driving their horses and the terms designating whips are therefore frequently found in the war-books. Used metaphorically, the expression "whip-like words" designates cutting, hurtful speech. Excessive whipping of draught-animals is considered cruel and is seen as a sign of low birth. When humans are whipped, this is regarded as particularly insulting, since such treatment is usually reserved for animals, but the outcome for the offenders is unequal: kings who whip brahmins are swiftly punished and cursed, whereas brahmins who flog kings get away with it scot-free. Such tales are most frequently found in the MBh's Anuśāsanaparvan, where they serve to underscore the brahmins' superiority.
Festivals of India. Ed. C. Rajendran, V.R. Muralidharan, P.V. Narayanan. Delhi: New Bhartiya Book Corporation., 2024
This paper contrasts and compares the spring festivals as they are depicted in two works of Sansk... more This paper contrasts and compares the spring festivals as they are depicted in two works of Sanskrit literature, Kālidāsa's court epic Raghuvaṃśa and Harṣa's play Ratnāvalī. Even though they occur in texts belonging to two different literary genres and depicting the spring season from different perspectives – with an emphasis on nature in Kālidāsa's Raghuvaṃśa and on human activities in Harṣa's Ratnāvalī – we soon realize that these descriptions of spring festivals share some common themes. Among them, an insistence on fertility and sexuality, symbolically emphasized by the use of swings (dolā), colored powders (paṭavāsa, piṣṭātaka) and syringes for sprinkling water (śṛṅgaka). Also, in both texts, the person of the king takes on a religious significance of paramount importance during the time of the Vasantotsava, which is really the worship of the sovereign (even more than that of Kāmadeva) as the provider of fertility and fecundity of the both the land and its people.
Medhótá śrávaḥ I Felicitation Volume in Honour of Mislav Ježić on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday. Edited by Ivan Andrijanić, et al. Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb. Dev Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 2023, pp. 291-310., 2023
MBh 1,160-173 contains a cluster of tales in which the sage Vasiṣṭha, the paradigmatic purohita (... more MBh 1,160-173 contains a cluster of tales in which the sage Vasiṣṭha, the paradigmatic purohita (personal priest or chaplain) of kings, plays the main role. Most of these stories relate deeds of bloodshed and cruelty perpetrated by the kṣatriyas on the Brahmins, while simultaneously emphasizing the fact that the kṣatriyas cannot possibly do without the Brahmins' support. Such narratives might reflect the prevailing historical conditions at the time before and around the composition of the great epic, in which the Brahmins had to suffer at the hands of foreign kings who did not recognize their superior status and whose religion was not Vedism. Advocating consensus and peace between the Brahmins and the kṣatriyas, these stories showcase the mild-tempered Vasiṣṭha as the champion of the brahmanical cause, instead of electing a warlike and destructive figure like Rāma Jāmadagnya. We shall see by what stratagems the Brahmins (and with them the Veda, which, as an oral corpus, can only survive incarnate in them), after facing tremendous ordeals, find ways to overcome their trauma and go on living, displaying extraordinary powers of resilience.
Resisting and justifying changes II : testifiying and legitimizing innovation in Indian and Ancient Greek culture. Ed. Elisabetta Poddigue and Tiziana Pontillo. Pisa : Pisa University Press, 2023. (Nuova biblioteca di Studi classici e orientali; 7): pp. 167-188., 2023
One of the main concerns of the two Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, was to stre... more One of the main concerns of the two Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, was to stress and to legitimize the Brahmins’ stand on the topmost rank of the varṇa hierarchy. To prove the Brahmins’ superior status and might, both epics resort to the method of the “stick” and contain various stories which illustrate how the Brahmins, if insulted or attacked by kings, will not hesitate to retaliate in kind. This display of force was probably made necessary because the Brahmins, as a class, often had cause to complain from the kṣatriyas. In this paper, we shall concentrate on the Rāmāyaṇa, and explore such narratives, principally found in the first and last Books, which aim to demonstrate that the Brahmins are more powerful than the kṣatriyas, that the Brahmins can even defeat the gods and that both kṣatriyas and gods should beware of violating Brahmin women. But it is also likely that these tales did not only serve as warnings to the kings to treat the Brahmins with due respect: they can also be read as cautionary tales for other Brahmins, urging them not to flaunt their women or their riches too ostensibly in front of the rulers, in order not to arouse their greed.
Abstract: This book studies several mythical motifs, found in the Veda (especially in the Ugveda)... more Abstract: This book studies several mythical motifs, found in the Veda (especially in the Ugveda) on the one hand and in one or both Sanskrit epics on the other: Agni's hiding, the theft of the Soma, Indra's rape of Ahalya, Upamanyu's salvation by the Asvins, and finally the representation of the Great War of the Mahabharata as a sacrifice. While it is often said that the subsequent Indian literature only paid "lipservice" to the Vedas without really knowing and even less understanding these texts, the present study not only shows that many Vedic myths are still kept alive in the Epics, but more importantly that their deep underlying meaning was perfectly understood by the epic mythmakers, and reactualized to fit the changed religious conditions of epic times. Resume: Descriptif du livre Ce livre etudie plusieur motifs mythologiques qui se trouvent a la fois dans les Vedas (et specialement dans le Ugveda), et dans l'une ou l'autre des grandes epopees sa...
Asiatische Studien / Etudes Asiatiques 74(2): 325–348, 2020
The story of the divine flying chariot or palace (vimāna) called Puṣpaka, "little flower", is wel... more The story of the divine flying chariot or palace (vimāna) called Puṣpaka, "little flower", is well-known from the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa. Created by Brahmā for the god of riches Kubera, the wonderful vimāna is then taken by force by the demon Rāvaṇa. Subsequently, it becomes the property of Rāma, who has defeated Rāvaṇa in the war and who uses the chariot to fly back within a day from Laṅkā to Ayodhyā. Puṣpaka has three main functions in the text: narrative-it allows the poet to wind up his story and achieve a quick change of scene, once the war description is over; psychological-Puṣpaka is an object of envy, especially for Rāvaṇa and his rākṣasa family; theological-the possession of the divine flying palace is the visible token that its owner has obtained divine status, or that he has become the master of the world. Puṣpaka itself undergoes a striking metamorphosis in book 7 of the Rāmāyaṇa: whereas it was previously described as an inanimate object, the flying palace appears suddenly as an intelligent being endowed with speech, and even as a deity, thereby contributing to Rāma's own prestige. Puṣpaka's three successive owners clearly stand for the three puruṣārthas, or aims of human life: Kubera represents prosperity, Rāvaṇa pleasure and Rāma duty. This leads us to the final question: after going from artha, to kāma and then on to dharma, will Puṣpaka ultimately attain mokṣa?
Oral–Written–Performed The Rāmāyaṇa Narratives in Indian Literature and Arts Edited by Danuta Stasik, 2020
‘Rivers of rasa and Hearts of Stone: The Female Voice of Pathos in Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacarita’... more ‘Rivers of rasa and Hearts of Stone: The Female Voice of Pathos in Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacarita’ deals with Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacarita, in which its author, unlike many others who base their plays on the Rāmakathā, addressed the tragic events of the traditional Uttarakāṇḍa in his drama. However, Bhavabhūti, bound by the laws of the dramatic genre, introduced such plot twists that the play ends happily with Rāma and Sītā’s reunion. Feller is concerned with the way in which Bhavabhūti ‘feminizes’ the story, introducing a large number of female characters (some of them play very little or no role at all in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa), and with the reasons for this narrative strategy of ‘feminization’. Feller also observes that Bhavabhūti was especially interested in the aesthetic experience, and promoting karuṇa, the primary rasa in his play, was crucial to this work. He achieves this end thanks to the many female voices that not only allow themselves to manifest grief (śoka), but also because they allow the emergence of grief in the male characters, including Rāma himself.
https://crossasia-books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/xasia/reader/download/530/530-43-88452-2-10-20200407.pdf
Cracow Indological Studies 21/2, 2019
In Western representations, food and sex are frequently connected and compared in an erotic conte... more In Western representations, food and sex are frequently connected and compared in an erotic context. A survey of Sanskrit poetry shows that it was not so in the context of ancient India, despite the kāmaśāstras' dictates. Parts of women's bodies are occasionally likened to certain items of food (mostly fruit and nectar), and can sometimes be drunk, but are rarely said to be eatable. Lovers who are madly in love or suffer from the pangs of separation lose their appetite, and in consequence become thin. In contexts of loveinunion, wine, but not food, is frequently consumed and appreciated for its aphrodisiac qualities. Except in some cases when the pairs of lovers are animals, or at least animallike, descriptions of food consumption do not lead to the erotic flavour (śṛṅgāra-rasa), but rather lead to the comic (hāsya), sometimes disgusting flavour (bībhatsa-rasa). Food descriptions were probably considered improper for poetry, because food had too many unerotic associations , being a favourite topic of Sanskrit ritual, legal and medical treatises.
The aim of this paper is to examine what are the main types of travels undertaken in the Sanskrit... more The aim of this paper is to examine what are the main types of travels undertaken in the Sanskrit epics on the one hand, and in the works of the Bṛhatkathā-cycle on the other, and what are the differences (or similarities) in the types of travelers, the modes of locomotion, and the purposes for which journeys are undertaken.
Travelling for pleasure is by and large unknown in the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The heroes travel mostly when they are forced to do so, very often on foot, in situations of hardship (exile, war, fleeing to save their life, etc.) Voluntary travels are mainly undertaken in religious contexts, for the purpose of sacrifices (yajña) and pilgrimages (tīrthayātrā).
In the works of the Bṛhatkathā-cycle (the Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha and the Kathāsaritsāgara), the two most prominent reasons for traveling are the desire to acquire riches (this mainly concerns merchants) and for love (this mainly concerns princes). Two main modes of locomotion are favored as far as long-distance travels are concerned: by boat across the sea, or through the air, either carried by supernatural beings, or by means of aerial machines which are sometimes said to be man-made. Though still fraught with perils, the sea and the sky are no longer mere obstacles, but become on the contrary promising destinations yielding rich fruit to those daring enough to cross them.
In this paper, I propose to examine what kind of food the Pāṇḍavas ate
during their exile in the ... more In this paper, I propose to examine what kind of food the Pāṇḍavas ate
during their exile in the forest, which is described in Book 3 of the Mahābhārata, the Araṇyakaparvan.
The Epics often give us an ideal picture of the ascetics who live in the hostile environment of the Indian jungle, subsisting on meagre forest fare. Is it actually possible to live on such a diet – provided one is bent on surviving and not on releasing one’s body? The Mahābhārata, it seems, gives us the following answer: if you hunt and eat meat, you can easily survive in the forest. But if a group of people want to stay in good health and remain for a long period of time in the wilderness without killing animals, they had better arrange for supernatural help, such as a deus ex machina providing gifts of multiplying food – because no realistically valid solution could be proposed.
This article is the sequel to another article, entitled 'Hanumân's
jumps and their mythical model... more This article is the sequel to another article, entitled 'Hanumân's
jumps and their mythical models' (Feller 2009). In that article,
I attempted to demonstrate that Hanumân's jumps, as they are described
in the Epic, have at least two mythical models, namely:
Garuda's flight to heaven to steal the soma, and the flight of the
winged mountains, especially that of mount Mainâka. In this
light, it appears that Hanumân fits into a lineage of subversive
heroes who go against Indra's authority. In the present article,
I propose to read the story of the Saugandhikâharanaparvan
in the same light, and see in Bhîma the true successor of his
brother Hanumân and of the latter's predecessors.
This paper is devoted to four parallel stories found in the Vâlmîki-Râmâyana which concern the we... more This paper is devoted to four parallel stories found in the Vâlmîki-Râmâyana which concern the well-known monkey Hanumân. Four times in his life as it is related in the Rm, Hanumân performs astonishing jumps: in his childhood, he jumps at the Sun to eat it (Rm 4,65 &, 7,35-36); then he jumps over the ocean to find Sîtâ (Rm 5,1); during
the war he jumps from Lankâ to the Himâlayas to bring back the reviving herbs to cure Râma and Laksmana (Rm 6,61). This jump is reduplicated in Rm 6,89, when he again brings the mountain, this time to revive the wounded Laksmana. I shall examine in detail these 'variations on a theme', and compare them with two structurally similar or at least related mythical motifs found elsewhere in the Epics, which may have served as the model for Hanumân's feat, namely Garuda's theft of the soma,
which is found in MBh l,14-30, and the story of the flying mountains (Rm 5,1.108-112).
Violentes émotions. Approches comparatistes., 2009
The aftermath of the disastrous Mahābhārata war provokes various emotions and feelings in the sur... more The aftermath of the disastrous Mahābhārata war provokes various emotions and feelings in the survivors, whether they belong to the winners' or to the losers' side. This paper seeks to explore how the sacrificial context of the war can help to resolve and pacify these emotions successfully. French paper.
Some episodes in the story of Sītā as it is told in the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa
(hence Rm) have been puz... more Some episodes in the story of Sītā as it is told in the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa
(hence Rm) have been puzzling its audience – eastern and western alike
– problably ever since its conception: how could Rāma treat his faithful
wife so cruelly, and submit her to a fire ordeal, after making such a tremendous effort to gain her back? How could he subsequently again doubt her purity after hearing his people’s slander, and send her off into the forest, pregnant with his own twin-sons? How could Sītā herself put up with this situation ? What clearly emerges out of these episodes is that Sītā is cast in the role of the innocent victim of fate, the ideal pativratā who submits to her husband’s wishes and commands, however unfair.…But what if, originally, the situation had been quite different, even
the reverse? What if Sītā had been, not in the role of the jilted but of the
jilter? This may seem improbable, but the point I wish to make here is
that the prototype, or model, of the narratives around Sītā may have been the story of the Vedic goddess Saraṇyū.
SUMMARY: This paper examines several narratives found in the Mahābhārata, dealing with topics whi... more SUMMARY: This paper examines several narratives found in the Mahābhārata, dealing with topics which look remarkably similar to some of our modern ecological concerns: the massacre of the deer in the Dvaitavana, the quasi-total extermination of the nāgas, rākṣasas and kṣatriyas, as well as the problem of the earth's overpopulation. It seeks to understand whether these passages do indeed betray something akin to our present-day ecological awareness, or if they rather address social and moral issues.
In this paper, I propose to examine the figure of the hero in the two great Sanskrit epics, the M... more In this paper, I propose to examine the figure of the hero in the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata (MBh) and the Rāmāyaṇa (Rm). In the context of ancient India, one would naturally expect the prototypical hero of an epic text to belong to the kṣatriya or warrior class. Kṣatriya heroes are of course not lacking. Nevertheless, I will argue that the real heroes of the epics are not the warriors but the Brahmins – in the sense that the Brahmins are consistently declared to be more powerful, more intelligent, more indispensable than all the other classes.
In Bhavabhūti’s play, the Mālatīmādhava, we find the characters of three Buddhist nuns. Though by... more In Bhavabhūti’s play, the Mālatīmādhava, we find the characters of three Buddhist nuns. Though by no means negative or disreputable characters, these nuns nevertheless display a behaviour that contravenes some explicitly stated precepts of the Buddhist dharma, such as lying, acting as go-betweens and encouraging others to commit suicide. This paper examines in detail the nuns’ behaviour, trying to assess what merely belongs to the realm of dramatic fiction, and what might correspond – at least to some extent – to reality.
Key-words : Sanskrit drama ; Bhavabhūti ; Mālatīmādhava ; Buddhist nuns ; Bhikṣuṇīvinaya ; offenses against the Buddhist dharma and vinaya.
Epic Undertakings, 2009
This paper examines a peripheral story told in Mahābhārata 9.49, concerning two sages, Asita Deva... more This paper examines a peripheral story told in Mahābhārata 9.49, concerning two sages, Asita Devala and Jaigīṣavya. The story is interesting because it illustrates some of the tensions that prevailed in epic times between two different sets of values, those of pravṛtti, exemplified by the sacrificial world-view, and those of nivṛtti, exemplified by asceticism and sannyāsa, leading to liberation. But over and above these two, it also stresses the importance of yoga as an essential means to obtain salvation.
The City and the Forest in Indian Literature and Art, 2010
At the outset of the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa, a number of ascetic sages are made to play important roles... more At the outset of the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa, a number of ascetic sages are made to play important roles in relation to king Daśaratha and his son Rāma. This paper investigates if the same sages also have a role to play in Bhavathūti's two plays, based on the Rāmāyaṇa.
The two sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa contain few descriptions of their heroes... more The two sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa contain few descriptions of their heroes' childhood. Semantically, childhood implies stupidity, ignorance, and thoughtlessness, at times bordering on cruelty. Usually, the time of childhood is dealt with rather quickly, and seen essentially as a period of formation and learning. In the few instances when specific incidents of a character's childhood are mentioned, they are mostly cast in a negative light and meant to explain why certain untoward events happen subsequently. The young kṣatriyas' exuberant childhood deeds are often frowned upon by the brahmin authors or brahmin protagonists of the story, while the young brahmins are often shown as born with full language skills and knowledge of the Vedas, in order to skip over their time of childhood altogether.
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Papers by Danielle Feller
https://crossasia-books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/xasia/reader/download/530/530-43-88452-2-10-20200407.pdf
Travelling for pleasure is by and large unknown in the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The heroes travel mostly when they are forced to do so, very often on foot, in situations of hardship (exile, war, fleeing to save their life, etc.) Voluntary travels are mainly undertaken in religious contexts, for the purpose of sacrifices (yajña) and pilgrimages (tīrthayātrā).
In the works of the Bṛhatkathā-cycle (the Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha and the Kathāsaritsāgara), the two most prominent reasons for traveling are the desire to acquire riches (this mainly concerns merchants) and for love (this mainly concerns princes). Two main modes of locomotion are favored as far as long-distance travels are concerned: by boat across the sea, or through the air, either carried by supernatural beings, or by means of aerial machines which are sometimes said to be man-made. Though still fraught with perils, the sea and the sky are no longer mere obstacles, but become on the contrary promising destinations yielding rich fruit to those daring enough to cross them.
during their exile in the forest, which is described in Book 3 of the Mahābhārata, the Araṇyakaparvan.
The Epics often give us an ideal picture of the ascetics who live in the hostile environment of the Indian jungle, subsisting on meagre forest fare. Is it actually possible to live on such a diet – provided one is bent on surviving and not on releasing one’s body? The Mahābhārata, it seems, gives us the following answer: if you hunt and eat meat, you can easily survive in the forest. But if a group of people want to stay in good health and remain for a long period of time in the wilderness without killing animals, they had better arrange for supernatural help, such as a deus ex machina providing gifts of multiplying food – because no realistically valid solution could be proposed.
jumps and their mythical models' (Feller 2009). In that article,
I attempted to demonstrate that Hanumân's jumps, as they are described
in the Epic, have at least two mythical models, namely:
Garuda's flight to heaven to steal the soma, and the flight of the
winged mountains, especially that of mount Mainâka. In this
light, it appears that Hanumân fits into a lineage of subversive
heroes who go against Indra's authority. In the present article,
I propose to read the story of the Saugandhikâharanaparvan
in the same light, and see in Bhîma the true successor of his
brother Hanumân and of the latter's predecessors.
the war he jumps from Lankâ to the Himâlayas to bring back the reviving herbs to cure Râma and Laksmana (Rm 6,61). This jump is reduplicated in Rm 6,89, when he again brings the mountain, this time to revive the wounded Laksmana. I shall examine in detail these 'variations on a theme', and compare them with two structurally similar or at least related mythical motifs found elsewhere in the Epics, which may have served as the model for Hanumân's feat, namely Garuda's theft of the soma,
which is found in MBh l,14-30, and the story of the flying mountains (Rm 5,1.108-112).
(hence Rm) have been puzzling its audience – eastern and western alike
– problably ever since its conception: how could Rāma treat his faithful
wife so cruelly, and submit her to a fire ordeal, after making such a tremendous effort to gain her back? How could he subsequently again doubt her purity after hearing his people’s slander, and send her off into the forest, pregnant with his own twin-sons? How could Sītā herself put up with this situation ? What clearly emerges out of these episodes is that Sītā is cast in the role of the innocent victim of fate, the ideal pativratā who submits to her husband’s wishes and commands, however unfair.…But what if, originally, the situation had been quite different, even
the reverse? What if Sītā had been, not in the role of the jilted but of the
jilter? This may seem improbable, but the point I wish to make here is
that the prototype, or model, of the narratives around Sītā may have been the story of the Vedic goddess Saraṇyū.
Key-words : Sanskrit drama ; Bhavabhūti ; Mālatīmādhava ; Buddhist nuns ; Bhikṣuṇīvinaya ; offenses against the Buddhist dharma and vinaya.
https://crossasia-books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/xasia/reader/download/530/530-43-88452-2-10-20200407.pdf
Travelling for pleasure is by and large unknown in the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The heroes travel mostly when they are forced to do so, very often on foot, in situations of hardship (exile, war, fleeing to save their life, etc.) Voluntary travels are mainly undertaken in religious contexts, for the purpose of sacrifices (yajña) and pilgrimages (tīrthayātrā).
In the works of the Bṛhatkathā-cycle (the Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha and the Kathāsaritsāgara), the two most prominent reasons for traveling are the desire to acquire riches (this mainly concerns merchants) and for love (this mainly concerns princes). Two main modes of locomotion are favored as far as long-distance travels are concerned: by boat across the sea, or through the air, either carried by supernatural beings, or by means of aerial machines which are sometimes said to be man-made. Though still fraught with perils, the sea and the sky are no longer mere obstacles, but become on the contrary promising destinations yielding rich fruit to those daring enough to cross them.
during their exile in the forest, which is described in Book 3 of the Mahābhārata, the Araṇyakaparvan.
The Epics often give us an ideal picture of the ascetics who live in the hostile environment of the Indian jungle, subsisting on meagre forest fare. Is it actually possible to live on such a diet – provided one is bent on surviving and not on releasing one’s body? The Mahābhārata, it seems, gives us the following answer: if you hunt and eat meat, you can easily survive in the forest. But if a group of people want to stay in good health and remain for a long period of time in the wilderness without killing animals, they had better arrange for supernatural help, such as a deus ex machina providing gifts of multiplying food – because no realistically valid solution could be proposed.
jumps and their mythical models' (Feller 2009). In that article,
I attempted to demonstrate that Hanumân's jumps, as they are described
in the Epic, have at least two mythical models, namely:
Garuda's flight to heaven to steal the soma, and the flight of the
winged mountains, especially that of mount Mainâka. In this
light, it appears that Hanumân fits into a lineage of subversive
heroes who go against Indra's authority. In the present article,
I propose to read the story of the Saugandhikâharanaparvan
in the same light, and see in Bhîma the true successor of his
brother Hanumân and of the latter's predecessors.
the war he jumps from Lankâ to the Himâlayas to bring back the reviving herbs to cure Râma and Laksmana (Rm 6,61). This jump is reduplicated in Rm 6,89, when he again brings the mountain, this time to revive the wounded Laksmana. I shall examine in detail these 'variations on a theme', and compare them with two structurally similar or at least related mythical motifs found elsewhere in the Epics, which may have served as the model for Hanumân's feat, namely Garuda's theft of the soma,
which is found in MBh l,14-30, and the story of the flying mountains (Rm 5,1.108-112).
(hence Rm) have been puzzling its audience – eastern and western alike
– problably ever since its conception: how could Rāma treat his faithful
wife so cruelly, and submit her to a fire ordeal, after making such a tremendous effort to gain her back? How could he subsequently again doubt her purity after hearing his people’s slander, and send her off into the forest, pregnant with his own twin-sons? How could Sītā herself put up with this situation ? What clearly emerges out of these episodes is that Sītā is cast in the role of the innocent victim of fate, the ideal pativratā who submits to her husband’s wishes and commands, however unfair.…But what if, originally, the situation had been quite different, even
the reverse? What if Sītā had been, not in the role of the jilted but of the
jilter? This may seem improbable, but the point I wish to make here is
that the prototype, or model, of the narratives around Sītā may have been the story of the Vedic goddess Saraṇyū.
Key-words : Sanskrit drama ; Bhavabhūti ; Mālatīmādhava ; Buddhist nuns ; Bhikṣuṇīvinaya ; offenses against the Buddhist dharma and vinaya.
This Calendar – besides pictures – contains articles written by specialists of the various religious traditions and targets a wide audience. It is meant as “an invitation to discover the diversity of human spiritual traditions”.
This Calendar – besides pictures – contains articles written by specialists of the various religious traditions and targets a wide audience. It is meant as “an invitation to discover the diversity of human spiritual traditions”.
This Calendar – besides pictures – contains articles written by specialists of the various religious traditions and targets a wide audience. It is meant as “an invitation to discover the diversity of human spiritual traditions”.
This Calendar – besides pictures – contains articles written by specialists of the various religious traditions and targets a wide audience. It is meant as “an invitation to discover the diversity of human spiritual traditions”.
This Calendar – besides pictures – contains articles written by specialists of the various religious traditions and targets a wide audience. It is meant as “an invitation to discover the diversity of human spiritual traditions”.