Brahmins and Kings
Royal Counsel in the Sanskrit Narrative Literatures
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP USA
- Date of Publication 13 March 2025
- ISBN 9780197791998
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages320 pages
- Size 236x167x25 mm
- Weight 621 g
- Language English 695
Categories
Short description:
This book examines the most famous narratives written in Sanskrit, asking what they reveal of the culture of politics in India and in Hinduism in particular. It argues that narratives put metaphorical flesh on the proverbial bare bones of ethical and religious doctrine, seeking to immerse their audiences in story so as to transform their perception of themselves, the world, and the proper ways of being and acting therein.
MoreLong description:
Brahmins and Kings examines some of the most well-known and widely circulated narratives in the history of Sanskrit literature, including the Mah?bh?rata, the R?m?ya?a, Vi??uśarman's famed animal stories (the Pa?catantra), Somadeva's labyrinthine Ocean of Rivers of Stories (the Kath?sarits?gara), Kalha?a's Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir (the R?jatara?gi??), and two of the most famous plays in the history of Sanskrit literature, K?lid?sa's Abhij??naś?kuntala and Har?a's Ratn?val?. Offering a sustained, close, intertextual reading of these works, John Nemec shows that these texts all share a common frame: they feature stories of the mutual relations of k?atriya kings with Brahmins, and they depict Brahmins advising political figures. More than this, they not only narrate instances of royal counsel but also are composed in a manner that renders the stories themselves as instances of counsel.
Based in the technical literatures on Hindu Law and on statecraft-the Dharmaś?stras and the Arthaś?stra and related works?the counsel in question elaborates a model of action that synthesizes views found in both, recommending a kind of virtue ethic that suggests one may do well in the world by being good. Doing well involves succeeding in both worldly and otherworldly affairs; being good involves following Brahminical teachings and upholding the dharmic norms they regularly articulate in text. This ethic encompasses all human action and practice, defines the counsel offered by these texts, and seeks with it to engage the king, his princes, and queens across the spectrum of their subjective experience: intellectually, emotionally, humorously.
Ultimately, this book argues that, just as the rulers in these narratives receive moral instruction, their audiences do, as well. By putting metaphorical flesh on the proverbial bare bones of doctrinal ideals and ideas, these texts seek to shape not just readers' thoughts but also their emotions and cultivated instincts, intending to transform their very way of engaging the world by immersing them in the dreamworld of stories.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter One - When the Parampara Breaks: On Gurus and Students In the Mahabharata
Chapter Two - The Perfect King: Rama's Suffering, and Why His Story Must Be Told Anew
Chapter Three - Kingship in Kashmir: Brahminical Norms in Kalhana's Rajatarangini
Chapter Four - Wizards and Kings, or "Tantra Beyond the Tantras:" The Saiva-Brahminical Narrative of the Kathasaritsagara
Chapter Five - The King in the Garden: Pleasure in Dramatic Imagination
Chapter Six - The Wisdom of Animals: Kingship and the Pa?catantra
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
