Woman as fire, woman as sage : sexual ideology in the Mahābhārata / Arti Dhand.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dhand, Arti, 1966-

Series:

SUNY series in religious studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mahābhārata--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Mahābhārata.

Mahābhārata.

Women in Hinduism.

Sex--Religious aspects--Hinduism.

Sex.

Physical Description:

ix, 254 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2008]

Summary:

The Hindu tradition has held conflicting views on womanhood from its earliest texts-holding women aloft as goddesses to be worshipped on the one hand and remaining deeply suspicious about women's sexuality on the other. In Woman as Fire, Woman as Sage, Arti Dhand examines the religious premises upon which Hindu ideas of sexuality and women are constructed. The work focuses on the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, a text that not only reflects the cogitations of a momentous period in Hindu history, but also was critical in shaping the future of Hinduism. Dhand proposes that the epic's understanding of womanhood cannot be isolated from the broader religious questions that were debated at the time, and that the formation of a sexual ideology is one element in crafting a coherent religious framework for Hinduism.

Contents:

1 Religion in the Mahabharata 21

2 Nivrtti Dharma: The Search for the Highest 55

3 Wedding and Bedding in Pravrtti Dharma 95

4 The Unruly Desire of Women 127

5 Disciplining Desire 151

6 Apaddharma 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-252) and index.

ISBN:

9780791471395

079147139X

OCLC:

76940077