Tales for the dying : the death narrative of the Bhagavata-Purana / E.H. Rick Jarow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jarow, Rick.

Series:

SUNY series in Hindu studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death--Religious aspects--Hinduism.

Death.

Puranas. Bhāgavatapurāṇa--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Puranas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (215 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Tales for the Dying explores the centrality of death and dying in the narrative of the Bhāgavata-Purāna, India's great text of devotional theism, canonized as an integral part of the Vaisnava bhakti tradition. The text grapples with death through an imaginative meditation, one that works through the presence and power of narrative. The story of the Bhāgavata-Purāna is spoken to a king who is about to die, and it enables him to come to terms with his own passing. The work does not isolate dying as an issue; it treats it on many levels.This book discusses how images of dying in the Bhāgavata-Purāna relate to issues of language and love in the religious imagination of India. Drawing on insights from studies in myth, literary semiotics, and depth psychology, as well as from Indian commentarial and aesthetic traditions, the author examines the power of myth and narrative (storytelling or hari katha) and shows how a detailed awareness of the Puranic imagination may lead to a revisioning of some long-held presuppositions around Indian religious attitudes toward dying. By casting Vaisnava bhakti traditions and Puranic narrative in a fresh light, the mythic imagination of the Purānas takes its place on the stage of contemporary discourse on comparative mythology and literature.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

A Note On Translation And Transliteration

Abbreviations

Introduction

Examinations of the Past

The Semiotics Of Separation

Narratives Of Absence

The Dominion Of Death

StrĪ Naraka DvaĀRa— Woman As The Gateway To Hell

The RĀSa Dance And The Gateway To Heaven

Final Partings

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-189) and index.

ISBN:

9780791487457

0791487458

9781417506811

1417506814

OCLC:

61367676