World of wonders : the work of Adbhutarasa in the Mahabharata and the Harivamsa / Alf Hiltebeitel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hiltebeitel, Alf, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rasas in literature.

Mahābhārata--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Mahābhārata.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

In World of Wonders, Alf Hiltebeitel addresses the Mahabharata and its supplement, the Harivamsa, through the critical lens of the Indian aesthetic theory of rasa, "juice, essence, or taste." Rejecting the traditional reading of these texts, he argues that the dominant rasa is adbhutarasa, the "mood of wonder." The heart of his argument is that the Mahabharata and Harivamsa both deploy the terms for "wonder" and "surprise" (vismaya) in significant numbers that extend into every facet of these heterogeneous texts, showing how adbhutarasa is at work in the rich and contrasting textual strategies which are integral to the structure of the two texts.

Contents:

Introduction: The Work of Adbhutarasa

1. Śāntarasa, Vīrarasa and the Mahābhārata's Two Recensions

2. Rasas and Sthāyibhāvas, Wonders and Surprises

3. Adbhutam-Clusters in the Mahābhārata: Book 1 to Yudhiṣṭhira's Coronation - 4. Adbhutarasa and Hyperbole: Lessons on Gleaning, Ahiṃsā, and Bhakti from Bhīṣma's Postwar Oration

5. The Āśvamedhika- and Āśrāmavāsika-Parvans: The Two Late Postwar Books Called "Wondrous" in the Parvasaṃgraha

6. The Mahābhārata's Last Three Books: From the Submergence of Dvārakā to Janamejaya's Last Surprise

7. The Harivaṃśa as a Supplement to the Mahābhārata's World of Wonders

Bibliography.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Hiltebeitel, Alf World of Wonders

ISBN:

0-19-753825-8

0-19-753823-1

0-19-753824-X