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Reading the fifth Veda

Hiltebeitel Alf:
Reading the fifth Veda : studies on the Mahābhārata / essays by Alf Hiltebeitel ; ed. by Vishwa P. Adluri and Joydeep Bagchee. - Vol. 1. - Leiden : Brill, 2011. - viii, 628 S. - (Studies in the history of religions : Numen book series ; 131)
ISBN 978-90-04-18566-1
EUR 180,00 / US$ 255,00
DDC: 294.5923046

Beschreibung
Often spoken of as the 'Fifth Veda', i.e., as a text in continuity with the four Vedas and outweighing them all in size and import, the Mahābhārata presents a complex mythological and narrative landscape, incorporating fundamental ethical, social, philosophic, and pedagogic issues. In a series of position pieces and essays written over a span of 30 years, Alf Hiltebeitel, Columbian Professor of Religion, History, and Human Sciences at The George Washington University, articulates a compelling new approach to the epic: as a literary work of fundamental theological and philosophical significance rich in metaphor and meaning. In this three-part volume, the editors gather some of Hiltebeitel’s seminal writings on the epic along with new pieces written especially for the volume.
   This two volume edition collects nearly three decades of Alf Hiltebeitel’s researches into the Indian epic and religious tradition. The two volumes document Hiltebeitel’s longstanding fascination with the Sanskrit epics: volume 1 presents a series of appreciative readings of the Mahābhārata (and to a lesser extent, the Rāmāyaṇa), while volume 2 focuses on what Hiltebeitel has called “the underground Mahābhārata,” i.e., the Mahābhārata as it is still alive in folk and vernacular traditions. Recently re-edited and with a new set of articles completing a trajectory Hiltebeitel established over 30 years ago, this work constitutes a definitive statement from this major scholar. Comprehensive indices, cross-referencing, and an exhaustive bibliography make it an essential reference work. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chronology Of Works
1. Weighting Orality And Writing In The Sanskrit Epics. 1
2. The Primary Process Of The Hindu Epics. 31
3. More Rethinking The Mahābhārata: Toward A Politics Of Bhakti. 49
4. Why Itihāsa? New Possibilities And Limits In Considering The Mahābhārata As History. 73
5. The Archetypal Design Of The Two Sanskrit Epics. 111
6. Not Without Subtales: Telling Laws And Truths In The Sanskrit Epics. 131
7. The Nārāyaṇīya And Early Reading Communities Of The Mahābhārata. 185
8. Among Friends: Marriage, Women, And Some Little Birds. 221
9. Epic Aśvamedhas. 259
10. Authorial Paths Through The Two Sanskrit Epics: Via The Rāmopākhyāna. 279
11. Mapping Bhakti In The Sanskrit Epics: Friendship, Hospitality, And Separation. 315
12. On Reading Fitzgerald's Vyāsa. 333
13. Bhīṣma's Sources. 365
14. Nahuṣa In The Skies: A Human King of Heaven. 387
15. Kṛṣṇa In The Mahābhārata: The Death Of Karṇa. 411
16. Brothers, Friends, And Charioteers: Parallel Episodes In The Irish And Indian Epics. 461
17. The Two Kṛṣṇ̣as On One Chariot: Upaniṣadic Imagery And Epic Mythology. 485
18. Buddhism And The Mahābhārata: Boundary Dynamics In Textual Practice. 513
19. Kṛṣṇa At Mathurā. 535
20. Empire, Invasion, And India's National Epics. 553
21. Role, Role Model, And Function: The Sanskrit Epic Warrior In Comparison And Theory. 581
Bibliography. 601
Index. 629

Autor

ALF HILTEBEITEL is professor of religion, history, and human sciences at the George Washington University. Faculty page.

Herausgeber
VISHWA P. ADLURI, Ph.D. (2002) in Philosophy, New School for Social Research, teaches in the Departments of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York. He has published extensively on ancient philosophy, Indian philosophy, and religion. His new monograph Parmenides, Plato, and Mortal Philosophy: Return from Transcendence will be available from Feb, 2011 from Continuum Publishing; an edited volume on the Mahābhārata is currently under preparation at BORI. Facebook profile.
JOYDEEP BAGCHEE, Ph.D. (2009) in Philosophy, New School for Social Research, is a post-doctoral fellow at Marburg University, Germany and has interests in Heidegger, Indian philosophy, and the Bhagavad Gītā. He is currently working on a translation of Heidegger's Habilitationsschrift (Indiana University Press, forthcoming).

Quellen: Brill; WorldCat; Amazon; Library of Congress