Heidi R. M. Pauwels
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369908
- eISBN:
- 9780199871322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369908.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the ...
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This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the most important positive role model for women. The case of Radha, Krishna's clandestine lover, seems to challenge some of these norms. The book investigates in how far that holds true today. The focus is on the ways the goddesses cope with love. The first part looks at their falling in love, the way their weddings are arranged, and the significance of the wedding ceremonies. The second part looks at their married life, where they are faced with challenges. They come out of purdah to follow their beloved in hardship, and face the threat from “the other woman” and “the other man.” The book takes the case of Sita as main point of reference, but contrasts with comparable episodes from the stories of Radha or Krishna's other consorts. The goddess as role model for the woman in love is just as relevant today as in the past, as is evident from the popularity of the televised mythological series Ramayan and Shri Krishna directed by Ramanand Sagar, and the many allusions to Sita and Radha in popular culture. The television series and popular recent and classical hit‐movies that use Sita and Radha tropes are analyzed through comparison with the ancient Sanskrit sources (Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana) and medieval vernacular reworkings by devotional poets (Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanddas and Hariram Vyas).Less
This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the most important positive role model for women. The case of Radha, Krishna's clandestine lover, seems to challenge some of these norms. The book investigates in how far that holds true today. The focus is on the ways the goddesses cope with love. The first part looks at their falling in love, the way their weddings are arranged, and the significance of the wedding ceremonies. The second part looks at their married life, where they are faced with challenges. They come out of purdah to follow their beloved in hardship, and face the threat from “the other woman” and “the other man.” The book takes the case of Sita as main point of reference, but contrasts with comparable episodes from the stories of Radha or Krishna's other consorts. The goddess as role model for the woman in love is just as relevant today as in the past, as is evident from the popularity of the televised mythological series Ramayan and Shri Krishna directed by Ramanand Sagar, and the many allusions to Sita and Radha in popular culture. The television series and popular recent and classical hit‐movies that use Sita and Radha tropes are analyzed through comparison with the ancient Sanskrit sources (Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana) and medieval vernacular reworkings by devotional poets (Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanddas and Hariram Vyas).
Heidi R. M. Pauwels
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369908
- eISBN:
- 9780199871322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369908.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist ...
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The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist debates. It contrasts the role models of Sita and Radha and counters a monolithic understanding of these goddesses, arguing for a historically nuanced study of how their stories change over time as told in classical Sanskrit sources, the bhakti or devotional tradition, and the popular culture frameworks of television series and movies. Three hypotheses will be tested. First, are bhakti texts in privileging love above duty and celebrating women's subjectivity liberating for women? Second, does the modernity of the medium of television and film result in a more progressive view? Finally, how is the increasing influence of Hindutva in the public sphere reflected on screen? The introduction establishes the methodology of “siting” Sita and Radha, introduces the sources used and outlines the overall organization.Less
The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist debates. It contrasts the role models of Sita and Radha and counters a monolithic understanding of these goddesses, arguing for a historically nuanced study of how their stories change over time as told in classical Sanskrit sources, the bhakti or devotional tradition, and the popular culture frameworks of television series and movies. Three hypotheses will be tested. First, are bhakti texts in privileging love above duty and celebrating women's subjectivity liberating for women? Second, does the modernity of the medium of television and film result in a more progressive view? Finally, how is the increasing influence of Hindutva in the public sphere reflected on screen? The introduction establishes the methodology of “siting” Sita and Radha, introduces the sources used and outlines the overall organization.
Sudhir Kakar and John Munder Ross
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198072560
- eISBN:
- 9780199082124
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198072560.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
This chapter focuses on the paradigmatic love story of Radha and Krishna, widely considered in Hindu cultural imagination as a parable of the human longing for and union with God. The liaison of ...
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This chapter focuses on the paradigmatic love story of Radha and Krishna, widely considered in Hindu cultural imagination as a parable of the human longing for and union with God. The liaison of Radha and Krishna has been portrayed in thousands of exquisite miniature paintings depicting the lovers in separation and union, longing and abandonment. The legend is not a narrative in the sense of an orderly progression whose protagonists have a shared past and are progressing towards a tragic and happy future. Tender and cheerful, and not tragic, it is rather an evocation and elaboration of the here-and-now of passion. While the figures of Radha and Krishna are linked to the heroine and hero of classical love poetry in many ways, they are primarily products of the bhakti movement, which is known for its erotic mood.Less
This chapter focuses on the paradigmatic love story of Radha and Krishna, widely considered in Hindu cultural imagination as a parable of the human longing for and union with God. The liaison of Radha and Krishna has been portrayed in thousands of exquisite miniature paintings depicting the lovers in separation and union, longing and abandonment. The legend is not a narrative in the sense of an orderly progression whose protagonists have a shared past and are progressing towards a tragic and happy future. Tender and cheerful, and not tragic, it is rather an evocation and elaboration of the here-and-now of passion. While the figures of Radha and Krishna are linked to the heroine and hero of classical love poetry in many ways, they are primarily products of the bhakti movement, which is known for its erotic mood.
Margaret H. Case
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195130102
- eISBN:
- 9780199848713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130102.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
At the core of Mahārāj jī's belief and practice is the figure of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The founder of the Caitanyaite Vaisnava sect was a saint, teacher, and deity. In the understanding of his ...
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At the core of Mahārāj jī's belief and practice is the figure of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The founder of the Caitanyaite Vaisnava sect was a saint, teacher, and deity. In the understanding of his devotees, Caitanya united himself in three aspects: ecstatic devotee of Krishna, inspired teacher of the love of Krishna, and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Rādhā. The documented historical life of the saint Caitanya reaffirms for his devotees the historical life of Krishna, the cowherd boy in Vraja. However, the truth lies in the relationship with the divine that devotees experience—ānanda, bliss, which completes being and consciousness as constituting the basic nature of both man and God. Caitanya renounced the world but nevertheless organized and directed a renewal of Vaisnava faith during the years of Muslim ascendancy in north India.Less
At the core of Mahārāj jī's belief and practice is the figure of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The founder of the Caitanyaite Vaisnava sect was a saint, teacher, and deity. In the understanding of his devotees, Caitanya united himself in three aspects: ecstatic devotee of Krishna, inspired teacher of the love of Krishna, and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Rādhā. The documented historical life of the saint Caitanya reaffirms for his devotees the historical life of Krishna, the cowherd boy in Vraja. However, the truth lies in the relationship with the divine that devotees experience—ānanda, bliss, which completes being and consciousness as constituting the basic nature of both man and God. Caitanya renounced the world but nevertheless organized and directed a renewal of Vaisnava faith during the years of Muslim ascendancy in north India.
Margaret H. Case
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195130102
- eISBN:
- 9780199848713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130102.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter provides an account of the aṣṭayāma līlā from the fourth day up to the eighth day. The sixth day of the Caitanya līlā is filled with songs of Caitanya's beauty, of the need to worship ...
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This chapter provides an account of the aṣṭayāma līlā from the fourth day up to the eighth day. The sixth day of the Caitanya līlā is filled with songs of Caitanya's beauty, of the need to worship him and the need to sing kīrtanas. The seventh performance of the Caitanya līlā develops the theme of Visnupriya's pain of separation from her husband. The eight day of the Krishna līlā is marked by the mahārāsa līlā, the great circle dance, considered the culmination of the Vrindaban līlās of Krishna. In the final scene of the Caitanya līlā, Caitanya asked Śrīvasa how he provides for his family if he does not work. Śrīvasa says that the Lord will provide. Caitanya, impressed promise him that he will never be poor. Finally everyone eats, and Caitanya falls asleep, surrounded by his companions.Less
This chapter provides an account of the aṣṭayāma līlā from the fourth day up to the eighth day. The sixth day of the Caitanya līlā is filled with songs of Caitanya's beauty, of the need to worship him and the need to sing kīrtanas. The seventh performance of the Caitanya līlā develops the theme of Visnupriya's pain of separation from her husband. The eight day of the Krishna līlā is marked by the mahārāsa līlā, the great circle dance, considered the culmination of the Vrindaban līlās of Krishna. In the final scene of the Caitanya līlā, Caitanya asked Śrīvasa how he provides for his family if he does not work. Śrīvasa says that the Lord will provide. Caitanya, impressed promise him that he will never be poor. Finally everyone eats, and Caitanya falls asleep, surrounded by his companions.
Khushwant Singh
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195673098
- eISBN:
- 9780199080595
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
This chapter talks about the religious movements of the Sikh, starting with the Nirankaris. This was founded by Dyal Das, who believed that God was formless and that idol worship was futile. The ...
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This chapter talks about the religious movements of the Sikh, starting with the Nirankaris. This was founded by Dyal Das, who believed that God was formless and that idol worship was futile. The second is the Radha Soami sect that was founded by Shiv Dayal. It has a doctrine that contained elements of both Sikhism and Hinduism, and described God as the union between Soāmī (the Master) and radha (the soul). The Namdhari or Kuka Movement of Balak Singh was known to task its followers to live simply and practice a single religious ritual, which involved repeating God’s name. Balak Singh was succeeded by Ram Singh, and it was his boycott of British goods, law courts, government schools, and the postal service that was adopted six decades later by Mahatma Gandhi.Less
This chapter talks about the religious movements of the Sikh, starting with the Nirankaris. This was founded by Dyal Das, who believed that God was formless and that idol worship was futile. The second is the Radha Soami sect that was founded by Shiv Dayal. It has a doctrine that contained elements of both Sikhism and Hinduism, and described God as the union between Soāmī (the Master) and radha (the soul). The Namdhari or Kuka Movement of Balak Singh was known to task its followers to live simply and practice a single religious ritual, which involved repeating God’s name. Balak Singh was succeeded by Ram Singh, and it was his boycott of British goods, law courts, government schools, and the postal service that was adopted six decades later by Mahatma Gandhi.
Khushwant Singh
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195673098
- eISBN:
- 9780199080595
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
This chapter considers the Singh Sabha, a society that protested against the speeches of a Hindu orator, and the missionary activity of Christians and Hindus. It illustrates that the Radha Soami, ...
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This chapter considers the Singh Sabha, a society that protested against the speeches of a Hindu orator, and the missionary activity of Christians and Hindus. It illustrates that the Radha Soami, Nirankari, and Namdhari movements made a small impact on the Sikhs. These all developed into schismatic coteries that owed allegiance to their particular guru and practised their own obscure rituals. It shows that after an American Presbyterian Mission was established in Ludhiana, other religious factions opened their own centres. The British officials, however, actively supported the Christian missionaries. The chapter moves on to discuss the Singh Sabhas of Amritsar and Lahore, and introduces the Arya Samaj. The followers of Arya Samaj believed in a single omnipresent and invisible God who was equal to human beings.Less
This chapter considers the Singh Sabha, a society that protested against the speeches of a Hindu orator, and the missionary activity of Christians and Hindus. It illustrates that the Radha Soami, Nirankari, and Namdhari movements made a small impact on the Sikhs. These all developed into schismatic coteries that owed allegiance to their particular guru and practised their own obscure rituals. It shows that after an American Presbyterian Mission was established in Ludhiana, other religious factions opened their own centres. The British officials, however, actively supported the Christian missionaries. The chapter moves on to discuss the Singh Sabhas of Amritsar and Lahore, and introduces the Arya Samaj. The followers of Arya Samaj believed in a single omnipresent and invisible God who was equal to human beings.
Rembert Lutjeharms
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198827108
- eISBN:
- 9780191866012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198827108.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The development of rasa in the Ānanda‐vṛndāvana is the topic of Chapter 7. As this chapter demonstrates, Kavikarṇapūra’s ‘narratology’ is based not on action, but on the emotional being of the ...
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The development of rasa in the Ānanda‐vṛndāvana is the topic of Chapter 7. As this chapter demonstrates, Kavikarṇapūra’s ‘narratology’ is based not on action, but on the emotional being of the protagonist. The chapter therefore articulates Kavikarṇapūra’s argument that Kṛṣṇa is the chief protagonists, and it looks at his defence of Kṛṣṇa’s extra‐marital relations with the gopīs. This prepares an examnation of one narrative section of the Ānanda‐vṛndāvana, Kavikarṇapūra’s retelling of Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance from the gopīs just prior to their celebrated circular (rāsa) dance. The focus of this chapter is the development of rasa, and particularly the rasa of Love (prema‐rasa), a concept that is central and unique to the theology of Kavikarṇapūra and Śrīnātha.Less
The development of rasa in the Ānanda‐vṛndāvana is the topic of Chapter 7. As this chapter demonstrates, Kavikarṇapūra’s ‘narratology’ is based not on action, but on the emotional being of the protagonist. The chapter therefore articulates Kavikarṇapūra’s argument that Kṛṣṇa is the chief protagonists, and it looks at his defence of Kṛṣṇa’s extra‐marital relations with the gopīs. This prepares an examnation of one narrative section of the Ānanda‐vṛndāvana, Kavikarṇapūra’s retelling of Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance from the gopīs just prior to their celebrated circular (rāsa) dance. The focus of this chapter is the development of rasa, and particularly the rasa of Love (prema‐rasa), a concept that is central and unique to the theology of Kavikarṇapūra and Śrīnātha.
Nalini Bhushan, Jay L. Garfield, and Daniel Raveh (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199795550
- eISBN:
- 9780190267636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199795550.003.0023
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
In this chapter, Daya Krishna asserts that the gopīs did not love Krsna; instead, they loved to love him. According to Krishna, the gopīs exemplify pure, free, objectless love. The gopīs are the ...
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In this chapter, Daya Krishna asserts that the gopīs did not love Krsna; instead, they loved to love him. According to Krishna, the gopīs exemplify pure, free, objectless love. The gopīs are the perfect example of the ideal that bhakti as a purusārtha is supposed to seek in the Indian tradition. And, amongst the gopīs, it is Rādhā who exemplifies it to perfection. The exemplification of the ideal, however, divides into two neatly separated parts: the one when Krsna is there and the other when he leaves the eternal abode of love and the gopīs have to live without him. The former is the land of eternal dalliance; the latter of the eternal memory which recreates and relives in it. In the former state, Krsna seeks the gopīs as much as they seek him, though the texts do not clarify whether the seeking on both the sides is equal, reciprocal, and complementary.Less
In this chapter, Daya Krishna asserts that the gopīs did not love Krsna; instead, they loved to love him. According to Krishna, the gopīs exemplify pure, free, objectless love. The gopīs are the perfect example of the ideal that bhakti as a purusārtha is supposed to seek in the Indian tradition. And, amongst the gopīs, it is Rādhā who exemplifies it to perfection. The exemplification of the ideal, however, divides into two neatly separated parts: the one when Krsna is there and the other when he leaves the eternal abode of love and the gopīs have to live without him. The former is the land of eternal dalliance; the latter of the eternal memory which recreates and relives in it. In the former state, Krsna seeks the gopīs as much as they seek him, though the texts do not clarify whether the seeking on both the sides is equal, reciprocal, and complementary.
