Apsarases in Indian Literature and the Legend of Urvaśī and Purūravas

Apsarases in Indian Literature and the Legend of Urvaśī and Purūravas
Author: Krishnakanta Handique
Publisher:
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2001
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

Indian Literature Abounds In A Variety Of Myths And Legends Narrating Allegorical/Historical Stories With Moral Teachings Where Celestial Or Semi-Celestial Beings, In Particular The Apsarases, Occupy An Important Place. The Work Examines The Origin And Development Of The Institution Of Apsarases And Their Characteristics As Described In The Vast Corpus Of Vedic, Epic-Puranic And Classical Works, With A Thorough Study Of The Depiction Of The Legend Of The Urvasi And Pururavas.

Apsara in Indian Art and Literature

Apsara in Indian Art and Literature
Author: Manohar Laxman Varadpande
Publisher:
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2007
Genre: Apsaras in art
ISBN:

This monograph presents scholarly exposition of the Apsara myth and its evolutionthrough centuries. Mentioned for the first time in the Rig Veda Apsaras find mention inIndian scriptures, epics, Puranas, dramas, poetry and numerous literary works. As a creationof ancient water cosmology she is described as a exceedingly beautiful and charmingperson adept in dancing, singing as well as art of seduction and amorous sports. Themonograph speaks of her profound influence on Indian art which is particularly visibleon the magnifient medieval temples in the form of female sculptures of immense beautyfamous all over the world. Written in lucid style the book reveals the story of Indian waternymph, the Apsara, in its infinite variety.

Foucault and the Kamasutra

Foucault and the Kamasutra
Author: Sanjay K. Gautam
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2016-06-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 022634844X

Gautam has here laid out the first serious reading of Michel Foucault in relation to key Sanskrit texts, and--what may be a surprise to many--he has written the first book-length work in English on the nature and origin of the Kamasutra. Gautam also takes up the Natyasastra (the Kamasutra's twin), locating in the first the themes of sexual-erotic pleasure, and locating in the second the classical Indian view of theater, music, dance, and aesthetic pleasure. The book shows how closely intertwined the history of erotics in ancient Indian culture is with the history of theater-aesthetics. Foucault provides a framework for opening up the intellectual horizon of Indian thought; it is his distinction between ars erotics (erotic arts) and scientia sexualis (science of sexuality) that fuels Gautam's exploration of the courtesan as symbol of both erotic and aesthetic pleasure, particularly in her role as a wife to her patron, which entails the morphing of erotics into a form of theater. The scope broadens ambitiously, to an inquiry on the nature of knowledge formation, erotics, theater, and gender relations in premodern Indian society and culture--as they converged on the historical figures of the courtesan and her male counterpart, the dandy. Gautam's twining of aims and subjects--Foucault's western philosophy of pleasure and India's classic text on eros (anchored in art and aesthetics)--transforms both the modern and the ancient texts with new understandings, and as new forms of investigating erotics and subjectivity itself.

Urvashi and Pururava

Urvashi and Pururava
Author: Sahithi Audi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-12-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9789391228934

"Ila is the queen of Pratishtanapur but she can never be an Empress. The kings in Aryavart would never bow down to a woman. But she isn't one to give up. She desires to live out her dream vicariously - through her son, Pururava. Pururava's mind is entrenched with his mother's ambitions so much so that all of his personal decisions too come to be dictated by this. Including his marriage to the Princess of Kashi, Aushinari. Elsewhere, the breathtakingly beautiful Urvashi is offered a place amongst the apsaras in Amaravati. Naïve and driven by her impulses, she is quick to accept it. When Pururava meets Urvashi on a visit to Amaravati, he irrevocably falls for her. So does Urvashi. But their union isn't as simple. Urvashi is an apsara bound to the directives of Lord Indra. Pururava is bound by his responsibilities to Aryavart. Can they have a happy ending together? Or will they be torn apart ? Read, to find out in this riveting retelling of the story picked from the pages of Indian Mythology."

Ka

Ka
Author: Roberto Calasso
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-07-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780241399224

In Ka, Roberto Calasso delves into the corpus of classical Sanskrit literature recreating and re-imagining the enchanting world of ancient India. Beginning with the Rig-Veda, Ka weaves together myths from the Upanishad, the Mahabharata and the stories of the Buddha, all of which pose questions that have haunted us for millennia.

Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Author: Constance Jones
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2006
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0816075646

An illustrated A to Z reference containing more than 700 entries providing information on the theology, people, historical events, institutions and movements related to Hinduism.

Star-Touched Stories

Star-Touched Stories
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250180791

This collection of three lush and adventurous stories in "New York Times"-bestselling author Chockshi's Star-Touched World also includes an extended excerpt of "The Gilded Wolves."

The Global Connections of Gandhāran Art

The Global Connections of Gandhāran Art
Author: Wannaporn Rienjang
Publisher: Classical Art Research Centre
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-09-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789696968

Gandhāran art is often regarded as the epitome of cultural exchange in antiquity. The ancient region of Gandhāra, centred on what is now the northern tip of Pakistan, has been called the ‘crossroads of Asia’. The Buddhist art produced in and around this area in the first few centuries AD exhibits extraordinary connections with other traditions across Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. Since the nineteenth century, the Graeco-Roman associations of Gandhāran art have attracted particular attention. Classically educated soldiers and administrators of that era were astonished by the uncanny resemblance of many works of Gandhāran sculpture to Greek and Roman art made thousands of miles to the west. More than a century later we can recognize that the Gandhāran artists’ appropriation of classical iconography and styles was diverse and extensive, but the explanation of this ‘influence’ remains puzzling and elusive. The Gandhāra Connections project at the University of Oxford’s Classical Art Research Centre was initiated principally to cast new light on this old problem. This volume is the third set of proceedings of the project’s annual workshop, and the first to address directly the question of cross-cultural influence on and by Gandhāran art. The contributors wrestle with old controversies, particularly the notion that Gandhāran art is a legacy of Hellenistic Greek rule in Central Asia and the growing consensus around the important role of the Roman Empire in shaping it. But they also seek to present a more complex and expansive view of the networks in which Gandhāra was embedded. Adopting a global perspective on the subject, they examine aspects of Gandhāra’s connections both within and beyond South Asia and Central Asia, including the profound influence which Gandhāran art itself had on the development of Buddhist art in China and India.