JSAWS Vol. 5, no. 2 (Dec. 31, 1999)

[Enrica Garzilli]

Dear Colleagues,

We want to end this century with a new *free* issue of the *Journal of
South Asia Women Studies* Vol. 5, no. 2 (Dec. 31, 1999) on our WWW page
http://www.asiatica.org/

As our Y2k gift, *this issue* with the wonderful paper on two queens'
perfect love by Giorgio Milanetti is **free until mid-January 2000**

You will be able to read the previous JSAWS issues by becoming a member
of the journal. Life membership: US$ 50
http://www.asiatica.org/asiatica/membership.asp

                   Happy 2000 JSAWS reading!

                             * * * * *
In This Issue:

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: A Women's New Year

PAPER: Two wives for a perfect life: Nag'mati and Padmavati in Jayasi's
PadmAvat as symbols of the integration of bhoga and yoga, by Giorgio
Milanetti

NEW TITLES: *Pandanus. Flowers, Nature, Semiotics: Kavya and Sangham*
ed. by Jaroslav Vacek and Blanka Knotkova-Capkova, Prague: Signeta,
1999. Pp. 179. ISBN 80-902608-1-0  (EG)

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
                              * * * * *

SUMMARY

Urged by the love for a damsel of perfect beauty, who dwells in a
distant island, a  Raj'put prince named Ratan'sen abandons his wife and
his unsatisfactory life, becomes an ascetic and sets off in search of
her. Nevertheless, after overcoming the afflictions of a long journey
and finally experiencing the divine joy of meeting the girl, he still
feels a sense of separation. Indeed, no part of a man's life may ever be
left out: enjoyment (bhoga) only proceeds from discipline and
austerities (yoga), but discipline is useless if it does not lead to
full participation (bhoga) in everyday life. Taking his second wife with
him, he thus comes back to his kingdom and resumes his daily duties as a
husband, as a ruler and as a warrior: war is imminent. A fascinating
description of court life and heroic deeds follows. At last, Ratan'sen
accomplishes the fate of his caste by dying in a duel; Nag'mati, his
first wife, and Padmavati, the second one, jointly enjoy a perfect union
with their husband by sacrificing their life on his funeral pyre. Soon
after that, the huge army of the Muslim emperor Alauddin will conquer
the city of Cittor.
Love and the description of love make PadmAvat, the magnificent poem of
the Indian Sufi poet Malik Muhammad "Jayasi" (1494-1542 ?), into a
quintessential, absolute work. Although it also contains events that
could be measured out on the yardstick of history, its inspiration is so
deep that even marginal episodes such as the preparations for the
emperor's banquet seem to enounce truth, line after line. The story of
the two queens is its central theme. On the one hand, they incarnate the
different ideals of austerity and daily life, and their complex
relation; on the other, they both possess a lively personality through
which Jayasi portrays two surprisingly modern Indian women who are as
independent and resolute as strong-willed.

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Dr. Enrica Garzilli                 University of Perugia (ITALY)
Istituto di Linguistica                      Piazza Morlacchi, 11
06123 Perugia                  Tel./Fax: +39-75-585 3755 (office)
Editor-in-Chief,
Intl. Journ. of Tantric Studies, Journal of S. Asia Women Studies
http://www.asiatica.org/
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