Oedipus in Sanskrit?

[Rajarshi Banerjee]

 g> I must confess that it is a bit startling to see that people interested
in this topic seem to be somewhat unaware of what has been published on it.

 rb> Its startling too to think that childrens illustrated books might have
relevant information not covered in reputed journals. I am curious to know
if andhakas story is ever referred to in the context of an indian oedipus.

I have heard folktales which deal with the whole guru, young wife favourite
disciple, jealousy-infatuation axis. They did not strike me as being
especially oedipal. I guess I should read up and am probably speaking out of
context.

What is often glossed over about the oedipus myth is that he did things
unknowingly. Most people only hear about freuds intepretation of oedipus
which is over-rated. Rather than being a representation of a secret desire
to mate with a parent and kill the other it can be looked at as just the
opposite, a representation of a behavioural check which is hard-wired in
most animals. A successful parent is a good representation of a potential
mate to be looked for in later life and a parent can provide a vital bit of
imprinting or reinforcement for an offsprings reproductive success. However
there needs to be a check/mechanism which makes incestuous matings highly
improbable. Even lab rats exhibit such preferences. I am digressing from
indology so I will stop.

regards

R Banerjee