Masculinity in Ancient India

[Peter Wyzlic]

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:57:39 +1100
  McComas Taylor <mccomas.taylor at ANU.EDU.AU> wrote:
> Could anyone recommend Indic sources on masculinity, 
>from around 5 BCE to 10 CE? I'm particularly interested 
>in notions of the ideal male body and what makes one a 
>real man. Are there sources that compare the masculinity 
>of brahmans and k.satriyas? And are there non-Buddhist 
>sources that discuss the 32 major marks of a 
>mahaapuru.sa, or is this unique to Buddhism? Any feedback 
>would be greatly appreciated.

A recent collective work may be useful:
_Images du corps dans le monde hindou_ / sous la direction 
de Véronique Bouillier et Gilles Tarabout. – Paris : CNRS 
Editions, 2002. – 511 pp.. : ill., maps. – (Monde indien : 
sciences sociales 15. - 20. siècle)
ISBN 2-271-06060-5
The CNRS provides a Table of contents (in PDF format):
http://www.cnrseditions.fr/Doc/Depliants/D2271060605.pdf
Review (online): Archives de sciences sociales des 
religions, 132 (2005), [En ligne], mis en ligne le 20 
février 2006.
URL: http://assr.revues.org/document3090.html

Concerning the mahapurusa laksanas, I remember that they 
are also listed in Varahamihira's Brhatsamhita and in 
Puranic texts (sorry, I don't have the exact references at 
hand in this moment). At the beginning of the 
Aupapatikasutra (in Prakrit: Uvavaiya), an upanga of the 
Shvetambara Jaina canon, you find a sort of stock 
description (varnaka) of the body and the bodily marks of 
Mahavira (e.g. Umakant P. Shah: Jaina-Rupa-Mandana (Jaina 
iconography). - New Delhi : Abhinav Publ., 1987, p. 95 
seq.).

Hope it helps
Peter Wyzlic

--
Indologisches Seminar der
Universität Bonn
Regina-Pacis-Weg 7
D-53113 Bonn
Deutschland / Germany