[INDOLOGY] suicide as a result of love

Philipp Maas philipp.a.maas at gmail.com
Mon Jun 6 08:50:56 UTC 2016


Dear Dermot and all,

The story of the “Weaver as Viṣṇu” occurs indeed in Pūrnabhadra’s recension
of the Patañcatntra as well as in the exemplar of this recension, the
so-called *textus simplicior*. Pūrnabhadra censored the narrative strongly
from the perspective of conservative smārta-Hinduism and left out the
motive of suicide out of desire for the princess, which, accordingly only
occurs in the *textus simplicior*.



For a more comprehensive analysis of the two versions of the narrative see
my “On Discourses of Dharma and the Pañcatantra.” *Wiener Zeitschrift für
die Kunde Südasiens* 55 (2013-2014), p. 5-31, of which you find a pre-print
draft version here
<https://www.academia.edu/13986474/On_Discourses_of_Dharma_and_the_Pa%C3%B1catantra>
.



Best wishes,



Philipp


2016-06-06 10:09 GMT+02:00 <dermot at grevatt.force9.co.uk>:

> In Purnabhadra's version of the Pancatantra (ed. Hertel 1908 pp. 46-55;
> tr. A.W. Ryder 1956,
> pp. 89-104), a weaver falls in love with a princess, swoons, then resolves
> on suicide by fire.
> He is saved by his friend, a chariot-builder or carpenter (rathakAra), who
> promises to use his
> skill to effect a union, and is spectacularly successful. It's a wonderful
> story, involving sex,
> politics, and religion.
>
> This is a mock-heroic example: the motif of suicidal despair resulting
> from love at first sight,
> which is expected of exalted characters, is transferred to a man of low
> degree.
>
> Dermot
>
> On 6 Jun 2016 at 8:51, Andrew Ollett wrote:
>
> I have the feeling that this is a relatively common motif in story
> literature. The one example
> that comes to mind is the Prakrit verse romance Lilavati, in which one of
> the characters
> (Kuvalayavali) has a "gandharva" wedding with a Gandharva (Citragada), and
> when her
> father finds out and curses them, she is so overcome with shame that she
> tries to hang
> herself from a tree. She is stopped at the last moment by her mother
> Rambha. This is around
> v. 658 in A.N. Upadhye's edition.
>
> On Mon, Jun 6, 2016 at 8:25 AM, Alex Watson <alex.watson at ashoka.edu.in>
> wrote:
>     Dear List Members
>
>     A colleague, Madhavi Menon, who is writing a book entitled 'A History
> of Desire in
>     India', has asked me the following question. All help appreciated; I
> will forward your
>     responses to her.
>
>     "Are there any narratives in Sanskrit/Buddhist
> literature/philosophy/history that talk
>     about suicide, or atma-hatya, specifically in relation to love and
> desire?"
>
>     Yours Alex
>
>     --
>     Alex Watson
>     Professor of Indian Philosophy
>     Ashoka University
>     https://ashokauniversity.academia.edu/AlexWatson
>
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>
> --
> Dermot Killingley
> 9, Rectory Drive,
> Gosforth,
> Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1XT
> Phone (0191) 285 8053
>
>
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-- 
Dr. Philipp A. Maas
Universitätsassistent
Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde
Universität Wien
Spitalgasse 2-4, Hof 2, Eingang 2.1
A-1090 Wien
Österreich
univie.academia.edu/PhilippMaas


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