[INDOLOGY] suicide as a result of love

[Madhav Deshpande]

In the Nalopākhyāna (in the Sanskrit Reader, Charles Lanman, p. 9-10) from
the Mahabharata, Damayantī threatens to kill herself, if rejected by Nala.
She refers to four alternatives to kill herself:  yadi tvam bhajamānām mām
pratyākhyāsyasi mānada / viṣam agnim jalam rajjum āsthāsye tava kāraṇāt //,
"O, Giver of Honor, if you reject me who is devoted to you, then on account
of you, I will resort to poison, or fire, or water, or a rope."

Madhav Deshpande

On Mon, Jun 6, 2016 at 5:46 AM, Klaus Karttunen <klaus.karttunen at helsinki.fi
> wrote:

> Dear all,
> in Harṣa’s Ratnāvalī Sāgarikā – sure that her love to the king is
> unsuccesful – will hang herself, but luckily the king arrives in time and
> saves her. There are certainly many other examples.
>
> Best,
> Klaus
>
> Klaus Karttunen
> South Asian and Indoeuropean Studies
> Asian and African Studies, Department of World Cultures
> PL 59 (Unioninkatu 38 B)
> 00014 University of Helsinki, FINLAND
> Tel +358-(0)2941 4482418
> Fax +358-(0)2941 22094
> Klaus.Karttunen at helsinki.fi
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 06 Jun 2016, at 11:50, Philipp Maas <philipp.a.maas at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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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-- 
Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA


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