[INDOLOGY] Sexual Harassment

[Robert Goldman]

One may add Indra’s rape of Ahalyā in the VR UK version of the story Crit. ed. 7.30 –33. This is represented as the primordial act of sexual violence which, once committed, would henceforth be common among men. Indra is also cursed in this passage to be captured in battle (by Indrajit) and to lose permanent lordship of the gods.

Also, note that the daughter of Uśanas, raped by Daṇḍa at VR 7.71.15 is named Arajā, not Arā.

 
Dr. R. P.  Goldman
Catherine and William L. Magistretti Distinguished Professor in South and Southeast Asian Studies
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies MC # 2540
The University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-2540
Tel: 510-642-4089
Fax: 510-642-2409

> On Oct 17, 2016, at 11:08 AM, Nityanand Misra <nmisra at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> On 17 October 2016 at 22:48, Artur Karp <karp at uw.edu.pl <mailto:karp at uw.edu.pl>> wrote:
> Dear All, 
> 
> Should I understand that there are no traces, no mentions of sexual harrasment in the entire - vast - corpus of ancient/medieval Indian literature?
> 
> 
> 
> A search for rape as the Text Word in the Puranic Encylopedia under http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/PEScan/2014/web/webtc2/index.php <http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/PEScan/2014/web/webtc2/index.php> shows up the following:
> 
> Rape of Rambhā by Rāvaṇa (VR, UK).
> Rape [sic] of Vedavatī by Rāvaṇa (VR, UK). In the VR, it is harassment but not rape. Probably the rape is described in some other R.
> Rape of Madanamañjarī by Rāvaṇa (source?)
> Rape of Cañcalākṣī by Rāvaṇa (KambaR)
> Rape of Arā, daughter of Śukra, by Daṇḍa (VR UK)
> Rape of Ugrasena's wife by the Gandharva Dramila (SB, 10th Canto)
> Attempt to rape Vinayavatī by Raṅgamālī (Kathāsaritsāgara)
> Attempt to rape Pramati by Nala, friend of Sudeva (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa)
>  
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