[INDOLOGY] Fwd: fate of demons slain by Rāma

[Artur Karp]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
Od: Artur Karp <karp at uw.edu.pl>
Date: niedz., 13 wrz 2020 o 21:15
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] fate of demons slain by Rāma
To: Robert Goldman <rpg at berkeley.edu>


Rākṣasa (and other similarly frightening terms)  appearing in numerous
texts - is it not a leftover of formal nomenclature created and used to
justify dehumanization of selected groups of political adversaries?

Artur


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niedz., 13 wrz 2020 o 18:30 Robert Goldman via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> napisał(a):

> One has to distinguish between  figures who are *cursed*, for one reason
> or another to take on the form of a rākṣasa. One example that Matthew
> raises is that of Virādha who was really the gandharva Tumburu who was
> cursed by Vaiśranaṇa to suffer this transformation. But when propitiated,
>  Vaiśravaṇa relented to the extent of allowing him to be restored to his
> original state after being killed by Rāma. VR 3. 3) Same deal with Kabandha
> (VR 3.67). Indeed this is a common trope in the literature. But this is
> quite different from the case of those who are *actual* rākṣasas by birth
> ( The origin and  genealogy of the rākṣasas is laid out in detail in the
> first half of Vālmīki’s Uttarakāṇḍa.)
>
> The idea that  “genetic” rākṣasas either seek  or attain death at Rāma’s
> hands as a means of salvation is utterly alien to Vālmīki’s poem. It
> develops, along with the whole concept of dveṣabhakti in the sectarian
> purāṇas (cf. the tale of Pūtanā in the Bh.P.) and is a staple of the
> “vāstava” level of interpretation of many of the commentators of the
> Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.
>
> Best to all.
> 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 Sep 13, 2020, at 6:33 AM, Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> This theme is also connected to the theme of Vaira Bhakti or Vidvesha
> Bhakti.
>
> This paradoxical concept of Vaira Bhakti is rooted in the idea of raaga
> and dvesha being the two forms of the same thing called sanga (e.g., in
> Gita).
>
> Thus intra-Indic historical , global historical, intra-Indic
> comparative/cross-cultural , global comparative/cross-cultural  studies on
> the theme of hate as a form of love also may provide diachronic and
> synchronic clues to the development / occurrence of the theme.
>
> On Sun, Sep 13, 2020 at 6:11 PM Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Studies on the history of the theme of Jaya -Vijaya and their
>> incarnations as demons could be one route to tracing the history of this
>> theme.
>>
>> Studies on the historical background of the occurrence of this narrative
>> in Bhagavata Purana may provide clues.
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 13, 2020 at 3:52 PM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear friends,
>>>
>>> It is often said that the demons killed by Rāma
>>> are in fact liberated or dispatched to favorable rebirths, which of
>>> course provides a needed ethical fig-leaf with which to gloss the violence
>>> done to them.
>>> The notion that the demon is in fact freed by Rāma is, so far as I am
>>> aware, explicit in some cases (e.g. the story of Virādha), but not in every
>>> case.
>>> When and where does it become a universal principle applied to all those
>>> killed? And are there any studies that you can recommend that focus on this
>>> particular theme? (which is perhaps more systematic in Kampan than in
>>> Vālmiki??)
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance for any references you may be able to provide to
>>> scholarship on this subject.
>>>
>>> Matthew
>>>
>>> Matthew Kapstein
>>> Directeur d'études, émérite
>>> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris
>>>
>>> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
>>> The University of Chicago
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Nagaraj Paturi
>>
>> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>>
>>
>> Director,  Inter-Gurukula-University Centre , Indic Academy
>> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
>> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
>> BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
>> Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
>> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
>> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Nagaraj Paturi
>
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>
>
> Director,  Inter-Gurukula-University Centre , Indic Academy
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
> BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
> Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>
>
>
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