[INDOLOGY] Book Announcement

[Dominik Wujastyk]

Congratulations!
Dominik


--
Dominik Wujastyk, Professor Emeritus, Classical Indian History
University of Alberta

"The University of Alberta is committed to the pursuit of truth,
the advancement of learning, and the dissemination of knowledge
through teaching, research and other scholarly and creative activities and
service."
-- Collective Agreement
<https://www.ualberta.ca/human-resources-health-safety-environment/media-library/my-employment/agreements/2020-2024-collective-agreement---working-version.pdf>
3.01



On Wed, 2 Apr 2025 at 08:43, Nemec, John William (jwn3y) via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Colleagues (with apologies for cross-posting and self-promotion),
>
> I write to share the happy news of the release of my new book on March
> 28th:
>
> *Brahmins and Kings: Royal Counsel in the Sanskrit Narrative Literatures.*
>
> Here is a link to the publisher's website:
> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/brahmins-and-kings-9780197791998?cc=us&lang=en&
>
>
> What follows is the description of the book from the Press:
>
> *"Brahmins and Kings* examines some of the most well-known and widely
> circulated narratives in the history of Sanskrit literature, including the
> *Mahābhārata*, the *Rāmāyaṇa*, Viṣṇuśarman's famed animal stories (the *
> Pañcatantra*), Somadeva's labyrinthine Ocean of Rivers of Stories (the
> *Kathāsaritsāgara*), Kalhaṇa's *Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir* (the
> *Rājataraṅgiṇī*), and two of the most famous plays in the history of
> Sanskrit literature, Kālidāsa's *Abhijñānaśākuntala* and Harṣa's
> *Ratnāvalī*. Offering a sustained, close, intertextual reading of these
> works, John Nemec argues that these texts all share a common frame: they
> feature stories of the mutual relations of *kṣatriya* kings with
> Brahmins, and they depict Brahmins advising political figures. More than
> this, they not only narrate instances of royal counsel but also are
> composed in a manner that renders the stories themselves as instances of
> counsel.
>
> Based in the technical literatures on Hindu Law and on statecraft—the
> *Dharmaśāstra*s and the *Arthaśāstra* and related works—the counsel in
> question elaborates a model of action that synthesizes views found in both,
> recommending a kind of virtue ethic that suggests one may do well in the
> world by being good. Doing well involves succeeding in both worldly and
> otherworldly affairs; being good involves following Brahminical teachings
> and upholding the dharmic norms they regularly articulate in text. This
> ethic encompasses all human action and practice, defines the counsel
> offered by these texts, and seeks with it to engage the king, his princes,
> and queens across the spectrum of their subjective experience:
> intellectually, emotionally, humorously.
>
> Ultimately, this book argues that, just as the rulers in these narratives
> receive moral instruction, their audiences do, as well. By putting
> metaphorical flesh on the proverbial bare bones of doctrinal ideals and
> ideas, these texts seek to shape not just readers' thoughts but also their
> emotions and cultivated instincts, intending to transform their very way of
> engaging the world by immersing them in the dreamworld of stories."
>
>
> Thank you and with best wishes,
> John
>
>
>
> ___________________________________________
> John Nemec, Ph.D.
> Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies
> Department of Religious Studies
> 323 Gibson Hall, 1540 Jefferson Park Avenue
> University of Virginia
> Charlottesville, VA 22904
> +1 (434) 924-6716
> nemec at virginia.edu
> https://virginia.academia.edu/JNemec
>
> Take a look at my new book:
>
> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/brahmins-and-kings-9780197791998?cc=us&lang=en&
>
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>
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