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@helsinki.fi

On 06 Jun 2016, at 11:50, Philipp Maas <philipp.a.maas@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.

 

Best wishes,

 

Philipp

2016-06-06 10:09 GMT+02:00 <dermot@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@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

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Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde
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Österreich
univie.academia.edu/PhilippMaas

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