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.
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 Dharmaśāstras 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
Take a look at my new book: