Re-figuring the Ramayana as Theology : A History of Reception in Premodern India Hardback
by Ajay K. (University of Toronto, Canada) Rao
Part of the Routledge Hindu Studies Series series
Hardback
Description
The RÄmÄyana of VÄlmÄ«ki is considered by many contemporary Hindus to be a foundational religious text.
But this understanding is in part the result of a transformation of the epic’s receptive history, a hermeneutic project which challenged one characterization of the genre of the text, as a work of literary culture, and replaced it with another, as a work of remembered tradition.
This book examines RÄmÄyana commentaries, poetic retellings, and praise-poems produced by intellectuals within the ÅšrÄ«vaisnava order of South India from 1250 to 1600 and shows how these intellectuals reconceptualized RÄma’s story through the lens of their devotional metaphysics. ÅšrÄ«vaisnavas applied innovative interpretive techniques to the RÄmÄyana, including allegorical reading, Å›lesa reading (reading a verse as a double entendre), and the application of vernacular performance techniques such as word play, improvisation, repetition, and novel forms of citation.
The book is of interest not only to RÄmÄyana specialists but also to those engaged with Indian intellectual history, literary studies, and the history of religions.
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:156 pages, 4 Halftones, black and white; 4 Illustrations, black and white
- Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication Date:13/10/2014
- Category:
- ISBN:9780415687515
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:156 pages, 4 Halftones, black and white; 4 Illustrations, black and white
- Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication Date:13/10/2014
- Category:
- ISBN:9780415687515
