Black The Character of the Self in Ancient India

Priests, Kings, and Women in the Early Upanisads
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7914-8052-6
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 238 Seiten

Reihe: SUNY series in Hindu Studies

Explores the narratives and dialogues of the Upanisads and shows that these literary elements are central to an understanding of Upanishadic philosophy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Black, Brian

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

Introduction

Opening statement
What are the Upanisads?
The self, life, death, and immortality
The historical and social context
Characterizing the self
Literary characters
The social conditions of knowledge
Mystery or mystique: The character of knowledge

1. Teachers and students: The emergence of teaching as an object of discourse

Introduction
Sandilya and the teaching of atman and brahman
Sandilya: From ritualist to teacher
Uddalaka Aruni and the teaching of tat tvam asi
Uddalaka and Svetaketu: Acting out the upanayana
Indra as the persistent student
Narada and Sanatkumara: Knowledge of atman as more important than the Vedas
Naciketas and the initiation of an Upanishadic brahmin
The graduation of a brahmin student in the Taittiriya Upanisad
Satyakama and the beginnings of a brahmin hagiography
Conclusion

2. Debates between brahmins: The competitive dynamics of the brahmodya

Introduction
The brahmodya and the sacrifice
Uddalaka Aruni and the brahmodya in the Satapatha Brahmana
Yajnavalkya and the philosophical tournament
Yajnavalkya’s interlocutors: The social and political implications of debate
Yajnavalkya and the tactics of debate
Losing face or losing one’s head? The motif of head shattering
Upanishadic teachings and material wealth
Yajnavalkya and renunciation
The life story of Yajnavalkya
Conclusion

3. Kings and brahmins: The political dimensions of the Upanisads

Introduction
The myth of ksatriya authorship
Janaka and Yajnavalkya: Negotiating the brahmin’s position in the court
Janaka and Yajnavalkya in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Kings as teachers: Asvapati teaches a group of brahmin householders
Uddalaka Aruni and Svetaketu: Instructions for how to seek patronage
Conflicting agendas for how kings should teach brahmins
Upanishadic knowledge as a political discourse
The battle of the pranas as a political metaphor
Pravahana and the teaching of the five fires
Conclusion

4. Brahmins and women: Subjectivity and gender construction in the Upanisads

Introduction
The gender of the self: Atman and the male body
The self, virility, and immortality
Yajnavalkya and Satyakama: Competing ideals of male subjectivity
The myth of recovering an authentic female voice
Gargi: The debating tactics of a female philosopher
Women and gandharvas: The lack of authority for female speakers
The ambiguities of Satyakama’s mother and wife
Maitreyi and Katyayani: Knowledge of atman versus striprajna
Conclusion

Conclusion

Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Brian Black is Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.