Synopses & Reviews
Patriarchy asserts that men are superior to women, feminism clarifies that women and men are equal, and queerness questions what constitutes male and female. One of the few people to talk frankly and sensitively about queerness and religion, celebrated Indian mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik explains that queerness isnand#8217;t only modern, Western, or sexual. Rather, by looking at the vast written and oral traditions of Hinduism, he finds many overlooked tales with queerness at their center, some over two thousand years old. Thereand#8217;s Shikhandi, who became a man to satisfy her wife; Mahadeva, who became a woman to deliver her devoteeand#8217;s child; Chudala, who became a man to enlighten her husband; Samavan, who became the wife of his male friendand#151;and many, many more.
In Shikhandi, and Other Tales They Donand#8217;t Tell You, Pattanaik recounts these stories and explores the importance of mythologies in understanding the modern Indian mindset. Playful, touching, and sometimes disturbing, when Shikhandiand#8217;s stories are compared with their Mesopotamian, Greek, Chinese, and Biblical counterparts, they reveal the unique Indian way of making sense of queerness.
and#160;
and#147;Pattanaik is a master storytellerand#8221; and#151;Bibek Debroy, translator of The Bhagavad Gita
Synopsis
A spiritual history of the world's most religiously complex and diverse society, from one of Harvard's most respected scholars.India: A Sacred Geography is the culmination of more than a decade's work from the renowned Harvard scholar Diana L. Eck. The book explores the sacred places of India, taking the reader on an extraordinary trip through the beliefs and history of this rich and profound place, as well as providing a basic introduction to Hindu religious ideas and how those ideas influence our understanding of the modern sense of "India" as a nation.
About the Author
DIANA L. ECK is professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard University and is Master of Lowell House and Director of the Pluralism Project. Her book Banaras, City of Light, remains a classic in the field, and Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras won the prestigious Grawemeyer Book Award. In 1998, President Clinton awarded her the National Humanities Medal for the work of the Pluralism Project in the investigation of America's religious diversity.
Table of Contents
About the Author
Dedication
Part I
Appreciating Queerness
The Discovery or Invention of Queerness
Part II
1: Shikhandi, who became a man to satisfy her wife
2: Mahadeva, who became a woman to deliver his devoteeandrsquo;s child
3: Chudala, who became a man to enlighten her husband
4: Vishnu, who became a woman to enchant gods, demons and a hermit
5: Kali, who became a man to enchant milkmaids
6: Gopeshwar, who became a woman to dance
7: Samavan, who became the wife of his male friend
8: Ratnavali, who became the companion of her female friend
9: Mandhata, whose mother was a man
10: Bhangashvana, who was a mother, and a man
11: Urvashi, who was born of no woman
12: Bhagirath, who was born of two women
13: Skanda, whose mothers were not all women
14: Aravan, whose wife was the complete man
15: Bahuchar , whose husband was an incomplete man
16: Arjuna, who was temporarily castrated for showing restraint
17: Indra, who was temporarily castrated for not showing restraint
18: Aruna, who became a woman when the sun paused
19: Ila, who became a man when the moon waned
20: Bhima, who wore womenandrsquo;s clothes to punish
21: Vijaya, who wore womenandrsquo;s clothes to conquer
22: Krishna, who wore womenandrsquo;s clothes in love
23: Samba, who wore womenandrsquo;s clothes as a prank
24: Alli, the queen who did not want a man in her bed
25: Kopperumcholan, the king who wanted a man in the adjacent tomb
26: Narada, who forgot he was a man
27: Pramila, who knew no man
28: Rishyashringa, who knew no woman
29: Shiva, who included the female in his male body
30: Ram, who included all in his kingdom
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