Raj Balkaran – författare

The Sanskrit narrative text Devī Māhātmya, “The Greatness of The Goddess,” extols the triumphs of an all-powerful Goddess, Durgā, over universe-imperiling demons. These exploits are embedded in an intriguing frame narrative: a deposed king solicits the counsel of a forest-dwelling ascetic, who narrates the tripartite acts of Durgā which comprise the main body of the text. It is a centrally important early text about the Great Goddess, which has significance to the broader field of Purāṇic Studies.

This book analyzes the Devī Māhātmya and argues that its frame narrative cleverly engages a dichotomy at the heart of Hinduism: the opposing ideals of asceticism and kingship. These ideals comprise two strands of what is referred to herein as the dharmic double helix. It decodes the symbolism of encounters between forest hermits and exiled kings through the lens of the dharmic double helix, demonstrating the extent to which this common narrative trope masterfully encodes the ambivalence of brāhmaṇic ideology. Engaging the tension between the moral necessity for nonviolence and the sociopolitical necessity for violence, the book deconstructs the ideological ambivalence throughout the Devī Māhātmya to demonstrate that its frame narrative invariably sheds light on its core content. Its very structure serves to emphasize a theme that prevails throughout the text, one inalienable to the rubric of the episodes themselves: sovereignty on both cosmic and mundane scales.

The book sheds new light on the content of the Devī Māhātmya and contextualizes it within the framework of important debates within early Hinduism. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of Asian Religion, Hindu Studies, Goddess Studies, South Asian Studies, Narrative Studies and comparative literature.

The Sanskrit narrative text Devī Māhātmya, “The Greatness of The Goddess,” extols the triumphs of an all-powerful Goddess, Durgā, over universe-imperiling demons. These exploits are embedded in an intriguing frame narrative: a deposed king solicits the counsel of a forest-dwelling ascetic, who narrates the tripartite acts of Durgā which comprise the main body of the text. It is a centrally important early text about the Great Goddess, which has significance to the broader field of Purāṇic Studies.

This book analyzes the Devī Māhātmya and argues that its frame narrative cleverly engages a dichotomy at the heart of Hinduism: the opposing ideals of asceticism and kingship. These ideals comprise two strands of what is referred to herein as the dharmic double helix. It decodes the symbolism of encounters between forest hermits and exiled kings through the lens of the dharmic double helix, demonstrating the extent to which this common narrative trope masterfully encodes the ambivalence of brāhmaṇic ideology. Engaging the tension between the moral necessity for nonviolence and the sociopolitical necessity for violence, the book deconstructs the ideological ambivalence throughout the Devī Māhātmya to demonstrate that its frame narrative invariably sheds light on its core content. Its very structure serves to emphasize a theme that prevails throughout the text, one inalienable to the rubric of the episodes themselves: sovereignty on both cosmic and mundane scales.

The book sheds new light on the content of the Devī Māhātmya and contextualizes it within the framework of important debates within early Hinduism. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of Asian Religion, Hindu Studies, Goddess Studies, South Asian Studies, Narrative Studies and comparative literature.

In analyzing the parallels between myths glorifying the Indian Great Goddess, Durgā, and those glorifying the Sun, Sūrya, found in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, this book argues for an ideological ecosystem at work in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa privileging worldly values, of which Indian kings, the Goddess (Devī), the Sun (Sūrya), Manu and Mārkaṇḍeya himself are paragons.

This book features a salient discovery in Sanskrit narrative text: just as the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa houses the Devī Māhātmya glorifying the supremacy of the Indian Great Goddess, Durgā, it also houses a Sūrya Māhātmya, glorifying the supremacy of the Sun, Sūrya, in much the same manner. This book argues that these māhātmyas were meaningfully and purposefully positioned in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, while previous scholarship has considered this haphazard interpolation for sectarian aims. The book demonstrates that deliberate compositional strategies make up the Saura–Śākta symbiosis found in these mirrored māhātmyas. Moreover, the author explores what he calls the "dharmic double helix" of Brahmanism, most explicitly articulated by the structural opposition between pravṛtti (worldly) and nivṛtti (other-worldy) dharmas.

As the first narrative study of the Sūrya Māhātmya, along with the first study of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (or any Purāṇa), as a narrative whole, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Religion, Hindu Studies, South Asian Studies, Goddess Studies, Narrative Theory and Comparative Mythology.

In analyzing the parallels between myths glorifying the Indian Great Goddess, Durgā, and those glorifying the Sun, Sūrya, found in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, this book argues for an ideological ecosystem at work in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa privileging worldly values, of which Indian kings, the Goddess (Devī), the Sun (Sūrya), Manu and Mārkaṇḍeya himself are paragons.

This book features a salient discovery in Sanskrit narrative text: just as the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa houses the Devī Māhātmya glorifying the supremacy of the Indian Great Goddess, Durgā, it also houses a Sūrya Māhātmya, glorifying the supremacy of the Sun, Sūrya, in much the same manner. This book argues that these māhātmyas were meaningfully and purposefully positioned in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, while previous scholarship has considered this haphazard interpolation for sectarian aims. The book demonstrates that deliberate compositional strategies make up the Saura–Śākta symbiosis found in these mirrored māhātmyas. Moreover, the author explores what he calls the "dharmic double helix" of Brahmanism, most explicitly articulated by the structural opposition between pravṛtti (worldly) and nivṛtti (other-worldy) dharmas.

As the first narrative study of the Sūrya Māhātmya, along with the first study of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (or any Purāṇa), as a narrative whole, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Religion, Hindu Studies, South Asian Studies, Goddess Studies, Narrative Theory and Comparative Mythology.