Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes

Appleton, Naomi (著)

作者

Appleton, Naomi (著)

出版日期

2017

頁次

228

出版者

Routledge

出版者網址

https://www.routledge.com/

出版地

New York, NY, US [紐約, 紐約州, 美國]

叢書名

Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History

資料類型

書籍=Book

使用語言

英文=English

摘要

Taking a comparative approach which considers characters that are shared across the narrative traditions of early Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative explores key religious and social ideals, as well as points of contact, dialogue and contention between different worldviews. The book focuses on three types of character - gods, heroes and kings - that are of particular importance to early South Asian narrative traditions because of their relevance to the concerns of the day, such as the role of deities, the qualities of a true hero or good ruler and the tension between worldly responsibilities and the pursuit of liberation. Characters (incuding character roles and lineages of characters) that are shared between traditions reveal both a common narrative heritage and important differences in worldview and ideology that are developed in interaction with other worldviews and ideologies of the day. As such, this study sheds light on an important period of Indian religious history, and will be essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students working on early South Asian religious or narrative traditions (Jain, Buddhist and Hindu) as well as being of interest more widely in the fields of Religious Studies, Classical Indology, Asian Studies and Literary Studies.

List of figures ix
List of key texts xi
Acknowledgements xv

1 Introduction 1
Historical and religious context 2
Methods and sources 11
Sources and dates 12
Overview of sources 13
The audiences 15
A shared narrative universe 18

2 Indra, king of the gods 25
Indra as a reformed character 27
Indra in the service of jinas and buddhas 32
Indra as supportive of good humans 35
Indra as tester of virtues 38
Multiple Indras – is Indra replaceable? 45
Conclusion 50

3 Brahmā or Brahmās 57
Brahmanical Brahmā 58
Brahmā, Ṛṣabha and the origins of society 61
Brahmā, Brahmās and the Brahmā heavens 64
Buddhist Brahmā gods 65
Deluded Brahmās 66
Supportive Brahmās 69
Brahmā entreats the Buddha to teach 71
Brahmā in Indian religious history 74
Conclusion 76

4 Viṣṇu, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 82
Viṣṇu as an inclusivity tool 83
Competing worlds 86
Jain tales of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 91
Buddhist tales of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa 95
Conclusion 100

5 Mothers of heroic sons 107
Part 1: The mothers 108
Mothers in the Rāmāyaṇa 109
Mothers in the Mahābhārata 111
Mothers of the Buddha 114
Mothers of jinas 119
Part 2: The motifs 122
Miraculous mothers 122
Multiple mothers 125
Mothers as powerful, mothers as pioneers 127
Maternal grief 129
Conclusion 130

6 The renouncing royals of Videha 137
Part 1: The motifs 139
King Nimi and the grey hair 139
The four kings 140
‘Though Mithilā may be on fire …’ 146
Part 2: The lineage 151
Kingship and renunciation 152
Janaka and renunciation in Brahmanical literature 154
What about the women? 158
Playing with motifs and lineages: The story of King Arindama 159
Lineages of buddhas 161
Conclusion 162

7 Conclusion 170
Literary characters and religious ideas 170
Gods as shared characters 171
Patterns of intervention 173
Models of heroism 173
Shared characters, shared histories 175
Shared characters and the inter-religious encounter 175
The history of early Indian religions 179

Conclusion 183
Bibliography 187
Index 207

ISBN

9781315608860 (ebook); 9781472484451 (hbc)

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