Tales for the Dying: The Death Narrative of the Bhagavata-Purana (Suny Series in Hindu Studies) [Hardcover]

E. H. Rick Jarow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Suny Series in Hindu Studies | Publication Date: March 2003

"Explores death and dying in the Bhagavata-Purana ans in the Indian religious imagination using insights from myth, semiotics, and depth psychology as well as the Indian commentarial tradition."

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Tales for the Dying explores the centrality of death and dying in the narrative of the Bh?gavata-Pur?n|a, India's great text of devotional theism, canonized as an integral part of the Vais|n|ava bhakti tradition. The text grapples with death through an imaginative meditation, one that works through the presence and power of narrative. The story of the Bh?gavata-Pur?n|a is spoken to a king who is about to die, and it enables him to come to terms with his own passing. The work does not isolate dying as an issue; it treats it on many levels. This book discusses how images of dying in the Bh?gavata-Pur?n|a relate to issues of language and love in the religious imagination of India. Drawing on insights from studies in myth, literary semiotics, and depth psychology, as well as from Indian commentarial and aesthetic traditions, the author examines the power of myth and narrative (storytelling or hari kath?) and shows how a detailed awareness of the Pur?n|ic imagination may lead to a revisioning of some long-held presuppositions around Indian religious attitudes toward dying. By casting Vais|n|ava bhakti traditions and Pur?n|ic narrative in a fresh light, the mythic imagination of the Pur?n|as takes its place on the stage of contemporary discourse on comparative mythology and literature."

About the Author

E. H. Rick Jarow is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Vassar College and the author of In Search of the Sacred: A Pilgrimage to Holy Places.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr; First Edition edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791456099
• ISBN-13: 978-0791456095
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,353,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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