Visions and Revisions in Sanskrit Narrative

Abstract

Sanskrit narrative is the lifeblood of Indian culture, encapsulating and perpetuating insights and values core to Indian thought and practice. Eclipsed by colonial preoccupation with philosophical treatises, these texts are finally beginning to receive the scholarly attention they deserve. The tide is turning in terms of 'old-school slicing and dicing' of these texts for philological and historicist aims. This volume showcases 18 of the foremost scholars across the globe, who accord these texts the integrity and dignity they deserve in an unprecedented collaboration. The last time this was attempted, on a much smaller scale, was a generation ago, with Purāṇa Perennis (1993). The scholars featured here broach a variety of Sanskrit narrative texts, employing novel methods and theory to meaningfully engage them. Given that the field has been shaped and driven by the efforts of the preeminent scholars showcased in this project, it is high time for this Visions and Revisions in Sanskrit Narrative volume.xiii ContributorsSucharita Adluri is an associate professor of Asian religions in the Department of Philosophy and Comparative Religion at Cleveland State University. Trained in the history of religions at the University of Pennsylvania, her work encompasses the social and religious history of the Sanskrit intellectual and devotional traditions of South India. A focus of her current research is the promulgation of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, textually and performatively.