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Best regards, Andrew Stewart Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: March 5, 2019 at 5:21:46 PM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Asia]: Narasimhananda on Sathaye, 'Crossing the > Lines of caste: Visvamitra and the Construction of Brahmin Power in Hindu > Mythology' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Adheesh A. Sathaye. Crossing the Lines of caste: Visvamitra and the > Construction of Brahmin Power in Hindu Mythology. New York Oxford > University Press, 2015. 336 pp. $36.95 (paper), ISBN > 978-0-19-934111-5. > > Reviewed by Swami Narasimhananda (Prabuddha Bharata) > Published on H-Asia (March, 2019) > Commissioned by Sumit Guha > > Caste Fluidity and the Cultural History of Hindu Brahmins > > Caste is a constantly contested area in Indian studies. While some > social scientists argue that the institution of caste is a needless > creation by the privileged to oppress the marginalized, some > postcolonial thinkers argue that the caste system has its merits and > all the evils done in its name is because of not understanding its > roots and functions. Some other scholars argue that caste was meant > to be determined on the basis of one's occupation and qualities and > caste became a problem only when the practice of determining caste on > the basis of birth started. In politics, history, social sciences, > and current affairs concerning India, caste has never lost its place > of importance. Whether reservations in jobs and educational > institutions based on caste should be provided is also another > caste-based issue that periodically arises in India. > > Though caste is generally seen as a rigid system of social > stratification, particularly in India, one seldom comes across > studies that present caste as a matter of choice or engage with the > fluidity of caste. It is in this context that Adheesh A. Sathaye's > _Crossing the Lines of Caste_ assumes great significance. This book > is the result of years of painstaking research in the intersections > of caste and mythology, translation and Indology, and Hinduism and > cultural studies. It is the result of Sathaye's doctoral research and > we receive a glimpse of his engaging narrative when we read that this > "book is about a legendary king who, on his own and through years of > struggle, became a Brahmin" (p. xi). That king is Viśvāmitra, whose > fifteen legends from Sanskrit literature have been traced by Sathaye > through new word-for-word English translations accompanied with > detailed charts of the evolution of these stories, and all this is > available on the companion website to the book: > www.oup.com/us/crossingthelinesofcaste. > > The sheer amount of work and scholarship that has gone into the > writing of this book would easily baffle even the most erudite > scholar of Sanskrit texts. This is evident throughout the volume, in > which Sathaye provides copious quotes from the Sanskrit originals > along with his lucid and accessible translations. He renews the > long-forgotten art of glossing over texts that is quite important for > situating ancient Indian texts and understanding their relevance to > the present-day society. Sathaye positions this book as being "about > Viśvāmitra, the development of his mythological persona through > literature and performance, and the impact it has had on the cultural > history of Brahminhood" (p. 2). One of the many strong points of this > book is that Sathaye weaves a consistent and well-paced narrative > that is exclusively drawn from Sanskrit sources but does not cumber > the reader with archaic usage or jargon. > > Sathaye has done a marvelous job of bringing home the point that > spiritual austerities and tremendous willpower were represented as > enabling one to cross the boundaries of caste as imposed upon one by > birth. He also makes "the primary goal of this book" to uncover the > "historical significance" of the "deep ambivalence" and "social > anxieties" that come up with Viśvāmitra's appearance in Hindu myth > (p. 5). Sathaye situates Viśvāmitra on the "fringes of the Hindu > cultural imaginary as a lonesome master of ascetic practices" and as > the "'counter-normative figure in Hindu mythology" (p. 5). Sathaye > explores David Herman's concept of "storyworld," where different > identities are imposed on different persons in different times and > spaces (p. 6). Thus, every reader creates a cumulative experience of > the "storyworld" that varies according to one's perceptions and > culture. This entire process becomes a two-way path, where the > narrative gains from the reader and vice versa. Sathaye also explores > the conflicts created when a person attempts to cross the rigid > boundaries of caste--which word he prefers to refer to in its > Sanskrit original, _varṇa_, that has a more profound meaning. > > Sathaye argues that personalities like Viśvāmitra do not have fixed > narratives and that these characters have to be reconsidered time > after time. He shows how the projection of Viśvāmitra's personality > in the mainstream myth has brought power to the Indian Brahmins. > Sathaye analyzes, and in his own way critiques, the rigid caste > ideologies that created social niches for the Brahmins and > Kṣatriyas. He also shows how the creation and continuance of > cultural practices and the production of various texts, also called > _śāstra_s, helped to maintain this social hierarchy. Sathaye refers > to various theories of the caste structure in India and concludes > that though there are differences among these theories and though > other models of social stratification do exist in India, the Indian > Brahminical hegemony has ensured that Brahmins are always seen as the > group that wields power. Sathaye also argues that while the > _śāstra_s acted as "hermeneutic reference points," in giving power > to the Brahmins, "Sanskrit epics and purāṇas offered unusual cases > that compelled the consumer to wrestle with the real-world > applicability of such rules and regulations" (pp. 10-11). > > This book is not just a study of caste structure in India nor is > itjust a study of the personality of Viśvāmitra. It is a guide to > reading Sanskrit mythological texts in conjunction with their > paratextuality in the form of folklores, songs, plays, and other > kinds of performances. Sathaye calls the large corpus of research on > Viśvāmitra "Viśvāmitra Studies" (p. 12). The pages of this book > display Sathaye's outstanding scholarship, not only of the huge > Sanskrit Vedic and mythological literature but also of the colonial > and postcolonial Indologists. If one were to read only this book and > nothing else, one would obtain a fair and often in-depth > understanding of the readings and re-readings of Hindu mythology in > general and of Viśvāmitra's legends in particular. > > Sathaye brings to the reader important ideas about the performance of > texts through the works of various scholars and folklorists. He > presents a methodology for adapting a text into a performance and > shows the importance of the metamorphosis of a text into performance, > the dissemination of the meaning of the text, and the relationships > among the performers. Sathaye deals with the uncertainties regarding > the transformation of oral histories into textual sources and vice > versa, and he is dismayed that due to lack of evidence "we are left > with a bit of a quandary" (p. 22). He suggests that it is better to > not get into the argument of "whether or not an oral tradition > preceded" these texts, and it would be wise instead to treat "the > Sanskrit epics and purāṇas as they now appear: as written works of > premodern literature" (p. 22). > > Through this book, Sathaye immerses the reader into narratives from > the _Rāmāyaṇa_ and the _Mahābhārata_. Elsewhere, Sathaye has > studied the character of Mādhavī as an exhibit in the > _Mahābhārata_, which he considers a museum.[1] He has shown there > and in this book his ability to extract a meaningful interpretation > of the various subnarratives hidden in Sanskrit epics. He is > confident that the composers of _Rāmāyaṇa_ and _Mahābhārata_ > "had an intertextual debate" about Viśvāmitra (p. 68). Sathaye > explores the nature of "ascetic power, how might it be gained, lost, > and controlled, and what is its potential for drastic and violent > change?" (pp. 78-79). > > This book is divided into three sections of two chapters each: > "Foundations," "Adaptations," and "Confrontations." Chapters 1 and 2 > trace Viśvāmitra legends in the _Veda_s and Sanskrit epics and draw > a genealogy of the "Brahmin Other" in these epics. In chapter 3, > Sathaye studies the "political and religious valences of Viśvāmitra > in the early purāṇas" (p. 29). In chapter 4, he analyzes the > "geo-mapping" of the legends of Viśvāmitra to various sites on the > banks of rivers. Through this exercise, Sathaye effortlessly gets > into a study of the regional cultures of erstwhile India. He examines > how medieval Sanskrit literature showed Viśvāmitra as "the > transgressive but merciful Brahmin Other" in order "to extend > Brahminical authority onto pilgrimage sites across the subcontinent" > and "to construct new, regionalized inflections of Brahmin social > power" (p. 141). > > Chapter 5 deals with cultural perceptions of the apparent villainy of > Viśvāmitra, analyzing Sanskrit and Marathi sources, to understand > the different ways in which the sage was portrayed, either as a tough > taskmaster or as a Brahmin full of egotism. Chapter 6, the concluding > chapter, traces the different avatars of Viśvāmitra until the > present day, as portrayed by traditional performances and popular > media. His depictions in the Marathi storytelling tradition of > _nārādīya kirtan_ is also dealt with. > > Sathaye argues that though Viśvāmitra became a Brahmin, later > "epics deployed Viśvāmitra to represent the 'Other' kind of > Brahmin, as someone to be respected and feared but _not_ to be > emulated. Brahmins were encouraged instead to model themselves on > normative figures like Vasiṣṭha, who were shown to be best suited > for elite ministerial positions within the early Indian state. And > for non-Brahmin audiences, the Brahmin Other served as a stern > warning against disrespecting Brahmins of any sort" (p. 62). > > Sathaye concludes this book by drawing attention to some broader > implications of his work on the historicity of the performances of > Hindu mythology and to the need for deeply studying Hindu > mythological culture and its social, political, and religious > importance. Sathaye laces the entire book with tables that detail the > spread of Viśvāmitra legends and the various geographical sites > associated with different legends. A catalogue of these legends at > the end of the book comes as a great help to those interested to > study them in detail. Throughout the book, he gives different > versions of the popular legends associated with Viśvāmitra in text > boxes. This book is also the closest one can come to a biography of > Viśvāmitra, though Sathaye prefers to call it "the cultural history > of the stories that Vedic Brahmins told about him" (p. 40). > > This book is an example of how well cultural history can be written > along with a critical analysis of textual sources. This book explores > the various facets of the Hindu Brahmin identity and its relevance in > the present. This book is a great resource for scholars of Sanskrit, > Hinduism, mythology, social stratification, folklore, performance, > translation, cultural studies, and Indian studies in general, and for > scholars of Viśvāmitra in particular. > > Note > > [1]. Adheesh Sathaye, "Pride and Prostitution: Making Sense of the > Mādhavī Exhibit in the Mahābhārata Museum," in _Argument and > Design: The Unity of the Mahābhārata_, ed. Vishwa Adluri and > Joydeep Bagchee (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 237-74. > > Citation: Swami Narasimhananda. Review of Sathaye, Adheesh A., > _Crossing the Lines of caste: Visvamitra and the Construction of > Brahmin Power in Hindu Mythology_. H-Asia, H-Net Reviews. March, 2019. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=45886 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
