When the Goddess was a Woman: Mahābhārata Ethnographies—Essays by Alf Hiltebeitel

Explicitly acknowledging its status as a str-dra-veda (a Veda for women and the downtrodden), the Mahbhrata articulates a promise to bring knowledge of right conduct, fundamental ethical, philosophical, and soteriological teachings, and its own grand narrative to all classes of people and all beings. Hiltebeitel shows how the Mahbhrata has more than lived up to this promise at least on the ground in Indian folk traditions. In this three-part volume, he journeys over the overlapping terrains of the south Indian cults of Draupad (part I) and Kttavar (part II), to explore how the Mahbhrata continues to be such a vital source of meaning, and, in part III, then connects this vital tradition to wider reflections on prehistory, sacrifice, myth, oral epic, and modern theatre.This two volume edition collects nearly three decades of Alf Hiltebeitels researches into the Indian epic and religious tradition. The two volumes document Hiltebeitels longstanding fascination with the Sanskrit epics: volume 1 presents a series of appreciative readings of the Mahbhrata (and to a lesser extent, the Rmyaa), while volume 2 focuses on what Hiltebeitel has called the underground Mahbhrata, i.e., the Mahbhrata as it is still alive in folk and vernacular traditions. Recently re-edited and with a new set of articles completing a trajectory Hiltebeitel established over 30 years ago, this work constitutes a definitive statement from this major scholar. Comprehensive indices, cross-referencing, and an exhaustive bibliography make it an essential reference work. For more information on the first volume please click here.