Brahmins and Kings: Royal Counsel in the Sanskrit Narrative Literatures

— —

John Nemec (Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, University of Virginia)

Brahmins and Kings

Royal Counsel in the Sanskrit Narrative Literatures

John Nemec (Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, University of Virginia)

$242.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press Inc
05 June 2025

Literature: history & criticism; History of religion; Hinduism

Brahmins and Kings examines some of the most well-known and widely circulated narratives in the history of Sanskrit literature, including the Mah=abh=arata, the R=am=aya.na, Vi.s.nu'sarman's famed animal stories (the Pañcatantra), Somadeva's labyrinthine Ocean of Rivers of Stories (the Kath=asarits=agara), Kalha.na's Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir (the R=ajatara:ngi.n=i), and two of the most famous plays in the history of Sanskrit literature, K=alid=asa's Abhijñ=ana's=akuntala and Har.sa's Ratn=aval=i. Offering a sustained, close, intertextual reading of these works, John Nemec shows that these texts all share a common frame: they feature stories of the mutual relations of k.satriya kings with Brahmins, and they depict Brahmins advising political figures.

More than this, they not only narrate instances of royal counsel but also are composed in a manner that renders the stories themselves as instances of counsel.

Based in the technical literatures on Hindu Law and on statecraft-the Dharma's=astras and the Artha's=astra and related worksDLthe counsel in question elaborates a model of action that synthesizes views found in both, recommending a kind of virtue ethic that suggests one may do well in the world by being good.

Doing well involves succeeding in both worldly and otherworldly affairs; being good involves following Brahminical teachings and upholding the dharmic norms they regularly articulate in text.

This ethic encompasses all human action and practice, defines the counsel offered by these texts, and seeks with it to engage the king, his princes, and queens across the spectrum of their subjective experience: intellectually, emotionally, humorously.

Ultimately, this book argues that, just as the rulers in these narratives receive moral instruction, their audiences do, as well. By putting metaphorical flesh on the proverbial bare bones of doctrinal ideals and ideas, these texts seek to shape not just readers' thoughts but also their emotions and cultivated instincts, intending to transform their very way of engaging the world by immersing them in the dreamworld of stories.

By: John Nemec (Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies University of Virginia)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 167mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 621g
ISBN: 9780197791998
ISBN 10: 0197791999
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 05 June 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One - When the Parampara Breaks: On Gurus and Students In the Mahabharata Chapter Two - The Perfect King: Rama's Suffering, and Why His Story Must Be Told Anew Chapter Three - Kingship in Kashmir: Brahminical Norms in Kalhana's Rajatarangini Chapter Four - Wizards and Kings, or ""Tantra Beyond the Tantras:"" The Saiva-Brahminical Narrative of the Kathasaritsagara Chapter Five - The King in the Garden: Pleasure in Dramatic Imagination Chapter Six - The Wisdom of Animals: Kingship and the Pañcatantra Conclusion Bibliography Index

John Nemec is Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. The author of three books and numerous articles and other publications, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.Phil. from the University of Oxford, an M.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a B.A. from the University of Rochester. He was an India Fulbright Scholar in 2002-2003, Directeur d'études invité at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in 2016, and the Khaitan Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in 2023.