The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun

Myth and Ritual in Ancient India

Stephanie W. Jamison

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English

Cornell University Press
30 May 1991

Hindu worship, rites & ceremonies; Other non-Christian religions; Ancient religions & mythologies; Folklore, myths & legends

Series: Myth and Poetics

Vedic Sanskrit literature contains a wealth of material concerning the mythology and religious practices of India between 1500 and 500 B.C.E. a crucial period in the formation of traditional Indian culture. Stephanie W. Jamison here addresses the conditions that have limited our understanding of Vedic myth and ritual, such as the profusion and obscurity of the texts and the tendency on the part of scholars to approach mythology and ritual independently. Tracing two key myths through a variety of texts, Jamison provides insight into the relationship between early Indic myth and ritual as well as offering a new methodology for their study.

After a brief survey of Vedic literature and religion, Jamison examines the recurrences of the myths ""Indra fed the Yatis to the hyenas"" and ""Svarbhanu pierced the sun with darkness."" Focusing on their verbal form and ritual setting, she essays a general interpretation of the myths and their ritual purpose. Her book sheds new light on some central figures in Vedic mythology and on the evolution of Vedic mythological narrative, and it points to parallels in other cultures as well. Indologists and other scholars and students of South Asian culture, Indo-Eurepeanists, folklorists, historians of religion, classicists, and comparatists will welcome this rich and suggestive introduction to the Vedic tradition.""

By: Stephanie W. Jamison
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 1
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 907g
ISBN: 9780801424335
ISBN 10: 080142433X
Series: Myth and Poetics
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 30 May 1991
Audience: General/trade , General/trade , ELT Advanced , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Stephanie Jamison is Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures and Head of the Program in Indo-European Studies at UCLA. She is the author most recently of Sacrificed Wife/Sacrificer's Wife: Women, Ritual, and Hospitality in Ancient India and The Rig Veda between Two Worlds.

Reviews for The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun: Myth and Ritual in Ancient India

This fresh and insightful book engages the complexities of Vedic myth and ritual. It provides a valuable corrective to the trends in Vedic studies that have taken myth and ritual as independent, self-referential realms. Alf Hiltebeitel, Department of Religion, The George Washington University In The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun, Stephanie Jamison rescues two Vedic myths from oblivion. In the process of this seemingly small task, she restores vigor to Vedic studies in particular and to the study of mythology in general. Journal of Religion