Asian esoteric and internal traditions

The fall of the indigo jackal

the discourse of division and Purnabhadra's Pancatantra

by McComas Taylor

First published:
21st century
Language: English

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Description

Description from Gegnir/Leitir — Icelandic Union Catalogue

Contemporary critical theory is brought to the consideration of caste in the Pañcatantra, one of the best-known cycles of Indian tales. Every child growing up in India knows the story of the jackal who fell into the vat of blue dye, and discovering the power of his majestic new appearance, declared himself king of the forest. In spite of his pretenses, the jackal, eventually betrayed by his own instincts, was set upon by the other animals. This and many similar narratives are found in the Pañcatantra , the collection of Sanskrit tales for children compiled by a Jaina monk named Pūrṇabhadra in 1199 CE. In this book, McComas Taylor looks at the discourses that give shape and structure to the fall of the indigo jackal and the other tales within the Pañcatantra . The work's fictional metasociety of animals, kings, and laundrymen are divided according to their jāti , or "kind." This discourse of caste holds that individuals' essential natures, statuses, and social circles are all determined by their birth. Taylor applies contemporary critical theory developed by Foucault, Bourdieu, Barthes, and others to show how these ideas are related to other Sanskritic master-texts, and describes the "regime of truth" that provides validation for the discourse of division. McComas Taylor is Head of the South Asia Centre, Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University.

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Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Asian esoteric and internal traditions.

Asian esoteric and internal traditions
Controlled discovery queries from gegnir matched “Tantra”.
- “Tantra”· via Gegnir/Leitir — Icelandic Union Catalogue

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Edition	Date	Publisher	Language	ISBN	Access	Links
the discourse of division and Purnabhadra's Pancatantra 1st ed 1 online resource (xiv, 236 pages); Dewey classification: 891.2/3; Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-232) and index; Intro -- The Fall of the Indigo Jackal -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Conventions -- 1. Introduction -- THE TEXTUAL FAMILIES OF THE SANSKRIT PAÑCATANTRA -- PURNABHADRA'S PAÑCATANTRA -- ASSIGNING MEANING TO THE PAÑCATANTRA -- QUESTIONS ADDRESSED IN THIS STUDY -- 2. The Discourse of Division in the Pañcatantra -- THE CONCEPT OF JATI IN THE PAÑCATANTRA -- SVABHAVA-"ESSENTIAL NATURE" -- JATI AND SOCIAL STATUS -- ENMITY/AMITY -- 3. The "Regime of Truth" and the Pañcatantra -- THE AUTHORITATIVE VOICE -- UNIVERSALIZING THE DISCOURSE: SPACE, TIME, AND AUDIENCE -- THE SASTRIC PARADIGM -- INTERTEXTUALITY -- THE "NATURALIZATION" OF DISCOURSE -- A "REGIME OF TRUTH" FOR THE PAÑCATANTRA -- 4. The Discourse of Division and the Brahmanical Archive -- THE ORIGINS OF VARNA -- SVADHARMA-"ESSENTIAL DUTY" -- STATUS -- ENMITY/AMITY -- THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE DISCOURSE OF DIVISION -- 5. Conclusion -- Appendix 1. Core Stories of the Pañcatantra Family -- Appendix 2. Summary of Stories in Purnabhadra's Pañcatantra -- Notes -- Glossary of Sanskrit Terms -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y; Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph.D.--Australian National University, 2005); Publication place: Albany	c2007	State University of New York Press	English	0791479765 1435600274	Catalog record	Gegnir/Leitir — Icelandic Union Catalogue (opens in a new tab) Gegnir/Leitir — Icelandic Union Catalogue (opens in a new tab)