Against Dharma: Dissent in the Ancient Indian Sciences of Sex and Politics

Front Cover
Yale University Press, Mar 20, 2018 - Religion - 224 pages
An esteemed scholar of Hinduism presents a groundbreaking interpretation of ancient Indian texts and their historic influence on subversive resistance

Ancient Hindu texts speak of the three aims of human life: dharma,artha, and kama. Translated, these might be called religion, politics, and pleasure, and each is held to be an essential requirement of a full life. Balance among the three is a goal not always met, however, and dharma has historically taken precedence over the other two qualities in Hindu life. Here, historian of religions Wendy Doniger offers a spirited and close reading of ancient Indian writings, unpacking a long but unrecognized history of opposition against dharma.

Doniger argues that scientific disciplines (shastras) have offered lively and continuous criticism of dharma, or religion, over many centuries. She chronicles the tradition of veiled subversion, uncovers connections to key moments of resistance and voices of dissent throughout Indian history, and offers insights into the Indian theocracy’s subversion of science by religion today.
 

Contents

ONE The Three Human Aims
1
TWO The Influence of the Arthashastra on the Kamasutra
24
THREE Dharma and Adharma in the Arthashastra
59
FOUR Adharma and Dharma in the Kamasutra
80
FIVE Glossing Adharma with Dharma
107
SIX Skepticism and Materialism in Ancient India
123
Dhairma and the Subversion of Science
159
Notes
185
Bibliography
207
Index
219
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2018)

Wendy Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago Divinity School, and author of more than forty books, including The Hindus: An Alternative History

Bibliographic information