Front cover image for Siva : the Erotic Ascetic

Siva : the Erotic Ascetic

eBook, English, 1981
Oxford University Press, USA, 1981
1 online resource (409 pages)
9780199727933, 0199727937
930058964
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION; I. INTRODUCTION: THE INTERPRETATION OF HINDU MYTHOLOGY; A. THE CHALLENGE OF HINDU MYTHOLOGY; B. THE CENTRAL PARADOX OF ŚAIVA MYTHOLOGY; 1. The Resolution within the Texts; 2. The Iconic Resolution of the Paradox: The Ithyphallic Yogi; C. PROBLEMS, AND METHODS; 1. Various Methods of Mythological Analysis; 2. Variants and Multiforms; D. MOTIFS OF HINDU MYTHOLOGY; 1. Chart of Motifs; 2. Explanation of Motifs; 3. Interconnections between Motifs; 4. The Śaiva Cycle Analysed by Motifs; 5. The Value of Motifs and Variants. E. THE NATURE OF MYTHOLOGICAL CONTRADICTION1. The Equivalence of Opposites; 2. The Resolution of Mythological Contradictions; 3. The Failure to Resolve Mythological Contradictions; 4. The Irrational Solution: Bhakti; II. ASCETICISM AND EROTICISM IN EARLY INDIAN MYTHOLOGY; A. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHASTITY AND CREATIVE TAPAS; B. THE SEDUCTION OF THE ASCETIC BY THE PROSTITUTE: RSYAŚRNGA; C. CHASTITY AND THE LOSS OF CHASTITY: AGASTYA; D. THE EROTIC POWERS OF THE ASCETIC; E. THE REJUVENATION OF THE ASCETIC: CYAVANA; F. SEXUAL PLEASURES AS THE REWARD FOR ASCETICISM/THE FALSE ASCETIC. G. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROCREATIONH. THE PRAJAPATI AND HIS ASCETIC SONS; I. NARADA AND THE SONS OF DAKSA; J. THE TWO FORMS OF IMMORTALITY; K. THE ATTEMPT TO RECONCILE THE HOUSEHOLDER AND ASCETIC IN SOCIETY; L. THE FOREST-DWELLER: AN INADEQUATE COMPROMISE; III. THE VEDIC ANTECEDENTS OF SIVA; A. RUDRA, GOD OF DESTRUCTION; B. INDRA; 1. Indra as Phallic God of Fertility; 2. Indra versus the Ascetic; C. AGNI, THE EROTIC FIRE; 1. Agni and the Pine Forest Sages; 2. The Seven Sages and their Wives; 3. Śiva and Parvati as the Parents of Skanda; 4. The Golden Seed of Fire. 5. The Birth of Skanda and the Birth of the MarutsIV. ŚIVA AND BRAHMA: OPPOSITION AND IDENTITY; A. ŚlVA AS SEXUAL CREATOR; B. THE INCEST OF SIVA; C. ŚIVA OPPOSES THE INCEST OF BRAHMA; D. BRAHMA VERSUS KAMA; E. ŚlVA VERSUS BRAHMA AT THE WEDDING OF SATĪ/PARVATĪ ; F. THE BEHEADING OF BRAHMA BY SIVA; G. THE BEHEADING OF DAKSA BY SIVA; H. THE CASTRATION OF SIVA; I. THE COMPETITION BETWEEN ŚIVA AND BRAHMA; J. THE COMPLEMENTARITY OF BRAHMA AND SIVA; V. ŚIVA AND KAMA; A. THE CHASTITY OF ŚlVA-AND ITS CONTRADICTION; B. THE BURNING OF KAMA-AND ITS REVERSAL; C. THE LUST OF THE CHASTISER OF KAMA. D. THE VICTORY OF KAMA IMPLICIT IN THE BURNING OF KAMAE. THE SEDUCTION OF ŚlVA BY PARVATĪ ; F. THE REVIVAL OF KAMA BY PARVATĪ ; G. KAMA REBORN AS A TREE-REBIRTH FROM FIRE; H. THE REVIVED KAMA'S POWER OVER SIVA; I. THE EROTIC APPEAL OF THE CHASTISER OF KAMA; J. KAMA AND AGNI TRANSPOSED; K. THE PARTIAL IDENTITY OF ŚlVA AND KAMA; VI. ŚIVA IN THE PINE FOREST; A. ŚlVA, THE FALSE ASCETIC, SEDUCER OF THE SAGES' WIVES; B. ŚlVA, THE PASSIVE ASCETIC, UNMOVED BY THE SAGES' WIVES; C. THE APPARENT LUST OF THE ASCETIC ŚIVA; 1. The Destruction of the Sages' Powers by the Seduction of their Wives
2. The Transference of the Sages' Powers to Śiva: The Pāśupata Cult
Originally published under the title Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva, this book traces the development of an Indian approach to an enduring human dilemma: the conflict between spiritual aspirations and human desires. The work examines hundreds of related myths and a wide range of Indian texts--Vedic, Puranic, classical, modern, and tribal--centering on the stories of the great ascetic, Siva, and his erotic alter ego, Kama