Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits (Religion and Postmodernism Series)

576 Pages·1999·36.41 MB·English

by  Alf Hiltebeitel

Rethinking India's Oral
and Classical Epics

Rethinking India's Oral
and Classical Epics
Draupadiamong Rajputs, Muslims,
and Dalits
Alf Hiltebeitel
TheUniversityofChicagoPress
ChicagoandLondon
ALF HILTEBEITELisprofessorofreligionanddirectoroftheHumanSciences
ProgramatTheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity.Heistheauthororeditorof
severalbooksonIndianreligion,anthropology,andliterature.
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd.,London
©1999byTheUniversityofChicago
Allrightsreserved.Published1999
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN:0-226-34050-3(cloth)
ISBN:0-226-34051-1 (paper)
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Hiltebeitel,AU.
RethinkingIndia'soralandclassicalepics:Draupadiamong
Rajputs,Muslims,andDalits/AUHiltebeitel.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
ISBN0-226-34050-5(alk.paper).-ISBN0-226-34051-1 (pbk.:
alk.paper)
1.Draupadi(Hindumythology) 2.Mahabharata-History.
3.Rajputs-Religiouslife. 4.Untouchables-India-Religion.
5. Hinduism-Relations-Islam. 6. Islam-Relations-Hinduism.
I. Title.
BL1138.4.D72H57 1999
294.5'923046-dc21 9-8762
CIP
eThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimum
requirementsoftheAmericanNationalStandardfor
InformationSciences-PermanenceofPaperfor
PrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSIZ39.48-1992.
To MadeleineBiardeau

Contents
List ofMaps and Tables x
List ofPlates xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Conventions xiv
1. Introduction 1
2. Oral Epics 11
A. Classical and Oral Epics 12; B. Epic Development
and the "Real Hero" 21; C. Against Death and
Deification29; D. Bhakti, Regionality, and the
Goddess 37; E. Back to the Frames 43
3. The Elder Brothers and the Heroes ofPalna9u 48
1. Births ofthe Heroes 52; 2. Marriage and
Virginity 60; 3. The Virgin's Blessing 62;
4. Campuka's and Anapotu Raju's Stratagems 63;
5. The Virgin's Anger 66; 6. Impalements 70; 7. Satls,
Revivals, Salvation75; 8. Transformations of
Dasara 81
4. The Epic ofPtibajr 88
Births ofthe Heroes 89; 2. Marriage and Virginity 96;
3. The Virgin's Blessing 101; 4. Phebo's Intervention 101;
5. The Virgin's Anger 105; 6. Impalements 108; 7. Satls
and Salvation 113; 8. Transformations ofDasara 114
5. OpeningAlhil 121
A. Portions and Incarnations 126; B. Sons ofDevakI 134;
C. Frame Stories and Divine Interventions 136;
D. The Maro Feud 142
vii
6. The Nine-Lakh Chain 153
A. Treasures 153; B. Bela Demands DraupadI's
Jewels 155; C. The Chain 159; D. Bela's Wedding 162;
E. Bela's Homebringing 164; F. Dasara 170;
G. The Death ofMaIkhan 173; H. Sprouts 179;
I. Bela's Tour 186
7. The Story of~~~sa 211
A. What Kind ofText? 212; B. The Muslim Captivity
ofUdal 218; C. Solar and Lunar Lines 222; D. The
Agniv~sa228; E. Defending Folk Hinduism 232
8. Kuruk$etra II 240
A. Divine Plan, Master Plan 241; B. The Establishment
ofKali and the Last ofthe Little Kings 254;
C. Duryodhana's Return 259
9. Time-Routes through the K':~fJlirrlSacarita 263
A. How Do We Get to Where We Are? 265; B. The
Buddhists and the Agniv~sa 278; C. Vikramaditya's
Era 281; D. Pura~c Nationalism 294
10. Their Name Is Legion 297
A. Rajputs and Afghans 299; B. Rajputs and Afghans
Looking South 310; C. The Egalitarian Warband 320;
D. Warrior-Ascetics and Wandering Minstrels 332
11. The Ballad ofRaja Desing 364
A. The Story and Its Settings 365; B. The Printed
Ballad and an Oral Telling 369; C. Rajput-Afghan
Heroism Goes South 394
12. Barbanka, Arav3!!, Kfit~~var: Furthering the Case
ofthe Severed Head 414
A. Reopening the Case 415; B. Tracking Barbanka 417;
C. A Permeable Divide 431
13. The Myth ofthe Agniv~sa 439
A. Variants 442; B. Themes 453; C. Agnikulas,
North and South 462
14. DraupadIBecomes Bela, Bela Becomes SatI 476
A. Disposing ofthe Kaurava Widows 476; B. DraupadI
Becomes Bela 482; C. High and Low Satls 491;
D. Bela Becomes SatI495 E. Bairagarh 501;
F. Questions, Questions 508
viii
Abbreviations 513
Bibliography 515
General Index 543
ix