Description
About the Author
Christopher R. Austin completed his BA and MA degrees in Religious Studies at Concordia University in Montreal and PhD at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is presently Associate Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Classics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he teaches widely across all major religious traditions of South and East Asia, as well as Sanskrit and South Asian History. His principal areas of research are in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata and particularly its supplement the Harivamsa, the biographical traditions of Krishna's life and his son Pradyumna, and early Vaisnavism.
Reviews
This is a beautiful book on the mythology of Krsna, written from the point of view of Pradyumna, Krsna's oft neglected son. In stories from classical India that have rarely been studied, Pradyumna focuses on the dimension of desire or kama, providing a rich understanding of masculinity, femininity and sexuality in general. * Andre Couture, Professor Emeritus, Faculte de theologie et de sciences religieuses, Universite Laval *
The Sanskrit archive is an inexhaustible mine of treasures, but we need outstanding scholarship to bring these treasures to light. Christopher Austin has crafted a multi-dimensional biography of Pradyumna, a fascinating but little-known character glimpsed in many sources. The author's frame-questions of power and desire, divinity and humanity have implications that reach far beyond the texts, and even have something to tell us about ourselves. An outstanding book. * McComas Taylor, author of Seven Days of Nectar: Contemporary Oral Performance of the Bhagavatapurana *
In his seamless combination of close textual study and gender analysis, Austin has given us an outstanding methodological blueprint for studying early Indic texts. Drawing from archeological and early textual sources, he convincingly demonstrates that the narratives of Pradyumna articulate ways to resolve 'deep-seated anxieties and conflicts attending the sexual maturation of males.' A fascinating and informative read, Austin's study is a must for scholars of the Indian epic, literary, and religious traditions. * Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit, University of California at Berkeley *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190054113
Author Christopher R. Austin
Format Hardback
Page Count 324
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 157mm * 236mm * 28mm