RAKSHASAS AND ASURAS IN HINDU EPIC TALES
Abstract
When the Aryans came to India, they found the Hindus Valley Civilization (3300–1300 BCE) to be more advanced than any they had ever encountered before. After many battles, the Aryans finally settled down in the northern part of India, forcing the non-Aryans to move from the north to the south. The fact that the non-Aryans had dark skin and a different facial structure from the Aryans gave rise to the characters called rakshasas and asuras. By analyzing relevant parts of the Hindu mythology, I will trace in this paper the role of social and political factors that have been instrumental in creating such stories.
Keywords: Aryans, non-Aryan, Hindus Valley Civilization, mythology.
Keywords
References
- Ballantyne, Tony. (2002). Orientalism and Race. New York: Palgrave.
- Bronner, Yigal. (2011). “A Text with a Thesis: The Ramayana from Appayya Diksita’s Receptive End.” In South Asian Texts in History: Critical Engagements with Sheldon Pollock, edited by Yigal Bronner, Whitney Cox, and Lawrence McCrea. Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, Inc.
- Goldman, Robert. (2011). “Expert Nation: An Epic of Antiquity in the World of Modernity.” In South Asian Texts in History: Critical Engagements with Sheldon Pollock, edited by Yigal Bronner, Whitney Cox, and Lawrence McCrea. Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, Inc.
- Hopkins, Washburn E. (1915). Epic Mythology. Strassburg: Verlag Von Karl J. Trubner.
- Michaels, Axel. (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Prime, Ranchor. (1997). Ramayana: A Journey. London: Collins and Brown Ltd.
- Vaidya, C. V. (1906). The Riddle of the Ramayana. Bombay.
- Valmiki. (2005). Ramayana: Ayodhya. New York: New York University Press, JJC Foundation, 2005.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
-
Authors
Madhubanti Banerjee
Publication Date
August 31, 2015
Submission Date
August 30, 2015
Acceptance Date
-
Published in Issue
Year 2015 Volume: 1 Number: 2
Cited By
Deber y deseo en voz de una demonesa: la historia de Hiḍimbā en el Mahābhārata
Revista de Filología y Lingüística de la Universidad de Costa Rica
https://doi.org/10.15517/x4qcma70