The thesis is an attempt to trace back the origin of the satī ritual (which consists of the self-immolation of widows on their husbans' funeral pyre) to the myth involving the goddess Satī, Dakṣa's...Show moreThe thesis is an attempt to trace back the origin of the satī ritual (which consists of the self-immolation of widows on their husbans' funeral pyre) to the myth involving the goddess Satī, Dakṣa's daughter, who immolated herself in the in the fire during Dakṣa's sacrifice, to which Satī and her husband Śiva had not been invited. She thus burns herself out of her rage towards her father, for not being invited and for not accepting Śiva as her husband. The link between the ritual and the myth is hypothetically found in the myth involving the goddess Saṃdhyā, the first goddess created by Brahmā (according to some versions of the myth of creation), who committed self-suicide by burning herself in the fire.Show less
This study offers a socio-historical analysis of three selected chapters of the Prapannāmṛtam, a hagiography composed by Anantārya most probably in the 17th century. The aim of the present research...Show moreThis study offers a socio-historical analysis of three selected chapters of the Prapannāmṛtam, a hagiography composed by Anantārya most probably in the 17th century. The aim of the present research is that of showing how the socio-political and religious affiliation of the author can be identified as the main force which led to the composition of chapters 123-125, here under analysis. Anantārya is a proud member of the decayed Tātācāryas, a family of raja-gurus which had dominated the political and religious scene of Vijayanagara between the 14th and 16th century: Prapannāmṛtam 123-125 might, in this sense, be read as a praśasti (eulogy) of the glorious past of the family, expressed through the celebration of the miraculous events narrated in chapters 123-125. The political and religious strength of the family is put forth, in the narration, by the acts of two Tātācārya teachers, Nṛsiṃhārya and his younger brother: it is thanks to their actions that, in chapter 125, the religious conversion of king Virūpākṣa II and its subjects from Śaivism to Vaiṣṇavism takes place. Moreover, through the analysis of an alleged ‘a-historical’ hagiographic text, I introduced the issue of how, in the Indological context, the concepts of ‘history’ and ‘historiography’ should be revised in light of new, more fruitful, theories (e.g. Bloch 1949, Bulke 2001 and Corrao & Viola 2005).Show less
