In Hindu mythology, Krishna is an incarnation or avatar of Vishnu; unlike other incarnations; however, Krishna is regarded as the Purna avatar or complete incarnation because he embodies all the attributes of the ideal, well-rounded personality. As Pavan K. Varma notes, a very important aspect of this ideal personality is that of the accomplished lover; Krishna is the lover-God, capable of both feeling and invoking sexual desire. This seemingly “profane” attribute of a sacred god-figure begins to be comprehensible when seen in the larger context of Hinduism’s Four Cardinal Principles or Purushartha Chatushtham: Dharma, Artha, Kaama, and Moksha. The role of Kaama or desire is thus enshrined within the socio-religious order itself, and is not seen as extrinsic to it. However, it is certainly the case that desire, although very much validated, is certainly also regulated. Therefore, where the myth of Krishna scores over and above other similar Hindu myths—and here Nair uses “myth” as a generic term to refer to lore, folktale, epic and legend, both written and oral—is, as Varma says, in sanctifying sexual desire even outside the boundaries of conventional morality. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Krishna’s relationship with Radha.
Radha occupies a very interesting place in Hindu mythology. Many authors have pointed out that her name finds no mention in the earlier authoritative texts on Krishna, such as the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Vishnu Purana (circa CE 300 to 600), and the Bhagvata Purana, and though there are scattered references to her in folklore and poetry from the sixth century CE onwards, only in the thirteenth century does Puranic literature accord her a well-formed identity (Varma 42-43; Rao 44-45). Finally, it...
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...ian aesthetics. In the novel, the nine Rasas of Bharata’s Natyashastra become more than just aesthetic emotions to be performed by the Kathakali dancer on stage. Through a clever use of the nine Rasas, the novel depicts not just the context within which Radha’s adultery begins to take shape, but also ultimately foregrounds her point of view.
Thus, through the lens of sringaaram or love, we see how Radha’s absence of desire for her older husband Shyam has left vacant an emotional space within which her desire for the American travel writer and cello player Chris is born. Through Radha’s eyes, we see Shyam as a materialistic businessman who understands neither art nor aesthetics, who constantly embarrasses Radha by exhibiting
“A carelessness that is so typical of him,” and who in her words “wasn’t just a sham; he was an uncouth boor, this husband of mine” (Nair 9).18
Radha is emotionally detached and fairly disdainful of her husband, Shyam. Their matrimony existed only in name, without any effort on the part of Radha to keep it lively. She was unable to create a bond with him and considered that her marriage was already “fractured” as she mentioned to Chris. It is the beginning to enjoy her life and first step indirectly to voice out her travail. An affair can add excitement and a sense of purpose to life, and often this activity helps to taste up the state of achieving autonomy, from the hands of the dominati...
...ves. Courtly love was also only practiced in the upper class which meant that it was unconsummated. In India, love was associated with sex and religion. It was believed that the only way to attain the penultimate spiritual relationship with the god Krishna was to participate in poly-amorous relationships and orgies. Through this practice, class distinctions were nearly nonexistent. In contrast with India and Europe, Japan “invented stylized sex rather than romantic love (Reilly, 324).” There was a clear separation of social classes as well as numerous relationships being polygamous. All in all, the differing interpretations of love throughout Europe, India, and Japan directly influenced marriage and gender relations throughout the postclassical era.
Kothari employs a mixture of narrative and description in her work to garner the reader’s emotional investment. The essay is presented in seventeen vignettes of differing lengths, a unique presentation that makes the reader feel like they are reading directly from Kothari’s journal. The writer places emphasis on both her description of food and resulting reaction as she describes her experiences visiting India with her parents: “Someone hands me a plate of aloo tikki, fried potato patties filled with mashed channa dal and served with a sweet and a sour chutney. The channa, mixed with hot chilies and spices, burns my tongue and throat” (Kothari). She also uses precise descriptions of herself: “I have inherited brown eyes, black hair, a long nose with a crooked bridge, and soft teeth
"Why is Eurydice such a bitch?" was the comment asked of me during a lesson on the poem "Eurydice" by H.D. "Doesn't she realize that Orpheus loves her and is only trying to rescue her? Why is she so harsh to him?" It was during a unit on mythology that the students were reading H.D's poetryówe had recently completed the small "Orpheus and Eurydice" blurb in Edith Hamilton's Mythology when I came across H.D's effort and decided to introduce it to my students. We had previously explored the roles of women in several contextsóhistorically and religiously. Now we encountered the first female speaker who activated the Greek myth with her strong, powerful language.
As exemplified throughout history, literature and life, love and sex have often been linked to each other without being mutually exclusive. Through our work this past year with Freud and Baumeister, we’ve learned a lot about the relationship between love and sex and the psychological corresponding between the two. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales provided a insight elaborating more on this relationship of love and sex through the tales of many characters in the series. Although both of these concepts are recurring events, one central theme seems to have connected the two in many of the stories. In the Canterbury Tales, manipulation is a key component in attaining both love and sex. This is demonstrated in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, as
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
During this time, sex between those who are not married, was strongly looked down upon. Also, sex was strictly for pro-creation, never for pleasure. Therefore, Victorian pornography highlighted many negative and frightening possibilities of sex such as bodily decay and suffering (Joudrey, 2015). This makes it seem as though both the man and woman would have harm done to them for engaging in intercourse. However, in other categories of Victorian pornography, the perspective that it is God’s will to forcefully take a woman’s virginity takes place. According to scholar Joudrey, there are vivid explanations of doing so in short stories such as Venus in India (1890). Even supposing this view was acceptable in the Victorian Era, it is not a man’s duty to take a woman’s virginity to form her into a “real woman”. Today, this would presumably appear as rape especially because the women had no say in the matter and surely depict the women as objects rather than
In today’s heterosexual and patriarchal society sex and sexual desires revolve around men, and Hoagland sets out seven patterns showing how this is the case. Sex is thought of as a “powerful and uncontrollable urge” and male sexuality therefore is a basic component to male health, sexual acts show male conquest and domination, sexual freedom gives men total access to and over women, rape is, by this logic, natural and women who resist a man’s advances are “‘frigid’”, sex involves losing control and sexual desire, when described as erotic, “involves a death wish (eros)”. The bottom line is that in today’s heterosexual and patriarchal society sex is all about men having a natural power over women; sex involves a total loss of control which creates a split between reason and emotion since being in control is a matter of reason controlling emotions, “we tend to believe that to be safe we must be rational and in control but to...
This story is a great representation of how relationships have changed over the years. Weather its the female dominance or the relationships are given up. Shoba and Shukumar are great examples of this phenomenon. This couple can be related to a typical American relationship. Jhumpa Lahiri does a good job of detailing this failure of a relationship and explains how this couple breaks apart.
In Hindu ideology, culture, and thought, Krishna is revered as a lighthearted and exuberant deity who is eternally at play with himself. As the master of play, the master of līlā, Krishna is said to delight in the elements of his own nature symbolically through his cosmic and earthly divine interaction with his śaktis manifested as a dance with the gopīs. This abstract relationship truly unfolds with an understanding of the nature of Krishna with respect to his līlā, an analysis of the four modes of devotion, or bhāvas, through which the devotee may approach Krishna, and, as an example, with a look into the most intimate kind devotional relationship attainable with Krishna using his relationship with the gopīs and with Rādhā as a module.
As individuals coming from different backgrounds of cultural and social influences, we are responsible for the transition from traditional to modern views on social concepts such as adultery. The act of adultery possesses a different meaning and understanding to different people. The question of whether adultery is immoral is a topic that many debate on. Some people will place limitations on relationships and mutually decide on when adultery occurs. This paper will be discussing the traditional views of the reasons why as well as when adultery is immoral and conclude with modern views on what makes adultery immoral. Throughout this paper I will attempt to argue with support that adultery is not immoral in cases where one sees sex as a form of expression of love. This paper will also focus on marital relationships and not relationships in any other form.
In relation to literature that most are familiar with throughout the world, Bharata Natyam fulfills all the same important purposes. It gives a sense of history and culture by the nature of the myths the performers convey. Many of the dances pay tribute to a certain god and for this reason ...
Thus, Tendulkar “His Fifth Woman” is a metaphysical-social allegory. It is an epoch-making play in the history of Indian English Drama.
It is already mentioned that this study will focus on Rokeya’s three English pieces— Sultana’s Dream, “God gives, Man robs” and “Educational Ideals for the Modern Indian Girl”. Detailed analysis and logical arguments with references to the texts are given below to explore the above sub-title:
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy tells the story of the communist state of Kerala and the forbidden love between two castes, which changes the lives of everyone. In the novel an ‘Untouchable’, Velutha is a carpenter and works at Paradise Pickles and Preserves for much less than he deserves because of his status as an Untouchable in the caste system. Velutha falls into a forbidden love with a divorced woman, Ammu who is associated with an upper caste Syrian Christian Ipe family. Marriage was the only way that Ammu could have escaped this life, but she lost the chance when marrying the wrong man, as he was an alcoholic and this resulted in them getting a divorce. Ammu breaks the laws that state ‘who should be loved, and how and how much’, as their affair threatens the ‘caste system’ in India, which is a hierarchal structure and social practice in India in which your position in society is determined and can’t be changed. Arhundati Roy portrays the theme of forbidden love within the caste systems and shows how they are t...