Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative (South Asia Research)

Between 300 BCE and 200 CE, concepts and practices of dharma attained literary prominence throughout India. Both Buddhist and Brahmanical authors sought to clarify and classify their central concerns, and dharma proved a means of thinking through and articulating those concerns. Alf Hiltebeitel shows the different ways in which dharma was interpreted during that formative period: from the grand cosmic chronometries of __kalpas__ and __yugas__ to narratives about divine plans, gendered nuances of genealogical time, royal biography (even autobiography, in the case of the emperor Asoka), and guidelines for daily life, including meditation. He reveals the vital role dharma has played across political, religious, legal, literary, ethical, and philosophical domains and discourses about what holds life together. Through dharma, these traditions have articulated their distinct visions of the good and well-rewarded life. This insightful study explores the diverse and changing significance of dharma in classical India in nine major dharma texts, as well some shorter ones. Dharma proves to be a term by which to make a fresh cut through these texts, and to reconsider their own chronology, their import, and their relation to each other. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Abbreviations 16 1. Introduction 22 A. Classical Dharma Texts and Their Relative Dating 24 B. Three Critical Editions 30 C. Paradigm Shifts on Dharma: The Case of the Mahābhārata 39 D. Chapter by Chapter 48 2. Aśoka Maurya 54 A. Aśoka’s Inscriptions 55 B. A Comprehensive Dhamma 64 3. A Vedic History of Dharma 70 A. Dhárman in Early and Later Rgvedic Usages 71 B. Dhárman as Enigma 77 C. Dhárman and Rgvedic Kingship 85 D. Mantra Period and Later Samhitā Usages 97 E. The Brāhmanas 103 F. The Upanisads 110 4. Early Buddhism: Three Baskets of Dharma 122 A. Sūtra Basket Dharma 126 B. Abhidharma Basket Dharma 143 C. Vinaya Basket Dharma 169 5. Post-Vedic Brahmanical Dharma 200 A. Vedic Schools and the Dharmasūtras 201 B. Toward Consensus in Brahmanical Dharma Texts 208 C. What’s New with Manu 215 D. Brahmā in Manu ’s Frame Narrative 227 E. Varna (Caste), Āśrama (Life Pattern), the King, Śūdras,and Women 234 F. Rājadharma: Establishing a King’s Dharma 247 G. A Day in a King’s Life 252 6. Dharma over Time, I: Big Time Dharma 262 A. Kalpas and Yugas 263 B. Buddhist and Hindu Kalpas 265 C. Originary Dharma in the Mahābhārata 279 D. Kalpas, Manvantaras, and Yugas in Manu and the Mahābhārata 285 7. Dharma over Time, II: Prophesies of Disaster 292 A. The Yuga Purāna 293 B. Variations on the Debacle at Kauśāmbī 317 C. The Yuga Purāna and the Kauśāmbī Myth 352 8. Women’s Dharma: Śāstric Norms and Epic Narratives 356 A. Strīdharma 357 B. The Law of the Mother 359 C. Mother Gangā 364 D. Mother Kālī Satyavatī 373 E. The Transitional “Three Mothers,” 392 F. Mothers Kuntī and Gāndhārī 402 G. Kuntī, Mādrī, and Pāndu among the Hundred Peak Mountain Rsis 412 H. Settling Mother Kuntī and Her Sons Back at Hāstinapura 425 I. Conclusions 429 9. Two Dharma Biographies? Rāma and Yudhisthira 430 A. The Royal Life as Adventure 431 B. Frames and Frontmatter on Rāma, Yudhisthira, and Dharma 434 C. Sidestories and Subtales, Foregrounding and Legal Precedent 439 D. Monstrous Encounters 448 E. Questionable Killings: Vālin and Drona 472 F. Rāma and Yudhisthira: Some Comparative Points 498 10. Draupadī and Sītā: Dharmapatnīs of Two Different Kinds 500 A. Family Background, Birth, and Childhood 503 B. Marriage, Divine Plan, Early Signs of Trouble 507 C. Sītā and Draupadī on Their Svadharma 514 D. Captivity and Exile 517 11. Dharma and the Bhagavad Gītā 536 A. Svadharma and Svakarma: Qualities, Merits, and Virtues 537 B. Who Has Svadharma? 548 C. Manu and the Bhagavad Gītā: Two Kinds of Karmayoga 554 D. Where Krsna Is There Is Dharma 561 E. Dharma Rings in the Bhagavad Gītā Proper 572 12. Dharma and Bhakti 588 A. Mapping the Divine Plans 590 B. The Placer and the Ordainer 604 C. “Avatāra,” 608 D. Friendship, Hospitality, and Separation 622 E. Rsidharma 626 F. Rāma and Krsna as Guests, Hosts, and Friends 635 13. Aśvaghosa’s Buddhacarita: A Buddhist Reading of the Sanskrit Epics and Their Treatments of Dharma 644 A. Aśvaghosa’s Buddhacarita 645 B. The Centrality of Dharma in Aśvaghosa’s Buddhacarita 647 C. Aśvaghosa the Brahmin, Buddhist Convert, and Scholar 652 D. Aśvaghosa and Epic Precedents 654 E. The Buddhacarita and the Rāmāyana 657 F. The Buddhacarita and the Mahābhārata 664 G. Postscript on Aśoka 702 Bibliography 704 Index 746 A 746 B 748 C 750 D 751 E 752 F 753 G 753 H 754 I 754 J 755 K 755 L 756 M 756 N 758 O 759 P 759 Q 760 R 760 S 761 T 762 U 763 V 763 W 765 Y 765 Z 766 "Between 300 BCE and 200 CE, concepts and practices of dharma attained literary prominence throughout India. Both Buddhist and Brahmanical authors sought to clarify and classify their central concerns, and dharma proved a means of thinking through and articulating those concerns. Alf Hiltebeitel shows the different ways in which dharma was interpreted during that formative period: from the grand cosmic chronometries of kalpas and yugas to narratives about divine plans, gendered nuances of genealogical time, royal biography (even autobiography, in the case of the emperor Asoka), and guidelines for daily life, including meditation. He reveals the vital role dharma has played across political, religious, legal, literary, ethical, and philosophical domains and discourses about what holds life together. Through dharma, these traditions have articulated their distinct visions of the good and well-rewarded life. This insightful study explores the diverse and changing significance of dharma in classical India in nine major dharma texts, as well some shorter ones. Dharma proves to be a term by which to make a fresh cut through these texts, and to reconsider their own chronology, their import, and their relation to each other."--Publisher's description