{"product_id":"raja-yudhisthira-kingship-in-epic-mahabharata-hardback-9781501704987","title":"Raja Yudhisthira; Kingship in Epic Mahabharata (Hardback) 9781501704987","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eRaja Yudhisthira\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eKingship in Epic Mahabharata\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eKevin McGrath (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781501704987\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 16 May 2017\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e272 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.907 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e Raja Yudhisthira\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e, Kevin McGrath brings his comprehensive literary, ethnographic, and analytical knowledge of the epic Mahabharata to bear on the representation of kingship in the poem.\u003c\/b\u003e He shows how the preliterate Great Bharata song depicts both archaic and classical models of kingly and premonetary polity and how the king becomes a ruler who is viewed as ritually divine. Based on his precise and empirical close reading of the text, McGrath then addresses the idea of heroic religion in both antiquity and today; for bronze-age heroes still receive great devotional worship in modern India and communities continue to clash at the sites that have been—for millennia—associated with these epic figures; in fact, the word hero is in fact more of a religious than a martial term.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne of the most important contributions of \u003ci\u003eRaja Yudhisthira\u003c\/i\u003e, and a subtext in McGrath's analysis of Yudhisthira's kingship, is the revelation that neither of the contesting moieties of the royal Hastinapura clan triumphs in the end, for it is the Yadava band of Krsna who achieve real victory. That is, it is the matriline and not the patriline that secures ultimate success: it is the kinship group of Krsna—the heroic figure who was to become the dominant Vaisnava icon of classical India—who benefits most from the terrible Bharata war.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. The Beginning2. Kingship The Rajasuya Sequence War as Royal Rite The Asvamedha 3. Ideals of Kingship Archaic Ideals Installation Classical Ideals 4. The End\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52607758401816,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/raja-yudhisthira-kingship-in-epic-mahabharata-hardback-9781501704987","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}