The Historic Conversations of Gods, Kings and Sages: Literary Dialogues Across South Asian Religious Traditions

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Dr James Hegarty (Cardiff University)
• Tuesday 26 November 2013, 17:00-18:30
• Room 8+9, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Charles Li.

In this paper, I explore literary dialogues between prominent religious and royal authorities in Hindu, Buddhist and even Sikh traditions. I will consider the way in which this literary form is used both to reject and tacitly incorporate the ideas of religious rivals. I also take up the use of these dialogues as a form of propaganda, which often aim to secure support for a given religious tradition from lay supporters and, in particular, from social elites. I will consider how these conversations are shaped by both the particular mythologies of a given religious tradition, but also – in some cases – by more recent historical experience. My central hypothesis will be that the literary evocation of conversations between religious and temporal authorities has provided an enduring means of transmitting and adapting religious knowledge as well as reflecting on historical experience in South Asian religious traditions.

This talk is part of the Wright Lecture Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Room 8+9, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
• Wright Lecture Series

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.