The Goddess as Role Model

Sita and Radha in Scripture and on Screen

Bibliographic Data

ID8083463
AuthorsHeidi Pauwels (0000-0002-0919-0774, corresponding author), Heidi Rika Maria Pauwels
Year2008
Pages558
Publication date2008-09-25
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueThe goddess as role model (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University PressNew York (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369908.001.0001
OpenAlexW2494159624
Open LibraryOL16638688M
ISBN9780195369908
LanguageEN
Citations received12

This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the most important positive role model for women. The case of Radha, Krishna's clandestine lover, seems to challenge some of these norms. The book investigates in how far that holds true today. The focus is on the ways the goddesses cope with love. The first part looks at their falling in love, the way their weddings are arranged, and the significance of the wedding ceremonies. The second part looks at their married life, where they are faced with challenges. They come out of purdah to follow their beloved in hardship, and face the threat from “the other woman” and “the other man.” The book takes the case of Sita as main point of reference, but contrasts with comparable episodes from the stories of Radha or Krishna's other consorts. The goddess as role model for the woman in love is just as relevant today as in the past, as is evident from the popularity of the televised mythological series Ramayan and Shri Krishna directed by Ramanand Sagar, and the many allusions to Sita and Radha in popular culture. The television series and popular recent and classical hit‐movies that use Sita and Radha tropes are analyzed through comparison with the ancient Sanskrit sources (Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana) and medieval vernacular reworkings by devotional poets (Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanddas and Hariram Vyas

Aesthetics · Art · Face (sociological concept · Hinduism · Legend · Literature · Mythology · Political science · Popularity · Sanskrit · Social science · Sociology · Vernacular · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Violence, Religion, and Philosophy · Gods in art · Gods, in literature · Hindu goddesses · Love · Rādhā (Hindu deity) · Religion in motion pictures · Religious aspects · Religious aspects of Love · Sītā (Hindu deity) · Social aspects · Social aspects of HInduism · Women in hinduism · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious Studies

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