{"product_id":"rethinking-the-mahabharata-alf-hiltebeitel-9780226340531","title":"Rethinking the Mahabharata: A Reader's Guide to the Education of the Dharma King","description":"The ancient Indian Sanskrit tradition produced no text more intriguing, or more persistently misunderstood or underappreciated, than the Mahabharata. Its intricacies have waylaid generations of scholars and ignited dozens of unresolved debates. \u003ci\u003eIn Rethinking the Mahabharata\u003c\/i\u003e, Alf Hiltebeitel offers a unique model for understanding the great epic. Employing a wide range of literary and narrative theory, Hiltebeitel draws on historical and comparative research in an attempt to discern the spirit and techniques behind the epic's composition. He focuses on the education of Yudhisthira, also known as the Dharma King, and shows how the relationship of this figure to others-especially his author-grandfather Vyasa and his wife Draupadi-provides a thread through the bewildering array of frames and stories embedded within stories. Hiltebeitel also offers a revisionist theory regarding the dating and production of the original text and its relation to the Veda. No ordinary reader's guide, this volume will illuminate many mysteries of this enigmatic masterpiece. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis work is the fourth volume in Hiltebeitel's study of the Draupadi cult. Other volumes include \u003ci\u003eMythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra\u003c\/i\u003e (Volume One), \u003ci\u003eOn Hindu Ritual and the Goddess\u003c\/i\u003e (Volume Two), and \u003ci\u003eRethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics\u003c\/i\u003e (Volume Three).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alf Hiltebeitel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226340538\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226340531\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 375\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.28h x 6.32w x 1.00d","brand":"Alf Hiltebeitel","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086406529279,"sku":"9780226340531","price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_cb74ea3b-1d19-4936-b894-ba9d7aa7b7c5.jpg?v=1769094488","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/rethinking-the-mahabharata-alf-hiltebeitel-9780226340531","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}