Another bit of black anti-rakshas PR?

Artur Karp karp at UW.EDU.PL
Mon Nov 21 13:07:41 UTC 2011


Dear Adheesh,

thanks for your comments. They are more than helpful. Especially as
they confirm my intuitions re the Ramayanic use of satirical elements
and its social context. Robert Goldman's "Ravana's Kitchen" can be
found under:

http://tinyurl.com/cy5thma

and thank you again for reminding me of its existence. I read it
afresh today, with pleasure. I do believe the negative and highly
stereotypized imagery of the Other, brought in use whenever the term
"rakshas/rakshasa" appears, deserves a thorough study. A task for the
younger generation of South Asia scholars.

>  He further offers "vRddhaH 'antakaH" as a gloss -- "antaka [Death/Destroyer/Ender] has grown."

 Is your quotation from this Parimal's edition?

http://www.archive.org/stream/ValmikiRamayana/Aranyakanda_III#page/n13/mode/2up

What I see here is: kAle yugAntakAle vRddho 'ntakah. Wouldn't that
rather mean that antaka is vRddha - meaning "Antaka is The Old/Ancient One"?
If so, wouldn't "The Old One" mean "The Old Time" described in the
Bhg. XI.32 as pravRddha?

The best,

Artur





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