Lord Shiva’s Timelessness against Temporality: A Study of A River Sutra
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/b99svg06Keywords:
Shiva, Narmada, mythology, culture, earthly, collective unconsciousAbstract
Mythological stories are the documents of a culture as they touch almost everything we feel and experience. Myths came even before art, language, literature, religion, science and philosophy and have survived the test of time today. Therefore, they throw light on people’s collective unconscious from the pre-historic to the contemporary era; hence, they are a powerful tool for understanding the way of living and psychology of a particular group. Gita Mehta, in her novel, A River Sutra, has narrated the happenings viewing them from the point of view of the myths related to Shiva and the holy river Narmada. The characters of the novel are common human beings like tribals, researchers, musicians, ascetics. pilgrims etc. for whom the Narmada and its folk tales have been the focus of the lives of such people since time immemorial. As the river is the mythological daughter of Shiva, the novel revolves around the latter’s myths and his association with the earthly life. The present paper is an attempt to explore Gita Mehta’s use of the elements of Shiva’s timelessness in A River Sutra. Simultaneously, in the same pursuit, it aims to study the association of Shiva’s mythology in the context of the contemporary Indian society and human beings at large.
Downloads
References
1. Bande, Usha. Gita Mehta: Writing Home/Creating Homeland. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2008.
2. Cartwright, Mark. “Shiva.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. https://www.ancient.eu/shiva/. May 2018.
3. Chakravarti, Uma. “Whatever Happened to The Vedic Desi?” Recasting Women:Essays in Indian Colonial History. Ed.Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid. United States: Rutgers University Press, 1990. 27-87.
4. Chaturvedi, B.K. Shiv-Purana. New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd., 2012.
5. Doniger, Wendy O’Flaharty. Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH, 1973.
6. Hall ET. The Silent Language. New York: Doubleday, 1959.
7. Ions, Veronica. Indian Mythology. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1967.
8. Kakar, Sudhir. “Cults and Myths of Krishna.” Indian Literary Criticism: Theory and Interpretation. Ed. G. N. Devy.
9. Hyderabad: Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., 2004. Pp 417-30.
10. Kumar, Sukrita Paul. “Myths are Forever.” The Hindu. New Delhi: 2 May 2015.
11. Mehta, Gita. A River Sutra. New Delhi: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 1993.
---. “Gita Mehta, an Interview.” by C. J. S.Wallia. India Star Review of Books. https://www.uni-
13. saarland.de/fileadmin/upload/lehrstuhl/ghoshschellhorn/Tas_Datenbank/South_Asia Diasporas/Meht
a_G_IndiaStar_Review_of_Books.pdf, 17 October 2010.
14. “Narmada Parikrama: The Great Circumambulation” Outlook Traveller.
15. https://www.outlookindia.com/traveller/mp/inspire-me/culture/narmada-parikrama-great-
circumambulation/, November 23, 2017.
16. Parameswaran, Uma. “A River of Wisdom” Writing the Diaspora: Essays on Culture andIdentity. Ed. Uma Parameswaran.
17. Jaipur: Rawat Publication, 2007. Pp 145-54.
18. Pattanaik, Devdutta. “Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik: One step closer to the Indian audience.” India Today.
19. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/devdutt- pattanaik-mythology-
importance- interview 1023028-2017-07-07 3 February 2018.
20. ---. Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art. New Delhi: Westland Ltd., 2009.
21. ---. 7 Secrets of Shiva: From the Hindu Trinity Series.New Delhi: Westland Ltd., 2011. Print.
22. Radhakrishnan, S. “Hinduism.” A Cultural History of India. Ed. A.L. Basham. New Delhi:
23. Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp 60 – 82.
24. Rajan, C.V. “Narmada Parikrama – Book Review: Walking With the Immortals by Captain K K Venkatraman” hinduismwayoflife.com.https://hinduismwayoflife.com/2018/02/11/narmada-parikrama-book-review-walking-with-the-immortals/ , February 11, 2018.
25. Sharma, Bhasha Shukla. “Anthropomorphism of River Narmada: A Cultural Study of A River Sutra.” The Criterion,
26. Vol III, No.III, 2012. Pp 2-11.
27. Sharma, Pravesh. “The Story of Lord Shiva’s Birth.” Speakingtree.in. https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/the-story-of-lord-shiva-birth, 31 July 2019.
28. Singh, Akansha. “Modern writers are retelling India’s legendary Hindu tales – often through a feminist lens. Why is this important?” How India’s Ancient Myths are Being Rewritten.BBC. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190902-how-indias-ancient-myths-are-being-rewritten?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F 2 September 2019.
29. Trikha, Pradeep. “Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra: A Pilgrim’s Progress.” Fiction of the Nineties. Ed. Veena Noble Dass and R. K. Dhawan. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1994. Pp173-78.
30. Vivekananda, Swami. I am a Voice Without a Form. Hyderabad: Kala Jyoti Pvt. Ltd., 2005.
31. Williams, Raymond. Culture and Society. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
32. Wimsatt Jr, W. K. and Cleanth Brooks. Literary Criticism: A Short History. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH, 1957.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
