Raj Balkaran, "The Goddess and the Sun in Indian Myth" (Routledge, 2020)

Summary

Why are the myths of the Indian Great Goddess, Durgā, found in the  Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa  framed by myths glorifying the Sun, Sūrya? And why do these glorifications mirror each other in both content and form? In exploring these questions, this book argues for an ideological ecosystem at work in the  Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa privileging worldly (pravṛtti) values, of which Indian kings, the Goddess (Devī), the Sun (Sūrya) and sage Mārkaṇḍeya himself are paragons. Join us in the “flip interview” as as your New Books Network Hindu Studies host Raj Balkaran (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies) is interviewed on his new book, The Goddess and the Sun in Indian Myth: Power, Preservation and Mirrored Māhātmyas in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (Routledge, 2020) by guest-interviewer Christopher Austin.
Christopher Austen is Associate Professor, Religious Studies at Dalhousie University

Your Host

Christopher Austin

View Profile