Author: John D Smith
Publisher: Katha
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 183
ISBN/UPC (if available): 81-87649-83-6
Description
Pabuji, a medieval Rajput hero from the deserts of Marwar, is widely worshipped as a folk-deity capable of protecting against ill fortune. The principal form of worship entails the night-long singing of Pabuji's deeds by bard-priests or bhopos. This takes place in front of a long painted cloth, or par, which functions as the temple of the deity and depicts those same deeds. This chronicles the epic narrative in English free verse as well as interesting details about the words, the music and the part itself.
REVIEWS:
a model of meticulous scholarship .. A unique and groundbreaking contribution to our growing knowledge and understanding of South Asian epics, the multiple dimensions of oral performance, and the intertwining of story and ritual practice in living religious traditions.
- Journal of Asian Studies
An intelligence book with concern for detail, for illustration, for making things clear. Anyone interested in epic literature, Indian literature, or oral narrative will want to read it.
- Stuart H Blackburn, South Asia Research
Contents
Preface
Map of Rajasthan
Introduction
The words and music of Pabuji's epic
The pictures on Pabuji's par
Pabuji the god
Note on the Illustrations
The Epic of Pabuji
Horoscope
The Episode of the Hare
The Episode of the Mare and Patan
The Episode of Pushkar
The Episode of the She-Camels
The Episode of Pabuji's Wedding
The Episode of the Cows
The Episode of the Bhatis
The Episode of the Widows' Pyre
Appendices
Glossary
Family tree and other details
Select Bibliography
Bio Notes