From Fire To Light

From Fire To Light Rereading the Manusmriti

Paperback (16 May 2024)

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Publisher's Synopsis

In From Fire to Light, acclaimed academic Arvind Sharma argues that the present understanding of the Manusmriti - regarded as a text designed by the higher castes, especially brahmanas, to oppress the lower castes and women - only tells one side of the story. As he demonstrates, this perception, when examined against textual, commentarial and historical evidence, is limited to the point of being misleading (and sometimes downright wrong).Providing an alternative reading of the Manusmriti, From Fire to Light accepts some of the conclusions associated with the existing interpretation but presents them in a new light, mitigating and at times contradicting some of its other features. In taking the plural character of the Hindu tradition and the Manusmriti's historical context more deeply into account, it brings about a paradigm shift in our understanding of this ancient text. The Manusmriti emerges as an attempt at social engineering, but of a rather different kind than imagined till now.

Book information

ISBN: 9789356997769
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Imprint: HarperCollins India
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 392
Weight: -1g
Height: 230mm
Width: 153mm