{"product_id":"sati-the-blessing-and-the-curse","title":"Sati, the Blessing and the Curse","description":"Several years ago in Rajasthan, an eighteen-year-old woman was burned on her husband's funeral pyre and thus became sati. Before ascending the pyre, she was expected to deliver both blessings and curses: blessings to guard her family and clan for many generations, and curses to prevent anyone from thwarting her desire to die. Sati also means blessing and curse in a broader sense. To those who revere it, sati symbolizes ultimate loyalty and\nself-sacrifice. It often figures near the core of a Hindu identity that feels embattled in a modern world. Yet to those who deplore it, sati is a curse, a violation of every woman's womanhood. It is murder mystified, and as\nsuch, the symbol of precisely what Hinduism should not be.\nIn this volume a group of leading scholars consider the many meanings of sati: in India and the West; in literature, art, and opera; in religion, psychology, economics, and politics. With contributors who are both Indian and American, this is a genuinely binational, postcolonial discussion. Contributors include Karen Brown, Paul Courtright, Vidya Dehejia, Ainslie Embree, Dorothy Figueira, Lindsey Harlan,\nJohn Hawley, Robin Lewis, Ashis Nandy, and Veena Talwar Oldenburg.","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54229850620248,"sku":"9780195077742","price":61.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780195077742.jpg?v=1779254128","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/sati-the-blessing-and-the-curse","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}