Recent Russian Publications On Indian Epic

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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RUSSIAN PUBLICATIONS ON THE INDIAN EPIC
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him to tell the legend in detail. In R, as a rule, the second participant in the dialogue does not make such requests and the mention of the legend serves no other purpose than a simple reference or a comparison. This becomes later one of the favourite devices of classical Sanskrit poetry. G. mentions with approval Pisani's theory according to which inserted episodes do not appear in a chaotic way but are meant to fill the great temporal hiatuses which occur when the tempo of the main narrative is considerably slowed down.1 Often inserted stories do not simply duplicate or illustrate an epic event or supplement the characterization of some person, but they reflect one or other essential facet of the conception of the epic. Finally, G. remarks that inserted episodes are also to be found in other epics such as the Beowulf, Gilgamesh and the Homeric poems.
In the next three chapters Grintser examines topics already studied in the past by many scholars. It will therefore be sufficient to indicate briefly the contents of these chapters and to call attention to some points of particular interest which are discussed by G. Chapter 5 deals with the recensions and versions of the epic. G. draws attention to the fact that also in the case of other old epics several versions exist, for instance, the Akkadian poem on Gilgamesh is known in three versions.
1 'The Rise of the Mahābhārata', A Volume of Eastern and Indian Studies presented to Professor F. W. Thomas (Bombay, 1939), pp. 166 ff. The original Italian version has been published in his book, Mahābhārata, Episodi scelti (Torino, 1954), pp. 41-59.