Dance of Divine Love
eBook - PDF

Dance of Divine Love

India's Classic Sacred Love Story: The Rasa Lila of Krishna

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Dance of Divine Love

India's Classic Sacred Love Story: The Rasa Lila of Krishna

About this book

The heart of this book is a dramatic love poem, the Rasa Lila, which is the ultimate focal point of one of the most treasured Sanskrit texts of India, the Bhagavata Purana. Judged a literary masterpiece by Indian and Western scholars alike, this work of poetic genius and soaring religious vision is one of the world's greatest sacred love stories and, as Graham Schweig clearly demonstrates, should be regarded as India's Song of Songs. The story presents the supreme deity as the youthful and amorous cowherd, Krishna, who joins his beloved maidens in an enchanting and celebratory "dance of divine love."


Schweig introduces this work of exquisite poetry and profound theology to the Western world in the form of a luminous translation and erudite scholarly treatment. His book explores the historical context and literary genre of the work and elucidates the aesthetic and emotional richness of the composition, highlighting poignant details of this drama of divine love. Schweig illuminates the religious dimensions and ethical nuances of the drama, drawing widely from the commentaries and esoteric vision of masters of the Caitanya school of Vaishnavism, a prominent devotional Hindu tradition.


Themes such as transcendence of death through love, the yoga of devotion, the contrast between worldly love and passionate love for God, and the dialectical tension between ethical boundaries and boundless love are presented. The final event of the Rasa dance, the author concludes, presents a dynamic symbol of supreme love that provides the basis for a theological vision of genuine religious pluralism.

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Yes, you can access Dance of Divine Love by Graham M. Schweig in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Literary Criticism in Poetry. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. List of Figures and Tables
  6. Foreword by Norvin Hein
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Pronunciation
  9. Abbreviations
  10. INTRODUCTION: THE SACRED LOVE STORY
  11. Part I: Poems from the Bhagavata Purana
  12. Part II: Textual Illuminations
  13. Part III: Notes and Comments
  14. Part IV: The Sanskrit Text
  15. APPENDIX 1: NOTE ON TRANSLATION
  16. APPENDIX 2: POETIC METERS IN SANSKRIT TEXT
  17. APPENDIX 3: SYNOPTIC ANALYSIS OF THE RASA LILA
  18. Glossary
  19. BIbliography
  20. Index