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Gilo 1 the Many Roles of Kāma Gilo 1 The Many Roles of Kāma: How Two Narratives of the God of Desire Transformed the Discourse on Sexuality in Early India Religion Department, Colorado College Bachelor of Arts May 2013 Thesis Advisor: Tracy Coleman By: Yael Gilo Gilo 2 From the 2nd century BCE to roughly the 2nd Century CE, India was structured according to caste, and the Brahmanical class of elite priests were challenged by the emergence of Buddhism. Buddhism offered a variety of new opportunities for women and members of lower castes, which were particularly alluring in light of the rigid structure of the Brahmanic social order. The newly popular Buddhist tradition and more importantly the Buddha himself were garnering an increasingly large following and naturally many textual accounts of the Buddha’s teachings emerged during this period. A popular poem written by Aśvaghoṣa depicted the Buddha’s struggle with the famous Hindu gods, Māra (death) and Kāma (desire). What set Aśvaghoṣa’s depiction of the Buddha apart was his portrayal of the asceticism intrinsic to the Buddhist path (complete detachment from sensual pleasures). Additionally, the message that this was the preferred path for everyone and that they should choose this path early on, rather than customarily waiting for ‘old age,’ was radical. Brahmanic society, and, even more importantly, community life, would disintegrate. There was a potential for power within the monastic community that was considered a threat by Brahmanic society. Moreover, Canto 13 of Aśvaghoṣa’s epic depicts the Buddha’s attempts to ignore Kāma and the Buddha’s success in maintaining his focus on meditation, and ability to resist the temptations of Kāma. This myth served as an allegory for the Buddhist tradition’s emphasis on detachment from worldly pleasures in order to attain enlightenment. Implied in this detachment is a renunciation of many things the Brahmanic community emphasized, such as: reproduction (particularly of the patrilineal line), marriage (and the economics of sons versus daughters), gender distinctions within society, worshipping the Vedic pantheon of deities, and the importance of semen. This myth of the Buddha and Kāma served as a Gilo 3 catalyst for the Brahmanic community, which felt the need to respond in kind, producing a myth of their own. Starting in the 1st century CE, and becoming even more pervasive from the 2nd century CE on, we find numerous retellings of the Brahmanic myth of Kāma and Śiva. Śiva is the Hindu god of asceticism and a famous yogi; this story depicts Kāma’s attempts to rouse Śiva’s desires. Śiva realizes what Kāma is doing, and in his anger burns Kāma to the ground. However the majority if not all, of the versions show Śiva’s ultimate decision to bring Kāma back to the phenomenal world. This myth serves as an allegory for the very real political and social Brahmanic response to the Buddhist renunciation of pleasure, desire, and worldly attachments. Thus, these myths represent a pivotal moment in the shifting discourse in ancient Southeast Asia. The Potential Power of Sexual Discourse Discourse influences all facets of life, particularly: sexuality, prescribed cosmic order, reproduction, gender roles and hierarchies. Discourses on sex transform sexual desires and interests into sexual expression and behavior that is socially acceptable (or unacceptable). Therefore, implicit in the construction of sexual discourse is the construction of what it means to be socially acceptable. By transforming sexual desires as such, and making them more or less a public entity, they become something that can be actively molded and influenced by society. The discourse surrounding sex assigns values to different behaviors, relationships, and feelings. Discourse has a tendency to establish identities, norms, roles, attitudes, and ‘gender-based’ power, typically related to sexual relationships. For the purposes of this essay, I follow Peggy Reeves Sanday’s view of discourse as the following: Discourse shapes the sexual ethos and character of sexual relationships by providing discursive and performative models for sexual behavior, helping Gilo 4 individuals to translate physiological sensations of desire into acceptable expression. Discourse also sits at the divide between sexual desire and sexual expression by guiding individuals in the selection of appropriate partners.1 Discourse on sex thus serves to monitor and guide the way sexual expression comes to fruition; it lays down the rules and suggests what type of expression would be the most socially beneficial. For the purposes of this thesis, I argue that discourse benefits whoever is in power, and in this case the Brahmanic elite specifically. Hence, those who are leading, or rather, creating the discourse subsequently become in charge of the way sexual identities are formed, attitudes are shaped, and power manifested. It is therefore in the best interests of those attempting to obtain a certain status politically and socially to also invest their time in sexual discourse. Buddhist and Brahmanic Context The Buddha lived roughly around 500 BCE. The Buddha’s life preceded Buddhism, which flourished primarily between 200 BCE – 500 CE in India. This was the golden era of Buddhism and its success is largely attributed to King Aśoka whose financial contributions resulted in the geographical and social expansion of Buddhism. The political and economic elite played a particularly significant role in the growth and expansion of Buddhism in India. Buddhist texts primarily portrayed Brahmins as intellectually inferior. The growth that had been previously noted stopped around 500- 700 CE and remained stagnant until a noticeable decline occurred around the 7th century. Around 200 BCE there was a noteworthy reaction by Brahmins to the success of Buddhism. The emergence of Buddhism and its consequent popularity and success forced Brahmanic intellectuals to consolidate their practices and teachings and solidify existing 1 Peggy Reeves Sanday, "A Discourse-Centered Approach to Human Sexuality," (New Jersey, March 23, 1996). Gilo 5 systems of ritual and belief. One of the ways the Brahmanic community accomplished this was to reinterpret sexual discourse in mythological terms, and while not a novel concept, it helped preserve traditional cosmic and social order. The myth of Śiva and Kāma serves as an allegory for both the Buddhist message of renunciation and the subsequent Brahmanic reaction. Brahmanism is considered the precursor to Hinduism; it was largely centered on sacrifices performed by the priestly class, who were in charge of relaying knowledge, primarily of rituals. This powerful intellectual group initially responded to the emergence of Buddhism with the compilation of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, both redacted between roughly 200 BCE–200 CE. The Mahābhārata is speculated to be the first textual response to emerging Buddhism and fundamentally set the stage for the arrival of Hinduism. It integrated both the brahmanical rituals as well as a critical response to Buddhism. The nature of the relationship between Buddhism and Brahmanism is convoluted, to say the least. Scholars have continuously examined the dynamics between the emergence of Buddhism, the transformation of Brahmanism to Hinduism, and the dialectic between monastic and courtly life.2 The myth of the Buddha and Kāma as written by Aśvaghoṣa, in approximately the 1st century CE is merely one version of the biographical account of the Buddha. While there are guaranteed divergences from accounts on the historical Buddha, this poetic text highlights significant and informative parallels to the myth of Śiva and Kāma. The Buddhacarita depicts a young prince who becomes disheartened by the suffering he sees; he then decides to renounce everything, leaving his wife, son, and father behind to 2 Greg Bailey, "Hinduism and Buddhism." Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Gilo 6 become a forest dweller. In the forest he is tested multiple times but most notably by Māra, the god of death, who in this myth also represents Kāma. The prince sits patiently under a tree ignoring all efforts by Māra or Kāma to distract him from his goal of release and detachment. Similarly, the myth of Śiva and Kāma alludes to the antagonistic dynamic between the newly popular Buddhism and Brahmanism. Naturally, there are multiple versions of the Śiva-Kāma, and the majority of the versions we are most familiar with today are speculated to have been produced between the 1st and 2nd Century CE. This is due in large part to the fact that Kāma and Śiva are prominent figures in the Sanskrit compilation of the Pūraṇas, the majority of which were composed from the 2nd Century CE onward.3 A significant number of the Pūraṇas relay stories of Śiva, as well as other important Hindu gods. Therefore, the appearance of the Śiva-Kāma myth coincides neatly with the golden era of Buddhism and becomes even more prominent directly afterwards. However, concrete dates are inherently problematic to the nature of ancient texts. The primary tenets of Brahmanism revolved around the importance of a particular familial structure, reproduction of sons, rituals, sacrifice and the puruṣārthas. The puruṣārthas set out to define the aim or goal of each person and are generally split into the trivarga (having three parts) or caturvarga (having four parts).4 The trivarga and caturarga, are significant because they indicate how the Brahmanic society prioritized different virtues at different times. The caturvarga, the four worthy worldly goals are: Artha, Dharma, Kāma, and Mokṣa. Artha pertains most generally to wealth and power; dharma when simplified can be understood as virtuous behavior; kāma is best understood 3 Greg Bailey. "Purāna" Oxford Bibliographies: Hinduism, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) 4 Bailey, “Hinduism and Buddhism." Oxford Bibliographies: Hinduism, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Gilo 7 as sensuality, pleasure, and desire; lastly, mokṣa is liberation from saṃsāra, which is the continued cycle of rebirth. Significantly, mokṣa is not always included in the puruṣārthas and did not become part of the worldly goals until approximately 5th to 4th century BCE.
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