A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"

This paper discusses the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā that originates in the later Rāmāyaṇa tradition and for centuries has functioned as a metaphorical expression denoting a strict (moral) boundary that should not be crossed, as its transgression inevitably exposes one to danger. It has featured promi...

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Autor principal:	Danuta Stasik
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing 2019
Materias:	female chastity Hindi literary tradition North Indian ethos Rāmāyaṇa Rāmcaritmānas Rāmcandrikā Indo-Iranian languages and literature PK1-9601 Languages and literature of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania PL1-8844
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/465ae73bb06f452e8b57b128e288fc71
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:465ae73bb06f452e8b57b128e288fc712021-11-27T12:53:59ZA (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"10.12797/CIS.21.2019.02.081732-09172449-8696https://doaj.org/article/465ae73bb06f452e8b57b128e288fc712019-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1076https://doaj.org/toc/1732-0917https://doaj.org/toc/2449-8696 This paper discusses the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā that originates in the later Rāmāyaṇa tradition and for centuries has functioned as a metaphorical expression denoting a strict (moral) boundary that should not be crossed, as its transgression inevitably exposes one to danger. It has featured prominently in Indian public discourse on female chastity and is also very much present in different socio-cultural and political contexts, often vocalised in literature, works of art, etc. In the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā, one of the most basic and at the same time most important functions performed in culture by symbolic boundaries is manifested—the function of delineating the known, familiar, safe and permissible from the unknown, unfamiliar, dangerous, impermissible. Significantly, these boundaries have inherent moral weight and help individuals as well as whole societies to structure and regulate the universe they live in, on the micro- and macro-scale. In this paper, first I discuss textual evidence that can be found in wellknown Hindi Rāmāyaṇas such as the Rāmcaritmānas, the Rāmcandrikā and Rādheśyām Rāmāyaṇ, as well as in the Sūrsāgar. This analysis of literary material is meant to contextualise various levels of explicit and implicit meanings of the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā that emerge from traditional sources in Hindi. In the second part of this article, I offer a survey of relevant Hindi dictionary entries and then focus on modern non-literary (and not only Hindi) usages of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā. Finally, I place the previously examined literary and linguistic material in the context of the findings of contemporary social scientists on the concept of symbolic boundaries (Epstein 1992). It is hoped that this study that gives emphasis to structuring and regulating (but not only) aspect of boundaries can contribute to our understanding of how broadly understood safety and values are negotiated in contemporary Indian society by way of drawing (ethical) boundaries and what happens if they are compromised. Danuta StasikKsiegarnia Akademicka Publishingarticlefemale chastityHindi literary traditionNorth Indian ethosRāmāyaṇaRāmcaritmānasRāmcandrikāIndo-Iranian languages and literaturePK1-9601Languages and literature of Eastern Asia, Africa, OceaniaPL1-8844ENCracow Indological Studies, Vol 21, Iss 2 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	female chastity Hindi literary tradition North Indian ethos Rāmāyaṇa Rāmcaritmānas Rāmcandrikā Indo-Iranian languages and literature PK1-9601 Languages and literature of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania PL1-8844
spellingShingle	female chastity Hindi literary tradition North Indian ethos Rāmāyaṇa Rāmcaritmānas Rāmcandrikā Indo-Iranian languages and literature PK1-9601 Languages and literature of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania PL1-8844 Danuta Stasik A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
description	This paper discusses the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā that originates in the later Rāmāyaṇa tradition and for centuries has functioned as a metaphorical expression denoting a strict (moral) boundary that should not be crossed, as its transgression inevitably exposes one to danger. It has featured prominently in Indian public discourse on female chastity and is also very much present in different socio-cultural and political contexts, often vocalised in literature, works of art, etc. In the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā, one of the most basic and at the same time most important functions performed in culture by symbolic boundaries is manifested—the function of delineating the known, familiar, safe and permissible from the unknown, unfamiliar, dangerous, impermissible. Significantly, these boundaries have inherent moral weight and help individuals as well as whole societies to structure and regulate the universe they live in, on the micro- and macro-scale. In this paper, first I discuss textual evidence that can be found in wellknown Hindi Rāmāyaṇas such as the Rāmcaritmānas, the Rāmcandrikā and Rādheśyām Rāmāyaṇ, as well as in the Sūrsāgar. This analysis of literary material is meant to contextualise various levels of explicit and implicit meanings of the concept of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā that emerge from traditional sources in Hindi. In the second part of this article, I offer a survey of relevant Hindi dictionary entries and then focus on modern non-literary (and not only Hindi) usages of lakṣmaṇ-rekhā. Finally, I place the previously examined literary and linguistic material in the context of the findings of contemporary social scientists on the concept of symbolic boundaries (Epstein 1992). It is hoped that this study that gives emphasis to structuring and regulating (but not only) aspect of boundaries can contribute to our understanding of how broadly understood safety and values are negotiated in contemporary Indian society by way of drawing (ethical) boundaries and what happens if they are compromised.
format	article
author	Danuta Stasik
author_facet	Danuta Stasik
author_sort	Danuta Stasik
title	A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
title_short	A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
title_full	A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
title_fullStr	A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
title_full_unstemmed	A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
title_sort	(thin) boundary not to be crossed, or "lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"
publisher	Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/465ae73bb06f452e8b57b128e288fc71
work_keys_str_mv	AT danutastasik athinboundarynottobecrossedorlaksmanrekha AT danutastasik thinboundarynottobecrossedorlaksmanrekha
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A (Thin) Boundary Not to Be Crossed, or "Lakṣmaṇ-rekhā"

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