Contents: Preface. Introductory remarks on future research on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas/Greg Bailey. I. Concepts: 1. Kalavada (the doctrine of cyclical time) in the Mahabharata and the concept of heroic didactics/Yaroslav Vassilkov. 2. Cyclical determinism and the development of the trimurti-doctrine/Horst Brinkhaus. 3. Narrated time and its relation to the supposed year myth in the Mahabharata/Georg von Simson. 4. Atman in the Bhagavadgita as interpreted by Sankara/Minoru Hara. 5. The concept of buddhi in the Bhagavadgita/Francis Brassard. II. Techniques of composition: 1. The art of backwards composition: some narrative techniques in Valmiki's Ramayana/Mary Brockington. 2. The process of growth of the Ramayana: why? and why not? a workshop report/Mary Brockington. 3. Formulae in the Ramayana--an index of orality?/John Brockington. 4. Issues involved in the shift from oral to written transmission of the epics: a workshop report/John Brockington. 5. On the composition of the Dyutaparvan in the Mahabharata/Renate Sohnen-Thieme. 6. Reconsidering Bhrguization/Alf Hil Tebeitel. 7. Two modern film versions of the Mahabharata similarities and differences between an Indian and a European approach/Iwona Milewska. III. Relationships: 1. Intertextuality in the Puranas: a neglected element in the study of Sanskrit literature/Greg Bailey. 2. The theft of the soma/Danielle Feller Jatavallabhula. 3. The horse sacrifice in the Patalakhanda of the Padmapurana/Petteri Koskikallio. 4. Natya versus the epic literature: some questions about relationships between classical Indian theatre and the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Harivamsa and some Puranas/Klara Gonc Moacanin. 5. The Bhagavatapurana as model for the Satsangijivanam/Peter Schreiner. Index of passages cited. General index. Appendix.
"The Dubrovnik Conference brought together scholars from distant parts of world from several continents, concentrated upon the same vast subject. Croatia as the host country continued its tradition of indological interest and research this time however, with international participation surpassing all previous initiatives.
The papers collected in the proceedings under the title Composing a Tradition: Concepts, Techniques and Relationships represent contributions of a very high standard of learning and scholarly research that will certainly make an impact on the field of the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas. The book deserves to be received with interest wherever such studies are pursued and the breadth of its approach should also commend it to a much wider circle of the interested educated public."
