Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction: Snake Worshippers, Orthodox Redactors and Their Contextual Tug- of- War -- 2 The The R g Veda and the Threat of the Sovereign Snake -- 3 The Late Vedas: Revering the Snake's Power and Preserving Snake- Centered Rituals -- 4 The Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata: The Epic Redactors Take On the Snake -- 5 The Pali Texts: The Buddhist Redactors [c] Harm the Snake -- 6 The Mahavastu: The Buddha Shares in the Snake's Largess -- 7 Conclusion: It Is Hard to Keep a Good Snake Down -- Bibliography -- Notes -- Index
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-164) and index
