Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Maps and Tables x
4. Plates xi
5. Acknowledgments xiii
6. Conventions xiv
7. 1. Introduction 1
8. 2. Oral Epics 11
9. 3. The Elder Brothers and the Heroes of Palnāḍu 48
10. 4. The Epic of Pābūjī 88
11. 5. Opening Ālh ā 121
12. 6. The Nine-Lākh Chain 153
13. 7. The Story of Kṛṣṇāṃśa 211
14. 8. Kurukṣetra II 240
15. 9. Time-Routes through the Kṛṣṇāṃśacarita 263
16. 10. Their Name Is Legion 297
17. 11. The Ballad of Rāja Desing 364
18. 12. Barbarīka, Aravāṉ, Kūttāṇṭavar: Furthering the Case of the Severed Head 414
19. 13. The Myth of the Agnivamśa 439
20. 14. Draupadī Becomes Belā, Belā Becomes Satī 476
21. Abbreviations 513
22. Bibliography 515
23. Index 543