Brian Black 
The Character of the Self in Ancient India [PDF ebook] 
Priests, Kings, and Women in the Early Upaniṣads

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
      Opening statement
      What are the Upanisads?
      The self, life, death, and immortality
      The historical and social context
      Characterizing the self
      Literary characters
      The social conditions of knowledge
      Mystery or mystique: The character of knowledge
1. Teachers and students: The emergence of teaching as an object of discourse
      Introduction
      Sandilya and the teaching of
atman and
brahman
      Sandilya: From ritualist to teacher
      Uddalaka Aruni and the teaching of
tat tvam asi
      Uddalaka and Svetaketu: Acting out the
upanayana
      Indra as the persistent student
      Narada and Sanatkumara: Knowledge of
atman as more important than the Vedas
      Naciketas and the initiation of an Upanishadic brahmin
      The graduation of a brahmin student in the
Taittiriya Upanisad
      Satyakama and the beginnings of a brahmin hagiography
      Conclusion
2. Debates between brahmins: The competitive dynamics of the
brahmodya
      Introduction
      The
brahmodya and the sacrifice
      Uddalaka Aruni and the
brahmodya in the
Satapatha Brahmana
      Yajnavalkya and the philosophical tournament
      Yajnavalkya’s interlocutors: The social and political implications of debate
      Yajnavalkya and the tactics of debate
      Losing face or losing one’s head? The motif of head shattering
      Upanishadic teachings and material wealth
      Yajnavalkya and renunciation
      The life story of Yajnavalkya
      Conclusion
3. Kings and brahmins: The political dimensions of the Upanisads
      Introduction
      The myth of
ksatriya authorship
      Janaka and Yajnavalkya: Negotiating the brahmin’s position in the court
      Janaka and Yajnavalkya in the
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
      Kings as teachers: Asvapati teaches a group of brahmin householders
      Uddalaka Aruni and Svetaketu: Instructions for how to seek patronage
      Conflicting agendas for how kings should teach brahmins
      Upanishadic knowledge as a political discourse
      The battle of the
pranas as a political metaphor
      Pravahana and the teaching of the five fires
      Conclusion
4. Brahmins and women: Subjectivity and gender construction in the Upanisads
      Introduction
      The gender of the self:
Atman and the male body
      The self, virility, and immortality
      Yajnavalkya and Satyakama: Competing ideals of male subjectivity
      The myth of recovering an authentic female voice
      Gargi: The debating tactics of a female philosopher
      Women and
gandharvas: The lack of authority for female speakers
      The ambiguities of Satyakama’s mother and wife
      Maitreyi and Katyayani: Knowledge of
atman versus
striprajna
      Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Brian Black is Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.