This book explores the notion of non-violence in the epic Mahabharata. In examining gleaning as an ecological and spiritual philosophy nurtured as much by hospitality codes as by eating practices, the author analyses the merits and limitations of the 9th century Kashmiri aesthetician Anandavardhana that the dominant aesthetic sentiment or rasa of the Mahabharata is shanta (peace).

Alf Hiltebeitel is Columbian Professor of Religion, History, and Human Sciences in the Department of Religion at The George Washington University, USA.

1. Introduction: Gleaners Were and Are for Real 2. Peace and Non-violence in the Mahabharata 3. Siva's Summa on Gleaners 4. Gleaners and Beggars, Buddhist, Jain, and Brahmanical 5. Dä¿aka Forest 6. Approaching Balarama's Tirthayatra and Kuruksetra with Three Hypotheses 7. More Homespun Tales of Kuruk¿etra: Further towards a Mahabharata Ethnography 8. Naimi¿eya Kuñja: The Mahabharata's Chief Holdout for Gleaners 9. The Gleaning Seam along Balarama's Route 10. King Kuru and the Kurus 11. King Kuru at Kuruk¿etra 12. Gleaners of the Text 13. Conclusion: Non-violence and Santarasa en-route to Kuruk¿etra