Abstract
How to Make and Spend Money: Some Stories from Indian Classical Literature
Highlights
It hardly needs mention that Indian classical texts, religious and secular, value wealth
This paper explores attitudes towards wealth and poverty in early and medieval Indian literature
While poverty is universally decried, stories and plays tell us that wealth brings with it its own problems
Summary
It hardly needs mention that Indian classical texts, religious and secular, value wealth. Would-be guests pass by his house, that his wealth is exhausted, just as bees no longer buzz around the temples of an elephant once its ichor has dried up.[11] He knows that there is an element of luck in being wealthy; fate has it that wealth will come and go He decries the fact that even his friends deserted him and no longer show him the same affection.[12] In a verse that echoes chains of causation like the Buddhist Twelve-link chain, Cārudatta sets forth his own theory of the cause of suffering. We shall see that the means by which a man becomes wealthy may even involve practices we might consider to be ethically suspect and were condemned in prescriptive texts, but our stories praise them as examples of clever business practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callSimilar Papers
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
