"Highly acclaimed upon its original publication in 1973 under the title Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva, this book applies a structuralist method to a corpus of mythology never before analyzed, or for the most part, translated from the Sanskrit. The author traces the development of an Indian approach to an enduring human dilemma: the conflict between spiritual aspirations and human desires. The work treats hundreds of related myths and examines a wide range of Indian texts (Vedic, Puranic, classical, modern, and tribal), centering upon the stories of the great ascetic, Siva, and his erotic alter ego, Kama"--Back cover.