Nikolay Yankov | Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (original) (raw)

Papers by Nikolay Yankov

Изкуство и памет - сборник в чест на 80-годишнината на Иван Маразов, 2024

Ancient India is known to the Hellenic civilization ever since the time of Herodotus. The Indian ... more Ancient India is known to the Hellenic civilization ever since the time of Herodotus. The Indian subcontinent was inexhaustible source for both historical and legendary stories. One of the aspects in which India became a subject of interesting discussion, fueling ancient Greek thinkers with philosophical matters, was their attitude towards death and their voluntary renunciation of life. In this paper, I examine how in the mindset of ancient Greek authors and philosophers, India seems to be a country of “extraordinary people” who could overcome the lusts of the body and the worldly allurements to the length of reaching absolute detachment with their decaying bodies and embracing religious death. The Greek sources distinguished Indian people for their customs of voluntary death, and this seems to have played a major role in shaping the way the West viewed the East in the age of Antiquity.

Cross-Disciplinary and Cross-Cultural Awareness:Eassays in Honor of Madeleine Danova, 2023

Until recently, the documentary series “Why India?” was circulating on Bulgarian TV screens, its ... more Until recently, the documentary series “Why India?” was circulating on Bulgarian TV screens, its aim being to clarify why this country has been such a point of attraction for a wide range of contemporary Bulgarian artists, musicians, painters, writers, travelers, public figures, philosophers. That is why here, on the occasion of the recently celebrated 200th anniversary of the birth of the eminent Bulgarian Renaissance man G.S. Rakovski, I put forward the question of why and how India managed to captivate the revolutionary’s mind in his personal and professional pursuits. What was it about this country, although Rakovski himself never visited it, that impressed him to such an extent that decades later he continues to be titled as “the first Bulgarian Indologist” (or Indianist in the olden days), and his works (especially Bulgarska starina) to be described as “the first Bulgarian work on Indology.” Here I present my attempt to analyze the reasons that led to Rakovski’s special attitude towards India, while at the same time, I examine the level of scientific knowledge the distinguished intellectual had about Indian matters and, in this context, try to give an answer to the question of how appropriate it is to count him among the founders of the Bulgarian Indological studies.

Journal Philologia (44), 2023

Сборник с доклади от XVIII-та научна конференция за нехабилитирани преподаватели и докторанти, 2022

(PAPER IS IN BG) Когато става въпрос за феномена на самоубийството, световните религиозни паметни... more (PAPER IS IN BG) Когато става въпрос за феномена на самоубийството, световните религиозни паметници и морално–етични текстове, кодифициращи правилното поведение и житейски принципи в дадено общество, като цяло не се различават съществено едни от други. Отнемането на собствения живот е повсеместно считано за осъдителен акт, който противоречи на човешката природа и на обществените норми.
В древноиндийската литература от епохата на Упанишадите (VI-II в.пр.Хр.), и най-вече в законодателните текстове, предписващи правилното поведение в обществото, се среща известно колебание по този въпрос. Има предписания, които категорично го отхвърлят и такива, които го подкрепят и дори насърчават при определени обстоятелства.

В настоящия доклад, освен че привеждам разнородни примери от религиозно-философската и правна литература на Древна Индия, правя опит да очертая границата между приемливото и неприемливото и да изясня кога точно едно самоубийство престава да се разглежда като самоубийство от индийските законотворци.

Сборник доклади: XVII научна конференция на нехабилитирани преподаватели и докторанти от Факултета по класичически и нови филологии, 2022

IN BULGARIAN: ENGLISH SUMMARY: In his acclaimed book Why I am a Hindu (2018), the noted politici... more IN BULGARIAN:
ENGLISH SUMMARY: In his acclaimed book Why I am a Hindu (2018), the noted politician, diplomat and writer Shashi Tharoor expresses his scepticism about the notion that socio-political factors are behind the emergence of the doctrine of reincarnation. According to the eminent social scientist, „the socio-political rationale was irrelevant to the Hindu sages who had advanced the theory of punarjanmam“. But was it? Do the texts contain traces of ideological struggles in which the doctrine of rebirth was used as a kind of weapon to exert control and influence?

ISSN 2738-8158

Manas, volume 6, 2020

In November 2000, a symbolic version of puruṣamedha was organized by the All World Gayatri Pariwa... more In November 2000, a symbolic version of puruṣamedha was organized by the All World Gayatri Pariwar at Shantikunj, Haridwar, marking the completion of a 12-year religious practice of some of its members. The event was attended by four million devotees. Its performance raised once again an important question-the role and place of human sacrifice in the Vedic sacrificial system. The question whether there was symbolic rather than actual human sacrifice in Vedic times has been the subject of serious debate among the scholars, although it never received a satisfactory answer. Here I make an attempt to outline the historical development of this issue within the Vedic studies, by pointing out some of the tendencies, views and assessments of the Western and Indian scholars, and thus try to summarize the major reasons for the undervaluation and even the tabooization, at least in the Indological circles, of this often controversial and fervid topic.

ISSN: 2367-6256

Manas - Studies into Asia and Africa, 2019

[English summary] Do we have grounds to consider self-inflicted death as realistic practice, con... more [English summary] Do we have grounds to consider self-inflicted death as realistic practice, contained in the religious views of the Indo-Aryans or was it just a theoretical and mental construct, satisfying the ritual paradigm, as was thought by a pleiad of eminent scholars of the previous centuries? In this paper I present my translations from Sanskrit of textual sources, belonging to the Śrautasūtra tradition, which contain valuable information about the nature and purpose of an underеstimated in the Indological circles rite, called sarvasvarastoma, and provide evidence that it unambiguously speaks of the existence of practices of self-inflicted death within Vedic ritualism. Though it belongs to the class of the non-obligatory rituals, that is to say, performed only by the personal wish of the sacrificer, it explicitly reveals the existing predispositions at that time and thus it makes more plausible the assumption of non-symbolic (physical) recreations of the self-sacrificing myths of Puruṣa and Prajapati.

"MANAS" - Electronic Journal of the Centre for Eastern Languages and Cultures Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 2019

[This paper is in Bulgarian] Āhiṃsa, the principle of non-violence, is so deeply rooted in contem... more [This paper is in Bulgarian] Āhiṃsa, the principle of non-violence, is so deeply rooted in contemporary Hinduism that for ordinary man it is impossible to imagine the Indian cultural terrain without this ideological phenomenon. In the same way, no real connoisseur of Indian religious traditions would question the fact that despite the dynamic development of Hinduism and its enormous transformations over time, the worship paid to the Vedas as an ultimate source of sophisticated knowledge never died out. Vedic texts continue to be the unattainable ideal, towards which every seeker of self-realization aspires. And here comes the question: is it possible that the ethical concept of non-violence reconciles with a sacrificial culture like the Vedic one, which bases its ritual activity entirely upon the belief in the supreme power of sacrifice? Where is the intersection of these heterogeneous ideas?

In the current paper, I make an attempt to answer these questions and outline the earliest phases in the formation of this fundamental for the Indian tradition concept, while analyzing whether āhiṃsa emerged within the Vedic sacrificial system or received external impact.

Full paper available

Наука - списание на Съюза на учените на България (СУБ), 2018

[This paper is in Bulgarian] The disappointment of the never happened transition from totalitaria... more [This paper is in Bulgarian] The disappointment of the never happened transition from totalitarian rule towards democratic political system, replaced by primitive capitalism, made a premise for the development of a phenomenon in Bulgaria which could be defined as infantile nationalism or “infantile fever for uniqueness”. Nationalism is a product of identity crisis both on an individual and national scale. Placed in hostile conditions, Bulgarians feel increasing need to make charts of the greatest among the greatest, to maintain the myths, supporting their basic existence and even to create a new mythology. Exactly in this myth-creating context, а pandemic called Orenda was born. Nowadays different kinds of brands and products throughout the country bear the ancient name Orenda – magazines, hotels, dancing groups, cosmetics, wineries, fashion lines – all claiming to contribute in their own way to the return of the original Bulgarian traditions. It would have been a positive thing indeed if only the term Orenda, presented as the emanation of Bulgarian uniqueness, weren't a pure pseudoscientific misconception, having nothing to do with Bulgarian identity.

In the present paper, I attempt to outline the basic chronology of how this loan-word, taken from the Iroquois languages, found its place into the popular Bulgarian literature. In addition to this, I aim to acquaint the audience with the original source of the notion together with the cultural and semantic peculiarities it bears, thus distinguishing it radically from the new semantics it has received on Bulgarian soil.

From the conference "Science and Pseudoscience - struggle in the name of truth", November 23-rd, 2017

Млади изследователи - Сборник от Втората обща докторантска конференция Февруари 2019, 2019

[The paper is in Bulgarian] Eminent scholars like Durkheim, Freud, Weber have examined the link... more [The paper is in Bulgarian]

Eminent scholars like Durkheim, Freud, Weber have examined the links between sacrifice and the emergence of civilization. Their conclusion is that sacrifice is the foundation, upon which are built human societies. According to them, the effect of this type of ritualism is deeply rooted in the human psyche due to the fact it reflects one of the biggest enigmas for the human mind – the strange interconnectedness between life and death, revealing itself in every aspect of the universal creation.

In this paper I try to shed light on the problem of the creative power of sacrificial violence, using as an example excerpts from the Vedic ritual texts and focusing upon the famous “Hymn of Puruṣa”(10.90), which for the first time in Vedic tradition presents the idea of the equipollent nature of man, God, and sacrifice.

Образът на бога-юноша Сканда в санскритската литературна традиция, 2013

MA thesis as part of the program 'Indian and Iranian culture and society studies", Sofia Universi... more MA thesis as part of the program 'Indian and Iranian culture and society studies", Sofia University "St.Kliment Ohridski"

The thesis is written in Bulgarian language

[The paper is in Bulgarian] The authors of the Tantric literature present the philosophy of their... more [The paper is in Bulgarian] The authors of the Tantric literature present the philosophy of their doctrine as a new revelation of supreme truth, addressed to the person of the Kali Yuga, the age of quarrel and dissolution during which everything is concealed under the veil of the sensual, the physical and the material. The essence of Tantra, having much to do with the rediscovery of the Mother Goddess cult and the powers of male and female sexuality, is anchored in the belief that its knowledge is the most apt for an age which imposes upon the individual the necessity to use matter in order to overcome matter, to face indulge in his own fears, desires and dependencies in order to set himself free from the same fears, desires and dependencies. Although Tantric schools look in many respects unorthodox and heretic to the traditional values of Hinduism, even the most radical and unconventional practices can be interpreted in the light of the traditional Hindu philosophical assertions.

[The article is in Bulgarian] With the current paper I present the question of the paradoxical na... more [The article is in Bulgarian] With the current paper I present the question of the paradoxical nature of Vedic sacrifice by examining the main challenge, which the ritual experts had to deal with, at least on ideological basis. The thesis I elaborate on is that the religious ideal, followed by the Vedic ritualists forced them to constantly manoeuvre between the aspiration for perfect mimesis of the primordial cosmological events and the impossibility of their full and precise recreation within the ritual space. For the aims of this article I stick mainly to examples that are articulated in the authoritative text of the Shatapatha Brahmana.

[The article is in Bulgarian] The conflict between thunder-god and a dragon-like monster is remar... more [The article is in Bulgarian] The conflict between thunder-god and a dragon-like monster is remarkably steadfast mytheme, met in various versions in plenty of the world cultures, all of them stepping upon a common, archetypical concept of the inevitability of the struggle between order and chaos, light and darkness, life and death, symbolized by these two opposing forces, on the basis of which lies the entire functioning and subsistence of the cosmos. The Babylonian thunder-god Marduk kills the the dragon Tiamat, goddess of the ocean, and creates the universe out of her body. Teshub's greatest feat, the Hittite god of sky and storm, is the slaying of the snake monster Illuyanka, while for the proto-Iranians the saviour from the grip of Apaosha, captor of the waters, is the star god Tishtar. The Skandinavian Thor fights with Midgard – a giant serpent, having surrounded the world with his own tail and Zeus in Greek mythology is in neverending battle with the father of all monsters Typhon. These two powerful forces are in constant state of fighting with each other. When the dragon gets the upper hand, chaos finds its place in the world – a negation of structure and normality. When the sky god of thunder kills the dragon, the evil vanishes and the world is built upon these norms and models that give life and prosperity. In this work I am going to confine to presenting only the basic motifs in the Indo-Aryan version of the eternal battle between thunder god and a snake monster, represented in the forms of Indra and Vritra. Apart from this I am going to examine the manifestations of the epic conflict that can be found in the Bulgarian folklore and ceremonial life.

[The article is in Bulgarian] The history of worship of Kumara-Skanda, the eternally young god of... more [The article is in Bulgarian] The history of worship of Kumara-Skanda, the eternally young god of war, is remarkable for its dynamic and undulating development. From a deity, combining plenty of folklore and tribal elements with limited local significance it rises to a prominent and spread all over North India cult, flourishing in many dynasties in the period between 2nd BC and 5th only to fade into obscurity and spread downward to the South, where it is still venerated with pomp under the name of Murugan. In this work I attempt to trace back the genesis and evolution of the image of Skanda with its complexity and multiplicity by researching the most important Indo-Еuropean heritage – the Sanskrit literature – and to outline the basic religio-political reasons which brought up the transformation of his character from a demonic personage with dangerous conduct into god of war and protector of the Brahmanic orthodox.

Tha article is in Bulgarian language

"YOU DON'T REALLY DIE" - RATIONALIZATION OF VIOLENCE IN VEDIC SACRIFICE

[The paper is in Bulgarian] One of the fundamental questions, excruciating the sacrificing cultur... more [The paper is in Bulgarian] One of the fundamental questions, excruciating the sacrificing cultures was the paradox that a man must kill in order to live. Most of the traditional societies in the past found solution to this dilemma as they made up convenient means of legitimizing violence upon the sacred victim. Usually this same function was done by the myths, whose equivalent is the ritual. The Vedic culture also demonstrates certain discomfort towards the sacrificial tradition. In the texts this sensitivity on the topic of ritual violence is clearly visible and even creates the feeling that there was a serious contradiction in the sacred literature. In the current work I examine the methods, with which the Vedic savants dealt with this paradox which is de facto an invariant of a bigger existential conflict, lying in the heart of sacrifice – the aspiration of man to execute his ideal by self-sacrificing to the All-Maker (the way he had sacrificed himself) and the natural necessity to stay alive.

Books by Nikolay Yankov

Ведическа Индия: Мит и саможертва, 2020

Откъс от книгата "Ведическа Индия: мит и саможертва", Николай Янков, Изток-Запад, 2020 г. The bo... more Откъс от книгата "Ведическа Индия: мит и саможертва", Николай Янков, Изток-Запад, 2020 г.

The book "Vedic India: Myth and Sacrifice" is a revised edition of the PHD thesis, entitled "Self-Sacrifice as a Prototype of the Vedic ritual system", defended in March, 2019.

If the motif of self-sacrifice is comparatively a well-known phenomenon in the context of the Hindu religious system, we cannot say the same about the place and role it played within the Vedic sacrificial tradition. The purpose of this book is to present more detailed and comprehensive research of the Vedic notion of self-sacrifice. This includes an analysis of the variety of religious strategics and sacral mechanisms, used by the priesthood to recreate the self-sacrificial myths. Thus it is revealed how these myths manifested in the ritual structure both symbolically and physically and how they affected the Vedic notions of life and death. The second major purpose of the research is to examine and analyze two little-studied subjects, which have a direct relation with the self-sacrificing myth: these are the cases of self-inflicted death and human sacrifice (puruṣamedha) among the Indo-Aryans. The accent of this work lies in examining, systematizing, and elaborating on the textual evidence, either supporting or rejecting the possibility that such ritual practices existed within the Vedicsacrificial system. For this purpose, I rely on various textual material but the main answers are searched within two extensive and significant classes of sacred literature. Being treatises, dedicated to the ritual, the Bràhmanas and the Śrautasutras give a thorough picture of the sacrificial institution of the Vedic Indians and the mythological models, it was built upon.

Саможертвата като прототип на ведическата ритуална система (Self-Sacrifice as Prototype of the Vedic Ritual System), 2019

Автореферат на дисертационен труд: Саможертвата като прототип на ведическата ритуална система (Se... more Автореферат на дисертационен труд: Саможертвата като прототип на ведическата ритуална система (Self-Sacrifice as Prototype of the Vedic Ritual System)

Обект на изследване в дисертацията е ведическата ритуална система с нейната комплексна структура, богата символика и добре развита идейно-философска мисъл. Предмет на изследването е мотивът на саможертвата, неговата роля и място във ведическата жертвена идеология и по-конкретно как митът за „самопожертващия се бог“ утвърждава релацията човек–жертва–космос и по този начин задава параметрите на ведическата обредност, а и на по-сетнешните религиозно-философски идеи.

PHD thesis defended. To be published...

Book Reviews by Nikolay Yankov

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ на дисертационния труд на тема "Саможертвата като прототип на ведическата ритуална систе... more РЕЦЕНЗИЯ
на дисертационния труд на тема
"Саможертвата като прототип на ведическата ритуална система"
представен от Николай Валериев Янков, редовен докторант в СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“, ФКНФ, Катедра „Класически Изток“, специалност „Индология“ по професионално направление 2.1. Филология (Индийска литература и култура) за присъждане на образователна и научната степен „доктор“
от доц. д-р Гергана Руменова Русева, СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“, ФКНФ, Катедра „Класически Изток“