Alessandro Giudice | Università degli Studi di Cagliari (original) (raw)
Papers by Alessandro Giudice
Asiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques, 2024
Among the eight forms of marriage described by the Dharmaśāstric texts, two are strictly interrel... more Among the eight forms of marriage described by the Dharmaśāstric texts, two are strictly interrelated with each other, i.e., Ārṣa and Āsura, both linked to a metaphorical (by giving one or two pairs of oxen to the maiden’s father) or actual purchase of the bride (by exchanging wealth) and respectively considered legitimate (Ārṣa) and illegitimate (Āsura). This paper analyses the formation process of these two marriage forms, which derive from a previous – single and legitimate – marriage by bride price (śulka). The Dharmaśāstric theorisation of marriage rites represents a frame that does not correspond to what can be reconstructed of marriage from earlier Vedic texts, where marriage by purchase is described in positive terms. The split into Ārṣa and Āsura marriages, which took place in the Late Vedic period, can be interpreted as a Brahmanical attempt to orthodoxise marriage by purchase by substituting the bride price with a ritual gift (Ārṣa) and, at the same time, to condemn its oldest form by declaring it as illegitimate (Āsura). However, there is evidence from Dharmaśāstric and non-Dharmaśāstric (i.e., epic and Purāṇic) texts as well as – even though with minor relevance – from Megasthenes’ account of Ancient Indian marriage that the sale of daughters continued to be a practised custom and, despite the hermeneutical efforts of some passages (e.g., ĀpDh II, 13, 11), the Ārṣa marriage was actually felt as a purchase.
Indo-Iranian Journal, 2024
This paper explores the potential relationship between Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.112–114 and the usage of th... more This paper explores the potential relationship between Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.112–114 and the usage of the future tense to denote past actions in Niya Prakrit. According to the interpretation by vyākaraṇa commentators, rule A 3.2.112 teaches that the l-substitutes of lṚṬ (= sigmatic future) occur after a verbal base to denote a past action excluding the present day, provided that there is a co-occurring word conveying the sense of ‘recollection’; the other two rules (A 3.2.113–114) constitute the exceptions to the latter. Specifically addressing A 3.2.112, Thomas Burrow argued that, in six Niya Prakrit occurrences (CKD 182, 309, 376, 435, 621, 634), there is “exactly what is laid down in Pāṇini 3 2 112”. This paper endeavours to demonstrate that such alignment is not entirely accurate, at least according to the traditional interpretation of the rules at stake.
Link to the paper: https://brill.com/view/journals/iij/67/3/article-p205_1.xml
St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, 2024
This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in t... more This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in the historical and cultural context of ancient India. In contrast to other ancient civilizations (such as the Roman Republic and Empire), ancient Indian society was characterized by the lack of a uniform legal system, having instead multiple legal systems united by a common jurisprudence called Dharmaśāstra. The initial works within this tradition are the Dharmasūtras, four of which are handed down from manuscripts (i.e. the āpastamba-, Gautama-, Baudhāyana-, and Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra), approximately dated from the third century BCE to the first century CE. These works are written in aphoristic prose (sūtra) and tend to preserve the entire scholarly debate about dharma rather than provide an unambiguous, authoritative version of the issues addressed. Such argumentative modality is innovated by the composition of the Mānavadharmaśāstra, the first Dharmaśāstra or Smṛti to be handed down, approximately dated to the second century CE. This work, written in verse (śloka) and ascribed to a divine figure, imposes its authority in the debate surrounding dharma by taking an assertive stance and eliminating all dissent in most cases. The Mānavadharmaśāstra innovation was then followed by later Smṛtis, of which only four major texts are handed down from manuscripts – the Yājñavalkya-, Nārada-, Viṣṇu-, and Parāśarasmṛti – dated approximately from the late fourth century to the eighth century CE. Following an examination of the genesis of the Dharmaśāstric tradition, connected to the (re-)Brahmanization of the Buddhist concept of dharma, this entry deals with the four dharmamūlas (‘roots of law’) on which the Dharmaśāstra is grounded, i.e. śruti (‘revelation’), smṛti (‘tradition’), ācara (‘conduct’), and ātmatuṣṭi (‘self-satisfaction’ or ‘personal preference’), along with its textual history. Finally, coming to the present day, this entry discusses the role of Dharmaśāstra in the living forms of Hinduism and, specifically, how it has survived in modern Hindu law.
Citation: Giudice, Alessandro. 2024. ‘Law and Religion in Brahmanism: the Dharmaśāstra’. St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. Available online at https://www.saet.ac.uk/Hinduism/LawandReligioninBrahmanism.
La ricezione dell’ultimo Alessandro: Mirabilia e violenza al di qua e al di là dell’Indo, 2024
Candotti, Maria Piera, and Alessandro Giudice. 2024. “The Seleucid influence on the Gandhāran adm... more Candotti, Maria Piera, and Alessandro Giudice. 2024. “The Seleucid influence on the Gandhāran administrative system. A study on the Greek-derived political offices with special reference to the Indo-Scythian kingdom of Apraca.” In Piccioni, Francesca, Poddighe, Elisabetta, and Tiziana Pontillo (eds.). "La ricezione dell’ultimo Alessandro: Mirabilia e violenza al di qua e al di là dell’Indo." Beiträge zur Altertumskunde, 417. Berlin – Boston: De Gruyter, 233-272.
At the beginning of the sixth century CE, the Egyptian monk Cosmas Indicopleustes accomplished a ... more At the beginning of the sixth century CE, the Egyptian monk Cosmas Indicopleustes accomplished a journey to the principal ports of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. When he returned to Egypt, he wrote an account of the places he visited, namely the Topographia Christiana. In its eleventh book, some Indian plants and spices are described (e.g., Gr. πίπερ corresponding to Skt. pippalī) or mentioned (e.g., Gr. τζανδάνα corresponding to Skt. candana). The present contribution intends to examine these accounts of vegetable species (Cosmas Indic. XI, 10; XI, 11; XI, 15) from a double perspective: on the one side, it analyses the Greek traditions on plants, providing an overview of the species found in Cosmas' work; on the other, it compares the pieces of information singled out by Cosmas with Indian sources to verify the reliability of the Topographia Christiana and, likewise, its dependence on earlier Greek botanical and medical traditions.
AEVUM, 2023
This paper focuses on the 'Treaty of the Indus', i.e., the peace pact between Candragupta Maurya ... more This paper focuses on the 'Treaty of the Indus', i.e., the peace pact between Candragupta Maurya and Seleucus I Nicator at the end of the fourth century BCE. Scholars are divided into those who consider such a treaty a peace pact sanctioned through dynastic marriage and those who consider it a pact allowing the celebration of intermarriages between Greeks and Indians. This paper defends the first hypothesis according to the Indian sources on dharma and artha. Dharmaśāstric texts never describe Greeks as foreigners but consider them part of a mixed class (and consequently part of the Brahmanical society). Therefore, no formal treaty allowing Indo-Greek intermarriages was needed. Furthermore, Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra supports peace pacts sanctioned through marriages with foreign kings, as sometimes happened in Ancient Indian history.
Rhesis, 2022
This paper focuses on the plowshare ordeal (phāladivya), the eighth ordeal to be discussed in the... more This paper focuses on the plowshare ordeal (phāladivya), the eighth ordeal to be discussed in the Smṛtis. Although the information about its procedure is scarce, I analyze all the textual sources about the phāla ordeal, coming from the tradition of Dharmaśāstra (Yājñavalkya-, Bṛhaspati-, Pitāmaha-smṛti, and Raghunandana's Divyatattva) and from that of Purāṇas (Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa and Kumārikākhaṇḍa). After considering the sources related to it, I try to demonstrate that the first mention of the phāla ordeal, found in Yājñavalkya-smṛti II, 100, is a later addition to the original core of the text.
Ricerche Ellenistiche, 2022
This paper focuses on the redaction of the Greek Edicts of Aśoka (mid-third century BCE), found i... more This paper focuses on the redaction of the Greek Edicts of Aśoka (mid-third century BCE), found in Old Kandahār (Afghanistan). The two Greek edicts (Kandahār I and II) are not mere translations from the original Prakrit edicts but appear to be adapted to the Greek culture. Three redactors, with different degrees of linguistic ability, are to be distinguished. Assuming a sociolinguistic situation of diglossia for Arachosia in the mid-third century BCE, we aim at demonstrating that the three redactors spoke a north-western variant of Prakrit as their first language (L1) and learned Greek in gymnasia as a second language (L2). The employment of some expressions and formulas used in Classical Greek works suggests scholastic learning of Greek. However, some peculiarities of the Greek texts (such as incorrect use of the article, irregular syntax, etc.) could be explained by the substrate interference of their first language, i.e., the Prakrit.
Studi Classici e Orientali, 2022
This paper investigates the connections between different marriage classifications in Ancient Ind... more This paper investigates the connections between different marriage classifications in Ancient Indian literature. I have considered passages not only from dharma works (dharmasūtras and dharmaśāstras), but also from works concerning artha (Kauṭilya-arthaśāstra), kāma (Vātsyāyana-kāmasūtra), domestic rituals (Āśvalāyana-gṛhyasūtra) and epic (Mahābhārata). The aim of the research is drawing up possible relationships and filiations between older and more recent classifications, recording the similarities, differences, and innovations from a textual and cultural perspective. The paper intends to show that, with the exception of a series of independent classifications, the author of Mānavadharmaśāstra innovates a well-established classification, firstly discussed by Gautama. Then, he proposes a new one, which becomes the canonical marriage classification of the later period.
AEVUM, 2022
This work focuses on the Skt. word lying behind sala- in the compound salavaḍhi, which occurs th... more This work focuses on the Skt. word lying behind sala- in the compound salavaḍhi, which occurs three times in Aśoka’s Rock Edict XII. We analyze each sound of the word sala- and show that it corresponds to Skt. śāla-, ‘the Śal tree’. Then, we account for the meaning of sala- in the compound salavaḍhi and in the more general context of the edict. We conclude that sala- metaphorically means ‘wholesome qualities’, as a result of the Buddhist semantic association between sala-, ‘the Śal tree’ and kuśala-, ‘wholesome (quality)’.
Conference papers by Alessandro Giudice
Convegno dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Sanscriti (AISS), 2024
danieLe Cuneo (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Università del Texas ad Austin) gioVanni Ciotti (Università di B... more danieLe Cuneo (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Università del Texas ad Austin) gioVanni Ciotti (Università di Bologna) Esplorando la Virāṭaparvamaṇipravāḷamañjari1 0.30-10.50 bryan de notariis (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia),
International Rotating Indological Seminar "Pandanus 2024"
International Conference “Language and Culture in the Borderlands of the Eastern Silk Road", 2024
![Research paper thumbnail of Who is the foreigner? Delimiting boundaries before and after Alexander the Great’s expedition in India – Cagliari, 18/03/24 [with Maria Piera Candotti and Tiziana Pontillo]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/112249463/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](International Conference "Asia in the Mirror: Self-representations, Self-narratives, and Perception of the Other", 2024
Convegno Dottorale Internazionale "Dall'Anomia alla Norma: Strategie di codifica dall'antichità ai giorni odierni", 2024
International Rotating Indological Seminar “Striving for harmony in Indian culture and society"
Convegno Dottorale "Herbaria. La varietà vegetale in letteratura, linguistica e filologia", 2023
Oriental Meetings in Sosnowiec 2023
![Research paper thumbnail of The Seleucid influence on the Gandhāran administrative system. A study on the Greek-derived political offices with special reference to the Indo-Scythian kingdom of Apraca - Cagliari, 09/03/2023 [with Maria Piera Candotti]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/99682747/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](International Conference “Mirabilia and violence around the Indus. The last years of Alexander the Great in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit literary reception", 2023
Convegno Associazione Italiana di Studi Sanscriti, 2022
Asiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques, 2024
Among the eight forms of marriage described by the Dharmaśāstric texts, two are strictly interrel... more Among the eight forms of marriage described by the Dharmaśāstric texts, two are strictly interrelated with each other, i.e., Ārṣa and Āsura, both linked to a metaphorical (by giving one or two pairs of oxen to the maiden’s father) or actual purchase of the bride (by exchanging wealth) and respectively considered legitimate (Ārṣa) and illegitimate (Āsura). This paper analyses the formation process of these two marriage forms, which derive from a previous – single and legitimate – marriage by bride price (śulka). The Dharmaśāstric theorisation of marriage rites represents a frame that does not correspond to what can be reconstructed of marriage from earlier Vedic texts, where marriage by purchase is described in positive terms. The split into Ārṣa and Āsura marriages, which took place in the Late Vedic period, can be interpreted as a Brahmanical attempt to orthodoxise marriage by purchase by substituting the bride price with a ritual gift (Ārṣa) and, at the same time, to condemn its oldest form by declaring it as illegitimate (Āsura). However, there is evidence from Dharmaśāstric and non-Dharmaśāstric (i.e., epic and Purāṇic) texts as well as – even though with minor relevance – from Megasthenes’ account of Ancient Indian marriage that the sale of daughters continued to be a practised custom and, despite the hermeneutical efforts of some passages (e.g., ĀpDh II, 13, 11), the Ārṣa marriage was actually felt as a purchase.
Indo-Iranian Journal, 2024
This paper explores the potential relationship between Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.112–114 and the usage of th... more This paper explores the potential relationship between Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.112–114 and the usage of the future tense to denote past actions in Niya Prakrit. According to the interpretation by vyākaraṇa commentators, rule A 3.2.112 teaches that the l-substitutes of lṚṬ (= sigmatic future) occur after a verbal base to denote a past action excluding the present day, provided that there is a co-occurring word conveying the sense of ‘recollection’; the other two rules (A 3.2.113–114) constitute the exceptions to the latter. Specifically addressing A 3.2.112, Thomas Burrow argued that, in six Niya Prakrit occurrences (CKD 182, 309, 376, 435, 621, 634), there is “exactly what is laid down in Pāṇini 3 2 112”. This paper endeavours to demonstrate that such alignment is not entirely accurate, at least according to the traditional interpretation of the rules at stake.
Link to the paper: https://brill.com/view/journals/iij/67/3/article-p205_1.xml
St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, 2024
This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in t... more This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in the historical and cultural context of ancient India. In contrast to other ancient civilizations (such as the Roman Republic and Empire), ancient Indian society was characterized by the lack of a uniform legal system, having instead multiple legal systems united by a common jurisprudence called Dharmaśāstra. The initial works within this tradition are the Dharmasūtras, four of which are handed down from manuscripts (i.e. the āpastamba-, Gautama-, Baudhāyana-, and Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra), approximately dated from the third century BCE to the first century CE. These works are written in aphoristic prose (sūtra) and tend to preserve the entire scholarly debate about dharma rather than provide an unambiguous, authoritative version of the issues addressed. Such argumentative modality is innovated by the composition of the Mānavadharmaśāstra, the first Dharmaśāstra or Smṛti to be handed down, approximately dated to the second century CE. This work, written in verse (śloka) and ascribed to a divine figure, imposes its authority in the debate surrounding dharma by taking an assertive stance and eliminating all dissent in most cases. The Mānavadharmaśāstra innovation was then followed by later Smṛtis, of which only four major texts are handed down from manuscripts – the Yājñavalkya-, Nārada-, Viṣṇu-, and Parāśarasmṛti – dated approximately from the late fourth century to the eighth century CE. Following an examination of the genesis of the Dharmaśāstric tradition, connected to the (re-)Brahmanization of the Buddhist concept of dharma, this entry deals with the four dharmamūlas (‘roots of law’) on which the Dharmaśāstra is grounded, i.e. śruti (‘revelation’), smṛti (‘tradition’), ācara (‘conduct’), and ātmatuṣṭi (‘self-satisfaction’ or ‘personal preference’), along with its textual history. Finally, coming to the present day, this entry discusses the role of Dharmaśāstra in the living forms of Hinduism and, specifically, how it has survived in modern Hindu law.
Citation: Giudice, Alessandro. 2024. ‘Law and Religion in Brahmanism: the Dharmaśāstra’. St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. Available online at https://www.saet.ac.uk/Hinduism/LawandReligioninBrahmanism.
La ricezione dell’ultimo Alessandro: Mirabilia e violenza al di qua e al di là dell’Indo, 2024
Candotti, Maria Piera, and Alessandro Giudice. 2024. “The Seleucid influence on the Gandhāran adm... more Candotti, Maria Piera, and Alessandro Giudice. 2024. “The Seleucid influence on the Gandhāran administrative system. A study on the Greek-derived political offices with special reference to the Indo-Scythian kingdom of Apraca.” In Piccioni, Francesca, Poddighe, Elisabetta, and Tiziana Pontillo (eds.). "La ricezione dell’ultimo Alessandro: Mirabilia e violenza al di qua e al di là dell’Indo." Beiträge zur Altertumskunde, 417. Berlin – Boston: De Gruyter, 233-272.
At the beginning of the sixth century CE, the Egyptian monk Cosmas Indicopleustes accomplished a ... more At the beginning of the sixth century CE, the Egyptian monk Cosmas Indicopleustes accomplished a journey to the principal ports of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. When he returned to Egypt, he wrote an account of the places he visited, namely the Topographia Christiana. In its eleventh book, some Indian plants and spices are described (e.g., Gr. πίπερ corresponding to Skt. pippalī) or mentioned (e.g., Gr. τζανδάνα corresponding to Skt. candana). The present contribution intends to examine these accounts of vegetable species (Cosmas Indic. XI, 10; XI, 11; XI, 15) from a double perspective: on the one side, it analyses the Greek traditions on plants, providing an overview of the species found in Cosmas' work; on the other, it compares the pieces of information singled out by Cosmas with Indian sources to verify the reliability of the Topographia Christiana and, likewise, its dependence on earlier Greek botanical and medical traditions.
AEVUM, 2023
This paper focuses on the 'Treaty of the Indus', i.e., the peace pact between Candragupta Maurya ... more This paper focuses on the 'Treaty of the Indus', i.e., the peace pact between Candragupta Maurya and Seleucus I Nicator at the end of the fourth century BCE. Scholars are divided into those who consider such a treaty a peace pact sanctioned through dynastic marriage and those who consider it a pact allowing the celebration of intermarriages between Greeks and Indians. This paper defends the first hypothesis according to the Indian sources on dharma and artha. Dharmaśāstric texts never describe Greeks as foreigners but consider them part of a mixed class (and consequently part of the Brahmanical society). Therefore, no formal treaty allowing Indo-Greek intermarriages was needed. Furthermore, Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra supports peace pacts sanctioned through marriages with foreign kings, as sometimes happened in Ancient Indian history.
Rhesis, 2022
This paper focuses on the plowshare ordeal (phāladivya), the eighth ordeal to be discussed in the... more This paper focuses on the plowshare ordeal (phāladivya), the eighth ordeal to be discussed in the Smṛtis. Although the information about its procedure is scarce, I analyze all the textual sources about the phāla ordeal, coming from the tradition of Dharmaśāstra (Yājñavalkya-, Bṛhaspati-, Pitāmaha-smṛti, and Raghunandana's Divyatattva) and from that of Purāṇas (Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa and Kumārikākhaṇḍa). After considering the sources related to it, I try to demonstrate that the first mention of the phāla ordeal, found in Yājñavalkya-smṛti II, 100, is a later addition to the original core of the text.
Ricerche Ellenistiche, 2022
This paper focuses on the redaction of the Greek Edicts of Aśoka (mid-third century BCE), found i... more This paper focuses on the redaction of the Greek Edicts of Aśoka (mid-third century BCE), found in Old Kandahār (Afghanistan). The two Greek edicts (Kandahār I and II) are not mere translations from the original Prakrit edicts but appear to be adapted to the Greek culture. Three redactors, with different degrees of linguistic ability, are to be distinguished. Assuming a sociolinguistic situation of diglossia for Arachosia in the mid-third century BCE, we aim at demonstrating that the three redactors spoke a north-western variant of Prakrit as their first language (L1) and learned Greek in gymnasia as a second language (L2). The employment of some expressions and formulas used in Classical Greek works suggests scholastic learning of Greek. However, some peculiarities of the Greek texts (such as incorrect use of the article, irregular syntax, etc.) could be explained by the substrate interference of their first language, i.e., the Prakrit.
Studi Classici e Orientali, 2022
This paper investigates the connections between different marriage classifications in Ancient Ind... more This paper investigates the connections between different marriage classifications in Ancient Indian literature. I have considered passages not only from dharma works (dharmasūtras and dharmaśāstras), but also from works concerning artha (Kauṭilya-arthaśāstra), kāma (Vātsyāyana-kāmasūtra), domestic rituals (Āśvalāyana-gṛhyasūtra) and epic (Mahābhārata). The aim of the research is drawing up possible relationships and filiations between older and more recent classifications, recording the similarities, differences, and innovations from a textual and cultural perspective. The paper intends to show that, with the exception of a series of independent classifications, the author of Mānavadharmaśāstra innovates a well-established classification, firstly discussed by Gautama. Then, he proposes a new one, which becomes the canonical marriage classification of the later period.
AEVUM, 2022
This work focuses on the Skt. word lying behind sala- in the compound salavaḍhi, which occurs th... more This work focuses on the Skt. word lying behind sala- in the compound salavaḍhi, which occurs three times in Aśoka’s Rock Edict XII. We analyze each sound of the word sala- and show that it corresponds to Skt. śāla-, ‘the Śal tree’. Then, we account for the meaning of sala- in the compound salavaḍhi and in the more general context of the edict. We conclude that sala- metaphorically means ‘wholesome qualities’, as a result of the Buddhist semantic association between sala-, ‘the Śal tree’ and kuśala-, ‘wholesome (quality)’.
Convegno dell'Associazione Italiana di Studi Sanscriti (AISS), 2024
danieLe Cuneo (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Università del Texas ad Austin) gioVanni Ciotti (Università di B... more danieLe Cuneo (Sorbonne Nouvelle-Università del Texas ad Austin) gioVanni Ciotti (Università di Bologna) Esplorando la Virāṭaparvamaṇipravāḷamañjari1 0.30-10.50 bryan de notariis (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia),
International Rotating Indological Seminar "Pandanus 2024"
International Conference “Language and Culture in the Borderlands of the Eastern Silk Road", 2024
International Conference "Asia in the Mirror: Self-representations, Self-narratives, and Perception of the Other", 2024
Convegno Dottorale Internazionale "Dall'Anomia alla Norma: Strategie di codifica dall'antichità ai giorni odierni", 2024
International Rotating Indological Seminar “Striving for harmony in Indian culture and society"
Convegno Dottorale "Herbaria. La varietà vegetale in letteratura, linguistica e filologia", 2023
Oriental Meetings in Sosnowiec 2023
International Conference “Mirabilia and violence around the Indus. The last years of Alexander the Great in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit literary reception", 2023
Convegno Associazione Italiana di Studi Sanscriti, 2022
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 2023
Tradurre l’India: Itinerari Linguistici, Letterari e Religiosi del Medio Indiano, 2025
Winter School "Tradurre l’India: Itinerari Linguistici, Letterari e Religiosi del Medio Indiano",... more Winter School "Tradurre l’India: Itinerari Linguistici, Letterari e Religiosi del Medio Indiano", 27-31 January 2025.
BA Thesis discussed on 12 October 2020 at the University of Pisa.
ITA. La presente tesi di laurea magistrale indaga l’evoluzione della procedura giudiziaria indian... more ITA. La presente tesi di laurea magistrale indaga l’evoluzione della procedura giudiziaria indiana antica (vyavahāra), focalizzandosi sul periodo compreso tra l’epoca Gupta e post-Gupta. Nella prima parte della tesi, sono analizzate le tre vyavahāra-smṛti, opere quasi interamente dedicate alla procedura giudiziaria, ossia la Nārada-smṛti, la Bṛhaspati-smṛti e la Kātyāyana-smṛti. Il confronto tra queste ultime e le opere smṛtiche precedenti (Dharmasūtra, Mānavadharmaśāstra, Yājñavalkya-smṛti) palesa una graduale tecnicizzazione della procedura giudiziaria: a partire dall’epoca Gupta, gli Smṛtikāra ampliano le loro argomentazioni fino a coprire gran parte della casistica giurisprudenziale. Gli autori smṛtici dividono la discussione relativa al processo in sottosezioni, dedicate a singole aree di contenzioso (vyavahārapada): queste ultime, tuttavia, non coprono tutti gli ambiti del diritto, ma solo una parte delle cause legali di tipo privatistico; i vyavahārapada sono, infatti, dei raggruppamenti teorici delle dispute legali più comuni che la corte giudiziaria era tenuta a dirimere. La mia analisi si è concentrata su due vyavahārapada (deposito e gioco d’azzardo) e sulla discussione relativa alla procedura ordalica: dalla comparazione tra le vyavahāra-smṛti e le opere precedenti e successive risulta che, relativamente ad alcuni istituti, la dottrina giuridica possa subire uno sviluppo graduale, in cui ogni elemento introdotto in un testo smṛtico cronologicamente precedente si ritrova anche in un testo successivo, mentre, in relazione ad altri istituti, lo sviluppo della dottrina è discontinua, considerato che alcuni elementi non raggiungono una standardizzazione, subiscono modifiche rilevanti o si perdono nel corso del tempo. Nella seconda parte della tesi, si indaga il riuso testuale delle fonti smṛtiche operato da tre opere purāṇiche, l’Agni-purāṇa, il Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa e il Kumārikā-khaṇḍa; in particolare, sono analizzate la sezione ripresa dalla Nārada-smṛti dell’Agni-purāṇa (AP 252, 1-31) e i capitoli sulle ordalie del Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa (VDhP III, 328) e del Kumārikā-khaṇḍa (KK 44). Il passo dell’Agni-purāṇa, oltre a fornire delle informazioni generali sul vyavahāra, è strutturato come un indice per i capitoli successivi (AP 252, 32 – 257) che descrivono la procedura giudiziaria, riprendendo la trattazione della Yājñavalkya-smṛti. Il capitolo del Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa, ripreso in seguito dal Kumārikā-khaṇḍa, riporta la descrizione di otto ordalie: la sua fonte è probabilmente una Smṛti perduta, composta successivamente alla Kātyāyana-smṛti e precedentemente alla Pitāmaha-smṛti, di cui le opere purāṇiche sono gli unici testimoni indiretti.
ENG. This Master's thesis investigates the evolution of the ancient Indian judicial procedure (vyavahāra), focusing on the period between the Gupta and post-Gupta ages. In the first part of the thesis, I analyzed the three vyavahāra-smṛtis (Nārada-smṛti, Bṛhaspati-smṛti, Kātyāyana-smṛti), i.e., Smṛtic works almost entirely dedicated to the judicial procedure. The comparison between the latter and the previous Smṛtic works (Dharmasūtra, Mānavadharmaśāstra, Yājñavalkya-smṛti) reveals a gradual technicization of the judicial procedure: starting from the Gupta age, the Smṛtikāras expand their argumentations to cover most of the jurisprudential case law. The Smṛtic authors divide the discussion related to the judicial process into subsections, each of them devoted to a single area of litigation (vyavahārapada). However, the latter does not cover all the areas of law, but only a part of the private-law cases — the vyavahārapadas are theoretical groupings of the most common legal disputes that the judicial court had to settle. My analysis focused on two vyavahārapadas (deposit and gambling) and the discussion on the ordeal procedure. From the comparison between the vyavahāra-smṛtis and the previous and subsequent works, it appears that the legal doctrine could progress following two patterns. According to the first, the legal doctrine could undergo a gradual development, in which each element introduced in a previous Smṛti is also found in a subsequent one. According to the second, the development of the legal doctrine is discontinuous as some features do not reach a standardization, undergo relevant changes, or are lost over time. In the second part of the thesis, I investigated the textual reuse of Smṛtic sources made by three Purāṇic works, the Agni-purāṇa, the Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa, and the Kumārikā-khaṇḍa. In particular, I analyzed the section of the Agni-purāṇa (AP 252, 1-31) borrowed from the Nārada-smṛti and the chapters on the ordeals of the Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa (VDhP III, 328) and Kumārikā-khaṇḍa (KK 44). Besides providing general information on the vyavahāra, the passage of the Agni-purāṇa is structured as an index for the following chapters (AP 252, 32 - 257), which describe the judicial procedure, using the Yājñavalkya-smṛti as a source. The chapter of the Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa, employed as a source by the Kumārikā-khaṇḍa, describes eight ordeals as its source is probably a lost Smṛti, composed after the Kātyāyana-smṛti and before the Pitāmaha-smṛti, of which the Purāṇic works are the only indirect witnesses.
MA Thesis discussed on 18 July 2022 at the University of Pisa.
Programma del Convegno Dottorale Internazionale "Dall'Anomia alla Norma. Strategie di codifica da... more Programma del Convegno Dottorale Internazionale "Dall'Anomia alla Norma. Strategie di codifica dall'antichità ai giorni odierni", organizzato dal Dottorato in Studi filologico-letterari e storico-culturali, che si terrà a Cagliari (Polo Sa Duchessa, Via Is Mirrionis 1) dal 26 al 28 febbraio 2024 e, contestualmente, in modalità telematica sulla piattaforma MS Teams, accessibile dal link http://tinyurl.com/dallanomiaallanorma.
Website: https://convegnocagliari20.wixsite.com/dallanomiaallanorma