Aśoka’s Disparagement of Domestic Ritual and Its Validation by the Brahmins (original) (raw)
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PAPERS OF THE 12TH WORLD SANSKRIT CONFERENCE HELD IN HELSINKI, FINLAND, 13-18 JULY 2003 , 2016
The so-called internalised or interiorised rituals constitute an interesting category of rituals, and ritual speculation, for they illuminate and challenge some features of the division between outer and inner aspects.2 Such rituals result from processes of interiorisation in which the emphasis has been shifted from the outer to the inner aspects of a ritual. Ritual interiorisation has figured in scholarly discussions of the development of Vedic religion and ritual in the Vedic period, especially in discussions of the emerging asceticism and the doctrines associated with it. For example, J. C. Heesterman sees the śrauta sacrifices and their treatment in the Brāhmaṇa texts as results of a ritual reform, a move away from the dangerous agonistic sacrifices to the secure and transcendental classical Vedic rituals. Sacrifice became a ritual that turned its back to the concerns of the world, and this ‘transcendental’ perfect order became personified in the ritual officiator, who, nevertheless, still tried to mediate between the unsafe world of everyday life and the ritually established absolute realm. The renouncer, however, in contrast to the ambivalent stance of the ritualist, drew the logical conclusion and tried to cut his ties to society.
Gṛhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture, edited by Patrick Olivelle (Oxford University Press), pp. 95–106, 2019
The Gṛhyasūtras (rulebooks of household ritual) might be expected to use the word gṛhastha, since it becomes the standard label for a married householder responsible for performing such rites. But in fact, when that role is mentioned, they employ older terms, suggesting that gṛhastha came into use only after the core works of the genre were composed, or that the ritualist authors were slow to accept it. The few occurrences we do find are in restricted contexts in supplementary chapters: in an appended list of penances (a penance for a gṛhastha vidyārthin, “a wisdom-seeker-who-stays-at-home,” BGS 4.12.1), and in two appendices that mention a gṛhastha alongside other individuals (including ascetics) worthy to be fed at rituals. This suggests that domestic ritual authorities in the era when the term was coming into use saw it as most applicable for depicting the married ritualist as a home-based religious professional comparable to an ascetic.
International journal of contemporary sociology, 2004
This study focuses on the role of royal women in northern Indian society from300 A.D. to 1200 A.D. In addressing issues related to gender inequality, wedirect attention to some of the most important traditional rituals that were used togovern the lives of royal women. Three social spheres are examined: the role of royal women in ritualized matrimonial alliances, the ritual of gender hierarchy inmarriage alliances, and the ritual of son-preference. The theory of structuralritualization and certain of its concepts (e.g., salience, repetitiveness,homologousness, and resources) are utilized to explain some of the key socialdynamics involving royal women who were embedded within the larger patriarchal/hierarchical social order of ancient Indian society. It is argued thatactors were profoundly influenced by the ritualized symbolic practices (e.g.,ritualized matrimonial alliances) they were exposed to within their society, whichled to a reproduction of similar practices among royal women. And, some womenstrategically employed some of these ritualized practices to advance their goals.The important role ritualization may play in the creation and perpetuation of gender (or other forms of) inequality is emphasized and directions for futureresearch are discussed.
From non-Brahmin priests of the goddess to ascetics of god Mahima Alekha
2016
This article deals with Mahima Dharma a contemporary vernacular ascetic religion of Odisha/Eastern India displaying a rich diversity in its regional configurations. In this paper the author proposes to look at the main protagonists of the religion, the ascetics (babas), as non-Brahmin priests, who have incorporated shakti, the power of local goddesses into their disciplined bodies and in doing so have transformed the feminine element of the Hindu belief into the belief of the indescribable and abstract god Alekha. Mahima Dharma is seen in this contribution as a sort of micro structure on the one hand of popular asceticism in rural India and on the other hand as a recent religious reform movement integrating local non-Brahmin priesthood and the local belief in goddesses into the mainstream of the male Hindu pantheon. This article draws on the author’s PhD fieldwork research (1999-2002), published in 2002 as a monograph (Guzy 2002)1.
Indo-Iranian Journal, 2014
With this little book published by Logos Verlag in Berlin, Hideki TESHIMA offers us a deep and insightful investigation into the preparatory rituals of the Aśvamedha. As the author notes in the introduction to his study (pp. 1-2), although the Indian horse sacrifice has attracted much attention, its preparatory phase has only been casually studied, even in DUMONT'S fundamental research on the subject. 1 TESHIMA proposes to fill up this lacuna by inquiring into the matter using all currently available textual sources. To do so, he offers as an annex to his investigation a critical edition and annotated German translation of the beginning of the Aśvamedha section of the Vādhūlaśrautasūtra 2 which deals with these preparatory rituals. The critical edition has been prepared by both the author and Prof. Yasuke IKARI of Kyōto University. The latter has provided TESHIMA with some previously unavailable manuscripts of the VŚS he discovered in Kerala in the mid 1990s. This edition is thus part of the ongoing effort started by Prof. Ikari and aiming at providing the scholarly public with a truly critical and accurate edition of the VŚS. The edition found as "Anhang 2.1," pp. 102-122, of TESHIMA's book is followed in "Anhang 2.2," pp. 123-150, by a careful translation of the text, done with excellent philological acumen and which could be improved in only a very few places. Considering the importance of the text of the VŚS-which is now well known to be a key missing link for our understanding of the history of Vedic ritual-and the quality of its translation, it would have been advisable to present them at the very beginning of the book. The reader would then have had a token of, as well as an excellent introduction into, the difficulties posed by the subject treated in the rest of the work. TESHIMA probably proceded otherwise because he felt that the text of the VŚS would not have been easily understood if one did not have first a synoptic view of the problems raised by the complex and long lasting preparatory rituals of the horse sacrifice. This synoptic view he procedes to give in the first part of his book from p. 5 to p. 95. It is divided into the four sections, following the make-up of the preliminary rites of the Aśvamedha, that is: 1) the pāriplava recitation of the Hot and/or the eulogy of the king sang by a number of Vīṇā-playing bards, 2) the iṣṭis for Savitar, 3) the Dīkṣā, and 4) the Cāturmāsyāni cycle of offerings. As is usual with matters pertaining to Vedic rituals, the proceedings of these rites show a great deal of variation among the different Vedic caraṇas. The author's feat has been to explain in details these variations and to uncover their origin. I will therefore only summarize hereafter his conclusions and dwell on the few points which, in my view, deserve clarification or further explanations.
The Emergence of Brāhmaṇic Asceticism in Ancient India
There are very early examples of asceticism in ancient India with the long-haired keśins (or munis) figuring in the Ṛgveda and the wandering brotherhoods of the vrātyas figuring in the Atharvaveda. Both the keśins and the vrātyas have been depicted as having divine powers while exercising ascetic practises (Samuel, 2008: 158). By the end of Vedic period, which is estimated to be around 500 to 400 BCE, forms of Brāhmaṇic, Jain and Buddhist ascetics were emerging amidst great social, political, economic and religious change. The forms of asceticism, distinguished by their particular practices and goals, reflect the religious ideologies of their tradition. Some scholars, notably Heesterman, see Brāhmaṇic asceticism as a continuation of the Vedic tradition with developments occurring organically (Bronkhorst, 1993: 3).
Separate Rock Edicts of Asoka: A Critical Appraisal
Pratna Samiksha, 2019
The present article deals with the Separate Edicts of Asoka which have been discovered at Dhauli and Jaugada in Odisha and Sannati in Karnataka. Though several scholars in the past have discussed these edicts yet this is a fresh attempt at analyzing the work-pattern of the scribes and engravers which was a desideratum. At the same time we have also carried out extensive field survey and this exploration has brought to light several intricacies which help in a better understanding of the inscriptions in the natural landscapes and proper context of each text. This article explores the Kalioga-Karnataka connect which helps us to indicate that Kalioga in its broader sense or extended territorial sense included Sannati. The presence of the Separate Rock Edicts and their engraving pattern has led us to designate them as locality specific imperial orders vis-à-vis the general imperial orders which is a term coined here for the first time for designating the common versions of edicts, i.e. the Major Rock Edicts. We have also suggested here that the Separate Rock Edicts were not in the scheme of Major Rock Edicts and were specific orders to local administrators. The omission and inclusion of certain edicts mainly Rock Edicts XI, XII, and XIII have been dealt here at length. We have shown through work pattern analysis that at Dhauli and Jaugada two different set of artisans were working who probably belonged to the same school of engraving. Among the administrators addressed in edicts at these localities we have the kumara at Dhauli mahamatras at Dhauli, Jaugada, and Sannati and nagaravyavaharakas at Dhauli and Jaugada and also the rajavacanika at Jaugada. The SREs were never a part of the Asokan generic communication, i.e. general imperial orders which were engraved with a scheme in mind to encircle his empire and give an idea to his borderers and neighbours about the ruler. These two orders (SRE) were locality specific ones which could make their entry into the prime space of general royal imperial order domain. The administrators of the localities of Dhauli, Jaugada, and Sannati were thus successful in displaying their closeness to the apex political power through the inclusion of SREs in the Major Rock Edict scheme.
Religion is a very important social factor influencing various aspects of human life. It is composed of beliefs and rituals. Ritual is the primary component of religion and fundamentally serves the basic social function of creating and maintaining community. Durkheim opines that ritual is a means by which individuals are brought together as a collective group. It functions to strengthen the bonds of attaching the individual to the society of which he or she is a member. Rituals are also considered as the means by which cultural system and social system are able to interact and harmonize with each other. The role played by a certain person in the rituals is indication of that person’s significance in the society. Historically religious development in India can broadly be seen in four stages or periods. 1. Vedic period 2. Sutra period 3. Puranic period 4. Modern period Female section generally constitutes more than fifty per cent of the population, however it is quite evident that this section is by and large deprived of due share in almost all spheres of life. It would be very interesting to analyze the position of women from the angle of their participation in the ritualistic activities. One should admit that woman or ‘Lady of the House’ was quite necessary in Vedic sacrificial rituals as well as sutra rituals though their participation in such activities was very insignificant. However in Puranic and modern period a change can be seen in the women participation in the field of rituals. This paper tries to study the role of Indian woman in rituals of different period with a view to evaluate their position in the society of the respective era.