Papers by Ewa Dębicka-Borek
Ambach, Malini, Buchholz, Jonas and Hüsken, Ute (Eds.): Temples, Texts, and Networks: South Indian Perspectives, 2022
Ahobilam in the Nets of Spatial Relationships Diverse networks of groups of shrines constitute an... more Ahobilam in the Nets of Spatial Relationships Diverse networks of groups of shrines constitute an integral element of Hindu religious landscapes, in which, to quote Eck, "nothing stands isolated" (Eck 2012, 35). The tools to explore such spatial relationships are for example provided by methods of literary cartography, in view of which what maps the space is a narrative (Tally 2014, 1-3). Recently, a growing interest in issues related to spatiality and place, and their cultural constructions throughout history and regions, can also be noticed in the
Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia, 2022
This paper discusses the poetic modes of recounting the past in a Sanskrit mahākāvya titled Sāḷuv... more This paper discusses the poetic modes of recounting the past in a Sanskrit mahākāvya titled Sāḷuvābhyudaya, authored by Rājanātha Ḍiṇḍima ca. 1480 ad, to eulogise Sāḷuva Narasiṃha, the soon-to-be founder of the Sāḷuva dynasty of Vijayanagara. Focusing on the poem's second canto, which is built on the theme of divine intervention culminating in the miraculous conception of the future, I argue that depiction of Sāḷuva Narasiṃha as the Ahobilanarasiṃha incarnate-a rather locally known form of Narasiṃha presiding over a Vaishnava religious centre in Ahobilam (currently Andhra Pradesh)-was aimed at enunciating his martial power and justifying his claims to the Vijayanagara throne, while simultaneously revealing the growing interests of Vijayanagara rulers in cooperating with temples and religious institutions.
The aim of this paper is to discuss the reasons behind mapping three sites of Narasiṃha worship (... more The aim of this paper is to discuss the reasons behind mapping three sites of Narasiṃha worship (Kāñcī, Ahobilam, Ghaṭikādri) in terms of the 3rd chapter of the Vaiṣṇavaoriented Kāñcīmāhātmya. Textual analysis of the Narasiṃha myth of the text reveals that it has been inspired by various local narrations related to the places located on the route sketched by the deity’s travels. The most effective means of connecting these places is the mythical narrative on Narasiṃha’s race after the demons, which frames the story and hence unifies single episodes inspired by appropriate local traditions. The purpose of such a literary technique is to produce a certain area that for some reasons was, or was intended to be, important for its inhabitants. Remarkably, maintaining the Andhra-bounded motif of Narasiṃha, who kills Hiraṇyakaśipu at Ahobilam, the furthest destination on the route, makes this particular site an indispensable and especially meaningful spot on the KM 3 literary map. Since the...
Cracow Indological Studies, 2019
The aim of this paper is to discuss the usage of two bhakti-related metaphors intended to represe... more The aim of this paper is to discuss the usage of two bhakti-related metaphors intended to represent self-surrender: the metaphor of marriage and the metaphor of self-decapitation. The explored narratives—one about Narasiṃha marrying Ceñcatā (a Ceñcū huntress) and the other about Bhairava who cuts off his own head for the sake of Narasiṃha—are connected to the Śrīvaiṣṇava center of Narasiṃha worship in Ahōbilam. As I will try to demonstrate, even though both served to convey the message about Narasiṃha’s final acceptance of strangers who loved him unconditionally, the employment of different symbolism may point to the fact that each of these tales originated in different circles, which, although linked to Ahōbilam, at the outset were occupied with different matters and interested in different targets: Vijayanagara rulers who supported the site to extend the kingdom’s boundaries and local temple priests eager to increase the number of pilgrims.
Cracow Indological Studies, 2016
When the God Meets a Tribal Girl: Narasiṃha's Second Marriage in the Light of the Vāsantikāpariṇa... more When the God Meets a Tribal Girl: Narasiṃha's Second Marriage in the Light of the Vāsantikāpariṇayam * SUMMARY: A widely diffused pattern of a recognized god who takes a second wife, usually local, has essentially articulated the acculturation of tribes or other spatially and socially separated groups. This motif has been discussed regarding South Indian literary traditions, where two brides are opposites in terms of origin, status and appearance, and a double marriage metaphor that aims at reconciliation of two distant spheres should be often contextualized within bhakti ideology. The motif of unconditional devotion of the additional wife to her husband is also closely connected to Vijaya nagara politics: a local girl as a spouse may reflect the extension of both royal and spiritual power symbolized by the god. The present paper explores the strategy and purpose of the adaptive re-use of a vernacular legend from the area of Ahobilam about the love between Narasiṃha and a Ceñcū huntress, as extolled by the author of a Sanskrit drama entitled Vāsantikāpariṇayam.
Cracow Indological Studies, 2013
Ritual Worship of the Narasiṁhamantra as Depicted in the Sātvata saṁ hitā 1 SUMMARY: Most probabl... more Ritual Worship of the Narasiṁhamantra as Depicted in the Sātvata saṁ hitā 1 SUMMARY: Most probably, the Sātvatasaṁhitā is the only one among the recognized saṁhitās of the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra that elaborates upon the procedure of worshipping [the mantra of] Narasiṁha belonging to vibhava deities (vaibhavīyanarasiṁhakalpa). Its aim is formulated in SātS 16, where it is stated that an initiation with the help of narasiṁhamantra (narasiṁhadīkṣā) as well as the further worship of this mantra remove sins committed in previous lives, even in the case of nāstikas. The detailed account of the procedure is given in the next chapter, i.e. SātS 17. Yet, when analyzed out of the general context of the text, vaibhavīyanarasiṁhakalpa seems to present a fully fledged procedure meant for a sādhaka striving for magical powers (siddhi); it depicts the narasiṁhadīkṣā which grants the right to worship the narasiṁhamantra in order to realize worldly aims. The traces of textual reworking suggest that the idea of vaibhavīyanarasiṁhakalpa might come from another context. It is also probable that for some reasons its original function considering the attainment of magical powers was reformulated within the scope of SātS into the purifying ceremony preceding the proper initiation.
Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2014
Some remarks on the possible methods of composing saṃhitās as hinted in chosen texts belonging to... more Some remarks on the possible methods of composing saṃhitās as hinted in chosen texts belonging to the Pāñcarātra school are presented in Sect. 1. In Sect. 2, the content and the structure of the Sātvatasaṃhitā and Īśvarasaṃhitā are compared. In fact, both texts are independent works even though in the light of some Pāñcarātrika texts they are considered to be mutually linked, the latter being considered a "commentary" of the former. In Sect. 3, the initiation (dīkṣā) as found in both texts is outlined. In Sect. 4, I focus on the re-use of the portions concerning dīkṣā: although the redactor of the Īśvarasaṃhitā borrowed almost all the Sātvatasaṃhitā's chapters on initiation, he dealt in a very different way with the practice called vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa that in the context of the latter text plays the role of a unique preliminary purification. Strikingly, the Sātvatasaṃhitā's redactor reused the initial verses describing the vaibhavīyanarasiṃhakalpa, putting them into other contexts, not necessarily connected to the issue of initiation, whereas he totally omitted its impressive section concerning magical powers (siddhi).
Religions, 2022
Built on the theme of the lovers’ quarrel that eventually ends in reconciliation, the Festival of... more Built on the theme of the lovers’ quarrel that eventually ends in reconciliation, the Festival of the Romantic Quarrel (praṇayakalahotsava) displays a wide scope of meanings, so far discussed primarily in regard to its current reenactment in the South Indian Vaiṣṇava temples dedicated to Viṣṇu and his wife, Lakṣmī/Śrī. The paper explores the rare treatments of the festival found in the Pāñcarātra saṃhitās, namely the texts which serve as a prescriptive base for the ritual order in many of these temples. The analysis aims to demonstrate how the account of this particular festival might have served to channel ideas connected to a soteriological doctrine of self-surrender to Viṣṇu (prapatti), perhaps as a result of reinterpreting the teachings of the Pāñcarātra under the in-fluence of the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition.
Journal of Hindu Studies, 2021
The article discusses the composite storyline behind the forty–day–long Hunting Festival/Processi... more The article discusses the composite storyline behind the forty–day–long Hunting Festival/Procession (Paruveta), held annually in the Śrīvaiṣṇava centre of Narasiṃha (the Man–Lion incarnation of Viṣṇu) worship in Ahobilam (Andhra Pradesh) from the mid–January onwards, as a medium which—in the framework of a Hindu temple festival—expresses the coexistence of various groups at the site. As I argue, the scenario’s reflexivity (in the sense inspired by Ramanujan 1989) is instrumental in this regard, and is achieved in answer to local beliefs related to the Chenchu hunter–gatherer concepts of hunting and the forest. However, as the product of mutual influences aimed at expressing the reconcilement of the local and the Brahmanic communities, the myth behind Paruveta highlights chiefly the erotic aspect of the ritual hunt, aspect which is brought about through creative reference to the locally rooted legend of Narasiṃha marrying a Chenchu huntress he met in the forest near Ahobilam.
Cracow Indological Studies
Overview of the Volume. Part II Drawing on selected Sanskrit and Old Javanese textual sources ran... more Overview of the Volume. Part II Drawing on selected Sanskrit and Old Javanese textual sources ranging from the 4 th to 15 th centuries, complemented by contemporary ethnographic data from Java and Bali, Andrea Acri discusses the interrelations between performative arts and ascetic traditions of the South and Southeast Asian Śaiva Atimārga and its offshoots. His findings point to the fact that in both areas Śaiva practitioners were engaged in similar rituals and observances involving acting, dancing or singing, usually perceived as antinomian behaviours of lower castes. Although most of these groups do not exist anymore, Acri shows that certain contemporary professional performers from Java and Bali might historic ally continue traditions that sprung from Atimārga practices. Among ritual performances that bring to mind the transgressive Tantric features described in the textual sources are, for instance, those connected to the Balinese mask figure of the Sidha Karya, a dancer and comic-performer, whose task is "to make the ritual accomplished", as he appears at the end of the topeng pajegan dancing drama. Gautam Chakrabarti's paper deals with performative crossing of the boundaries, basically in the context of French experimental post-WW2 theatre and its associations with Indian cultural heritage. Chakrabarti juxtaposes the ideas on theatre presented by the French avant-garde theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine (1939-), founder of the Parisian Théâtre du Soleil (1964), with certain theories postulated
Cracow Indological Studies
Theatrical and Ritual Boundaries in South Asia: An Introductory Essay* devānām idam āmananti muna... more Theatrical and Ritual Boundaries in South Asia: An Introductory Essay* devānām idam āmananti munayaḥ kāntaṃ kratuṃ cākṣuṣam "Sages celebrate this [theatre] as a ritual offering, beautiful for the gods to behold" Kālidāsa, Mālavikāgnimitra I.4 * The author wishes to acknowledge the Fonds zur Förderung des Akademischen Nachwuchses (FAN) of Zürcher Universitätsverein (ZUNIV), who supported through a fellowship work on the editing of these volumes and on the Introductory Essay. Hearty thanks go to Ewa Dębicka-Borek who, as co-editor, has provided invaluable assistance and mediation in all the phases of the editing process. My thanks extend also to Robert Leach, who proofread the Introductory Essay and the Overview, to Lidia Sudyka for sustaining the project, to all the authors who enthusiastically accepted to contribute to the volume and engaged with its theme, and to the peer-reviewers for generously sharing their expertise and knowledge on a variety of topics impossible for a single person to cover. Due to editorial and time constraints, it was not possible to arrange the articles thematically, as was originally planned. Instead, we had to adopt the principle of 'first come, first served', and decided to arrange the articles alphabetically and let the introduction provide a fil rouge to guide the reader across the boundaries of theatre and ritual.
Retracing the History of Literary Translation in Poland People, Politics, Poetics. Edited By Magda Heydel, Zofia Ziemann. New York: Routledge., 2021
This chapter discusses selected aspects of the life and work of Wanda Dynowska aka Umadevi (1888–... more This chapter discusses selected aspects of the life and work of Wanda Dynowska aka Umadevi (1888–1971), a Polish theosophist, social activist, educator, journalist, poet, translator and editor, and co-founder of a publishing series whose self-proclaimed aim was “to show India to Poland and Poland to India”. Her major accomplishment with regard to literary translation into Polish was a six-volume anthology of works from various Indian languages. Taking the approach of Translator Studies and a ‘humanised’ translation history and drawing on secondary biographical sources, as well as archive research and paratextual analysis, the authors look into the political contexts of Dynowska's activity, her personal motivations, practical constraints and solutions, and textual strategies, showing that translator-centred research problematises general categories and reframes well-worn translation metaphors.
Projects by Ewa Dębicka-Borek
Books by Ewa Dębicka-Borek
Cracow Indological Studies, 2019
Cracow Indological Studies, Vol 20 No 1 (2018): Theatrical and Ritual Boundaries in South Asia. Part II, 2018
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Papers by Ewa Dębicka-Borek
Projects by Ewa Dębicka-Borek
Books by Ewa Dębicka-Borek