Papers by Somadeva Vasudeva
This play was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe; it attracted c... more This play was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe; it attracted considerable attention (among others, from Goethe), and indeed pained surprise that such a sophisticated art-form could have developed without the rest of the world noticing. A good deal of that surprise will be revived by the hitherto untranslated Kashmirian recension. Kali*dasa's The Recognition of Shakuntala is a play that scarcely needs introduction. Among the first works of Sanskrit literature translated into European languages, its skilful plot of thwarted love and eventual redemption has long charmed audiences around the world. Shakúntala's story is a leitmotiv that recurs in many works of Indian literature and culminates in the master Kali*dasa's drama for the stage. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
The exegetes1 of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism—here principally the Kashmirian author A... more The exegetes1 of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism—here principally the Kashmirian author Abhinavagupta (ca. 975–1025 AD) and his immediate2 predecessors and followers—have extended inherited doctrines to formulate a paradigm of a complex self.3 In some of its manifestations, this self exhibits paradoxical abilities, such as being simultaneously unconscious yet also an experiencer. These unique characteristics are defended with epistemological argument, attacking rival schools of Sāṃkhyas, Naiyāyikas, Mīmāṃsakas, and various schools of Buddhism, and recent scholarship is demonstrating the extent to which this transformed the Śaiva non-dualist doctrinal positions, as substantial material was borrowed and incorporated from other systems.4 Despite much recent work, for most readers, the opponents’ theories concerning the nature of the self—Buddhists propounding its absence, schools of Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Vedānta that postulate a self that is primarily a seer (draṣṭṛ), a witness (s...
Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2011
... Page 4. appearance was not entirely compatible with that of the typical, late eighteenth cent... more ... Page 4. appearance was not entirely compatible with that of the typical, late eighteenth century Gujarati brahmin beau depicted by Munshi:13 ... aks.ara) to perishable materiality (ks.ara), cannot and need not be rationally explained, Ham.samit.t.hu quotes both Sruti revelation and ...
Cracow Indological Studies, 2014
The Quartet of Causeries have been handed down as a collection of the most ancient monologue farc... more The Quartet of Causeries have been handed down as a collection of the most ancient monologue farces in classical Sanskrit. Though stylistically divergent, they share a common plot: the hero is an inept, bungling procurer, who mismanages his client's love-affairs to an unexpectedly successful completion. A wide spectrum of India's urban society is scandalized, from respected judges to clumsy poetasters, from hypocritical Buddhist monks to greedy madams, from spoiled scions of wealthy houses to criminal low-life. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
In the sixteenth Āhnika of the Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta sets out to harmonize two apparently con... more In the sixteenth Āhnika of the Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta sets out to harmonize two apparently conflicting views on the nature of the ideal candidate for ritual sacrifice, the “six times reborn victim.” The problem can be stated quite simply by juxtaposing the two inherited scriptural teach- ings generating this conflict:
1. Sacrifice liberates the sacrificial victim, uniting it with Śiva.
2. The ideal sacrificial victim has been reborn *as a sacrificial victim* six times before.
Evidently, if [1] holds and the victim is liberated by sacrifice, then it should not be reborn, making the occurrence of [2] an impossibility.
(This is an unpublished paper I wrote in 2010)
Reverberations of Dharmakīrti‘s Philosophy, 2020
A working paper with some basic ideas for an ongoing project on esoteric yoga.
Page 1. THE CLAY SANSKRIT LIBRARY FOUNDED BY JOHN & JENNIFER CLAY GENERAL EDITOR Sheldon ... more Page 1. THE CLAY SANSKRIT LIBRARY FOUNDED BY JOHN & JENNIFER CLAY GENERAL EDITOR Sheldon Pollock EDITED BY Isabelle Onians www.claysanskritlibrary.com www.nyupress.org Thls One -K6X-1CXY Page 2. Artwork by Robert Beer. ...
Summary: The literature of the early Śaiva Mantramārga evidences differing strategies of incorpor... more Summary: The literature of the early Śaiva Mantramārga evidences differing strategies of incorporating prasenā divination into its theoretical frameworks. The early Niśvāsaguhya confines prasenās a prognosticatory role in support of a more common method of dream divination used to determine reasons for failed initiation. Questions of intertextuality and doctrinal dependence are raised when the Trika’s Tantrasadbhāva envisages prasenās as fulfilling exactly the same function.
Keywords: Prasenā, divination, possession, oracle, onychomancy, catoptromancy, mirrors, intertextuality, Trika, Śaivasiddhānta.
Journal of Indological Studies, Kyoto
The exegetes 1 of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism-here principally the Kashmirian author ... more The exegetes 1 of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism-here principally the Kashmirian author Abhinavagupta (ca. 975-1025 AD) and his immediate 2 predecessors and followers-have extended inherited doctrines to formulate a paradigm of a complex self. 3 In some of its manifestations, this self exhibits paradoxical abilities, such as being simultaneously unconscious yet also an experiencer. These unique characteristics are defended with epistemological argument, attacking rival schools of Sāṃkhyas, Naiyāyikas, Mīmāṃsakas, and various schools of Buddhism, and recent scholarship is demonstrating the extent to which this transformed the Śaiva non-dualist doctrinal positions, as substantial material was borrowed and incorporated from other systems. 4 Despite much recent work, for most readers, the opponents' theories concerning the nature of the self-Buddhists propounding its absence, schools of Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Vedānta that postulate a self that is primarily a seer (draṣṭṛ), a witness (sākṣin), a knower (jñātṛ), or a cogniser (upalabdhṛ)-are much more well known, 1 I would like to thank Kei Kataoka and Christopher Wallis for corrections to an earlier draft. 2 These constitute the following disciplic succession: Somānanda (ca. 900-950 AD) → Utpaladeva (ca. 925-975 AD) → Lakṣmaṇagupta (fl. ca. 950-
Journal of the Nepal Research Centre, Vol. XIV, 2012, Hamburg.
Transactions of the International Conference of Eastern Studies, No. 57, January 2013. 国際東方学者会議紀要, Jan 2013
"Bhoktṛtva, the Tattvakrama and the Pramātṛbheda: the self as agent in the hierarchy of the reali... more "Bhoktṛtva, the Tattvakrama and the Pramātṛbheda: the self as agent in the hierarchy of the reality levels and the seven perceivers
A persistent scholarly narrative presents the Śaiva Tantric traditions as an atemporally minor—or even marginal—stream of Indian thought and religious practice. From this perspective the “mainstream” of Indic thought and religious practice is constituted by non-Tantric forms of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism. Recently, Sanderson (2009), has challenged this model by identifying the period from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries AD as the “Śaiva age,” thereby moving Śaiva, Śāktaśaiva and Śākta Tantrism from the periphery to the center of influence for this period of medieval Indian culture. As a consequence, much tacit knowledge concerning the pre-modern Indian cultural and religious landscape is in need of reconsideration in light of early Tantric traditions.
The exegetes of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism defend a little known yet influential doctrine of the self as a bhoktṛ, or an “agentive experiencer”, arguing against rival schools that postulate the self as a mere draṣṭṛ, or “witness”, or a jñātṛ, or “knower”. This experiencer-self is located within a series of adhvan-s, or “paths”, primarily the path of the tattva-s, or “reality levels”, and the path of the bhuvana-s, or “the worlds”, which constitute the primary ontological hierarchies of medieval Śaivism. As this Śaiva self ascends these paths it is furthermore refracted into a phenomenological gradation of seven apperceptive pramātṛ-s, or “perceivers”, depending on the svarūpa, or “own-nature”, of the object of cognition. While this complex paradigm of self-hood can be seen diachronically as a synthesis of inherited scriptural doctrines, the exegetes of the Trika’s post-scriptural phase defend it not only by appealing to this scriptural authority, but also with epistemological śāstric argument, and by privileging as evidence various forms of immediate cognitive experience (sākṣātkāra) resulting from the phenomenological ascent. A major problem for the non-dualist Śaiva exegetes is the unwillingness of their hermeneutical system to admit the device of relegating scriptural passages to the category of arthavāda, or “explanatory statement”. Instead, they insist that all revealed scriptural passages must be literally true. As a consequence, if two scriptural statements disagree, they conclude heuristically that—both scriptural statements being true—it must be the underlying consensus reality that is ambiguous. "
The term rājayoga or "royal yoga," commonly applied as a retronym-at least since the publication ... more The term rājayoga or "royal yoga," commonly applied as a retronym-at least since the publication of Swami Vivekananda's Rāja Yoga-to Patañjali's system of aṣṭāṅgayoga, designates in many medieval and pre-colonial works on yoga something quite different. In the Haṃsavilāsa, or "Transport of the Haṃsas," the work translated here, rājayoga is an ecstatic sensual rapture, a Śākta form of the rāsalīlā. The Haṃsa bird, commonly identified as the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), has a long and complex history in Indian literature as a mantra or as a metaphor, symbol, or allegory for the liberated soul. In the present context "Haṃsa" designates more specifically the esoteric identity of the work's authors, and "Haṃsa (masc.)" or "Haṃsī (fem.)" is also the general title of any initiate into the religion taught in the "Transport of the Haṃsas." Chapter 34 stipulates that initiates may not use their "worldly" name in the collective rāsalīlā gathering, women are to use the name "Rasikā," "Haṃsī" or "Śakti," and men "Rasika," "Haṃsa" or "Śiva," and there is a recurring metaphorical dichotomy between the initiated and self-aware Haṃsa or Haṃsī on the one hand and uninitiated and animalistic "other birds" (mostly crows) on the other hand. From the context it is evident that we should understand Haṃsa-in the title as a single-remainder compound (ekaśeṣa) standing for "Haṃsa and Haṃsī," the two main speakers in the work. The introductory passage explicitly acknowledges the revelation of this "royal yoga" as the telos for the composition of the work:
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Papers by Somadeva Vasudeva
1. Sacrifice liberates the sacrificial victim, uniting it with Śiva.
2. The ideal sacrificial victim has been reborn *as a sacrificial victim* six times before.
Evidently, if [1] holds and the victim is liberated by sacrifice, then it should not be reborn, making the occurrence of [2] an impossibility.
(This is an unpublished paper I wrote in 2010)
Keywords: Prasenā, divination, possession, oracle, onychomancy, catoptromancy, mirrors, intertextuality, Trika, Śaivasiddhānta.
A persistent scholarly narrative presents the Śaiva Tantric traditions as an atemporally minor—or even marginal—stream of Indian thought and religious practice. From this perspective the “mainstream” of Indic thought and religious practice is constituted by non-Tantric forms of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism. Recently, Sanderson (2009), has challenged this model by identifying the period from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries AD as the “Śaiva age,” thereby moving Śaiva, Śāktaśaiva and Śākta Tantrism from the periphery to the center of influence for this period of medieval Indian culture. As a consequence, much tacit knowledge concerning the pre-modern Indian cultural and religious landscape is in need of reconsideration in light of early Tantric traditions.
The exegetes of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism defend a little known yet influential doctrine of the self as a bhoktṛ, or an “agentive experiencer”, arguing against rival schools that postulate the self as a mere draṣṭṛ, or “witness”, or a jñātṛ, or “knower”. This experiencer-self is located within a series of adhvan-s, or “paths”, primarily the path of the tattva-s, or “reality levels”, and the path of the bhuvana-s, or “the worlds”, which constitute the primary ontological hierarchies of medieval Śaivism. As this Śaiva self ascends these paths it is furthermore refracted into a phenomenological gradation of seven apperceptive pramātṛ-s, or “perceivers”, depending on the svarūpa, or “own-nature”, of the object of cognition. While this complex paradigm of self-hood can be seen diachronically as a synthesis of inherited scriptural doctrines, the exegetes of the Trika’s post-scriptural phase defend it not only by appealing to this scriptural authority, but also with epistemological śāstric argument, and by privileging as evidence various forms of immediate cognitive experience (sākṣātkāra) resulting from the phenomenological ascent. A major problem for the non-dualist Śaiva exegetes is the unwillingness of their hermeneutical system to admit the device of relegating scriptural passages to the category of arthavāda, or “explanatory statement”. Instead, they insist that all revealed scriptural passages must be literally true. As a consequence, if two scriptural statements disagree, they conclude heuristically that—both scriptural statements being true—it must be the underlying consensus reality that is ambiguous. "
1. Sacrifice liberates the sacrificial victim, uniting it with Śiva.
2. The ideal sacrificial victim has been reborn *as a sacrificial victim* six times before.
Evidently, if [1] holds and the victim is liberated by sacrifice, then it should not be reborn, making the occurrence of [2] an impossibility.
(This is an unpublished paper I wrote in 2010)
Keywords: Prasenā, divination, possession, oracle, onychomancy, catoptromancy, mirrors, intertextuality, Trika, Śaivasiddhānta.
A persistent scholarly narrative presents the Śaiva Tantric traditions as an atemporally minor—or even marginal—stream of Indian thought and religious practice. From this perspective the “mainstream” of Indic thought and religious practice is constituted by non-Tantric forms of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism. Recently, Sanderson (2009), has challenged this model by identifying the period from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries AD as the “Śaiva age,” thereby moving Śaiva, Śāktaśaiva and Śākta Tantrism from the periphery to the center of influence for this period of medieval Indian culture. As a consequence, much tacit knowledge concerning the pre-modern Indian cultural and religious landscape is in need of reconsideration in light of early Tantric traditions.
The exegetes of the non-dualist Trika school of Śaivism defend a little known yet influential doctrine of the self as a bhoktṛ, or an “agentive experiencer”, arguing against rival schools that postulate the self as a mere draṣṭṛ, or “witness”, or a jñātṛ, or “knower”. This experiencer-self is located within a series of adhvan-s, or “paths”, primarily the path of the tattva-s, or “reality levels”, and the path of the bhuvana-s, or “the worlds”, which constitute the primary ontological hierarchies of medieval Śaivism. As this Śaiva self ascends these paths it is furthermore refracted into a phenomenological gradation of seven apperceptive pramātṛ-s, or “perceivers”, depending on the svarūpa, or “own-nature”, of the object of cognition. While this complex paradigm of self-hood can be seen diachronically as a synthesis of inherited scriptural doctrines, the exegetes of the Trika’s post-scriptural phase defend it not only by appealing to this scriptural authority, but also with epistemological śāstric argument, and by privileging as evidence various forms of immediate cognitive experience (sākṣātkāra) resulting from the phenomenological ascent. A major problem for the non-dualist Śaiva exegetes is the unwillingness of their hermeneutical system to admit the device of relegating scriptural passages to the category of arthavāda, or “explanatory statement”. Instead, they insist that all revealed scriptural passages must be literally true. As a consequence, if two scriptural statements disagree, they conclude heuristically that—both scriptural statements being true—it must be the underlying consensus reality that is ambiguous. "
Whoever sees me,
hangs around flees elsewhere
entertains polite chitchat shuts up
even if in hurry even if there is no hurry.
Even in a congestion if there is a danger of injury
everybody
happily their hair standing on end
gives way tramples onwards.
Nobody detains me for long Within no time someone
harasses me,
fearing that they may obstruct my affairs no matter
how rudely.
Widely travelled men Those who are familiar with its
inhabitants
declare
the fame of this best of cities to be alleged fame of this
worst of cities
well-deserved a mystery.
http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org/volume-v-31.html
Buffoon: (acting fatigue, sighing) I’ve had it! I’m sick of being a side-kick to this hunt-mad king... (Laughs with malice) And now, a pimple crowns the boil. Just yesterday, as I lagged behind, his majesty, chasing some antelope or other, entered a hermitage and was, by my ill fate, shown some ascetic’s daughter called Shakúntala.
http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org/volume-v-27.html
Nila·kantha gets straight to the point: swindlers prey on stupidity.
When asked about the length of life, the astrologer will predict longevity. Those who survive will be in awe of him. Who will the dead complain to?
The artistry that beguiles Ksheméndra is as varied as human nature and just as fallible. We are off to a gentle start with Sanctimoniousness – really no more than a warm-up among vices – but soon graduate to Greed and Lust. From there it’s downhill all the way, as Unfaithfulness leads to Fraud, and Drunkenness to Depravity; Deception and Quackery bring up the rear. What’s this at the very end? Virtue? A late arrival, pale and unconvincing. Bhállata the disgruntled court poet speaks of a setting sun (his former king and patron Avánti·varma) being replaced by a flickering firefly (the new king Shánkara·deva, who did not continue his predecessor’s patronage).
Only an elephant, who batters towering cliffs with relentless assaults of his spear-pointed tusk-tips knows the pain of the thunderbolt-swipes of a lion’s paw; not a jackal, whose spirit perishes at the yapping of a puppy.