Pāṇinian accounts of the Vedic subjunctive:

To determine which Vedic texts Pā?ini knew requires a comprehensive approach that establishes a high correlation between the complete set of linguistic traits his treatise describes and the complete set of linguistic traits exhibited in each text in question. The examination of individual linguistic traits is inadequate to determine which texts he knew because neither the Vedic nor the grammatical tradition is uniform and static. Bronkhorst (Pā?inian Studies: Professor S. D. Joshi Felicitation Volume, p. 75, 1991) calls into question the assumption that Vedic texts were known to Pā?ini in the form we have received them, while Cardona (Pā?inian Studies: Professor S. D. Joshi Felicitation Volume, p. 130, 1991) shows that Pā?ini’s silence concerning certain Vedic forms may be due to deference to certain received exegetical traditions. The current paper considers a case where the Pā?inian grammatical tradition entertains disagreement over the derivation of obscure forms. Doubt concerning the recurrence of the term pit (3.4.92) into 3.4.94 brings into question whether Pā?ini systematically accounts for stem strengthening in the present subjunctive. Kātyāyana, Patañjali, Jayāditya, and Jinendrabuddhi remain silent on the point. Rāmacandra, ?rīkri??a, and Bha??ojidīk?ita assert that pit recurs, thereby allowing stem strengthening. Haradatta, on the other hand, maintains that a rule of indeterminate variation, 3.4.117 chandasy ubhayathā, accounts for it. Nāge?a points out that the latter procedure is more comprehensive in that it accounts for the lack of stem strengthening in exceptional forms, such as kr??vaíte in the R?gveda. The implication is that the former procedure fails to account for the form, which, if Pā?ini’s knowledge of texts were to be established based upon the consideration of individual traits, would imply the absurdity that Pā?ini, as interpreted by Rāmacandra et al. did not know the R?gveda. On the contrary, however, the procedure of Rāmacandra et al. can employ another rule of indeterminate variation: 3.1.85 vyatyayo bahulam. This procedure, which provides a systematic explanation of the present subjunctive generally and requires a rule of indeterminate variation only to account for exceptional forms, is preferable to leaving the account of stem strengthening in the present subjunctive generally to a rule of indeterminate variation. Since both procedures rely on rules of indeterminate variation to account for the R?gvedic form, however, it is impossible to establish either Pā?ini’s knowledge or ignorance of the text on the basis of his account of the subjunctive. The controversy demonstrates that the depth and variety of the Indian grammatical tradition must be taken into account in determining which rules describe which linguistic facts and that it is inadequate to consider individual traits. A comprehensive approach is required.     

On the Artāy Vīrāz Nāmak

Sans résumé

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On the Arty Vrz Nmak

     

The Place of the Mālavikāgnimitra within Kālidāsa's oeuvre

Indo-Iranian Journal -     

Omniscience in the Mahāyānasūtrālankāra and its commentaries

I am indebted to Charles Hallisey, Matthew Kapstein, John Keenan, and J. W. de Jong, each of whom read an earlier draft of this paper and gave me useful criticisms. I have adopted some of their suggestions, and this paper has benefited considerably therefrom. I alone am responsible for deficiencies and errors that remain.     

Poetic license in the Buddhist Sanskrit Verses of the Upālipariprcchā

Indo-Iranian Journal -     

Peasant Uprisings in Astarabad: the Siyāh Pūshān (wearers of black), the Sayyids,and the Safavid State

Rebellions bringing together peasant-pastoralists, local dignitaries, and a few Sayyids prevented the Safavid monarchs from effectively controlling the political and economic activities in the province of Astarabad until the late sixteenth century. This paper investigates the nature of these rebellions led by the siyāh pūshān (wearers of black), and the socio-economic background and religious leanings of these rebels and their diverse allies. It also pays special attention to Astarabad's Sayyids, their intellectual formation, and their distinct approaches to the Safavid state from the early sixteenth century until the late 1570s when the uprisings lost much of their vigor. While heterodoxy may have been part of Astarabad's religious landscape, there is no evidence that it had a significant manifestation in the Siyah Push movement. More importantly, urban Shi?i doctrinal and legal traditions had profound roots in Astarabad, nurtured by the Sayyids and promoted by the Betekchi dignitaries prior to the rise of the Safavids. This is significant given the fact that a group of Sayyids from Astarabad (especially the town of Fenderesk) were directly involved in the insurgency against the early Safavids.     

A Gāthic Rite? A Critique of the Cosmological Interpretation of the Gāthās I

In the last few decades ritual interpretation of the Gāthās has replaced the biblical one as the dominant paradigm. The emphasis on the central role of ritual in the Avesta is well justified. This realization has given rise to the question of the role and meaning of ritual in the Gāthās. Marijan Molé had tried to argue that the Gāthās in fact describe and accompany a rite whose purpose was the preservation/renovation of the cosmic order. Students of the Gāthās working within the new paradigm have taken up Molé’s general frame. They have tried to show that the Gāthās, collectively or individually, is the text of a particular rite that served, among others, to preserve the cosmic order, especially the daily rise of the sun. The article questions the validity of this thesis. Its focus is on the version of the thesis we find in a number of recent publications by Jean Kellens. He tries to show that the first Gāthā (Ahunauuaitī) describes a unitary pre-dawn ritual that comprised a haoma rite and an animal sacrifice, and had cosmological and eschatological pretensions. His textual analyses and arguments are examined in some detail. The article concludes that Kellens's attempt must be deemed unsuccessful.     

Michael Comans,Extracting the Essence of the Śruti: The Śrutisārasamuddharanam of Totakācārya

Indo-Iranian Journal -