Academic literature on the topic 'Buddhist literature, Pali'
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Journal articles on the topic "Buddhist literature, Pali"
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Rao, Upender. "Understanding Buddhism through Pali in India and Thailand." Vidyottama Sanatana: International Journal of Hindu Science and Religious Studies 1, no. 2 (October 30, 2017): 115. http://dx.doi.org/10.25078/ijhsrs.v1i2.315.
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<p>Pali plays a vital role in the history and culture of India. It preserves the Indian culture in a systematic way. Hence an attempt of understanding the Indian culture without Pali cannot fulfil the complete purpose. In fact Pali was an important source for understanding ancient Buddhist culture and philosophy which are integral part of Indian culture. In ancient India there were Buddhist universities and people from many countries used to visit India to learn the Indian culture including Buddhist philosophical expositions. Indian languages and literatures were highly influenced by Pali language and literature.</p>
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Hoffman, F. J. "Buddhist Belief ‘In’." Religious Studies 21, no. 3 (September 1985): 381–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0034412500017467.
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Recent articles in Religious Studies have underscored the questions of whether Buddhism presents any empirical doctrines, and whether, if it does, such doctrines are false or vacuous. In what follows I want to sketch an interpretation of Buddhism according to which it does not offer doctrines which are empirically false, on the one hand, or trivially true on the other. In doing so I take my cue from an earlier, and by now classic, paper by H. H. Price. For the exposition of Buddhism I take the Pali Nikāyas, the single most significant collection of texts in the Buddhist tradition. The particular doctrine which is the focus of discussion here is the kammavāda (Pali) or ‘karma view’ of early Indian Buddhism, for it is the focus of much of the recent literature cited above and a doctrine which some have thought amenable to statement in empirical terms.
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Borup, Jørn. "Har en hund Buddha-natur?" Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift, no. 71 (February 10, 2021): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.7146/rt.v71i0.124957.
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ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ecologization of Buddhism makes sense in both a mod-ern and posthuman perspective. Initiatives and institutions based on socially engaged Buddhism with sustainability, biodiversity and ecology as ideals have spread in recent decades in both East and West. There are arguments from both classical Pali Buddhist literature and East Asian Mahayana philosophy to justify Buddhist nature symbiosis from both ontological, ethical, and soteriological perspectives. Critical analysis can easily deconstruct such ideals as anachronistically constructed, primarily based on modern naturalism, reform Buddhism and con-temporary philosophy of nature. Such an ‘invented Buddhism’ is, however, genuinely authentic, and it is argued that an ecological perspective on both historical and contemporary Buddhism can legitimize other possibilities of interpretation, including the view of an ontological continuum with room for also animistic and posthuman 'nature religion', in which a dog on several levels can be said to possess Buddha nature.
DANSK RESUMÉ: Økologisering af buddhismen giver mening i både et moderne og posthumant perspektiv. Initiativer og institutioner baseret på socialt engageret buddhisme med bæredygtighed, biodiversitet og økologi som idealer har de sidste årtier bredt sig i både Øst og Vest. Der er argumenter fra både klassisk pali-buddhistisk litteratur og østasiatisk mahayana-filosofi til at godtgøre buddhistisk natur-symbiose ud fra både ontologisk, etisk og soteriologisk perspektiv. Kritisk analyse kan sagtens dekonstruere sådanne som anakronistisk konstruerede idealer, primært med afsæt i moderne naturalisme, reformbuddhisme og nutidig naturfilosofi. En sådan ’opfundet buddhisme’ er dog helt autentisk, og der argumenteres for, at netop et økologisk perspektiv på både historisk og nutidig buddhisme kan legitimere andre fortolkningsmuligheder, herunder anskuelsen af et ontologisk kontinuum med plads til også animistisk og posthuman ‘natur-religion’, i hvilken en hund på flere planer kan siges at besidde buddha-natur.
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Grunin, I. V. "Crowned Buddha of Amaravati and the Cakkavatti canonical concept." Orientalistica 3, no. 4 (December 28, 2020): 1010–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2020-3-4-1010-1027.
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The article represents a kind of “postscriptum” to the author’s hypothesis about fundamental sources found in Pali canon and early post-canonic literature that gave birth to formation of the crowned Buddha image. This hypothesis underlies this study of early Buddhist iconography, in particular with respect to images belonging to the Amaravati school, which illustrate the relationship between the Buddha and Cakkavatti. The author substantiates the conclusion that the image of the crowned Buddha had emerged almost simultaneously with the anthropomorphic image of the Enlightened One.
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Lozhkina, Anastasiya V. "Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) as a Primary Source of Early Buddhist Philosophy." Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences 63, no. 12 (March 25, 2021): 81–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.30727/0235-1188-2020-63-12-81-101.
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This article focuses on the under-researched Buddhist text Kathāvatthu (“Points of Controversy”) and aims to better determine its place within Indian philosophy. We consider how the text was compiled, its contents, and main characteristics (such as its genre, its classification lists – mātika). To understand some of those characteristics, we suggest viewing them as shared with the whole Pali Canon (a large body of heterogeneous texts, of which the Kathāvatthu is part). This article also illustrates the issues of translating religious and philosophical texts from the Pāli language. Particularly, we highlight that the Kathāvatthu belongs to the part of Pāli Canon known as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, and consider how this influences the philosophical discourse presented in this text. We analyze the historical and philosophical content of the Kathāvatthu. We argue that such content of this work is consistently revealed in the discussion of issues controversial for the schools of Early Buddhism. At the beginning of the text, there are the most significant questions for Early Buddhism (about the subject (pudgala), about the one who has reached perfection – arhat). As we get closer to the end of the text, the importance of the issues discussed diminishes. Its final part contains the latest questions. The discussion in each question depends on the logical method of the eight refutations, the use of lists (mātika), and the position of the Theravada school to which the final version of the text belongs. In the article, special attention is paid to the determination of the Kathāvatthu genre. We conclude that the genre of this work can be considered as a unique example of religious and philosophical dialogue in Early Buddhist literature.
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Kuan, Tse-fu. "Some Reflections on Translating the Pali Texts: Literary Conventions, Buddhist Thought, Cultural Background and Textual History." Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 72, no. 1 (March 2019): 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/062.2019.72.1.1.
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Amarasekara, Sasni. "Buddhist Meditation Monasteries in Ancient Sri Lanka." Journal of Arts and Humanities 6, no. 01 (January 26, 2017): 59. http://dx.doi.org/10.18533/journal.v6i01.1085.
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<p>This study deals with a specific type of Buddhist architecture found in ancient Sri Lanka. Several groups of ruined structures of this type are found to the west of the city of Anuradhapura, along the modern outer circular road, which made archaeologist to call them —Western Monasteries. The most prominent features of these monastic complexes are the building with two raised platforms, and their positioning on a rock surface, the connecting stone gangway between the two platforms, the moat around the flat forms and lack of decorations and a number of other features. Attempts will be made to explain the characteristics of each feature in this study. Function and the meaning of this monastery type and its individual features are still remaining uncertain. Many scholars have attempted to propose different explanations for this, but due to the weakness of logics behind, these proposals are not promising. So, it is worthwhile to see any correlation between the function and the meaning of this monastery type with asceticism and meditation. For this study, archaeological remains which are in ruined state now, were examined. Some sites were already excavated and conserved. There are large amount of monastery sites which have not been excavated, which give the first-hand information for this study. The chronicles and the canonical literature, particularly the Pali Vinaya (discipline), offer some reference to asceticism, meditation and monastery life in early Buddhist cultures. Help of these literary sources is sought to understand the character of these particular buildings.</p>
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Trainor, Kevin M. "When Is a Theft Not a Theft? Relic Theft and the Cult of the Buddha's Relics in Sri Lanka." Numen 39, no. 1 (1992): 1–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852792x00140.
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AbstractThis essay examines the phenomenon of relic theft in the Theravada Buddhist tradition of Sri Lanka. Having noted the relative paucity of scholarship on this topic, the essay first examines the canonical warrant for the practice of relic veneration in the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta, and identifies a fundamental tension that the cult of veneration poses for the tradition. Relics, as valued material objects subject to human manipulation and possession, would appear to encourage attachment. The canonical passages that deal with the cult of veneration simultaneously affirm the value of the practice, while warning of the danger that attachment to the relics poses. The essay goes on to note evidence, in the form of expanded relic lists in canonical sources, of the expansion of the relic cult and of the need to affirm the authenticity of new centers of sacrality associated with the enshrinement of particular relics. The essay then examines several accounts of relic theft in the Pali chronicle (vamsa) literature, noting that these accounts serve to simultaneously affirm the desirability of relics, and to account for the orderly movement of these valued objects from one location to another. Yet these accounts of relic theft are problematic in that they appear to endorse the practice of stealing, which is a violation of both lay and monastic Buddhist ideals. In response to this problem, the essay identifies two different models of relic theft, noting that one model is religiously affirmed, while the other is condemned. The essay concludes with a brief comparison of relic theft accounts in the Buddhist and Christian traditions.
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Chowdhury, Chipamong. "Did the Buddha Speak Pāli? An Investigation of The Buddha-Vacana and Origins of Pāli." Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics 2, no. 4 (January 18, 2011): 43–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujl.v2i4.6899.
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Traditionally South and Southeast Buddhism, which we now call Theravada Buddhism, claims that the language of the Buddha is "Pali" and hence the language of their sacred texts (Tipitaka=three canons). In this essay, I investigate the notion of the Pali language by reconstructing existing Pali literatures and contemporary works on Pali studies. Among other issues, this investigation explores the following issues: the language (vacana) of the Buddha, the multilingualism and geopolitics, the home of Pali, and the origination of Pali. Key words: Buddhism; Pali language; Pali literaturesDOI: 10.3329/dujl.v2i4.6899Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics Vol.2(4) August 2009 pp.43-57
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Jacoby, Sarah H. "The science of sensual pleasure according to a Buddhist monk: Ju Mipam's contribution to kāmaśāstra literature in Tibet." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 80, no. 2 (June 2017): 319–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x17000490.
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AbstractOf all the myriad aspects of Indian learning to be incorporated into Tibetan Buddhist scholarship, one of the least likely would seem to be the Indian science of sensual pleasure, kāmaśāstra. Even so, we do find traces of Sanskrit kāmaśāstra transposed into Tibetan Buddhist idiom. The most innovative example is the Treatise on Passion (’Dod pa'i bstan bcos) written by Ju Mipam Jamyang Namgyel Gyatso (1846–1912). This article investigates the reasons why the polymath monastic scholar Ju Mipam included kāmaśāstra in his expansive literary output, as well as his sources and influences for doing so. It argues that Mipam's work builds on an intertextuality already apparent in late medieval Sanskrit tantric and kāmaśāstric works, but one that took on new importance in the context of the non-biased outlook (Tib. ris med) that characterized Ju Mipam's nineteenth-century eastern Tibetan milieu.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Buddhist literature, Pali"
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Mellick, Sally. "A critical edition, with translation, of selected portions of the Pali Apadana." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.358522.
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Gornall, Alastair Malcolm. "Buddhism and grammar : the scholarly cultivation of Pāli in Medieval Laṅkā." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608160.
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Yit, Kin Tung. "A study of a stereotyped structure of the path in early Buddhist literature : a comparative study of the Pali, Chinese and Sanskrit sources." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/82d4de18-ed86-48f6-9382-cd62acadddbb.
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This thesis is a study of one prominent meditative path-structure in early Buddhism. The path-structure is called the 'Stereotyped Structure of the Path' (henceforth SSP) in this study, as it is a list that contains more than twenty items of formulas that are composed in a step-by-step order and according to a definite pattern. The list sequentially presents the stages from initial meditative and related disciplinary practice through to the result of Buddhist final liberation. This thesis is divided into two parts, both of which are based on a comparative study of the different versions of the texts that contain the SSP list. These texts include the materials transmitted in Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources. The four Nikayas, the four Agamas and the Sarighabhedavastua re our primary concern. Part I examines the appearances of the SSP list as a whole entity, while Part II examines the members of the list individually. Many forms of the list are found throughout the early Buddhist canon. The most common form of the list presents a complete and longest version, which occurs in considerable numbers of text in DN/DĀ and MN/MĀ. There are also other forms of the list scattered in many other texts. Some of them have a shortened form in terms of the length, which present a partial form of the list with items missing. In a number of cases these shorter lists are combined with items that are not seen in the standard SSP list. All these accounts are examined in Part I, and a thorough comparison is undertaken. The applications of these lists and their broad distribution across various texts have significant implication. The wide-ranging use of the SSP list brings us to consider whether we could discover the origin of the SSP list in these numerous instances. Through a careful investigation several possibilities have been considered. Part II is dedicated to a comprehensive study on the components of the SSP list, namely the SSP formulas. Ten of such formulas are examined in full detail and others are summarized in the Appendices. The presentation and content of the formulas reveal interesting points while doing a comparative study through many different texts. The implications of the variation as well as the similarity of the formulas in various texts indicate some significant points. They imply information regarding how the fixed units of expression have been applied successfully, in terms of the transmission of the list. These fixed units from the SSP formulas work well not only due to a certain level of flexibility in their employment but also under a remarkable fixity of the arrangement. The conclusion drawn from this suggests that this fixity, which is in fact governed by the underlined fundamental principle of the path-structure, has lead the SSP list - as seen all over the canon - to a highly consistent and coherent presentation. This is so regardless of the great deal of variations found in many occurrences. This message is in turn of crucial importance in assisting our understanding of the nature of the composition and transmission of Buddhist oral literature.
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Bhattacharya, Sandhya. "State of Buddhism in Ceylon (Srilaṅkā) as depicted in the Pali chronicles." Varanasi : Pilgrims Pub, 2003. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/54073510.html.
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Schnake, Javier. "Le Dhamma par le jeu d’esprit et de la langue : le Vajirasāratthasaṅgaha, texte pāli du Nord de la Thaïlande (XVIe siècle)." Thesis, Paris Sciences et Lettres (ComUE), 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018PSLEP025/document.
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Cette recherche porte sur l’investigation philologique d’un texte bouddhique en pali, le Vajirasaratthasangaha composé dans le Nord de la Thaïlande (XVe-XVIe siècles), qui n’a jamais fait l’objet d’une étude intégrale. Le but est d’établir une édition critique de ce texte et de son commentaire, traduire intégralement ce corpus, et saisir sa place dans le bouddhisme du sud-est asiatique. Ce compendium est unique dans le champ de la littérature pali, tant dans la nature de ses contenus que dans son mode de présentation. Il embrasse un grand volume d’enseignements qui traitent de thématiques diverses, telles que des points de doctrines religieuses, de l’étymologie, des mathématiques, de la poétique, la cosmologie, des devinettes, etc. Le mode de composition singulier de ce texte s’appuie sur le codage de chacun de ses chapitres, faisant appel à des mécanismes et jeux qui concernent essentiellement le langage et sa construction : devinettes savantes, notions grammaticales, polysémies, acrostiches, etc. Cette œuvre est ainsi une synthèse originale d’éléments érudits (hua chai, ekakkhara, etc.) qui témoigne d’une part de l’importance qu’a pu revêtir l’étude avancée de la langue dans le contexte du Lanna du XVIe siècle. D’autre part, certains de ses enseignements éclairent d’un jour nouveau certaines spécificités régionales dans leurs dimensions pratiques et ésotériques. Il ouvre ainsi de nouvelles voies de compréhension du statut du pali en tant que langue sacréeThis research is a philological investigation of a Buddhist text in Pali, the Vajirasaratthasangaha written in Northern Thailand (15th-16th), which has never been the object of a full-fledged study. It aims to establish a critical edition of this text and its commentary, to translate this corpus, and to understand its place within the Buddhism of South-East Asia. This compendium is unique in the Pali literary landscape, in its mode of presentation as well as in its contents. It contains an important amount of Buddhist teachings that deal with a variety of topics, such as moral principles for lay Buddhists, etymology, mathematics, poetics, cosmology, riddles, etc. The singular mode of composition of this text is based on the encoding of each chapters, mainly relying on mechanisms and games that concern essentially the language and its construction: riddles, grammatical notions, polysemies, acrostichs, etc. Thus, this text is an original synthesis of scholarly elements (hua chai, ekakkhara, etc.) that testifies, first, to the importance of advanced linguistic studies in the Lanna context during the 16th century. Secondly, some of the elements presented throw some new light on regional specificities in their practical and esoterical dimensions, opening new ways for understanding the status of Pali as a sacred language
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邵敏智. "論白居易詩歌與居士文化的關係 = The relationship between Bai Ju-yi's poetry and Buddhist culture." Thesis, University of Macau, 2005. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1636198.
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Govender, Selva. ""Evam me sutam" : a critical evaluation and interpretation of oral features of the Brahmajala Sutta." Thesis, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7084.
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Why the Buddhist Pali Canon? Why the Brahmajala Sutta? Will this dissertation contribute anything new and valuable towards Orality-Literacy Studies? It was with much anxiety and apprehension as well as intimidation in remembering the words of Jousse (1990): "A man who writes a book deriving solely from other books contributes nothing new." ...... that the choice of this topic became finalised. The Brahmajala Sutta commences with the words: "Evam me sutam" (Thus I have heard) It is the written representation of an oral form that came into existence as the culmination of an established authentic oral tradition that had its origins in the 5th Century B.C. It became preserved in written form in the 1st Century B.C. with the purpose of canonizing the Discourses of Gotama Buddha. These were and still are oral elements
transmitted orally and the written text abounds with such as mnemotechniques, repetitions, refrains, sound and rhythmic patterns, silences and pauses that are germane to the content and comprehension of the sutta (discourse). This text which has survived many centuries holds much fascination as it attaches a meditative dimensions to the Orality-Literacy continuum since the meditative repetition of its verses aims at the spiritual transformation and enhancement of the individual. Le Roux (1991: 48) asks, "Is it possible to rekindle a live relationship with this
ancient text, which is now only available in printed form?" In answering her question she states, "It is possible when the present day reader realises that this sutta has a dynamic vitality of its own, that it is able to challenge, communicate and demand a response from the
interpreter. Inevitably, the reader is drawn into an involvement with the message of the sutta which Ricoeur (1967:354) calls, "a passionate, though critical relation with the truth value of each symbol." When the two horizons meet, that of the present day reader and the ancient text
itself, understanding becomes a reality. That is possible notwithstanding immense differences in time, language and religio-philosophical beliefs." This dissertation is not intended to be an exegetical analysis of the Brahmajala Sutta, for which, in any case, it affords neither scope
nor range. What it seeks to do is to explore how the text came to be fixed in its present form, as well as to appreciate the processes that lie behind its formulation, and most important of all, to attempt to understand what intrinsic qualities it possesses that give it its "dynamic vitality." In the first three chapters, the text is placed against the historical, sociological and cultural contexts of the Buddhist Pali Canon. This information is essential as it provides the background necessary for the comprehension of important aspects of the sutta. Chapter Four locates the position of the Brahmajala Sutta within the giant corpus of material embraced by the Buddhist Pali Canon and Chapter Five presents the structural formulation of the text. In Chapters Six and Seven, the oral compositional process with its use of formulaic devices comes into focus within a semantic, morphological and phonological analysis. I emphasise that since I consider my knowledge of the Pali Canon to be relatively limited, I have had to rely on the works of the many eminent researchers whose names appear in the Bibliography, for the information contained in the first three chapters.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.
Books on the topic "Buddhist literature, Pali"
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Jayawardhana, Somapala. Handbook of Pali literature. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Karunaratna & Sons, 1994.
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Mahāčhulālongkō̜nrātchawitthayālai. Wannakhadī Bālī =: Pali literature. 3rd ed. Krung Thēp: Mahāwitthayālai Mahāc̆hulālongkō̜nrātchawitthayālai, 2010.
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Hinüber, Oskar von. A handbook of Pāli literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1996.
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Kakkapalliye, Anuruddha, Sutadhara Tapovanaye, and Dhammananda Golkande, eds. Humour in Pāli literature and other essays. Kotte, Sri Lanka: Walpola Sri Rahula Foundation Trust, 1997.
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The experience of samādhi: An in-depth investigation of Buddhist meditation. Boston: Shambhala, 2008.
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Exegetical literature in Pāli: Origin and development. Delhi: Vidyanidhi Prakashan, 2005.
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Mahāvihāra, Nava Nālandā, ed. Dictionary of early Buddhist monastic terms: Based on Pali literature. 2nd ed. Nalanda: Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, 2001.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Buddhist literature, Pali"
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"Pali: Language and Literature." In Pali Buddhist Texts, 10–12. Routledge, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203061039-5.
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Shaw, Sarah. "Meditation Objects in Pali Buddhist Texts." In Asian Traditions of Meditation. University of Hawai'i Press, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.21313/hawaii/9780824855680.003.0007.
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What makes a meditation object? This essay explores early Pāli accounts of objects still used in modern practice, especially in Southern Buddhism. Their very variety reflects this tradition’s stress on a graduated path, where different stages and individuals require different teaching approaches, at different times. Usually, in practice, objects inducing “calm” and various states known as jhāna, are recommended, before those producing “insight”. Some objects produce both calm and insight; others balance, ensuring health of mind. So, early Pāli literature describes many meditative routes: variety and skillful combinations for individuals are considered key. What is essential, however, is how objects are given and used. Dhammapada narratives in particular, describing a gradual path, a movement between internal and external, “shocks” in chance occurrences in the world, and skilled interventions by friends or teachers, demonstrate a pedagogy striking for its stress on individual need rather than rigid imposition and structure.
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Varier, M. R. Raghava. "The Age of the Samhitas." In A Brief History of Āyurveda, 40–65. Oxford University Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190121082.003.0003.
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The systematic and codified knowledge of Āyurveda attained maturity in the classical texts of the samhitas. They are several texts and each of them is attached to the name of an ācārya, preceptor, such as Caraka, Suśruta, Bhela, Kāśyapa, and Hārīta. The knowledge and wisdom of indigenous healing and healthcare are explained in the samhitas with special references to a particular branch of the system of medicine. Thus kāyacikitsa, general medicine, is the subject of the Carakasamhita while śalyacikitsa, surgery, is the subject of the Suśrutasamhita. Bhēḷasamhita deals mainly with diseases and treatments for the mind, Kāśyapasamhita focuses on koumārabhṛtya, pediatrics, and the subject of the Hārītasamhita is gṛhabādha, demonology, and allied matters. What were preserved in preceding literature including the Vedas, the Brāhmaņas, and the Buddhist Pali canonical texts as seeds and seedlings are found fully grown in the samhitas, nourished by scholarly discussions at various levels. The indigenous medical system was designated as Āyurveda by the time of the samhitas. Topics such as qualities of a preceptor, qualities of a disciple, and qualities of the science are discussed in the various samhitas. Initiation of the disciples, knowledge of anatomy, procedure of treatment, and Modalities of treatment are discussed in great detail. The traditional method of the daivavyapāśraya (the divine or magico-religious) mode of treatment of the Vedic tradition was replaced by the yuktivyapāśraya (empirico-rational) method of therapy with the codification of the Carakasamhita. The emphasis of Caraka was on the process of investigation, which is essential for arriving at scientific truth and hence he repeatedly uses the word parīkṣa instead of pramāṇa.
Conference papers on the topic "Buddhist literature, Pali"
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Hock, Hans Henrich. "Foreigners, Brahmins, Poets, or What? The Sociolinguistics of the Sanskrit “Renaissance”." In GLOCAL Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology 2019. The GLOCAL Unit, SOAS University of London, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.47298/cala2019.2-3.
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A puzzle in the sociolinguistic history of Sanskrit is that texts with authenticated dates first appear in the 2nd century CE, after five centuries of exclusively Prakrit inscriptions. Various hypotheses have tried to account for this fact. Senart (1886) proposed that Sanskrit gained wider currency through Buddhists and Jains. Franke (1902) claimed that Sanskrit died out in India and was artificially reintroduced. Lévi (1902) argued for usurpation of Sanskrit by the Kshatrapas, foreign rulers who employed brahmins in administrative positions. Pisani (1955) instead viewed the “Sanskrit Renaissance” as the brahmins’ attempt to combat these foreign invaders. Ostler (2005) attributed the victory of Sanskrit to its ‘cultivated, self-conscious charm’; his acknowledgment of prior Sanskrit use by brahmins and kshatriyas suggests that he did not consider the victory a sudden event. The hypothesis that the early-CE public appearance of Sanskrit was a sudden event is revived by Pollock (1996, 2006). He argues that Sanskrit was originally confined to ‘sacerdotal’ contexts; that it never was a natural spoken language, as shown by its inability to communicate childhood experiences; and that ‘the epigraphic record (thin though admittedly it is) suggests … that [tribal chiefs] help[ed] create’ a new political civilization, the “Sanskrit Cosmopolis”, ‘by employing Sanskrit in a hitherto unprecedented way’. Crucial in his argument is the claim that kāvya literature was a foundational characteristic of this new civilization and that kāvya has no significant antecedents. I show that Pollock’s arguments are problematic. He ignores evidence for a continuous non-sacerdotal use of Sanskrit, as in the epics and fables. The employment of nursery words like tāta ‘daddy’/tata ‘sonny’ (also used as general terms of endearment), or ambā/ambikā ‘mommy; mother’ attest to Sanskrit’s ability to communicate childhood experiences. Kāvya, the foundation of Pollock’s “Sanskrit Cosmopolis”, has antecedents in earlier Sanskrit (and Pali). Most important, Pollock fails to show how his powerful political-poetic kāvya tradition could have arisen ex nihilo. To produce their poetry, the poets would have had to draw on a living, spoken language with all its different uses, and that language must have been current in a larger linguistic community beyond the poets, whether that community was restricted to brahmins (as commonly assumed) or also included kshatriyas (as suggested by Ostler). I conclude by considering implications for the “Sanskritization” of Southeast Asia and the possible parallel of modern “Indian English” literature.