Sanskrit Reading 1.

 

Objectives of the course

The aim of the course is for students to gain in-depth knowledge of the main genres of Sanskrit literature – from Vedic hymns through classical kāvya and dramatic works to philosophical śāstra texts – and to master the methods of their philological processing.

a) Knowledge                         

Students will gain in-depth knowledge of the various genres, stylistic trends and textual traditions of classical and medieval Sanskrit literature. They will become familiar with the Sanskrit literary language and the poetic tools of kāvya, as well as the various traditions of text interpretation. They will acquire comprehensive knowledge of the basic principles of Sanskrit hermeneutics (mīmāṃsā), the methods of traditional Indian commentary literature, and the application of modern philological approaches. They will become familiar with the historical, cultural and religious context of individual texts.

b) Skills

Students will become capable of independent reading, grammatical analysis and philological interpretation of complex Sanskrit texts. They will acquire the skills of analyzing texts from different perspectives (linguistic, stylistic, content, intertextual). They will gain practice in using traditional Indian commentaries and in interpreting the cultural embeddedness of texts. They will be able to recognize and interpret the genre characteristics of different text types (kāvya, śāstra, sūtra, etc.).

c) Attitude

Students will become sensitive to the aesthetic values ​​and cultural significance of Sanskrit texts. They will develop humility towards the texts and a commitment to philological precision. They will be open to understanding different interpretive traditions, while developing a critical perspective. They will approach the Indian intellectual heritage with respect, while at the same time examining the texts with scientific objectivity.

d) Autonomy and responsibility

Students will be able to independently select and process Sanskrit texts that are relevant for research. They will responsibly handle translation and interpretation dilemmas, and will understand the cultural and ideological aspects of text interpretation. They will be able to independently conduct high-quality text analysis in their own research area and defend their results before the professional community.

Topics to be covered

The currently selected texts are always aligned with the topic of the student's doctoral research.

Some examples:

1. Vedic texts: language and interpretation (Ṛgveda: verse structure and archaic Sanskrit, poetic devices of Vedic hymns, prose of Yajurveda, language of ritual prescriptions and exegesis, Upaniṣads: development of philosophical prose)

2. Epic tradition: Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa (characteristics of epic Sanskrit, śloka-metrum and epic style, philosophy in verse form, kāvya elements in the epic, the epic as an encyclopedic text)

3. Dharmaśāstra: legal and social texts (Manu-smṛti: linguistic features of the verse legal text, technical terminology in dharma literature, Arthaśāstra excerpts: political-economic prose)

4. Kālidāsa: Raghuvaṃśa, Meghadūta and Kumārasaṃbhava (excerpts) (classical kāvya as a norm, mahākāvya structure and narrative techniques, artistic use of alaṃkāras)

5. Nyāya: logical-epistemological texts (Gautama's Nyāyasūtra and commentaries, sūtra style, technical terminology: pramāṇa, anumāna, etc., philosophical polemical literature, the Nyāyabhāṣya as a commentary model)

6. Buddhist Sanskrit texts (Aśvaghoṣa: Buddhacarita [excerpts], unification of kāvya and Buddhist teaching, characteristics of Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit, linguistic features of the Mahāyāna sūtras)

7. Poetic theories: Bharata and Daṇḍin (Nāṭyaśāstra: foundations of rasa theory, Daṇḍin's Kāvyādarśa: system of poetic ornamentation, boundaries of śāstra and kāvya)

8. Introduction to commentarial literature (bhāṣya, vṛtti, ṭīkā type commentaries, the special language of commentaries)

Evaluation system

Written and/or oral exam

Literature

Vedic literature

Jamison, Stephanie W. – Brereton, Joel P. (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. 3 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Witzel, Michael (1997). "The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu". In: Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts, ed. Michael Witzel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gonda, Jan (1975). Vedic Literature (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. (History of Indian Literature, Vol. I, Fasc. 1)

Upaniṣads

Olivelle, Patrick (1998). The Early Upaniṣads: Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Epic literature

Brockington, John (1998). The Sanskrit Epics. Leiden: Brill. (Handbuch der Orientalistik)

Dharmaśāstra

Olivelle, Patrick (2005). Manu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Olivelle, Patrick (1999). Dharmasūtras: The Law Codes of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vasiṣṭha. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Olivelle, Patrick (2013). King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kālidāsa

Kālidāsa (2009). Kumārasambhava. Edited and translated by David Smith. New York: New York University Press and JJC Foundation.

Ingalls, Daniel H. H. (1976). "Kālidāsa and the Attitudes of the Golden Age". Journal of the American Oriental Society 96(1): 15-26.

Nyāya and philosophical texts

Matilal, Bimal Krishna (1998). The Character of Logic in India. Edited by Jonardon Ganeri and Heeraman Tiwari. Albany: SUNY Press.

Ganeri, Jonardon (2001). Philosophy in Classical India: The Proper Work of Reason. London: Routledge.

Phillips, Stephen H. (2012). Epistemology in Classical India: The Knowledge Sources of the Nyāya School. London: Routledge.

Preisendanz, Karin (1994). Studien zu Nyāyasūtra III.1 mit dem Nyāyatattvāloka Vācaspati Miśras II. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Buddhist Sanskrit literature

Aśvaghoṣa (1936). Buddhacarita. Edited and translated by E. H. Johnston. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. [Reprint: Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984]

Olivelle, Patrick (2008). Life of the Buddha by Ashvaghosha. New York: New York University Press and JJC Foundation.

Poetics and aesthetics

Pollock, Sheldon (2016). A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics. New York: Columbia University Press.

Gerow, Edwin (1971). A Glossary of Indian Figures of Speech. The Hague: Mouton.

Kane, P. V. (1961). History of Sanskrit Poetics. 4th edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Commentary literature

Bronkhorst, Johannes (1990). "Vārttika". Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 34: 123-146.

Kahrs, Eivind (1998). Indian Semantic Analysis: The 'Nirvacana' Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tubb, Gary A. – Boose, Emery R. (2007). Scholastic Sanskrit: A Manual for Students. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University.

General works

Pollock, Sheldon (2006). The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Bronkhorst, Johannes (2011). Language and Reality: On an Episode in Indian Thought. Revised edition. Leiden: Brill.