Sanskrit Reading 2.

 

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. Orthodox philosophical texts (Śaṅkara: Brahmasūtrabhāṣya, Yogasūtra and Yogabhāṣya, Jaiminisūtra and Śabara-bhāṣya, Mīmāṃsā hermeneutical principles, Kumārila Bhaṭṭa: Ślokavārttika, authority and interpretation of Vedic texts)

2. Buddhist philosophical texts (Vasubandhu: Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (excerpts), Dignāga and Dharmakīrti: Buddhist logic, Vijñānavāda texts)

3. Tantric texts: language and practice (linguistic features of the Śaiva tantras, Abhinavagupta as philosopher and commentator, Mantra theory, language and structure of ritual texts)

4. Purāṇa literature: mythology and theology (Viṣṇu-purāṇa and Bhāgavata-purāṇa (selected parts), narrative techniques of the purāṇas, Māhātmya texts: glorification of holy places, stotrakāvya: hymnic poetry, mythological narrative as theological argument)

5. Drama and drama theory (Bhavabhūti: Uttararāmacarita, practical application of Nāṭyaśāstra)

6. Grammar and language theory (Pāṇini: Aṣṭādhyāyī, Patañjali: Mahābhāṣya [Paspaśāhnika], Bhartṛhari: Vākyapadīya, the role of grammatical commentaries, the relationship between language theory and philosophy)

7. Poetic theories: dhvani and aucitya (Ānandavardhana: Dhvanyāloka, Abhinavagupta's Locana, Kṣemendra's aucitya theory, Mammaṭa's Kāvyaprakāśa as a synthesis)

Evaluation system

Written and/or oral exam

Literature

Hacker, Paul (1995). Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedānta. Edited by Wilhelm Halbfass. Albany: SUNY Press.

Ram-Prasad, Chakravarthi (2002). Advaita Epistemology and Metaphysics: An Outline of Indian Non-Realism. London: RoutledgeCurzon.

Maas, Philipp A. (2006). Samādhipāda: Das erste Kapitel des Pātañjalayogaśāstra zum ersten Mal kritisch ediert. Aachen: Shaker Verlag.

McCrea, Lawrence J. – Patil, Parimal G. (2010). Buddhist Philosophy of Language in India: Jñānaśrīmitra on Exclusion. New York: Columbia University Press.

Freschi, Elisa (2012). Duty, Language and Exegesis in Prabhākara Mīmāṃsā. Leiden: Brill.

Clooney, Francis X. (1990). Thinking Ritually: Rediscovering the Pūrva Mīmāṃsā of Jaimini. Vienna: De Nobili Research Library.

Vasubandhu (1988). Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam. Translated by Louis de La Vallée Poussin, English translation by Leo M. Pruden. 4 vols. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press.

Dignāga (2005). Pramāṇasamuccaya. Chapter 1. In: Dignāga's Philosophy of Language, by Tom Tillemans. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien.

Dunne, John D. (2004). Foundations of Dharmakīrti's Philosophy. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

Padoux, André (1990). Vāc: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras. Translated by Jacques Gontier. Albany: SUNY Press.

Sanderson, Alexis (2009). "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period". In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, ed. Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: University of Tokyo.

Torella, Raffaele (2002). The Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā of Utpaladeva with the Author's Vṛtti: Critical Edition and Annotated Translation. Rome: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente.

Rocher, Ludo (1986). The Purāṇas. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. (History of Indian Literature, Vol. II, Fasc. 3)

Cardona, George (1997). Pāṇini: His Work and its Traditions. 2nd edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Joshi, S. D. – Roodbergen, J. A. F. (1986). Patañjali's Vyākaraṇa-Mahābhāṣya: Paspaśāhnika. Poona: University of Poona.

Bhartṛhari (1963-1973). Vākyapadīya. Edited and translated by K. A. Subramania Iyer. Poona: Deccan College.

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

Ānandavardhana (1990). The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta. Translated by Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and M. V. Patwardhan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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

McCrea, Lawrence (2008). The Teleology of Poetics in Medieval Kashmir. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bronner, Yigal (2010). Extreme Poetry: The South Asian Movement of Simultaneous Narration. New York: Columbia University Press.