Religions of South Asia
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA
<p><em>RoSA</em> publishes papers by internationally respected scholars on some of the most vibrant and dynamic religious traditions of the world. It includes the latest research on distinctively South Asian or Indic religions - Hindu, Jaina, Buddhist and Sikh - religions which continue to influence the patterns of thought and ways of life of millions of people. <a href="https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/about">Learn more about this journal.</a></p>
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
en
Religions of South Asia
1751-2689
<p>© Equinox Publishing Ltd.</p> <p>For information regarding our Open Access policy, <a title="Open access policy." href="Full%20details of our conditions related to copyright can be found by clicking here.">click here</a>.</p>
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Three Early Mahayana Treatises from Gandhara: Bajuar Kharosthi Fragments 4, 6, and 11, by Andrea Schlosser
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27240
<p><em>Three Early Mahayana Treatises from Gandhara: Bajuar Kharosthi Fragments 4, 6, and 11</em>, by Andrea Schlosser. Gandharan Buddhist Texts, 7. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2022. xx + 317 pp., 15 colour plates, 33 figures. $85. ISBN 9780295750736.</p>
Book Reviews
fragments
Gandhāra
Gāndhārī
Kharoṣṭhī
Mahāyāna
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Jonathan Silk
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
361
363
10.1558/rosa.27240
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Exploring Hindu Philosophy, by Ankur Barua
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27239
<p><em>Exploring Hindu Philosophy</em>, by Ankur Barua. Sheffield: Equinox, 2023. xi + 183 pp., £22.95 (pb). ISBN 9781800502697 (hb), 9781800502703 (pb).</p>
Book Reviews
darśana systems
Hindu philosophy
Indian philosophy
undergraduate pedagogy
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
358
360
10.1558/rosa.27239
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Mobilising Krishna’s World: The Writings of Prince Savant Singh of Kishangarh, by Heidi R. M. Pauwels
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27238
<p><em>Mobilising Krishna’s World: The Writings of Prince Savant Singh of Kishangarh</em>, by Heidi R. M. Pauwels. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017. xvi + 262 pp. $30 (pb). ISBN 9780295742236.</p>
Book Reviews
bhakti
Braj
Kṛṣṇa
Nāgarīdās
politics
Sāvant Singh
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Rembert Lutjeharms
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
354
357
10.1558/rosa.27238
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Buddhism in 5 Minutes, edited by Elizabeth J. Harris
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27237
<p><em>Buddhism in 5 Minutes</em>, edited by Elizabeth J. Harris. Sheffield: Equinox, 2021. xiv + 390 pp., £70 (hbk), £24.95 (pbk). ISBN 9781800500891 (hbk), 9781800500907 (pbk).</p>
Book Reviews
Buddhism
encyclopaedia
readership
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Paul Fuller
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
351
353
10.1558/rosa.27237
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Sallekhana and the End-of-Life Option of Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27236
<p>This article brings <em>sallekhana</em>, the Jain practice of fasting to death, into conversation with the practice of ‘voluntary stopping of eating and drinking’ (VSED), an end-of-life option, available in various countries for competent adults, to hasten the end of life by consciously choosing to not eat and drink. From a medical and legal point of view <em>sallekhana </em>can be considered a form of VSED. Although differing in terms of intent and historical context, the two practices are similar insofar that they relate to capable and sound individuals who voluntarily forego food and water until death. Showing the critical similarity between VSED and <em>sallekhana</em>, I argue that the grounds put forward by major medical associations and legal societies to differentiate VSED from suicide are equally applicable to the case of <em>sallekhana</em>. I contend that the Jain fast needs to be disentangled from the concept of suicide based on the quality of intent, but also because the process is, in theory and for some time at least, reversible, supported by loved ones and members of the larger Jain community, and dependent on the individual’s continuous and prolonged will of renouncing food and water. I also show how medical and legal authorities defend an individual’s right to VSED based on the principles of self-determination, bodily integrity, self-ownership, and respect for persons. I put forward the view to take these ethical principles into account to legally protect a Jain’s right to take the vow of <em>sallekhana</em>.</p>
Articles
sallekhanā
Jain practice of fasting to death
end-of-life options
voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED)
suicide
good death
bioethics
the principle of self-determination
self-ownership
respect for persons
bodily integrity
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Claire Maes
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
323
350
10.1558/rosa.27236
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Restraining the Senses and Relations of Care
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27235
<p>This article puts late Vedic ritual and the renouncer and householder traditions of early South Asia into dialogue in a new way, by thinking about restraining the senses through the etic lens of regimes of care. Guiding questions in this study are: (1) How do regimes of care help us understand the conceptual interface of violence, restraint, purity and community? (2) How do shifting relations of care help us understand conceptual change over time? Finally, (3) how does conceptual change help us speculate productively about changes in relations of care? The clear thematic bifurcation in the texts will recapitulate what Nathan McGovern has termed a ‘broad, trans-sectarian tension between renunciate and householder lifestyles’.</p>
Articles
care
violence
purity
food
hygiene
community
Vedas
Hinduism
Jainism
Yoga
Buddhism
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Caley Charles Smith
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
301
322
10.1558/rosa.27235
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Thirst, Rain, Severed Heads and Magical Fluids
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27234
<p>This essay studies a South Asian folk epic and searches for its basic, inner message. Suffering, penance and the power of blood are core themes. The main metaphors used refer to drought and the heat generated by personal struggle. But heat releases new life, just as a hot sun engenders rain. The story features a severed animal head that the goddess Bhudevi then transforms into a cosmic seed, birthing a fresh new yuga cycle. The same folk epic also highlights human blood, that when spilt, transfers life-power to the earth. Animal and human lives are both implicated, with fresh pregnancies after long periods of infertility being a key outcome. A second key message emerges from the actions of Lord Vishnu near the end of the story. The ocean of the sky contains amrita or soma, an elixir <br />that can extend or renew life. But earth-bound adversaries must learn to work together to release it. Cutting down trees and killing enemies to advance the wealth of ploughmen (human rulers), while indigenous craftsmen and hunters (asuras) suffer, invites drought and infertility, on both sides. Tolerance and respect are what bring down the rain, abundance and the renewal of life for all.</p>
Articles
Tamil
folk epic
blood
soma
beheading
Murugan
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Brenda E F Beck
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
279
300
10.1558/rosa.27234
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The Embodied One
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27233
<p>Advaita Vedanta is often approached as a philosophy of non-dualism. However, I show that approaching the tradition as a Sariraka Mamamsa, a <em>hermeneutics of embodiment</em>, better captures some of its core concerns. On this account, the Upanisads are primarily invested in clarifying the complex dynamics of human embodiment and the self’s immersion in various domains of <br />materiality. To this extent, Advaita is well-placed to make unique interventions in the materialist turn in philosophy and religion, articulating a coherent discourse of embodied experience and pedagogy. Thus while the Vedantic project may be framed in terms of God or Brahman as its hermeneutic centre, it is the unfoldment of the nature of the <em>saririn</em>, the embodied, that drives the project at the first place. This requires discerning superimposed layers of identity (<em>adhyasa</em>), exfoliating each to arrive at the embodied one beneath the self’s embodying environs. This is not a negative process of withdrawing an ‘authentic’ self from its material or psychic entanglements, that is, desuperimposition (<em>apavada</em>). Rather, Advaitic method enjoins an embrace of the self’s immersion in its bodily environs, opening the phenomenal landscape of consciousness to hitherto unrecognized domains of phenomenal being submerged beneath conscious awareness. This is an expansive process that recalibrates one’s sense of self preparing it for more subtle forms of discernment in a graded phenomenal itinerary. I distinguish between two terms, <em>adhyasa </em>and <em>adhyaropa</em>, that, while mapping the same dynamics of embodiment, deploy it along different ends. Failure to appreciate this can obscure the precise work done by deliberate superimposition (<em>adhyaropa</em>) in Advaita.</p>
Articles
embodiment
consciousness
self
superimposition
adhyāsa
adhyāropa
Advaita Vedānta
Śārīraka Mīmāṃsā
materialism
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Dhruv Raj Nagar
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
258
278
10.1558/rosa.27233
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When Your Desire Defines the Path
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27232
<p>How does one attain spiritual liberation? What are the most important conditions? In this paper, I investigate a person’s mental condition in the soteriological process. Given the Srivaisnava belief that one can reach liberation only after death, the desire to continue or end the present life conditions how and when one attains liberation. To elaborate, those who desire liberation through surrendering their agency and possessions to God, i.e. Visnu, can be divided into two groups: (1) those who are so afflicted that they cannot bear to delay attaining liberation; and (2) those who are sufficiently content to wait to reach liberation later, at the end of their lives. This paper explores the difference in the medieval Srivaisnava intellectuals’ discussions of this dichotomy in the Sanskrit and Manipravalam (hybrid Tamil-Sanskrit) theological treatises of Vatsya Varadaguru (c.1165–1200 to 1277 ce) and Periyavaccan Pillai (c.1167 to 1262 ce). I argue that the varying ways that Srivaisnava theologians engaged with this dichotomy were modelled on their views of self-surrender. Finally, attention to this dichotomy was soon less dynamic by the time of a devoted successor of both authors and a great expounder of self-surrender, Vedantadesika or Venkatanatha (c.1268 to 1369 ce).</p>
Articles
Śrīvaiṣṇava
self-surrender
soteriology
Sanskrit
Manipravalam
intellectual history
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Manasicha Akepiyapornchai
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
241
257
10.1558/rosa.27232
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Editorial
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/27231
Editorial
Editorial
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Karen O’Brien-Kop
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-12-21
2023-12-21
239
240
10.1558/rosa.27231
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Visnu’s Cakra as Narrative Weapon in the Skandapurana
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/22984
<p>The Skandapurana is one of the earliest Puranas, with a strong Saiva message throughout the entire text. It promotes devotion to Siva and narrates stories about Siva, his relatives and followers. It does not, however, deny other gods. At least six narratives concern Visnu and his deeds. Three of these are manifestation myths, narrating Visnu’s conquest of the Asuras. For its retellings, such as Visnu’s manifestation myths, the Skandapurana combines known narrative elements with new characterizations, features and scenes. This is not only observable in the stories as a whole, but also on the level of narrative details. In this article, I will show this by studying one of Visnu’s primary weapons, the cakra, ‘discus’. The description of the cakra sometimes agrees with those in other texts, such as its fiery appearance and its quality of returning to its owner. At the same time, there are various new characterizations, for example the fact that it originally belongs to or comes from Siva. With the help of a theory referred to as narrative consistency, I will explore the reasons behind the inclusion of known elements and the introduction of new elements, as well as the reasons behind a combination of the two.</p>
Articles
Purāṇas
retellings
Śaivism
Skandapurāṇa
Viṣṇu
Purāṇas
retellings
Śaivism
Skandapurāṇa
Viṣṇu
Indology
Sanne Dokter-Mersch
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
164
182
10.1558/rosa.22984
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Gayatri in the Modern Era
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/23214
<p>The Gayatri is a ubiquitous Vedic verbal ritual formula (mantra) in Brahmanical traditions and the modern period of Hinduism. This essay traces the Gayatri’s changing theological backgrounds, ritual contexts and political uses in the modern period. It seeks to understand the history of the Gayatri’s transformations in modern India, and questions how the Gayatri transitioned from a private initiation ritual in Vedic Brahmanical culture to a popular public mantra. Hindu reform movements at the turn of the twentieth century provide important clues for how the mantra may have become more public, particularly through reconversion rituals (suddhis) to Hinduism regardless of gender, religion, or caste. Reconversion rituals contributed to removing the Gayatri from the jurisdiction of orthodox Brahmanical authorities, and transformed it from a central symbol of twice-born Vedic identity into a broader symbol of Hindu identity. In some cases, the Gayatri is now universalized as a secular mantra in India, though one that maintains tacit Hindu or Indian nationalist identities.</p>
Articles
Hindu Reform Movements
Conversion rituals
Gāyatrī mantra
Hindu identity
reconversion rituals
public mantras
Hinduism
Mantra
India
Religion
History
Religious Studies
South Asian Studies
Neil Dalal
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
118
137
10.1558/rosa.23214
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Vernacularizing Jainism
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/23301
<p>This article argues that the religious and social developments of seventeenth-century Jain communities in northern India can be characterized as vernacularization. This is a process in which religious expression turns towards the quotidian, the local and the practical, and is strongly intertwined with vernacular literature and art. The article makes its argument by discussing the Dharmapariksa-bhasa by the Digambara author Manohardas (seventeenth century). This so-far unstudied text is an Old Hindi version of Amitagati’s Sanskrit Dharmapariksa (eleventh century) which criticizes by means of comical narration Brahmanical myths and beliefs. Presenting selections from this text, the article will highlight the intricate ways by which Manohardas’s bhasa reframes the Dharmapariksa to express the complexity that is vernacular Jainism. This involves emphasizing the spiritual-mystical interpretation of Jainism that was in vogue, but also drawing attention to the religious praxis of Jains and their others. The transposition into the northern Indian vernacular idiom suggests the role literary language played in vernacularizing Jainism. The discussions in the article present a Jainism that, while reflecting on its own tradition, defines itself in terms of the everyday regional religious environment of northern India.</p>
Articles
vernacular religion
Old-Hindi
Digambara Jainism
early modern India
narratives
adhyātma
Jainism
Hinduism
vernacular religion
Old-Hindi
vernacular literature
South-Asian Religions
Jaina Studies
Indian Literature
Heleen De Jonckheere
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
183
204
10.1558/rosa.23301
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Freedom from the world and freedom in the worlds
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/24256
<p>Interpretation of the UpaniSads has occupied scholars from ancient times to the present, and ancient interpretations have influenced modern scholars even if they are not committed to any Vedantic school. This article looks at the history of interpretation of Katha Upanisad 6.4, which speaks of embodiment in worlds after death. Because such embodiment seems contrary to received ideas, this verse has been subject to conjectural emendations, or to interpretations which are difficult to reconcile with the text. The article looks at earlier Vedic ideas about existence after death, and some later ideas, and attempts to show that the apparent meaning of the verse is consistent with such ideas.</p>
Articles
Veda
Death
Embodiment
Loka
Upaniṣads
mokṣa
BL2000-2032 Religion -- India
Indology
Religious studies
Dermot Killingley
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
138
163
10.1558/rosa.24256
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Alchemical Metaphors and their Yogic Interpretations in Selected Passages of the Tamil Siddha Literature
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25165
<p>In the Tamil siddha texts, the passages on yoga frequently interlace with teachings on alchemy. The texts on these domains of the traditional siddha knowledge are often composed in a deliberately ambiguous and obscure manner, which results from the use of various strategies, such as wordplay riddles, metaphors, ellipses and vague technical vocabulary. In this article, I examine ambiguous passages in the alchemical literature of the Siddhars which, apart from their literal, alchemical meaning, can be also interpreted as metaphorical allusions to yogic practices and concepts. I concentrate mostly on the literature ascribed to Siddhar Yakopu, tentatively dated to the seventeenth century. I analyse several instances of equivocal verses and consider the possible role of the obscure passages. I study the intertwined alchemical and yogic discourse and I reflect on the siddha understanding of matter.</p>
Articles
siddha
Tamil literature
alchemy
yoga
metaphor
matter
Orinetal Languages and Literature
Yoga
Indology
Ilona Kędzia-Warych
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
205
225
10.1558/rosa.25165
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Creating the Universe: Depictions of the Cosmos in Himalayan Buddhism, by Eric Huntington
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/26591
<p>Creating the Universe: Depictions of the Cosmos in Himalayan Buddhism, by Eric Huntington. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019. xx + 283 pp., $65 (hb). ISBN: 9780295744063.</p>
Book Reviews
cosmology
Himalayan Buddhism
maṇḍala
Mount Meru
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Geoffrey Samuel
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
234
236
10.1558/rosa.26591
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The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi, by Antonio Rigopoulos
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/26590
<p>The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi, by Antonio Rigopoulos. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2021. xxv + 499 pp., £75 (hb), £25 (pb). ISBN 978-1-4384-8229-3 (hb), 978-1-4384-8228-6 (pb).</p>
Book Reviews
hagiography
Narayan Kasturi
Sathya Sai Baba
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Robin Rinehart
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
232
233
10.1558/rosa.26590
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Many Buddhas, One Buddha: A Study and Translation of Avadanasataka 1–40, by Naomi Appleton
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/26589
<p>Many Buddhas, One Buddha: A Study and Translation of Avadanasataka 1–40, by Naomi Appleton. Sheffield: Equinox, 2020. x + 245 pp., £75 (hb), £26.95 (pb or ebook). ISBN 9781781798966 (hb), 9781781798973 (pb), 9781781798980 (ePDF).</p>
Book Reviews
Avadānaśataka
buddha
pratyekabuddha
Śākyamuni
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Nathan McGovern
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
230
231
10.1558/rosa.26589
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Bhakti and Power: Debating India’s Religion of the Heart, edited by John Stratton Hawley, Christian Lee Novetzke and Swapna Sharma
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/26588
<p>Bhakti and Power: Debating India’s Religion of the Heart, edited by John Stratton Hawley, Christian Lee Novetzke and Swapna Sharma. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2019. xii + 255 pp. ISBN 9780295745503 (pb).</p>
Book Reviews
Bhakti
Power
caste
gender
inequality
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Dermot Killingley
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
226
229
10.1558/rosa.26588
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Editorial
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/26587
Editorial
Editorial
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Dermot Killingley
Anna King
Karen O’Brien-Kop
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-09-03
2023-09-03
115
117
10.1558/rosa.26587
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Guest Editorial
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25452
Guest Editorial
Editorial
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Elisa Freschi
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
1
5
10.1558/rosa.25452
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How to Change Law in Classical India
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25453
<p>In his celebrated book The Concept of Law, H. L. A. Hart posits three secondary rules in a legal system: recognition, change, and adjudication. In this paper, I look at the second category: the means provided within the Indian legal system by which laws, in this case dharma, can be changed. The category of recognition provides us with means of knowing what the laws are. In modern systems, this is done through the passage of laws in a duly constituted legislature. The ancient Indian system did not have a provision for a legislative body. Instead, law as dharma was to be discovered rather than enacted: it was thought to be found in the Veda (vedamulatva concept) and, secondarily, in the texts known as smrtis. Law is thus eternal and, in theory, immutable; it cannot be changed. But, in spite of the theory, society and culture do change and demand laws that reflect those changes. The hermeneutical tradition of India provided means by which such change, foreclosed de jure, could be enacted de facto. This paper will analyse several of these techniques, including the yuga theory, the dharma of smaller social and geographical units, and, quite interestingly, the opprobrium of the people <br />(lokavidvista).</p>
Articles
law
dharma
smṛti
Mīmāṃsā
Yuga
śiṣṭa
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Patrick Olivelle
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
6
22
10.1558/rosa.25453
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Sex with Purpose
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25454
<p>In this essay, the relationship between Mimamsa hermeneutics and Dharmasastra rules is explored through the topic of marital intercourse. The physical act of sex between married partners at prescribed times is viewed as an essential step in a ritualized understanding of the higher religious purposes or goals of intercourse. The transformation of ordinary actions into religiously purposeful actions though rules and restrictions is characteristic not only of Hindu legal thought, but also of legal rules everywhere. This small example, therefore, contains a wider lesson about the aspirations of law beyond mere social order.</p>
Articles
Dharmaśāstra
Hindu law
sex
rules
hermeneutics
medieval India
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Donald R Davis, Jr
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
23
43
10.1558/rosa.25454
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The Brahmin Felon and the Wise Thief
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25455
<p>I begin by analysing Mimamsa hermeneutics as employed in Visvarupa’s and Vijñanesvara’s commentaries on Yajñavalkya Dharmasastra 2.21, which proclaims principles for dealing with conflicts of smrti-rules, taking as an illustration the problem of self-defence against a Brahmin attacker (quoting Manava Dharmasastra 8.348–51). I then examine Bharuci’s and Medhatithi’s arguments on Manava Dharmasastra 8.314–18 (the example of the ‘wise thief’ who seeks the king’s punishment as a penance). The commentators situate the legality of the king’s interests and judicial authority in relation to Veda-based, otherworldly considerations such as sin and expiation. Punishments and penances serve different purposes, are prescribed by different authorities, and occupy distinct sections in textual sources. The case of the Brahmin felon strains the distinction: it asserts that even a Brahmin (otherwise exempt from capital punishment) may be killed if engaged in the worst crimes, but this conflicts with the rules requiring expiation for killing a Brahmin. The ‘wise thief’ is the contrived exception that proves the rule that punishment and penance are distinct; the efficacy of the act hinges on the wrong-doer’s initiative, so that the king-executioner is more instrument than agent of purification, and at his own spiritual peril. The commentators discuss these cases in terms of the relation between Dharmasastra and Arthasastra, subordinating the latter to the former.</p>
Articles
punishment
penance
conflict of laws
legal reasoning
judicial discretion
Sanskrit
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Timothy Lubin
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
44
63
10.1558/rosa.25455
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Getting into the mind of Medhatithi
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25456
<p>This paper analyses Medhatithi’s discussion of corporal punishment, with special reference to the debate staged in his commentary on MDh 8.318. His arguments are extremely sophisticated, especially because of the application of Mimamsa-influenced reasoning rules. The paper makes implicit steps and unspoken hypotheses explicit and highlights the selection process through which Medhatithi finally selects one solution to the controversy he examines over the others. For some instances of possible candidates: Is analogical reasoning able to provide stronger support than, for example, authoritative statements? What role does inner consistency play? Which criterion wins in case of conflicts among different textual passages? To test the inner-consistency criterion, the paper tackles the issue of corporal punishment as discussed in different contexts and tries to solve the seeming clashes that arise when different texts by Medhatithi are juxtaposed. It concludes by seeing Medhatithi’s commentary on MDh 8.318 as the culmination of a systematisation attempt regarding all cases of corporal punishment as distinctly ordained based on the purpose to be achieved.</p>
Articles
Sanskrit Jurisprudence
Mīmāṃsā
Dharmaśāstra
Sanskrit Philosophy
Medhātithi
Mānavadharmaśāstra
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Elisa Freschi
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
64
76
10.1558/rosa.25456
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Asvatantra
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/25457
<p>Traditionally considered timeless and static, dharma is necessarily rooted in the customs of people and, therefore, a function of changing times and beliefs. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how medieval Brahmanical scholars understood, justified, and interpreted dharma within the scholastic tradition and whether it was possible to reinterpret various prescriptive rules to suit the social milieu of their times. These reinterpretations, if they can be sufficiently attested through scholarship, must have their roots in historical realities. Whether the tradition wishes to accommodate change or resist it, scholarly readings and commentaries provide a valuable insight into how law was read and interpreted by the Brahmanical scholastic tradition. This paper studies the dharmic norms relating to the dependence (asvatantrya) of women as interpreted by the tenth-century commentator Medhatithi, writing on the Manavadharmasastra. Medhatithi’s lengthy commentary on controversial points suggests a vibrant scholastic debate in which interpretations varied and certain historical realities had been taken into account.</p>
Articles
Dharmaśāstra
Strīdharma
Manusmṛti
Hindu law
Women
Medhātithi
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Madhulika Chebrol
Copyright (c) 2023 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2023-03-24
2023-03-24
77
102
10.1558/rosa.25457
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Gaudiya Vaisnava Studies
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/11012
<p>Gaudiya Vaisnavism, which traces its origins to the ecstatic Bengali Krsna devotee, Krsna Caitanya (1486-1533), has indelibly shaped the socio religious landscape of Bengal and significantly impacted other regions of the Indian subcontinent, such as Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The present article provides a current map of the field of the study of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, from its inception to the early twentieth century, based largely on recent critical English-language scholarship. Adopting a thematic historical approach, it highlights the contextual specificity of recent scholarship and provides a heuristic framework for understanding the tradition and its historical dynamics.</p>
Articles
Bengal
bhakti
Caitanya
Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism
gosvāmī
Vrindavan
BL1000-2370 Religion
Asian-Oriental
Religious Studies
Lucian Wong
Copyright (c) 2016 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2016-10-31
2016-10-31
305
331
10.1558/rosa.v9i3.32197
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Tradition, Identity and Scriptural Authority
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/11010
<p>It is commonly held that one of the distinguishing features of modern Hinduism is its all-inclusive tolerance and comprehensive openness for religious plurality. However, this universalism contrasts in important ways with the traditional inclusivism found in the writings of classical and medieval Indian brahminical thinkers. This article focuses on the inherent complexity and modalities of religious inclusivism in the early modern period. How was inclusivism construed and defended by Sanskrit intellectuals of this period? How do inclusivist models relate to broader concepts of identity, tradition and scriptures? An attempt is here made to answer these questions through examining the work of the sixteenth century scholar Appaya Diksita. Special attention will be paid to arguments he presents in his Sivarkamanidipika concerning the legitimacy of the Pancaratra tradition and the authority of Saivagamas.</p>
Articles
Appaya Dīkṣita
early modernity
inclusivism
Pāñcarātra
Śaivāgamas
BL1000-2370 Religion
Asian-Oriental
Oriental Studies
Sanskrit
Jonathan Duquette
Copyright (c) 2016 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2016-10-31
2016-10-31
265
289
10.1558/rosa.v9i3.28338
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The Making of a Saint for All Seasons
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/11011
<p>Haji Waris Ali Shah (1818/9-1905) of Dewa, India, became a Sufi saint of lasting significance within South Asia. With a large and eclectic community of believers coming from various religious backgrounds, Haji Waris Ali Shah proves to be an ecumenical figure. While several hagiographies exist, I use Mirza Muhammad Ibrahim Beg Shaida Warsi's 1938 text S'ai al-haris fil-rayahin al-waris, a text revised and edited by Razi Ahmed, a contemporary claimant to his legacy through the Dargah Warsi Association at Dewa Sharif, the saint's mausoleum, to argue that the saint's power was concentrated in his body and its affective influence. His manner of dress, his itinerant lifestyle, his manner of speaking, and the documented power of his eyes were all subtly capable of reaching devotees of different personal inclinations and religious training. Focusing on his body as a living shrine at which believers gathered, I hope to lend weight to an affective history of religion where the affective reach of saints gains a place to explain their often enormous impact on their believers, primarily during the saint's life but also after.</p>
Articles
affect
body
ecumenical
Sufi
DS35.3-35.77
Religious Studies
South Asian Studies
Islamic Studies
Matt Reeck
Copyright (c) 2016 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2016-10-31
2016-10-31
290
304
10.1558/rosa.v9i3.27997
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Guest Editorial
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ROSA/article/view/24395
Guest Editorial
Guest Editorial
Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Laxshmi Rose Greaves
Simon Brodbeck
Copyright (c) 2022 Equinox Publishing Ltd.
2022-12-24
2022-12-24
107
114
10.1558/rosa.24395