104 research outputs found
Mokṣopāya-Ṭīkā of Bhāskarakaṇṭha. The Fragments of the Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa. Part I. Critical Edition
No full textThe volume contains the critical edition of the first half of the large extant fragment of the Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa - the sixth section of the Mokṣopāya, the last and by far the most substantial - with Bhāskarakaṇṭha's commentary Nirvāṇaṭikā. The Mokṣopāya, a huge philosophico-soteriological work probably composed by a Kashmiri author in the tenth century of our era, was the original version of what would become the Yogavāsiṣṭha, which enjoyed enormous popularity in India, in certain regions second only to the two great epic poems. Bhāskarakaṇṭha (17th century), the commentator, is one of the last great non-dualist Śaivite masters from Kashmir
The divine scribe: A new interpretation of the Gaṇeśa episode from the Mahābhārata
No full textThe Gaṇeśa episode from the Mahābhārata, widely regarded as a late addition, narrates the mythical circumstances that led to the first written record of the poem: Vyāsa asks Gaṇeśa to write down the whole epic at his dictation. In the past, the episode was claimed to represent an attempt to promote the figure of Gaṇeśa, a god on the rise. Nevertheless, this explanation fails to account for the connection between the god and the act of writing an original work. A closer examination of the episode is therefore needed, with a view to reaching a more satisfactory interpretation. Our assumption is that the passage should be read as a realistic staging of the questions raised by the re- lationship between author, symbolised by Vyāsa, and scribe, symbolised by Gaṇeśa. In this context, the figure of Gaṇeśa serves to emphasize the relevance of the technology of writing and its professionals
Il cuore nero dell'India: omicidi rituali e stereotipi letterari
No full textNel 1839 il romanzo Confessioni di un Thug rese popolare in Occidente lo stereotipo di una setta indiana di assassini, adoratori di Kalī, che agivano dopo aver carpito la fiducia delle future vittime. Da allora i Thug apparvero in molti romanzi, per poi approdare al cinema. Nell’India ottocentesca esistevano realmente bande di predoni, che però uccidevano i viaggiatori al solo scopo di derubarli, senza alcuna implicazione religiosa, contrariamente a quanto solitamente creduto. Tuttavia, quanti coniarono lo stereotipo del Thug erano forse consapevoli dell’esistenza di culti tantrici segreti che attribuivano uno speciale valore religioso ad azioni contrarie alla morale comune, come l’omicidio.In 1839, thanks to the novel Confessions of a Thug, the stereotype of a Hindu sect of murderers, alleged worshippers of Kalī, who
acted after gaining the confidence of their future victims, spread in the West. Since then the Thugs appeared in many novels as well as later on in many films. In nineteenth-century India there really existed gangs of marauders, who nevertheless killed travellers only in order to rob them, without any religious implications, contrary to popular belief. But those who invented the stereotype were maybe aware of the existence of secret tantric cults, which attributed a special religious value to actions opposed to public morals, such as murder
Mokṣopāya-Ṭīkā of Bhāskarakaṇṭha. The Fragments of the Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa. Part II. Critical Edition
No full textSome questions posed by a recent epistemological approach to Indian thought
No full textSe il pensiero epistemologico cerca di risolvere problemi entro un paradigma stabilito, mentre il pensiero ermeneutico ha il compito di stabilire un dialogo con le proposte rappresentate da altri paradigmi, per gli occidentali, considerare epistemologicamente il pensiero indiano (secondo recenti orientamenti), piuttosto che adottare l’atteggiamento ermeneutico, significherà la cancellazione del pensiero tradizionale indiano. If epistemological thought seeks to resolve problems within an established paradigm, while hermeneutic thought has the task of establishing a dialogue with the proposals of other paradigms, for Westerners to consider Indian thought espistemologically ( as recently done), and not by adopting the hermeneutical approach, means the obliteration of Indian traditional thought.If the thought epistemological tries to solve problems within an established paradigm, while the hermeneutic thought has the task of establishing a dialogue with the proposals represented by other paradigms, for westerners, consider epistemologically Indian thought (according to recent guidelines), rather than adopting hermeneutic attitude, it will mean the cancellation of the traditional Indian thought. If epistemological thought seeks to resolve problems Within an established paradigm, while hermeneutic thought Has The Task of Establishing a dialogue with the proposals of other paradigms, for Westerners to Consider Indian thought espistemologically (as recently done), and not by Adopting the hermeneutical approach, means the obliteration of Indian traditional thought
Oriental studies in Nineteenth-Century Rome
No full textThis article aims to synthetically reconstruct the history of Oriental studies in nineteenth-century Rome. It will also try to situate this history in the widerscenario of the great political changes that implicated Rome and its university in the second half of the nineteenth century. The sphere of politics and that of Oriental studies had large areas of direct overlap: not only various exponents of Oriental studies acted in close contact with political figures, but also various political figures were themselves Orientalists. The Italian government and parliament were constantly involved in the development of Oriental studies, while in turn Oriental studies provided politics with parliamentarians. Oriental studies represented faithfully certain characteristics of Italian university, such as the absolute contiguity of the academic domain with politics. Oriental studies in Rome, which for centuries were driven by missionary activity, after the unifcation of Italy received a major thrust forward from the government plans of colonial growth. Despite the obvious ideological opposition between papal power and Italian government, a sort of ideal continuity was therefore established: Oriental Studies were always motivated by expansion programs, which were of a religious and cultural type in the missionary phase, and of a colonial and commercial type in the colonial phase. Furthermore, the overlap between Oriental studies and the national political scene is crucial for a correct reconstruction of the Italian expansionist policy up to the Second World War
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