246 research outputs found
When one thing applies more than once: tantra and prasaṅga in Śrautasūtra, Mīmāṃsā and Grammar
No full textFreschi and Pontillo focus their attention on the usage and cultural history of two crucial terms in Sanskrit technical literature, namely tantra (for which the translation ‘centralised application’ is proposed) and prasaṅga (interpreted as an ‘automatic involvement’).
Both belong to a class of devices used to ‘extend’ the validity of a given rule outside its proper domain or the application of a given
element even in contexts where it is absent. As the authors point out, these devices of functioning in absentia entail an organized
spatial dimension (a map following the metaphor used in Kahrs 1998), which transforms an absolute absence in a specific one. An
organized space (such as language and also ritual) makes a blank grid significant. In this organised space tantra and prasaṅga represent two different strategies of filling blanks (or, which is the same thing the other way round, of granting multiple applications of a single item); the first one is grounded on ‘a common texture, of which all elements benefit’ (something akin to the modern concept
of anaphora) while prasaṅga “represents an extended application, to be carried out if it makes things easier and if needed” (just
as it happens in secondary signification)
Signless signification in ancient India and beyond
No full textPart I: Technical and speculative Reflections on Signless Signification
(Contributions by A. Pelissero; E.Freschi; M.P. Candotti; T. Pontillo; P. Corda); Part II: Reflections on signless Signification in Literature and Arts (Contributions by C. Pieruccini, M. Congedo, P. Rossi, P. Mureddu, R. Fais, P. Bhat, P. Bravi, I. Macchiarella
Prospects of intertextual relations between Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita and Saundarananda rhetorical-stylistic forms and epic sources
No full textAśvaghoṣa (1st-2nd century CE) is the earliest known author of Indian poetry (kāvya) and a major contributor to the Brahmanical and Buddhist cultural and literary heritage. Nevertheless, we still do not have a clear picture of the sources that may have primarily influenced the composition of his works - namely the two court epic poems (Mahākāvya) Saundarananda 'Handsome Nanda' and Buddhacarita 'Acts of the Buddha' - and even less certain are the ways in which Aśvaghoṣa may have interacted with the epics, viz. e. the Mahābhārata 'The Great Bhārata' and the Rāmāyaṇa 'Rāma's Path'. Although the contribution of epic sources to his works has often been debated in the field of cultural-historical reconstruction studies, it has never been approached from a strictly philological-textual perspective. The present study provides a comparison of one hundred stanzas of Aśvaghoṣa's poems and the epic sources to demonstrate that an intertextual philological relationship between them is indisputable. The chosen methodological approach focuses on cross-referencing the main rhetorical and stylistic forms in the epic sources, the so-called alaṃkāras 'ornaments' used in the Mahākāvyas - i.e. the simile (upamā) and the metaphor (rūpaka). It analyses the logical structure of the ornaments that make the poems and epics similar, namely the relationship between the subject of comparison (upameya), the object of comparison (upamāna) and the common property (sādhāraṇadharma). This could help to determine the role that the two epics played in influencing the compositional process of Aśvaghoṣa, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, the analysis of cross-references can lead to the identification of the sections from which Aśvaghoṣa may have borrowed. By presenting the most striking case of intertextuality, centred on the ornaments mentioned above, the proposed approach examines the ways in which Aśvaghoṣa seems to rework, adapt and manipulate the epic model from a diachronic perspective. The underlying aim is to shed light on the general framework of the dynamics surrounding the genesis of the Mahākāvya genre itself, which is so intertwined with the epic (Itihāsa)
A second stage of our shared research on the topic of resisting and justifying changes in Indian and ancient Greek Culture
No full textWhen one thing applies more than once: tantra and prasanga in Srautasutra, Mimamsa and Grammar
No full textComments on ''Geranylgeraniol--a new potential therapeutic approach to bisphosphonate associated osteonecrosis of the jaw" by Ziebart T et al. (2011).
No full texttherapeutic approach to bisphosphonate associated osteonecrosis of the jaw’’ in Oral Oncology, by Ziebart T et al., and would like to compare and discuss these results with our recently published data.1 The design of the two studies is very similar: natural isoprenoids have been used to revert the mevalonate pathway inhibition induced by amino-bisphosphonates (N-BPs). Isoprenoid compounds are hypothesized to enter the mevalonate pathway after the N-BPs block, being metabolized as farnesyl-pyrophosphate and bypass the biochemical inhibition mediate by N-BPs on farnesyl- pyrophosphate synthase, restoring the metabolites flux along the pathway.2,3 Ziebart T. et al. empathized that the isoprenoid geranylgeraniol (GGOH) can antagonize the effects of N-BPs in the processes of osteoclast formation, apoptosis, bone resorption and in tumor cells (i.e. prostate cancer cells, human myeloma cells) as previously described in several studies,4,5 suggesting a therapeutic use of GGOH in bisphosphonate associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (BP-ONJ). Recently, our group demonstrated that GGOH and several other isoprenoids (farnesol, geranygeraiol, mentol, limonene) are able to revert the pro-inflammatory effect induced by the combination of N-BPs and bacterial lipoplyshaccaride (LPS) or muramyldipeptide (MDP) both in Balb/c mice and in human and murine monocytes. 2,3,6 We also proposed isoprenoid compounds as eligible treatment for the rare and still orphan disease mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD, OMIM: 251170), characterized by genetic defect in the second enzyme of the mevalonate pathway. All this considered we would like to discuss the following issues: – We do agree with Ziebart T. et al.1 about the anti-N-BPs effect of geraniol, emphasizing that this effect is not dependent on the N-BP used on the isoprenoids. Ziebart’ group used ibandronate, pamidronate and zoledronate in their model, whereas we treated Balb/c mice and monocytes with alendronate or pamidronate obtaining comparable and reproducible findings. 2,7 Moreover geranylgeraniol, farnesol, menthol and limonene showed a comparable effect in contrasting N-BP action in our models,3 suggesting a common mechanism of action for these compounds in the context of NBP inhibition. – It is interesting to note that GGOH is able to contrast N-BP effect independently of the cellular model implied (osteoblast or monocytes) and the different outcome of N-BP inhibition. Since the block of the mevalonate pathway affects the prenylation of several signalling molecules involved in cell cycle, differentiation and cell response to extracellular stimulus, probably it results in different defects depending on the cell types. – We suggest Ziebart T. et al.1, to test other isoprenoids in addition to GGOH, such as geraniol, farnesol, menthol or limonene, in order to identify the most effective isoprenoids to treat in combination within aminobisphosphonate associated osteonecrosis of the jaw. While the dose/effect of the isoprenoid is comparable within Ziebart T. et al. and our models, additionally we would like to emphasize the importance of the timing in isoprenoid administration. – In our animal model the isoprenoid timing necessary to revert the pro-inflammatory action of alendronate or pamidronate was the critical point, because the isoprenoid must be injected the day before and/or after the N-BP.2,7 – Recently we showed that farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) such as manumycin A, Tipifarnib or Lonafarnib, currently used in clinical trials as anticancer drugs, were able to contrast N-BP effect leading to a redistribution of mevalonate intermediates along its pathway.6 We propose Ziebart T. et al. to evaluate the effects of these pharmacological agents which could be an alternative therapeutic approach in the case of N-BP-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw. In summary, we do agree with the study by Ziebart T. et al., and emphasize the pivotal role of isoprenoid to rescue the phenotype inflammation induced by aminobisphosphonate treatment
The background of the samastavastuvisayarupaka and its importance in early kavya
No full textThis essay aims at reconstructing some steps in the evolution of the rupaka within the framework of broader research in progress of the genesis of classical Indian literature. The starting-point is the importance that the early kavya works and the most ancient theoreticians seem to attribute to the samastavastuvishayarupaka-s. As a working hypothesis, the recurring occurrences of the epic and kavya works have been examined as a final stage in the continuous slow evolution of a similar intellectual attitude towards a reality which crosses ritual, speculative and finally poetical contexts, whose technical formulation could be informative about the date and the milieu of the origin of kavya
From the more iconic to the less iconic linguistic form: morphological syntagms in Pāṇini
No full textStarting from Kastovsky’s definition of “morphological syntagm”, the author tries to understand whether any similarity exists between complex word forms (such as compounds and secondary derivatives) and the matching source-phrases which should be taken into
account in the relevant formation-rules according to Pāṇini’s teaching. Thus, A 2.1.1 is
interpreted and tested in a fresh manner, leading to the outline of a a scalar pattern of
iconicity which encompasses the several outputs of the provisions it governs
Rule-extension-strategies in Ancient India: Ritual, exegetical and linguistic considerations on the tantra- and prasaṅga- principles
No full textThe authors focus their attention on the usage and cultural history of two crucial terms in Sanskrit technical literature, namely tantra and prasaṅga (here translated as ‘centralised joint application’ and ‘automatic involvement’). They belong to a class of devices used to ‘extend’ the validity of a given rule outside its proper domain. Their functioning thus entails an organized spatial dimension which transforms an absolute absence in a specific one. The sources on which this inquiry is based are the most ancient Indian aphoristic treatises on ritual, exegesis and grammar with their first commentaries. A noteworthy outcome of this research is the evidence that a common prehistory and an almost constant mutual influence of these traditions should be postulated for the questioned rules
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