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ON HINDU, HINDUSTAN, HINDUISM AND HINDUTVA ARVIND SHARMA Summary This papersets out to examine the emergenceand significanceof the word Hindu (and associatedterminology)in discourse aboutIndia,in orderto determinethe light it sheds on what is currentlyhappening in India. It concludes that the word, and its derivatives,contain a series of semantic bivalences characterisedby unresolved tensions, and furtherthat these tensions help account for the complexities generated by the inductionof the word Hindu (and associated terminology) in modem Indian political discourse.

Hindu (P)

n.m. A native of India; a negro; a black Arabian, Indian or Ethiopian; a Gentoo (Hindu); a slave; a thief. adj.

black. Hindustan(P) n.m. India;the countryof Hindus. (FerozsonsUrdu-EnglishDictionary: A ComprehensiveDictionaryof CurrentVocabulary [Karachi:Ferozsons,n.d.] p. 821.) The word Hindu (with allied formations such as Hindustan, Hinduism and Hindutva) has come to possess a unique valence in the context of India, a valence denied to such words as India, Bharata, Aryadesa, or Madhyadesa (as synonyms of Hindustan; see W.C. Smith 1962:256; Takakusu 1966:118; Wink 1990, 1:288; Nehru 1946:49); Aryadharma, Sandtana Dharma or just Dharma (as equivalents of Hinduism; see Jaffrelot 1996:18; Stietencron 1989:15; Renou 1953:48) and Indianness, or Hinduta (as an option for Hindutva; see Lipner 1996:112-113; Nalapat 1999). Why?

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Arvind Sharma

I Arguably the earliest traceable use of the word Hindu appears in the Zend Avesta (Jackson 1922:324-325): The first chapter of the Avestan Vendidad (whatever may be the age of the chapter)containsan allusionto a portionof NorthernIndiain a list which it gives of sixteen lands or regions, createdby Ahur Mazda and apparentlyregardedas underIraniansway. The fifteenthof these domains, accordingto Vd. 1, 18 was Hapta Hindu, 'Seven Rivers', a region of 'abnormalheat', probably identical with the territoryof SaptaSindhavas,'Seven Rivers', in the Veda(see especially Rv. VIII, 24, 27).

A tension between two significations of the term Hindu is already reflected in the two explanations offered of this occurrence. George Thompson (1999) has recently argued that the imprecations of the non-believers found in both Avesta and the RgVeda may actually reflect the religious differences of the two communities at the time, an interpretation which already imparts to the term a religious flavour. On the other hand, a Sassanian commentary imparts a political-territorial ring to it: "The Seven Hindukan; the expression 'Seven Hindukan' is due to this fact, that the over-lordship (sar-xutai) is seven; and therefore I do not say 'Seven Rivers,' for that is manifest from the Avesta [passage] ..." (Jackson 1922:324). One of the earliest datable, as distinguished from traceable, references to the word Hindu again comes from Persia, with the rise of the Achaemenid Empire (H.W. Rawlinson 1954:53-54). An inscription of Darius I which is "considered to have been carved between c. 518 and 515 BC, adds Hidu [Hindu] to the list of subject countries" (Raychaudhuri 1996:584). Similarly, clay tablets from Persepolis, in Elamite, "datable to different years from the thirteenth to the twenty-eighth regnal year of Darius" mention Hi-in-tu (India) (ib. 585). These examples, establishing the primacy of the territorial meaning, are confirmed by Herodotus (Historiae III, 91, 94, 98-102) in his employment of the word as 'Indoi' in Greek, which, "lacking an alphabetic character of the sound of h, did not in this case preserve it" (Narayanan 1996:14). He is preceded by Hecateus (520 BC), as the "first to mention India among surviving Greek writers" (H.G. Rawlinson 1980 [1913]:205).

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There is evidence that Xerxes (486-465 BC), son and successor of Darius, "destroyed a sanctuary of the Daivas" or false divinities according to the Persian concept (Raychaudhuri 1996:586), but this sanctuary was situated not in Hi-in-tu (Hindu or lower Indus region) but in Gandhara (ib. 586): One of the newly discoveredstone-tabletsat PersepolisrecordsthatXerxes "By Ahuramazda'swill" sappedthe foundationsof certaintemples of the Daivas and ordainedthat "theDaivas shall not be worshipped".Where the Daivas had been worshipped,the king worshippedAhuramazdatogetherwith Rtam(divine world order). 'India' may have been among the lands which witnessed the outcome of the religious zeal of the Persianking.

This 'India' was still confined to Sind, for it was under Xerxes that "for the first time in history an Indian expeditionary force fought on the soil of Europe" and even stormed the "bloody defiles of Thermopylae." The 'Indian' recruits to the army were called by two names: "Gandharians and Indians," thereby confirming that while the former were "from the province of Gandhara" (listed as a separate province), the Indians were "from the provinces controlled by the Persian empire to the east of the Sindhu and described as Sindhu in the Achaemenian inscriptions" (Mukherji 1951:42). The word Hindu derives, by common consent, from the word Sindhu. It is remarkable that the direction of transformation of Sindhu ->Hindu->Ind is paralleled in the account of the Buddhist pilgrim Xanzuang (= Hiuen Tsang, 7th century), by the words Shin-tu--Hientau--Tien-chu, and even more surprising that it becomes In-tu, at which point its connotation overflows into the religious, at least in Xanzuang's interpretation of it (Beal 1969 [1884]:69): Names of India On examination, we find that the names of India (Tien-chu) are various and perplexingas to theirauthority.It was ancientlycalled Shin-tu,also Hien-tau;but now, accordingto the right pronunciation,it is called In-tu.The people of In-tu call theircountryby differentnames accordingto theirdistrict.Each countryhas diverse customs. Aiming at a general name which is the best sounding,we will call the countryIn-tu. In Chinese this name signifies the Moon. The moon has manynames,of which this is one. For as it is said thatall living thingsceaselessly

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Arvind Sharma revolve in the wheel (of transmigration)through the long night of ignorance, without a guiding star,their case is like (the world), the sun gone down; as then the torch affords its connecting light, though there be the shining of the stars, how differentfrom the bright(cool) moon;just so the brightconnected light of holy men and sages, guiding the world as the shining of the moon, have made this countryeminent,and so it is called In-tu.

The successor pilgrim I-tsing, however, remarks: "Some say Indu means the moon, and the Chinese name for India, i.e., Indu, is derived from it; although it may mean this, it is, nevertheless, not the common name" (Takakusu 1966:118). As one concludes this rapid survey of the word Hindu in the ancient period it is worth contrasting the different semantic destinies of the same word in the east and the west. Sindhu becomes 'India' in Greek, acquiring a purely territorialreference never compromised once acquired, but in the east it becomes Indu in Chinese, in the process acquiring a religious ambience. II Thus in the ancient world the formations from the original word, Sindhu, bifurcated semantically along different lines, as the word travelled to the west and the east. In its Persian and Greek acceptation the word became a signifier of a region (which was restricted to the lower Indus in the case of the early Persians and extended to cover the whole of India in the case of the Greeks). In its Chinese acceptation it possessed a religious dimension as explained by Xanxuang. When India came in contact with Arabia, and later the Islamic world, the same word, Sindhu, again gave rise to two words, whose meanings became both more distinct and more settled when compared to the usages of the ancient world, crystallizing as Hind (through Sind) to denote the land of India and Hindu (from Sindhu) to denote the follower of a 'religion' (though not without some overlap, as discussed later). The first use preceded the second. India was known as al-Hind in pre-Islamic Arabia (Wink 1990, 1:195-6), and consequently the word Hindu simply meant an Indian until it acquired a religious connotation (B.N. Sharma 1972:128). Even after the word Hindu had acquired

On Hindu,Hindustan,Hinduismand Hindutva

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a religious connotation, it continued to be used as a synonym for an Indian in some parts of the world. In fact, according to Wilfred Cantwell Smith the "use of Hindu in the meaning 'Indian' survived in popular English into the twentieth century;I can rememberas a boy that in Canada we discriminatedred Indians from Hindu [i.e. Indian] Indians; and, I have heard the phrase a 'Hindu Muslim' as distinguished from an Arab or a TurkishMuslim" (1962:256; also see Lorenzen 1995:12). This need not surpriseas the word Sindhu originally had a geographicalreferent, and one's interest now must focus on when andhow it managedto acquirea religious signification. The use of the word Hindu in this sense can be dated with some precision.It begins with the Arabinvasionof Sindhby Muhammadibn Qasim in 712. "The administrativearrangementswhich Muhammad ibn Qasim made with the non-Muslims after his victory over Dahar are often referred to as 'the Brahmanabadsettlement.' The basic principlewas to treatthe Hindusas 'people of the book' and to confer on them the status of zimmis (the protected)"(Ikram 1964:11). The Hindus now were a people who followed a religion other than Islam. Right here the word displays an ambiguity which it retains to this day, namely, its unresolved relation with the Buddhists. For when Hajjaj,Muhammadibn Qasim's ambitiousfather-in-lawand viceroy of the westernprovinces,approvedthe requestfor repairinga damaged temple,he refersto the fact of being petitionedby the chief inhabitants of Brahmanabad"to be allowed to repairthe temple of Budh and to pursuetheir religion"(Ikram1964:11). Is the Budh here the same as Buddha?In any case, while it is truethatboth 'Hindus'and 'Buddhists' would be zimmis regardless, did he know the difference? It is also worth noting that accordingto "one early Muslim historian,the Arab conquerorcountenancedeven the privilegedposition of the Brahmans, not only in religious matters but also in the administrativesphere" (Ikram 1964:11). The significance of the Arab conquest of Sind for the subsequenthistoryof India,as recountedin the following passage, is also of significancefor our exercise. The conquest of Sind by Muhammad ibn Qasim, and the incorporationof that province into the Muslim universalcaliphate, broughtthe Hindus and the

6

ArvindSharma Muslims there in a relationshipof a very different nature, that of the ruled and the ruler. This form of political relationship,which some centuries later extendedto the whole sub-continent,and surviveduntil well into the eighteenth centuryinevitablyled to the creationof tensions which determinedvery largely the psychological course of the history of medieval and modem India. (Ahmad 1964:77).

Not only is the Hindunow identifiedon a religiousbasis, conversion from this Hindu religion now becomes possible. It has been asserted, for instance,thatMuhammadibn Qasim's "boldestinnovationwas the appointmentof Siskar,the formerministerof his vanquishedadversary Raja Dahir, as his adviser after Siskar had accepted Islam" (Ahmad 1964:101).Collaborationwith non-Hindurulersalso becamepossible, as illustratedby the case of Kaksa,RajaDahir'snephew.Accordingto an early historian,he "was a learnedman and a philosopherof Hind. When he came to transact business, Muhammad ibn Qasim used to make him sit before the throne and then consult him, and Kaksa took precedence in the army before all the nobles and commanders. He collected the revenue of the country and the treasury was placed under his seal. He assisted Muhammad ibn Qasim in all his undertakings, and was addressed by the title of mubarak mushir (prosperous counsellor)" (Ikram 1964:10-11). And if Muhammad ibn Qasim also "married Rani Ladi, Dahar's widow, thus becoming the master of Lower Sind" (ib. 7), then a

patternof Hindu-Musliminteractionwas put in place which became archetypalin some ways, with profoundimplicationsfor the meaning of the wordHindu,althoughIslamicruleover Sind did not long survive Muhammadibn Qasim'sdeath(Majumdar1970:172). It is when we reachthe next phase of Islamiccontactwith Indiathat a major divide surfaces. As NarayaniGupta (1999:103-104) notes: "It is fashionable to criticize Mill, but to most Indians, precolonial India has two pasts (Mill's 'Hindu' and 'Islamic' civilizations) and the attackon Somnathby Mahmudof Ghazni in 1025 has the same emotive significanceas the Turksconquestof Constantinoplein 1453 had for conventionalEuropeanhistory."Thus in the time of Mahmud of Ghazna (r. 998-1030) the word Hindu continued on its religious

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semantic journey. According to Percival Spear, Mahmuid's conquests "set up in Indian minds a tradition of Muslim intolerance. In the popular Hindu mind [from now on] a Muslim was as intolerant as a Bania was avaricious or a Rajput brave. Perhaps the chance of the ultimate conversion of India to Islam was lost in the din of Mahmud's idol-breaking" (1972:1034). This, however, tells us more about the evolving meaning of Islam for the Hindu, than the evolving meaning of the term Hindu. For that we have to turn to the famous scholar Albiruini (973-1048) who was patronised by Mahmud and who refers to Hindus as "our religious antagonists" (Sachau 1914, 1:7) in the preface of his much lauded book on India. In the book itself, however, he aimed to describe what he observed "phenomenologically," as we would call it now, so that one could "discuss with [the Hindus] questions of religion, science, or literature, on the very basis of their own civilization" (1914, 2:246). Albriini's account is intriguing. We find him wrestling with issues which bedevil the study of Hinduism to this day. To cite only a few: (1) What was the relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism? Albirfini distinguishes between the two (1:40, 121, 249, 326) but he does not fail to note that the Buddhists are closer to the Hindus than the Muslims. He writes in a striking passage (1:21, emphasis added; also see Mukherji 1961:22-23): Anothercircumstancewhich increasedthe alreadyexisting antagonismbetween Hindusand foreignersis thatthe so-called Shamaniyya(Buddhists),thoughthey cordially hate Brahmans,still are nearer akin to them than to others. Informer times, Khurasan, Persis, Irak, Mosul, the country up to the frontier of Syria, was Buddhistic,but then Zarathustrawent forth from Adharbaijanand preached Magism in Balkh (Baktra).His doctrinecame into favourwith King Gushtasp, and his son Isfendiyadspreadthe new faith both in east and west, both by force and by treaties. He founded fire-templesthrough his whole empire, from the frontiersof Chinato those of the Greekempire.The succeedingkings made their religion (i.e. Zoroastrianism)the obligatory state-religionfor Persis and Irak. In consequence, the Buddhists were banished from those countries and had to emigrateto the countrieseast of Balkh.

(2) Who speaks for Hinduism? According to Albiriin "the main and most essential point of the Hindu world of thought is that which

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Arvind Sharma

Brahmans think and believe, for they are specifically trained for preservingand maintainingtheir religion. And this is what we shall explain, viz. the belief of the Brahmans"(Sachau 1914, 1:39). It is clear that who speaks for Hinduism was an issue then as it is now, althoughAlblruinichose to resolve it in his own way. (3) Is Hinduisma creedalor an ethnic religion?Alblruindescribes Hinduismwith gusto but when it come to defining it there are problems. At one point he veers towardsa creedaldefinition(1:50): As the wordof confession,"Thereis no god but God, Muhammadis his prophet," is the shibboleth of Islam, the Trinitythat of Christianity,and the institute of the Sabbaththat of Judaism,so metempsychosisis the shibbolethof the Hindu religion. Thereforehe who does not believe in it does not belong to them, and is not reckonedas one of them.

But did Albiruinlnot know thatthe Buddhistsalso believed in it? So here we are back to the problemof the fluid boundaries.The situation is even morecomplex,for his descriptionclearlytestifiesto the internal diversity of Hinduism. One often encounters such expressions as: "Some Hindus believe .. ."; "others hold the more traditional view that ..."; "Hindus differ among themselves ..."; "some Hindus maintain ..., according to others ..."; "the common people describe these things

.., the educatedHindusdo not sharethese opinions";"some Hindus say ..., others have told me..."; "if we now pass from the ideas of the

educatedpeople amongthe Hindusto those of the commonpeople, we must first state that they present a great variety ..."; etc. (1:61, 63, 82,

104, 175, 176, 324; 2:152, 31). Albiruiniseems to be oscillatingbetweenwhatRichardH. Davis has described as centralistand pluralistviews of approachingHinduism already.In termsof this distinction(Davis 1995:6): Centristsidentify a single, pan-Indian,more or less hegemonic, orthodoxtradition, transmittedprimarilyin Sanskritlanguage,chiefly by membersof the brahmanic class. The traditioncenters arounda Vedic lineage of texts, in which are included not only the Vedas themselves, but also the Mimamsa,Dharmasastra, and Vedantacorpuses of texts and teachings. Vedic sacrifice is the privileged mode of ritualconduct,the templatefor all subsequentIndianritualism.Various groups employing vernacularlanguages in preferenceto Sanskrit,questioning

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the caste order,and rejectingthe authorityof the Vedas, may periodicallyrebel against this center, but the orthodox, throughan adept use of inclusion and repressive tolerance,manageto hold the high groundof religious authority.

On the other hand (1995:6-7): The pluralists,by contrast,envision a decenteredprofusion of ideas and practices all tolerated and incorporatedunder the big tent of Hinduism. No more concise statementof this view can be found than that of the eminent Sanskrit scholarJ.A.B. van Buitenen in the 1986 EncyclopediaBritannica:"Inprinciple, Hinduismincorporatesall forms of belief and worshipwithoutnecessitatingthe selection or elimination of any. The Hindu is inclined to revere the divinity in every manifestation,whateverit may be, and is doctrinallytolerant... Hinduism is, then, both a civilization and a conglomerationof religions, with neithera beginning, a founder,nor a centralauthority,hierarchy,or organization."

The usage of the word Hindu in the subsequent period retains the two ambiguities (1) whether it refers to a region or a religion and (2) whether, as religion, it is to be understood in a centralist or pluralist manner. Thus during the Delhi Sultanate (c. 1200-1526) the word Hindu, on the one hand, denoted a religion, on the other, a region, and it imprints this ambivalence on geography, if the Arabian traveller Ibn Battuta is to be believed. He states that Hindu Kush ("Hindu-killer") became known as such "because of the number of Indian slaves who perished in passing" (Enc. Brit. 1967, 11:514; H.G. Rawlinson 1980 [1913]:193) its snows. Would these Indian slaves not have been mostly Hindu? By the time the Delhi Sultanate was replaced by the Moghul Empire, after it had been consolidated by Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605), the question of defining Hinduism once again began to pose the kind of problems it has before and since. A well-known text of this period is the Dabistan-i-mazahib, which attempts an overview of the religious landscape of the empire. Irfan Habib writes (Joshi and Josh 1994, 3:185): Therewere the religious traditionscoming from ancientIndia,which by Mughal times began to be describedunderthe term 'Hindu'. The authorof Dabistan-iMazahib is hard put to describe what the beliefs of a Hindu are and ultimately he takes shelter in a very convenient position-Hindus are those who have

Arvind Sharma

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been arguingwith each other within the same frameworkof argumentover the centuries.If they recognise each otheras personswhom we can eithersupportor oppose in a religious argument,thenboth partiesare Hindus.The Jains,although they rejected Brahmanism,were still Hindus because they were arguing and polemicising with Brahmins. Such argumentswere not taking place between Hindusand Muslims. The Muslims did not shareany basic terminologywith the others.Muslims hadtheirown framework,an ideological framework,the semitic framework ...

It is necessary to introduce a broader consideration at this point, which will prove to be of lasting significance. Although one is accustomed to looking at the Indian historical reality in terms of a HinduMuslim polarity, this must always be tempered with a recognition of the pluralism which characterised India. There were always many castes and kingdoms, and after c. 1000, just as there could be castes which are not Hindu, so too there could be kingdoms which were not Hindu. But just as the broad framework of multiple castes could accommodate aberrations or deviations or exceptions, so could the multiple kingdoms accommodate the new Muslim kingdoms, thereby continuing rather than replacing the tradition of "intense militarism of ancient [pre-Muslim] India" (Basham 1967:123). It is perhaps worth comparing the situation in India with that in China here and to recognize that "Sanskritization differs from sinicization in that it is a more pluralistic, less unitary process" (Rudolph 1987:741). The social pluralism of caste and the political pluralism of multiple kingdoms also played off each other to produce the same outcome all the more. The significance of the following fascinating details passes beyond the level of the anecdotal in this light: that the "iconoclast Mahmud of Ghazana permitted image worship to his Hindu subjects in their separate quarters in his own capital" (Ahmad 1964:90), and "at least three Hindu generals, Sundar, Nath, and Tilak rose to positions of high responsibility in the Ghazanawid army" (101); and that while Firiz Tughluq pursued theocratic policies "his bodyguard consisted of Rajputs headed by Bhiru Bhatt?, a relative of his mother" (102). It is not being claimed either that the Hindu and Muslim communities had evolved into or towards a single culture, nor is the opposite

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being claimed-that they remained poles apartbeneath a veneer of accord. The claim is much more modest-that the social, political and religious pluralism of the Indian reality allowed for a certain measure of permeability,malleability and fluidity which may have been subsequentlylost (Sarkar1996:277-278). The problemof boundarieswith respectto Hindureligionin general is a difficultone andseems to become moreso "during'earlymedieval' or 'late medieval'/'earlymodem' periods, areas which are the battle ground between conventional and progressive historians"in India now-a-days. On numerous occasions Hindus and Muslims are not distinguishedas such, while communitieswithin them are, duringthe 'early medievalperiod' (Chattopadhyaya1998). The predicamentsof the 'early Modem' period in this regard are best indicated by the headache the "35,000-strongcommunity of 'Hindu-Muhammadans' in Gujarat"caused for the Bombay census superintendentas late as 1911, on account of its "inextricablecombination of multiple practices, beliefs, and even self-definitions.The latter was pulled up sharplyby his superior,census commissionerE.A. Gait, who ordered the location of the 'persons concerned to the one or the other as best as he could"' (Sarkar1999:1694). Harjot S. Oberoi has drawn pointed attentionto this aspect of fluid religious loyalties in the "early Modem" period (1994; 1988:136-158), which William H. Sleeman experiencedfirst hand in 1849 when he passed throughBahraich.He thought it "strange"that Hindus should revere the "Muslim"shrine there of Sayyid Salar as much as the Muslims: "All our Hindu camp followers paid as much reverenceto the shrine as they passed as the Mahomedans ... The Hindoos worshipped any sign of manifested

might or power, though exerted against themselves" (Wink 1990, 2:133). The point then is that, in the pre-1900 period, lateral accommodation of non-Hinduelements in general and Muslims in particular was possible at the social and political levels. Moreover,these traditions themselves-the Hindu and Muslim-were plural in nature, a fact which furthercoincided with the process and furtheredit.

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Such accommodationwas no longer possible after a point under Britishrule (Hansen 1999:29ff)because of simultaneousdevelopment of the concept of nation and of monolithic religions. The first developmentmeantthatpolitical differencesbased on religion could not be accommodatedregionally.Giventhe emergentconceptof a nationthey hadto be dealt with at the nationallevel, in the singular.Moreover,the monolithisationof the Hindu and Islamic traditionsclosed off the fissuresof adjustmentbetweenthem socially and locally, andmade them face, and then confront,each otheras single consolidatedentities. The rules by which the game had to be played now were radicallyaltered, both in termsof the playersandthe playing field (Kolff 1990; Jaffrelot 1996; Baylay 1985; Sarkar1996; Lele 1995; Jones 1981). III It is importantto interruptthe discussion of the religious significance of the word Hindu (to be resumed later) to cast a glance at anotherword which had by now come into play, namely, Hindustan. As we do so, we might do well to recognise that in the word Hindu we confrontedtwo ambiguities(or a double ambiguity):(1) whetherit signifies a geographicalor a religious referent,and (2) if it denotes a religion then, what constitutesit? The word Hindustan may well serve as a metaphorof the first ambiguity.The word literally means 'the land of the Hindus' (Nag and Burman 1947, 1:1) and had become a common word for India, specially north India, by the thirteenthcentury.It raises the natural query: how is the word Hindu to be taken here: as a resident of a geographicalregion (Wink 1990, 1:125) or as the follower of a particularfaith; or as the resident of a particularregion who is also the follower of a particularfaith (Sreenivasan1989-133)? All these senses are possible because of the tremendousdemographicoverlap between the two categories.Ultimatelythe meaning remainsunclear. One might initially think that an allusion to a 'place' (stan) in the word itself would orientits meaninggeographically.This is indeed so (Basham 1967:1-2; Nehru 1946:335) but the significance continues to remain double-edged, for it could be taken to mean either the

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abode of 'Indians'(Frykenberg1989:31), or the abode of the Hindus (Monier-Williams1960:1298). This statementcould be made either descriptively or pejoratively,depending on how one felt about the Hindus (Mujeeb 1967:331). It has been used in all these senses (and even for undividedIndia)(Nehru 1946, 543). We are not done yet with the word, for in its adjectivalform (as Hindustani)it opens up anothervista of meaning. If one sense of the word Hindustanincludes all Indians and anotherHindus, then in its adjectivalform it seems to reachout for a sense which reconcilesboth, and specially Hindus with Muslims. This is most obvious in the prePartitionproposalthatIndia'slinguafranca be Hindustaniwhich steers a middle course between a SanskritisingHindi, and a Persianising and Arabising Urdu, as the language of the undividedsubcontinent. In this sense of happy compromisethe word seems to go back a few centuries.Babur,for instance,even thoughtthat the Indians-Hindus and Muslims together,had evolved their own way of living together with each other by the time the foundationsof the Moghul Empire were laid by him in India.He called it the Hindustaniway (Shrivastava 1981:12)!

IV If we wish to connect this hitherto historical discussion of the termsHindu(andHindustan)with firstmodem andthen contemporary developmentsin India, then one crucialquestionneeds to be asked in orderto make this transition;when did the 'Hindus'themselvesbegin to use the word self-referentially(grantingthat the word Hindu is not a Hinduword)? The key questionthen is: when did the Hindusstartusing the word Hindufor themselves? Such usage begins to emerge at least by the sixteenth century, as pointed out by Joseph T. O'Connell (1973:340-343). But R.E. Frykenbergobserves (1989:30): But here it appearsonly in texts describingepisodes of strainedrelationshipsbetween Hindus as natives and Muslims as foreigners("Yavanas"or "Mlecchas"). The term, we are told, was never used by Hindus among themselves to describe

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ArvindSharma themselves;moreover,the term"Hindudharma"which occurs seven times, four times in Bengali texts, was only used in the same way andneverwith any explicit definitionor discussionof what"Hindu"of "Hindudharma"itself meant."Hindu dharma,"therefore,is the closest resemblanceto the term"Hinduism"which can be found to have arisenout of indigenoussourceswithin India.

It is howeverpossible to identify the self-use of the word Hinduin an even earlierperiod. It is clear that by the sixteenthcentury 'Hindus' were referringto themselves as Hindus.Ekanath(1548-1600) writes: "If I call myself a Hindu I will be beaten up, and Muslim I am not" (HinduKahan ta mariya,muslamanbhee nahe) (JoshiandJosh 1994, 3:189). Earlieron, severalrulersof Vijayanagarhad takenthe "titleHinduraya-suratrana 'Sultanof the Hindukings' in imitationof the sultansof Maduraiand the Bahmanisultans"(Scharfe 1989:79). More precisely, it occurs in five inscriptionsfrom the reign of Bukka (r. 1344-1377) (Wagoner 1996:861-862) and its use can also be traced,in four cases, by kings of Vijayanagara'sfourthand last dynasty(the Aravidu,c. 1570-1649) with anotherfive uses in the interveningperiod, including some by (r. 1509-1529) (ib. 862 n.8). In some inscriptionsof Krishnadevaraya Bukkathe prefixHinduis also dropped(ib. 863). Thus beginningwith 1352 the title, in "oneform or another... continuedin use by Bukka's successorsfor at least... 250 years,throughthreechangesin dynasty" (ib. 862). The expressionis not entirely free from ambiguitybut it is generally acceptedthatsuratranais a Sanskritisedform of Islamic 'Sultan.' Accordingto VasundharaFilliozat it is a "titlewhich would have been given to Bukkaby his Muslim neighbours"(Wagoner1996:862). Accordingto HermannKulke,it seems likely that "theearly kings of Vijayanagarlaid claim to a statusamongthe HinduRajasequal to thatof Sultansamongthe Muslimrulers"(ib. 862). PhillipB. Wagoneris preparedto make a strongerclaim and suggests that "bothtitles 'Sultan' and 'Sultanamongthe HinduKings' were used in a much more literal and direct [ratherthan homological] sense as a means of proclaiming that the Vijayanagararulercould actuallybe considereda Sultan,not in terms of relative political understanding,but in concrete terms of

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substanceand style. In particular,the title hindurdya-suratrana would have served to differentiateits bearerfrom ordinaryHindu(i.e. Indic) kings signaling his willingness to participatein the political discourse of Islamic civilization"(ib. 862). Wagoner,however,rendersHinduas Indic consistentlywith his view thatthe Hinduvs. Muslim rhetoricin the historiographyof the Vijayanagarempire has been overdone (ib. 851-852). This may well be so and the issue takes us to the heartof the matterif we formulatethe issue as follows: how is Hinduin the expressionHinduraya-suratranato be understood?Wagonerfocuses on suratrdna,we need to focus on the word Hindu. Is this Hinduhere as in 'Indian'or as in "followerof Hinduism,"an ambiguityencountered earlierin the PersianwordHindustdn(W.C.Smith 1962:256)for India: does it mean the land of the Indiansor of Hindus?Is it that outsiders (Persians)use it in the firstsense (ibid.) but Indiansthemselvesalso in the second, as when one might say describethe partitionof Indiaas the division of Hindustaninto Pakistanand Hindustan?Here a reversalis encountered.Pakistanismay take Hindustanto mean both the land of Indiansand of Hindussimultaneouslybut Indianswould, in thatcase, use it only in the former sense for Indians,inclusive of both Hindus and Muslims as both inhabitpresentday Hindustan. In a sense, therefore,the issue remainswith us butin anothersense it is resolved.Hindusareclearlyusing the wordto referto themselves,althoughwhetherthey are using it to referto themselvesgeographically, culturally,or religiously may not be entirelyunproblematic.Nevertheless, thatthereis a religious componentin the situation,while it could be exaggerated(W.C. Smith 1962:257) cannot be denied. One may propose that by the fourteenthcenturythe use of the word Hindu did include an element of Hinduself-consciousness. The case of Shivaji (1627-1680) in relationto the Moghul Empire provides an interestingexample. King Akbar (r. 1556-1605) firmly established Moghul rule over India. He was known as Padshdh and his rule as Pddshdhr.Historianshave describedShivaji'slife's mission in similar terms, as one of establishing a Hindu pddshdhr(Sardesai 1974:263). In a letter written in 1646 A.D. Shivaji describes his earnestdesire (manoratha)to establish a Hindavi Svarajya(Savarkar

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1969:57). Was Shivaji aiming to establish Hindu self-rule or Indian self-rule? Or was it the case that, as the opponent was perceived as foreignerboth by lineage andreligion,therewas no need to drawsuch a distinction? Our task on hand, however,is not to try to answerthese questions but to note that the ambiguityin relation to the word Hindupersists when 'Hindus'themselvesstart to use this term.And both the ambiguities persist:it is not always clearwhetherthe connotationis geographical or religious, andit is not always clear what comprises 'Hinduism,' if the referencein terms of faith happensto be unambiguous.Richard King notes (1999:162): Although indigenous use of the term by Hindus themselves can be found as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, its usage was derivative of PersianMusliminfluencesanddid not representanythingmorethana distinction between 'indigenous' or 'native' and foreign (mleccha). For instance, when Belgian ThierryVerhelstinterviewedan Indianintellectualfrom TamilNadu he recordedthe following interchange, Q: Are you a Hindu? A: No, I grew criticalof it because of casteism ... Actually,you should not ask people if they are Hindu. This does not mean much. If you ask them what theirreligion is, they will say, "I belong to this caste."

He goes on to say (ib. 163): Indeed, it is clear that the term "Hindu,"even when used by the indigenous Indian, did not have the specifically religious connotationswhich it subsequently developed under Orientalistinfluences until the nineteenthcentury.Thus, eighteenthcenturyreferencesto "Hindoo"Christiansor "Hindoo"Muslims were not uncommon.As Romila Thaparpoints out in her discussion of the receptionof Muslims into India,"Thepeople of Indiado not seem to have perceivedthe new arrivalsas a unified body of Muslims. The name 'Muslim' does not occur in the records of the early contacts. The term used was either ethnic, turuska,referringto the Turks,or geographical,Yavana,or cultural,mleccha."One should also note the distinctively negative natureof the term, the primaryfunction of which it to provide a catch-all designationfor the "Other,"whether negatively contrastedwith the ancientPersians,with theirMuslim descendants,or with the laterEuropeanOrientalistswho eventuallyadoptedthe term.Indeedthe same is apparentfrom an examinationof modem Indialaw. For examplethe 1955 Hindu

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MarriageAct, section 2 (1) defines a 'Hindu' as a category including not only all Buddhists,Jains and Sikhs but also anyone who is not a Muslim, Christian, a Parseeor a Jew. Thus even in the contemporarycontext the terms 'Hindu' and 'Hinduism' are essentially negative appellations,functioningas an all-inclusive rubricfor the non-Judeo-Christian'other.'

V Despite this lack of clarity (or because of it) the word Hindu, after a brief period of flirtation with other words (Marshall 1970), was adopted by the British to "characterize all things in India (specially elements and features found in the cultures and religions of India) which were not Muslim, not Christian, not Jewish, or, hence, not Western" (Frykenberg 1989:31). It is now time to pause and take stock before we venture into the British period. By examining the history of the word Hindu, and its usage, it becomes obvious that the word did not come into common use until after 1000 AD. During this pre-1000 period India represented a single politico-religio-cultural entity (Pande 1984:170; Spear 1972:93). Subsequently its use gradually spread in such a way that by the eighteenth century it became a common locution often used by both insiders and outsiders (W.C. Smith 1962:70) to denote a religio-cultural complex which was distinct from, also different from and sometimes diametrically opposed to the Islamic presence. In religio-cultural terms itself, the presence of another religiocultural complex now also characterised the land, namely, the Islamic. The British presence in India introduced another religio-cultural complex on top of it, namely, Western/Christian. Up to a point, the British presence in India could almost be considered benignly neutral, if not actually pro-Hindu, from a Hindu perspective. It has even been plausibly argued that "the Company's Raj was actually, for most intents and purposes, a de facto 'Hindu Raj"' (Frykenberg 1989:34). By this, I meantseveralthings:-that the Raj, as an imperialsystem of rule, was a genuinely indigenousratherthansimply a foreign (or "colonial")construct;that, hence, it was more Indian than British in its inner logic, regardlessof external interferencesand violations of thatlogic by Britain(especially duringthe Crown period of this Raj); that, in terms of religious institutions,indigenous elites and

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local forces of all kinds were able to receive recognitionand protection,as well as special concessions, from the State; and, moreover,that they had been able to do this in directproportionto their ability-whether by power of information control,numbers,noise, skill or wealth-to influencelocal governments.

A breach opens up after 1818, the year in which both the Maratha Confederacy was defeated, thereby eliminating the last major challenge to British paramountcy in India and also the year in which James Mill published his famous multi-volume work clinically entitled The History of British India, which was really a phillipic against Hinduism (Davis 1995:46). Mill's History,an immense andthoroughindictmentfor the Indianpeoples, tried to justify the need for British rule among a population supposedly unable to govern itself. Mill especially condemnedHinduismblamingit for much of what was wrongwith India.Hinduismis ritualistic,superstitious,irrational,andpriestridden,Mill charged,at each step implicitly contrastingit with the deist version of Christianitythat he believed to be the highest form of religion. For several decades the EastIndiaCompanyprovideda copy of Mill's tome to new Company officials embarkingfor India,to sustainthem in their sense of racialand cultural superioritywhile in the colony.

Thus after an initial phase of Hindu sympathy the ruler-ruled relationship came to the fore, basically affecting if not warping the reception of this Western/Christian religio-cultural complex as well. It is not as widely recognised as it should be that the 1818-1857 period was characterised by an intense effort to convert India, or, at least the Indian army, to Christianity (although the "farcical episode of the return of the supposed gates of Somnath from Ghazni" during the first Afghan War under Lord Ellenborough also falls during this period), an ambition that was only abandoned when the Indian Mutiny raised the stakes forbiddingly. In fairness it should be noted that the Muslims were blamed disproportionately for it, although both Hindu and Muslim sepoys were treated with equal severity during the suppression. This second wave of Hindu sympathy on the part of the British ebbed with the rise of nationalism for which the year 1885, in which the Indian National Congress was founded, provides a convenient benchmark.

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The upshot of all these developments was the fact that another religious communityapartfrom the Islamic, namelythe Christian,had also been created.What needs to be clearly recognisedin this context is the role of politics in positing these communitiesin an oppositional, ratherthan an appositional,frameworkin relationto the Hindu. The existence of the Jews and Parsis testifies to the fact that minorities are not unknownto the Hindus but they did not pose a problem for Hindu polity because their presence was not vitiated by the rulerruled (i.e. political) factor. Until that factor emerged, even Islamic presence was not perceived as a problem. Arab Muslim traderson India's coasts "betweenthe seventh and ninth centurieswere treated with toleranceby Hindu rulers and the legend of the conversionof a CheramanPerumalRaja shows that they were allowed to propagate Islam ... at least one [Muslim] contributed financially to a Hindu

temple" (Ahmad 1964:77). Even in the north, there "is persistent local traditionin certainold centers in the heartof UttarPradeshthat Muslim families had settled there long before the conquest of the area by MuhammadGhuri. In the city of Benares, there are Muslim mohallas, which, it is said, are anteriorin date to the conquest of Benares by Muslims, and similar traditionsare currentabout Maner in Bihar"(Ikram1964:32). Even afterthe alteredpolitical equationin the north made the Muslim presence problematicalfor the Hindu, it did not affect the south. Thus Abdul Razak,the Persianambassadorat the Vijayanagarcourt, could write aroundthe middle of the fifteenth century:"ThePeople [or Calicut]are infidels;consequentlyI consider myself in an enemy's country,as the Mohammadansconsidereveryone who has not received the Qur'an.Yet I admit that I meet with perfect toleration,and even favour; we have two mosques and are allowed to pray in public" (Radhakrishnan1939:312). Similarly, the Syrian Christianpresence in India did not pose a problem for the Hindu, but EuropeanChristianpresence became a problem,when Christians became rulersand Hindusthe ruled. This fluid situation,however,began to solidify in the post-Mutiny period, once the rule of the East India Company was taken over by the BritishCrown.This consolidationof Britishrule was accompanied

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by the consolidationof 'Hinduism.'One needs to step back a little to appreciatethis development. VI The British presence in India had put another word into playHinduism.The discussion of when it was first used is itself indicative of its significance,while the controversysurroundingits relationship with whatpasses for Hinduattestsmoregenerallyto the basic thesis of the paper (Lorenzen 1999:630-659). The Oxford English Dictionary identifies its use by Max Muller in 1858 (King 1999:165). Charles Neumann employed it in the title of his work in 1831 (ib. 165). The Oxford English Dictionary identifies a still earlier use in 1829 (ib.), but Dermot Killingley identifies its use by RammohunRoy in 1816 and suggests that "Rammohunwas probably the first Hindu to use the word Hinduism"(ib.), although we are not quite certain whether it was first used by a Hindu. But the word soon caught on and with the linguistic unificationof IndiathroughEnglish (Panikkar 1963:120-121), andthe increasinguse of Englishin intra-faithactivity within Hinduism (Hein 1977:106) and at the level of the emerging English-knowing elite (Hinnells and Sharpe 1972:4), in the postMutiny period. This period also saw the culmination, as it were, of the numerous reform movements, beginning with the Brahmo Samaj,foundedin 1828 andculminatingin the Gandhiandispensation, leading to an "increasingidentificationof Indian nationalism with reformedHinduism"(Everett 1997:74; Panikkar1963, passim; Jain 1996, Ch. II). Thus the last quarterof the nineteenthcenturywitnessed the emergenceof both Indiannationalismand a pan-IndianHinduism, thereby raising the question of the relationship between the two. This issue, which remains unresolved to this day, goes back to the ambiguity inherentin the word Hindu-does it stand for a country or a religion? The fact that both the words: India as well as Hindu, etymologically go back to the same word (Sindhu) dramatisesthis issue of ambiguity, which now reincarnateditself in the question: will Indiannationalism(or nationalisms)be territorialor religious in nature?The semantic ambiguityin the word Hindu itself also found

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expressionin the question whetherthis 'new' Hinduismitself will be parochialor universalin character. One can thus visualise two channels along which the energies released by the emerging nationalistforces in India could play themselves out, when the pot was stirredby the Partitionof Bengal in 1905 (Spear 1994:759). One channel along which the nationalistenergies could flow was that of territorial nationalism-an aspirationrepresented by the IndianNational Congress. Anotherwas representedby the All-India Muslim League, formed in 1906, more in line with the optional channel of religious nationalism.Although there was an initial Hindureactionalso to move in thatdirection(Jaffrelot1996:6,19), it was basically checked by the rise of Gandhianinfluence (Everett 1997:73) in Indianpolitics from 1920 onwardsand the primacywhich the Indian National Congress began to enjoy thereafter(D.E. Smith 1963:456). Indian and Hindu nationalismsbegan to diverge after the collapse of the Khilafatmovement(Minault1982). The Khilafatcampaign, which began with the Muslimsjoining forces with the Hindus "beforethe incredulouseyes of the British"(Spear 1994:784) in 1919, ended in a series of communal riots by mid-1920s (Page 1982:74). The founding of the RSS in 1925 symbolised this breach (Anderson and Damle 1987:34). In the meantimeneo-Hinduismwas being revivedalong essentially universalisticlines, althoughit became somewhatrevivalisticwith the rise of the Arya Samaj.Neverthelessthe IndianNationalCongresswas able to contain this. It was in the 1920s that neo-Hinduismbegan to display a distinctly ethnic streakand evolved a word to go with itHindutva. VII The word Hindutvagained currencyafterit appearedas the title of a book writtenby V.D. Savarkar,firstpublishedin 1923. V.D. Savarkar and MahatmaGandhimay be regardedas the patronsaints of the two distinct forms of Hinduism the ambiguity of the word Hindu gave rise to. Paradoxicalas it might appear,both these trends arose out of the same problematic-that of defining Hinduism.And both were

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in a sense a response to the attempteddefinitionsof Hinduismunder Westernaegis. Westernattemptsat definingHinduismfollowed two distinctcourses: one moved in the direction of identifying it with Brahmanism (throughcaste) andthe otherin the directionof identifyingit with spirituality in general (through 'Hindu tolerance'). They reflect perhaps the Enlightenmentand the RomanticMovement at play respectively, on the onomastic theatreof 'Hinduism.'It is not often realised that one of the majorconcernsof V.D. Savarkarin evolving the concept of Hindutvawas to avoid the political fall-out of an excessively narrow definitionof Hinduism (in his view), which had the unhappyconsequence of excluding the Buddhists,the Sikhs, and the Jains from the Hindu community (1969:106). By comparison,Gandhidid not have much troublewith their inclusion within or exclusion from Hinduism because from the point of view of the spiritualinterpretationof Hinduism, which he espoused, this was immaterial.All religions shared in this spiritualityin common with Hinduism,irrespectiveof whether they could formally be labelled Hindu or not. For instance, when S. Radhakrishnanposed the question:"Whatis your religion?"in 1936, MahatmaGandhireplied:"My religion is Hinduismwhich, for me, is Religion of Humanityand includes the best of all the religions known to me" (Radhakrishnan andMuirhead1936:2). The full title of V.D. Savarkar'stract:Hindutva:Who is a Hindu? identifiesthe two core issues which he addresses:(1) who is a Hindu, and (2) what it Hindutva.The two issues are connected. He defines a Hindu as one who (1) regardsthe entire subcontinentas his (or (Savarkar1969:84,119); (2) is descended her) motherland/fatherland of Hindu parents(ib. 129-131) and (3) and considers this land holy (ib. 113,134). These thenconstitutethe three"essentialsof Hindutvaa common nation (Rashtra),a common race (Jati) and a common civilization (Sanskriti)"(ib. 116). Note that religion does not figure in this ensemble and the "actualessentialsof Hindutvaare ... also the ideal essentialsof nationality"(ib. 137). The net effect of this exercise is to confera Hindunationalityon all the followersof the fourreligions of Indianorigin-Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainismand Sikhism.

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One may wish to distinguish here between two expressions: "Indian religions"and "religionspractisedin India."If the lattercategory is used to denote Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity,Islam and so on, then the formercategorycould be used to include only the adherentsof the first four: Hinduism,Buddhism, Jainism,and Sikhism. According to the concept of Hindutvaas elaboratedby Savarkar,Hindu nationalitywould be restrictedto "Indian religions,"in contrastpresumablywith Indiannationalitywhich would be sharedby the followersof all religions.This is one salientfeatureof Hindutva.The other,as noted already,consists of the fact thatit posits an implicit distinctionbetween religion and (shall we say) culture,in orderto bracketthe four "Indianreligions"together. Savarkar'svision lay moribundfor a long time, to the extent of being considereddead. This may be one way of explaining why Western scholars even in the 1960s were actually dissuaded by their Indian colleagues from showing interest in any political and cultural outfit associated with Hindutva,such as the Jan Sangh and the RSS (Ashby 1974:115). Ever since Mrs. Gandhi's Emergency,however, these organisations,in theirvariousincarnations,have been incrementally raisingtheirprofileandnow standcentre-stageat the beginningof the new millennium(Jaffrelot1996; Devalle 1995:306-322; Khilnani 1997:189-190). Most Indianand Westernscholarsfeel uncomfortable in dealing with religion given theirsecularorientationand the discomfort level rises furtherwhen it comes to 'fundamentalism'in religion. This is understandablebut it has led to a lack of nuancein dealingwith key concepts. Hindutvaprovides an example here. Most regardit as constitutinga static and monolithicconcept from 1923 onwardswhen it was first proposed. The reality is that its context, text and subtext has changedover time, dependingon the periodinvolved(whetherit is the periodextendingfrom 1923-1947, or 1947-1975, or 1975-1991 or post-1991) and the person expoundingit (whetherit is V.D. Savarkar, M.S. Golwalkaror BalrajMadhok,for instance). Up until the attainmentof Independencein 1947 the thrustof the Hindutvamovement,as representedby the HinduMahasabhaand the RSS, was first to resist what was viewed as a policy of appeasement

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towards the Muslims and to oppose the move towardsthe Partition of India, which was viewed as the logical outcome of this policy. During this phase the Hindutva movement was not about gaining political power.This shift in Hindutvathinkingcame aboutas a result of reflection at the ease with which the party in power, the Indian National Congress, could suppress the Hindutvaforces in the wake of the assassinationof MahatmaGandhiin 1948. This realizationled to the formationof the Jan Sangh in 1951 (Jaffrelot1996:87;Graham 1990). Duringthe periodwhen the JanSanghfunctionedas a party,the conceptof Hindutvaunderwentan ideological shift. It took the formof identifying India with Hindutva,ratherthan Hindutvawith India. As a result there was much talk of the need for Indianizingthe Christian andMuslim minoritiesin India,ratherthanHinduizingthem (Madhok 1969b). This might seem like splitting a particularlyfine hair to the outsiderbutit reflecteda subtlerealignmentwithinHindutva.It should be notedthatthe Indiangovernment,both in the languageof the Indian Constitutionadoptedin 1950, and subsequentlegislation,has virtually adoptedthe Hindutvadefinitionof a Hindu-as one who belongs to any religion of Indian origin. Hence the need, in the modem study of Hinduism,to distinguishone who is HinduunderIndianlaw from one who is Hindu "by religion" (Baird 1993:41-43, 31-58; Derrett 1968:46). The imposition of Emergencyby Mrs IndiraGandhi,towardsthe end of June in 1975, set a new series of forces in motion. It is now widely held that the only major elements in public life Mrs. Gandhi could not successfully suppressduringthe Emergency,despite a vigorous attemptto do so, were the elements associated with Hindutva (Jaffrelot1996:273-77). This is whatreallyaccountsfor its subsequent legitimationin the public eye. During this phase the Hindutvaforces were ironicallyalso in eclipse after the new governmenttook office because they haddecidedto mergetheiridentityin the JanataPartywhich consisted of the combinedopposition,which had been electorallyvictorious in 1977. Once again the Hindutvaforces had "gone cultural," as they had been priorto Independencein 1947.

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The Hindutva forces have always been secure in their cultural identity;it is their explicit political role they feel unsureabout. Once againthe politicalhad lapsedinto the cultural.Significantly,the Janata Party broke up over the issue of requiring its former Jan Sangh members to go beyond formal merger with the Janata Party and also renounce their RSS connection, at which the Jan Sangh balked, splitting the JanataPartyin 1980. This issue is elliptically known as the dual membershipissue (Jaffrelot1996:304-11). This periodis sometimesreferredto as returnto 'politicaluntouchability,'originallystemmingfromthe guilt of being associatedwith MahatmaGandhi'sassassination.The eclipse was to last a decade. With the re-emergenceof the BJP after 1990 the questionof 'dualmembership' has surfacedagain in anotherand more congenialform, now that the BJP is no longer a political pariah,in the form of its insistence, on the one hand,thatit has not abandonedits stance on the Ram Temple, Article 356 andthe UniformCivil Code andits claim, on the other,that it is committedto the common programof the NDA (NationalDemocraticAlliance in which the BJP is the lynchpin)which excludesthese issues.

The issue of dual membershipis obviously symmetricalwith the double-deckersignificanceof the word Hindu-'Indian' or 'Hindu'? What requiresfurthercomment is a more central issue of Hindutva identity. VIII The issue of Hindutvaidentity (to be carefully distinguishedfrom thatof Hinduidentity)is best investigatedby exploringthe thoughtof its three main ideologues on this point: Vinayak DamodarSavarkar, popularlyknown as "Vir"Savarkar(1883-1966), MahadevSadashiv Golwalkar, otherwise known as "Guru"Golwalkar (d. 1973), and Balraj Madhok (1920-) (Klostermaier 1994, Ch. 30; Kohli 1993; Madhok 1982; etc.). The basic templateof Savarkar'sthoughtwas presentedearlier,so one needs to focus on the transformationof his legacy in the hands of those who followed him. In the handsof GuruGolwalkarit underwent

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two interestingmodifications.(1) Hindu identitywas promotedin his thoughtat the expense of caste identity.Hindutvaforces have looked askanceat caste in general,holding it responsiblein good measurefor the downfall of the Hindus (however see Kane 1977, 5:2:1642) but most Hindutvareactionsto it have been reformist.Golwalkar'saim, however,was to "abolishcaste so as to build a nation defined as 'an aggregateof individuals"'(Jaffrelot1996:61).This nation,however,is not definedas a secularbut as a Hindunation:"Golwalkar'sdefinition of a nation was more restrictivethan Savarkar's.Hindus appear in his writings 'as the nation in India"' (ib. 56). (2) Such integration in Hindu terms also reflected a stronger sense of separationfrom otherreligious communitieswithin India. In contrastto the overtures V.D. Savarkarmade to these communitieson account of their Hindu "genes,"Golwalkarwrote (ib. 56): The foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertainno ideas but those of glorificationof the Hindu race and culture ... or may stay in the country,wholly subordinatedto the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferentialtreatment-not even citizen's right.

If, however,the ethnicelementis emphasisedin Golwalkar'sthought at the expense of the universal,the case is the reversein some ways in the thoughtof BalrajMadhok.Madhok,as a memberof the JanaSangh recommendedthat it "shouldrenouncethe Sangathanist[RSS] model and its specific identityto submergeitself in the tide of 'Hindutraditionalism."'This was to go hand in hand with the "'Indianisation'(in effect 'Hinduisation')of MuslimsandChristians"(Jaffrelot1996:234), but that it was called Indianisationconstitutesa significantdifference in nuancefrom Golwalkar'sideology. IX The time has come to try to relatethese evolutions,or even convolutions, of Hindutvato the basic thesis of the paper-that like the words Hindustanand Hinduism,the word Hindutvais also caught up in the ambiguityand ambivalenceof the word Hindu.

On Hindu,Hindustan,Hinduismand Hindutva

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Post-Independenceconceptualdevelopmentsin Hindutvabasically turnon two differentialaxes-of religion (and/or)cultureand nation (and/or)state.Hindutvathoughtin generalhas triedto align itself with the cultureaxis in termsof the firstset of termsandwith the nationaxis in the second set of terms. Out of the religion/culturedivision, culture would be viewed as a broadercategory,just as the nation would be viewed as a broadercategoryin relationto state.Hindutvathoughtthen has tried to connect itself with the more encompassingof the paired categories,even occasionally at the expense of the other. Its agenda has been to thereby solve the problem of the presence of non-Hindu elements in Indian society and polity-primarily of the Muslims and Christians,and secondarilyof such Buddhists,Jains and Sikhs as do not respondto the general interpretationof the term 'Hindu'it offers.By invitingthemto partakeonly of Hinducultureand not religion, it wants to make it socially easier for these communities to become parts of the largerwhole. It seeks to accomplishthe same end politically by identifyingitself with the aspirationof nationhood, as opposed to the machineryof a state, so that all could then belong to the Hindu nation in this reconstitutedsociety and the state could then be effectively secular (Banerjee 1990:133). It is significantthat the Hindutvarhetoricto this day has largelyandcentrallybeen thatof a nation(HinduRashtra)ratherthanof a state (HinduRaj) (even Shivaji spoke of 'Hindu svaraj,'not Hindu Raj) (Savarkar1969:57). The key categoryis not Hindustatismbut Hindunationalism(Jain 1996). The internal contradictionsof the word Hindu, however, imperil these exercises, whetherone turnsto religion or culture.One crucial move Savarkarinitiatedwas the tendencyto associate Hinduismwith culture rather than religion. His motive in doing so was to create a conceptual category for "Indianreligions" (as distinguishedfrom "religions practised in India"). But with this end constitutionally achieved (although still in contention) it soon evolved the locution of Hindu culture, from within the space inside "Indianreligions,"to embraceall the "religionspractisedin India,"in a manneranalogous to the way it was employedby Savarkarto embraceall "Indianreligions" while situated within Hinduism, through the concept of Hindutva.

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This curiously correspondsto that usage in the eighteenthcenturyin the light of which designationssuch as 'Hindu-Muslim'and 'HinduChristian'were not oxymorons, with this differencethat at that time an explicit pan-Indianidentity in terms of Hinduism was not in the picture,as is now the case (King 1999:163;Mahmoud1994:75). This shift in the terms of discourse also carries with it the same bivalencewhich has characterisedthe wordin its earlierappearanceas Hindu,Hindustanand Hinduism.Philip H. Ashby writes perceptively (1974:121-122): Modem interpretationsof Indian culture have generally fallen into two broad classifications.The first has identified Hindu culture with Indian culture, suggesting that the operatingnorm for the latterhas been the great traditionof the Hindureligion and the social stricturesand customs thathave accompaniedthat tradition.This we saw most clearly in the political area-for example,in the Jana Safigh'sideological platformand its attemptto directmodem Indianpolitical activity. The other interpretation,namely,that India's cultureis a composite not to be identifiedwith the term"Hindu,"has been more realisticin recognizingthatcontemporaryIndian culture, like all widespreadand long enduringcultures, has been the productof many influences, from the early Dravidianof thirty-fiveor more hundredyears down to the British and Westernof the last hundredor two hundredyears.This approachrecognizes the variablesand imponderablesthatat any given time work togetherto constitutea culture.Indianthinkerswho adhere to this position have also emphasizedwith pride India'spowers of assimilation and its potential as a culturalmodel for the moder world. This view reflects somethingof both the position of the nineteenthcenturyreformmovementsand the social-culturalambivalenceof the liberalintellectualandpolitical elite of the twentiethcentury.

Two conceptions of Indian culture now vie with each other for acceptance. With the word Hindu, the two referents in terms of region or religion

were in contention;with the word Hindustan,this bivalence took the form of nature of the region itself; in the realm of religion it surfaced in

the ethnic and in the universalisticorientationsof Hinduismand now it manifestsitself in the realmof culture. These developmentsreflect a difference in emphasis in terms of the evolving world-view (or at least India-view) of Hindutva. But

On Hindu,Hindustan,Hinduismand Hindutva

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along with them a more potentiallysignificantconceptualdivide now surfaces,which can only be mentionedhere andcannotbe dealtwith at length, because in Hindutvacircles itself it is only mentionedand not developed. This issue turns on the question of whetherthe Hindutva movement is directed towardsthe formationof a Hindu nation or a Hindustate. The conceptof a nation-statemergesthe two andobscures the point, but it needs to be addressedsquarely in the context of a countrylike India. Actually, a similar problem can be identified in the context of the nation itself. Here the crux of the issue lies in the distinction between a multi-nationstate and a nation-state.Given its pluralism, India has in effect usually functionedas a multi-nationstate, whether underAsoka, or Akbaror the British.The attemptto unify India with the culturalnationalismof the "white umbrella,"when it has always been polychrome,revives the old ambiguityof whetherHindu means land/peopleor religion/culture.The ambiguitynow begins to manifest itself within the categoryof the stateitself-national or multinational? This in additionto the questionwhetherone has in mindan Indianstate or a Hindu state. The last piece of the puzzle reincarnatesthe original conundrum. X Hindutvathus comes full circle. In trying to solve the problem of Hinduidentitywith thatof Hindutvaidentity,it ends up becomingpart of the problemonce again. One may now be on a differentpartof the tree but one is still up the same tree. This should not be taken to mean, however, that our exercise has been in vain. Such an exercise does allow us to posit a bivalent 'Hindu' reality capable of multiple formulations in several ways: ethnic/universal,and so on. It local/global;geographical/civilizational; also enables one to identify four attemptsto engage this ambivalent Hindu historical/empiricalreality: in terms of the categories of (1) region; (2) religion; (3) culture and (4) nation. The first attempt is representedby the wordHindustan,the second by the wordHinduism, the thirdby the expression Hindu culture and the fourthby the teml

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Hindutva.The list of the words which compose the title of the essay acquirethe complexionof an inventoryas a resultof this exercise. Because of the complex natureof the Indianreality each approach runsinto its own limitations;each generatesits own dilemma.The regional approachgeneratesthe dilemma:does Indiabelong to the Hindus or do Hindus belong to India?The religious approachgenerates the dilemma: Is Hinduism a religion like any other religion or does it itself includeotherreligions, denominationallyor universalistically? The culturalapproachgeneratesthe dilemma:Is Hinducultureconstitutive of Indian culture or expressive of it? And finally, the national approachgeneratesthe dilemma:Should India opt for the secularism of Hinduismor the Hinduismof secularism? At the heartof each lies the questioncentralto all issues of identity: does the otherbelong to me or do I belong to it? Faculty of Religious Studies

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McGill University 3520 UniversityStreet Montreal,PQ H3A 2A7 Canada [email protected] BIBLIOGRAPHY Ahmad,Aziz 1964 Studies in Islamic Culturein the Indian Environment.Oxford:Clarendon Press. Anderson,W.K. and S.D. Damle 1987 The Brotherhoodof Saffron: The Rashtriya SwayamasevakSangh and HinduRevivalism.New Delhi: VistaarPublications. Ashby, Philip H. 1974 ModernTrendsin Hinduism.New Yorkand London:ColumbiaUniversity Press. Baird,Robert 1993 (ed.) Religion and Law in IndependentIndia. New Delhi: Manohar. Banerjee,Nitya Narayan 1990 Hindu Outlook.Calcutta:HindutvaPublications.

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Basham,A.L. 1967 The WonderThat WasIndia. 3rd rev. ed. London:Sidgwick & Jackson. Baylay, C.A. 1985 "The Pre-Historyof Communalism?Religious Conflict in India 17001800."ModernAsian Studies 19:177-203. Beal, Samuel 1969 [1884] (tr.) Si-Yu-Ki:Buddhist Records of the Western World. Delhi: OrientalReprintCorporation. Bevan, E.R. 1922 "India in Early Greek and Latin Literature."In Ancient India, ed. E.J. Rapson.Cambridge,U.K.: CambridgeUniversityPress, 391-426. Bidwai, Praful,HarbansMukhia,and Achin Vanaik 1996 (eds.) Religion, Religiosityand Communalism.Delhi: Manohar. Chattopadhyaya,Brajadulal 1998 Representingthe Other?SanskritSources and the Muslims.Delhi: Oxford UniversityPress. Richard S. Davis, 1995 "Introduction."In Religions of India in Practice, ed. David S. Lopez, Jr. Princeton,New Jersey:PrincetonUniversityPress, 3-52. Derrett,J. DuncanM. 1968 Religion, Law and State in India. New York:The Free Press. Devalle, SusanaB.C. 1995 "Social Identities,HinduFundamentalism,and Politics in India."In Bhakti Religion in NorthernIndia: CommunityIdentityand Political Action, ed. David N. Lorenzen.Albany,N.Y.:StateUniversityof New YorkPress, 306322. EncyclopediaBritannica 1967 Chicago:WilliamBenton. Vol. 11. Everett,WilliamJohnson 1997 Religion, Federalism,and the Strugglefor Public Life: Cases from Germany,India, and America.New York:OxfordUniversityPress. Frykenberg,R.E. 1989 "The Emergenceof Modem 'Hinduism' as a Concept and as an Institution: A Reappraisalwith Special Reference to South India."In Hinduism Reconsidered,ed. Ginther D. Sontheimerand HermannKulke.New Delhi: Manohar,29-49. Graham,Bruce 1990 Hindu Nationalism and Indian Politics: The Origins and Developmentof the BharatiyaJana Sangh. Cambridge,U.K.: CambridgeUniversityPress.

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Gupta,Narayani 1999 "Stereotypes Versus History." India International Centre Quarterly (Summer):102-105. Blom Thomas Hansen, 1999 The Saffron Wave:Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in ModernIndia. Princeton,New Jersey:PrincetonUniversityPress. Norvin J. Hein, 1977 "Hinduism."In A Reader's Guide to the Great Religions, ed. Charles J. Adams. New York:The Free Press, 106-155. Hinnells,John R. and Eric J. Sharpe 1972 Hinduism.Newcastle Upon Tyne:Oriel Press. Ikram,S.M. 1964 MuslimCivilizationin India. Ed. Ainslie T. Embree.New York:Columbia UniversityPress. Jackson,A.V. Williams 1922 "The PersianDominions in NorthernIndia Down to the Time of Alexander's Invasion."In Ancient India, ed. E.J. Rapson.Cambridge,U.K.: CambridgeUniversityPress, 319-344. Jaffrelot,Christophe 1996 TheHinduNationalistMovementin India. New York:ColumbiaUniversity Press. Jain,Girilal 1996 TheHinduPhenomenon.New Delhi: UBSPD. Jones, KennethW. 1981 "ReligiousIdentityand the IndianCensus."In The Censulsin BritishIndia, ed. N.G. Barrier.New Delhi: Manohar,73-101. and BhagavanJosh Sashi Joshi, 1994 Struggle for Hegemony in India 1920-47. 3 vols. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Kane, P.V. 1977 Historyof Dharmasistra. Poona:BhandarkarOrientalResearchInstitute. Keer,D. 1988 VeerSavarkar Bombay:PopularPrakashan. Khilnani,Sunil 1997 The Idea of India. New York:Farrar,Strausand Giroux. King, Richard 1999 "Orientalismand the Modem Myth of 'Hinduism."'Numen26:166-172.

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Klostermaier,Klaus K. 1994 A Surveyof Hinduism.2nd ed. Albany,N.Y.: State Universityof New York Press. Ritu Kohli, 1993 Political Ideas of M.S. Golwalker.New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications. Kolff, Dirk H.A. 1990 Naukar,Rajputand Sepoy. London:CambridgeUniversityPress. Lele, JayantK. 1995 Hindutva:TheEmergenceof the Right.Madras:EarthwormBooks. Lipner,JuliusJ. 1996 "AncientBanyan:An InquiryInto the Meaningof 'Hinduness."'Religious Studies32:109-126. Lorenzen,David N. 1995 "The Historical Vicissitudes of Bhakti Religion." In Bhakti Religion in Northern India: CommunityIdentity and Political Action, ed. David N. Lorenzen.Albany:State Universityof New YorkPress, 1-32. 1999 "Who InventedHinduism?"ComparativeStudies in Society and History 41:630-659. Madhok,Balraj 1958 HinduRastra (in Hindi). New Delhi: BharatiSanityaSadan. 1969a Balraj Madhok on India's Foreign Policy. New Delhi: Bharati Sahitya Sadan. 1969b Indianization?What,Whyand How. New Delhi: BharatiSahityaSadan. 1969c Portrait of a Martyr: Biography of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherji. Bombay:Jaico PublishingHouse. 1970 Indianization?What,Whyand How. Delhi: S. Chand& Co. 1972 A Storyof Bungling in Kashmir New Delhi: YoungAsia Publications. 1973 Murderof Democracy.New Delhi: S. Chand& Co. 1978 Reflectionsof a Detenu. New Delhi: NewmanGroupof Publishers. 1980 StormyDecade: Indian Politics 1970-1980. Delhi: IndiaBook Gallery. 1982 Rationalefor a HinduState. Delhi: IndianBook Gallery. 1985 Punjab Problem: The Muslim Connection. New Delhi: Hindu World Publications. 1986 R.S.S.and Politics. New Delhi: HinduWorldPublications. 1987 Jammu,Kashmir,and Ladakh:Problemand Solution.New Delhi: Reliance PublishingHouse. Mahmoud,CynthiaKeppley 1994 "Ayodhyaand the HinduResurgence."Religion 24:73-76.

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Majumdar,R.C. 1970 (ed.) The Classical Age. Bombay:BharatiyaVidya Bhavan. Marshall,P.J. 1970 (ed.) The BritishDiscovery of Hinduismin the EighteenthCentury.Cambridge,U.K.: CambridgeUniversityPress. Marty,MartinE., and R.S. Appleby 1991 (eds.) FundamentalismsObserved.Chicago:Universityof Chicago Press. Minault,G. 1982 TheKhilafatMovement:ReligiousSymbolismand PoliticalMobilizationin India. New York:ColumbiaUniversityPress. Monier-Williams,Monier 1960 A Sanskrit-EnglishDictionary.Oxford:ClarendonPress. Mujeeb,M. 1967 TheIndianMuslims.London:George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Mukherji,RadhaKumud 1951 "ForeignInvasions."In The Age of Imperial Unity, ed. R.C. Majumdar, Bombay:BharatiyaVidya Bhavan,39-53. 1961 Glimpsesof AncientIndia. Bombay:BharatiyaVidya Bhavan. Nag, Kalidasand DebajyotiBurman 1947 (eds.) The English Worksof Raja RammohunRoy. Calcutta: Sadharan BrahmoSamaj. Nalapat,M.D. 1999 Indutva.Delhi: Har-Anand. Narayanan,Vasudha 1996 "TheHinduTradition."In WorldReligions: EasternTraditions,ed. Willard G. Oxtoby.Toronto:OxfordUniversityPress. J.L. Nehru, 1946 TheDiscovery of India. New York:The John Day Company. Oberoi,HarjotS. 1988 "From Ritual to Counter-Ritual:Rethinking the Hindu-Sikh Question, 1884-1915." In Sikh History and Religion in the TwentiethCentury,ed. JosephT. O'Connoll,Milton Israel,andWillardG. Oxtoby.Toronto:Centre of South Asian Studies, Universityof Toronto,136-158. 1994 The Constructionof Religious Boundaries:Culture,Identityand Diversity in the Sikh Tradition.Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress. O'Connell, J.T. 1973 "GaudiyaVaisnavaSymbolism of DeliveranceFrom Evil."Journal of the AmericanOrientalSociety 93:340-343.

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Page, D. 1982 Prelude to Partition: The Indian Muslims and the Imperial System of Control.New Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress. G.C. Pande, 1984 Dimensionsof AncientIndianSocial History. New Delhi: Books & Books. Panikkar,K.M. 1963 The Foundationsof New India. London:George Allen & Unwin. Radhakrishnan,S. 1939 EasternReligions and WesternThought.Oxford:ClarendonPress. Radhakrishnan,S. and J.H. Muirhead 1936 (eds.) ContemporaryIndian Philosophy.London:George Allen & Unwin. Rawlinson,H.G. 1980 [1913] Buddha,Ashoka,Akbar,Shivaji& RanjitSingh. New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications. Rawlinson,H.W. 1954 India:A Short CulturalHistory.London:The CressetPress. Raychaudhuri,Hemchandra 1996 Political History of Ancient India. (With a commentaryby B.N. Mukherjee.) Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress. Renou, Louis 1953 Religions of AncientIndia. London:The Athlone Press. Rudolph,SuzanneHoeber 1987 "PresidentialAddress:State Formationin Asia-Prolegomenon to a ComparativeStudy."TheJournalof Asian Studies46:731-746. Sachau,EdwardC. 1914 (tr. ed.) Alberuni'sIndia. 2 vols. London:KeganPaul, Trench,Triibner& Co. G.S. Sardesai, 1974 "Shivaji."In TheMoghul Empire,ed. R.C. Majumdar.Bombay:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,73-101. Sarkar,Sumit 1996 "Indian Nationalism and the Politics of Hindutva."In Contesting the Nation: Religion, Communityand the Politics of Democracy in India, ed. David Ludden.Philadelphia:Universityof PennsylvaniaPress, 270-293. 1999 "Conversionand Politics of HinduRight."Economicand Political Weekly (June26): 1693-1696. Savarkar,V.D. 1969 [1923] Hindutva:Whois a Hindu?Bombay:SavarkarSadan.

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Scharfe,Hartmut 1989 The State in Indian Tradition.(Handbuchder Orientalistik,2. Abt., 3:2.) Leiden:E.J. Brill. Sharma,BrijendraNath 1972 Social and CulturalHistory of Northern India c. 1000-1200 A.D. New Delhi: AbhinavPublications. Sharma,Sri Ram 1962 The Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors.Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Shrivastava,Ashok Kumar 1981 HinduSociety in the SixteenthCentury(withSpecial Referenceto Northern India). New Delhi: Milind PublicationsPrivateLtd. Donald Smith, Eugene 1963 Indiaas a SecularState. Princeton,New Jersey:PrincetonUniversityPress. Smith, WilfredCantwell 1962 TheMeaningand End of Religion. New York:The MacmillanCompany. Spear,Percival 1972 India:A ModernHistory. Ann Arbor:The Universityof MichiganPress. 1994 (ed.) The OxfordHistory of India by the Late VincentA. Smith,C.I.E. 4th ed. Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress. Sreenivasan,K. 1989 Sree NarayanaGuru.Trivandrum:JayasreePublications. Stietencron,Heinrichvon 1989 "Hinduism:On the Proper Use of a Deceptive Term." In Hinduism Reconsidered,ed. Ginther D. Sontheimerand HermannKulke.New Delhi: Manohar,11-27. Takakusu,J. 1966 (tr.) A Record of BuddhistReligion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago(A.D. 671-695) by I-tsing. Delhi: MunshiramManoharlal. Thompson,George 1999 "Onthe Languageof the Daeuvas."Paperdeliveredon March21, 1999 at the 209th annualmeeting of the AmericanOrientalSociety at Baltimore. Wagoner,Phillip B. 1996 "'SultanAmong Hindu Kings': Dresses, Titles and the Islamicizationof TheJournalof Asian Studies55:851-880. HinduCultureat Vijayanagar." Wink, Andre 1990 Al Hind: TheMakingof the Indo-lslamic World.2 vols. Leiden:E.J. Brill.

KRSNA'SINITIATIONAT SANDIPANI'SHERMITAGE1 ANDRI COUTURE

Summary In the Harivamsa 79 [HV], the Visnu-Purana5.21 [ViP], the Brahma-Purana 86 [BrP], and the Bhagavata-Purana 10.45 [BhP], immediately after the young Krsnakills Kamsa, Krsna'sinitiationat Sandipani'shermitagetakes place. To date, this strangeepisode has not been studied in its own right. Occasionally mentioned in scholarly works, no attempt has been made to understandthe importance or significanceof this event withinthe Krsnatradition.This paperbegins with a summary of HV 79, and then moves on to examine the characterof SandTpani,his connection with Garga/Gargya,the initiationprocess and the underlyingfather/sonrelationships, as well as variationson these themes. The episode provides a narrativelink between Samkarsanaand Krsna'schildhood and the rest of the story which deals with their adult life as ksatriyas, and as such, helps to clarify the overall structureof the HV. Emphasizing Sandipani's role as a guru, this paper uncovers, little by little, his connectionswith (1) the whole trimurticomprisedof Brahma,Visnu and Siva-Rudra, (2) the sacrificiallogic which involves one who sacrifices,a deity and an officiant,and (3) the variationson the theme of filiationimplied in the narration.

Modern Indologists have formulated different theories intended to explain both Krsna's involvement in the MahabharataWar, and his appearanceas a great god accompanied by his elder brother, Samkarsana,a few centuriesbefore Christ.2During the period when naturalistic explanations were dominant in Western anthropology, Krsna and Visnu were thought to be either ancient solar deities or vegetation spirits.3J. Kennedy (1907) relied on A.F. Weber's thesis I A preliminaryversion of this paperwas presentedat the annualmeeting of the CanadianSociety for the Study of Religion (CSSR) held at MemorialUniversity(St John's)on June2, 1997. This articleforms partof a researchprojecton the Harivam.sa fundedby the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearchCouncil of Canada. 2 Cf. Hiltebeitel 1979. 3 Cf. Couture1999:174-176. ? KoninklijkeBrill NV, Leiden (2002)

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(1867), which understood"Krsna"to be an Indianform of "Christ," but focussed on the influence played by nomadic tribes such as the Gujars (Gurjaras)which, supposedly, brought Christianlegends to India with them some time between the 2nd and the 6th century. Scholarssuch as A.B. Keith(1925) and W. Ruben(1943), on the other hand, saw in Visnu (and thereforein Krsna)either a great pre-Aryan god or a divinity of the Dravidian-speakingpeople who had at one time occupieda largepartof the Indianpeninsula.Bhandarkar(1913), in his analysis of the birth of the Vaisnavatradition,considered its conception of God to be the productof at least four earlier trends. Traditionsdealingwith Visnu(a Vedicgod), Narayana(a cosmic, more philosophical deity), Vasudeva (a real historical figure), and Krsna Gopala (a pastoraldeity) were combined to give the Vaisnavanotion of god. J. Gonda, along with other Indologists, continued working alongthese lines, attemptingto identifyspecific sourcesfor each aspect of the patchworktradition,determiningvarious forms of borrowing, syncretismand so on. Whereas Bhandarkarused the term "hero" as a designation for Vasudeva,other scholars insisted that Krsna Vasudevawas in fact a heroic figure who had been deified over time. This interpretation,in combinationwith Bhandarkar'shypothesis, lies at the root of the explanationsofferedby W. Rubenor B. Preciado-Solis(1984). Drawing on methods of analysis used by modem folklorists (Otto Rank, Ken Gardiner,etc.), Preciado-Solisdiscoveredthe same narrativepatterns in the Krsna saga as those found in Celtic and Greek hero stories: a king is presentedas a tyrantand usurper,a princessbearsa child who kills the king, a hero is born supernaturallyand rearedby cowherds, a hero takes the place of the king he has slain or places anotherking on the throne,a hero founds a new city, wins a princess,defeats other kings or dies understrangecircumstances.No doubtthis type of analysis (oversimplifiedhere) has its own value at the level of the narrative. Nevertheless,as my examinationof the episode understudy here will serve to demonstrate,it appearsequally evident that one cannot account for majorelements in Krsna'slife if Krsna'srole is reducedto thatof the traditionalhero.

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Krsna spends a marvellouschildhood tending Kamsa's cows as a herderin the forests surroundingthe city of Mathura.His initiation, which takes place immediatelyfollowing the accountof his childhood and just before the Yadavas (Krsna'sclan) migratefrom Mathurato Dvaraka(or Dvaravati),a new city builtby Krsnahimself, is presented as a sort of bridge between the two halves of his life. To date, this strange episode, narratedin the oldest texts dealing with Krsna's 79 [HV], Visnu-Purana5.21 [ViP], Brahmabiography(Harivarmga Purana 86 [BrP], Bhdgavata-Purana 10.45 [BhP]), has not been studied in its own right. Occasionally mentionedin scholarly works, no attempthas been madeto understandthe importanceor significance of this event within the Krsna tradition.This episode is important becauseit shows clearlythatKrsna'slife, beforebeing characterizedas heroic, correspondsin fact to typical Indianritualstandards.Attested to in the HV, Krsna'soldest biographydirectsthe readernot so much towards a general notion of the hero as towards a Vedic notion of sacrifice,towardsthe importancein Indiancultureof begetting a son who will performhis father'sfuneralrites. All of this also implies a very specific conception of the deity. I will begin with a summary of HV 79, before moving on to examine the characterof Sandipani, his connection with Gargya,the initiationprocess and the underlying father/sonrelationships,as well as variationson these themes. Other matters, such as the initiation in the form of a journey to heaven, the acquisitionof Panicajanyaconch, etc., although importantfor an understandingof the story's impact,must be left to laterresearch. 1. A Summaryof Harivamsa79 (vulg. 2.33) Krsna is in the pink of his youth. He is shining and his presence adorns the city of Mathuralike a mine brimming with gems. After some time, he accompanieshis brotherBalarama(i.e., Samkarsana, also called Rama) to Sandipani Kasya's hermitage in the city of Avanti where they are to be instructedin the Dhanurveda(i.e., the knowledgeof the weapons).On theirarrival,the brothersrecounttheir and informhim of theirdecision to begin lineage (gotra) to SandTpani studies. Janardana(i.e., Krsna)and Rama adoptthe properbehaviour,

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sacrifice their egos (nirahamkara) and submit to the will of their guru. Sandipani accepts them as students and instructs them in the various skills (vidya). After a period of sixty-four days and nights, they achieve a full command of all the weapons. Seeing that the wisdom (medha) of these boys goes beyond the possibilities of the merely human, Sandipani believes that boys are actually the Sun and the Moon. At festival times (parvasu), he sees them worshipping an apparition of great Tryaksa (i.e., Siva). Having fulfilled all his obligations, Krsna asks Sandipani what they might give him in exchange for his acting as their preceptor (gurvartha). The guru who knows the power of these boys says that he wants them to restore the life of his son who has been carried to the bottom of the ocean by a big fish (timi) during a pilgrimage to Prabhasa (near Dvaraka). With Rama's approval Krsna agrees, approaches the ocean and dives into the water. Ocean himself stands before him and gives him his regards. In reply to Krsna's question, Ocean replies that the great Daitya Paicajana took the appearance of a great fish and swallowed the child. Krsna, who is the Purusottama, attacks Pafcajana and kills him, but this first attempt does not restore the child. Out of the dead body of Pafcajana, Janardana shapes his famous conch, known to all as Paficajanya. He defeats Vaivasvata (i.e., Yama) the god of death and restores life and a new body to the guru's son who had disappeared many years earlier. All are astonished at this marvel. Krsna returns the guru's son to him along with a quantity of priceless pearls, keeping the Pafcajanya conch for himself. With this, both heroes take their leave of Sandipani and make their way back to Mathura. All the Yadus (or Yadavas), beginning with King Ugrasena, stand to greet the brothers. At the arrival of Govinda (i.e., Krsna), the women begin to rejoice as if it were the festival of Indra (indramaha).4 All are happy and many signs appear in the cosmos, as if a new Krtayuga were thriving. At this very auspicious moment, Govinda enters the city in a chariot drawn by horses. Both 4 One such Indramahais alluded to in HV 59. but Krsnaadvises the cowherdsto change this festivalto a girimaha,thatis a festivalin honourof the mountains,namely, MountGovardhana.

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brothersenterVasudeva'shouse wherethey lay down theirarms.They submitto King Ugrasena'sauthorityandreturnto theirgames for some time thereafter. 2.

TheBrahminsGargyaand Sandlpani

This episode takes place in the period between Krsna'schildhood (HV 49-78) and the moment when the Yadavas,scaredoff by Kings Jarasamdhaand Kalayavana(HV 80-84), decide to move to Dvaraka. Once Krsnakills Kamsa with his bare hands in the arenaof Mathura (HV 76) and Ugrasenais recognized as the true king of the city (HV 78), the narrativeexplains how both brotherslearned to master the techniquesof archeryand the use of otherweapons at Sandipani'shermitage. Beneatha simple exterior,the storyis repletewith innuendoes which one notices only when this version is comparedto other versions of the narrative.The firstquestionwhich springsto mind relates to Sandipani'sidentity.How is it that Sandipaniis fit to teach Krsna and Samkarsanathe science of archery?Sandipanilives in the city of Avanti (or Ujjayini),famous for its temple honouringMahakala(i.e., Rudra).He is also called kassya,a word meaning "bornin KasT'accordingto Nilakantha'scommentary.Kasi (or Varanasi)is also a city where Siva reigns. Moreover,the name Sandipani5itself is relatedto the verb sam-dip,meaningto blaze up, flame, bur, glow, often qualifying the fires in Epic and Puraniclanguage(vg. HV 53.27). All these featurescoincide with the fact that, during this period, both brothers worship Tryaksa(the three-eyedgod), i.e., Rudra,the all-consuming god at the end of the kalpa. Looking carefully at the whole HV, one concludes that Sandipani Kasya's appearancein HV 79 is no mere coincidence. This Brahmin reappearslater in the text (86.76) as a chaplain(purohita)in the new city of Dvaraka.On entering the city, Krsnacatches sight of his old father Anakadundubhi(i.e., Vasudeva), King Ugrasena, his brother Baladeva(i.e., Samkarsana),SandipaniKasyaand Brahmagargya,and 5

Sandipani is based on the vrddhi of sandlpana, a word meaning "kindling, inflaming."

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showers them all with all kinds of jewels (95.4-6). Janardana,who always observes the protocols of hierarchy,first pays his respects to the purohitaSandipanibefore honouringAhuka (i.e., Ugrasena),the king of the Vrsnis (95.9). Brahmagargyais mentioned along with SandTpaniin the city of Dvaraka.Another Brahmin,Brahmagargyais also called Gargya or Gargaandis said to be the guruof the Vrsnisandthe Andhakas(85.7). He has been sent by Vasudevato the cow station(vraja)to performthe childhood samskarasfor Samkarsanaand Krsna(49.30, 628*; 50.1, 629*; 96.44-45). The ViP (5.6.8-9) and the BrP (76.1-2) note that,at Vasudeva'srequest,Gargacarriesout the samskarasfor the cowherds secretly.BhP (10.5.1-2) is even more explicit: Brahminswere invited to recite the svastyayana (prescribedbenedictoryVedic hymns) and performthe birthceremonies(jatakarman)for Krsna.They also come to the cow station for the festive ablutions which are performedto BhP celebrate Krsna's turning in the bed (autthanikakautukaplava, is The BhP further that it at Vasudeva's 10.7.4). request stipulates thatGargaperformsthe purificatoryrites of the two boys in the forest, where Nandagopawholeheartedlywelcomes him. "Youhave directly compiled a treatise on the science of astrology which is beyond the rangeof the senses. It is by thatthat a man knows his past and future. You are foremostamong the knowersof the Vedas,"eulogizes Nanda (BhP 10.8.5-6, Tagore'stranslation).Gargareplies: "I am the family priest of the Yadusand I am known over the world as such. If I were to purify your son with religious rites, people will regardhim as the son of Devaki" (BhP 10.8.7, Tagore'stranslation,slightly modified). Gargaperformsthe naming ceremony secretly and predictsthe great prowess of both children (BhP 10.8.12-19). This declarationmade by Gargaappearsso importantas to be taken up again by Nanda in BhP 10.26.15-24.6 As in the HV, ViP and BrP,the BhP is awarethat Gargais the familypurohitaof the Yadavas,but addsa clear statement to the effect that this Garga is identical with the author of a well6

Composed much later underpustimargainfluence (XVI-XVIIth centuries),the Garga-samhitais directlylinkedto the predictiongiven by Gargain the BhP.

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known old book on astrology.7Garga knows the stars perfectly and the propertime to accomplish the prescribedrites, and is invited as such to performthese rites for Vasudeva'ssons hiddenin Nandagopa's cow station.8

Chapter 79 of the HV, which does not explicitly mention the upanayana ceremony,9 depicts Sandipani as being responsible for Samkarsanaand Krsna'sinitiation to the Dhanurveda.Garga'spres7The name of this book is the Garglsamhita. It was written by one of the main authorsquoted in the Brhatsamhitaof Varahamihira(c. 500-550) (see Shastri 1969:440-443). There is also a Vrddhagargamentionedin MBh 9.37.14-15, quoted by Varahamihira,and whose words are reportedin ViP 5.23.25-27 in the context of Krsna'sbiography. 8 Another Gargya (or Garga) known as Sisirayana(or Saisirayana),who is the purohita of the king of the Trigartas,is mentionedin relationto Krsna.This story is told in HV 85.7-17 (see also 25.8-13; 22.7-12; ViP 5.23.1, etc.). It is said that this Gargyaremaineda brahmacarinand, as such, did not seek the company of women. One day, his brother-in-lawmade a fool of him by calling him a eunuch in public. Reactingto this insult, Gargyadecided to take up asceticalpracticesin orderto obtain a son from Siva-Rudra.For twelve yearshe ate iron filings and was eventuallygranted his request.At the same time the king of the Yavanas,who could not producea son either,heardof the favor grantedto Gargya.He sent for the ascetic, encouragedhim and settledhim as a cowherdin the middleof the gopis of his cow station.The Apsaras Gopali disguised herself as a cow-woman and conceived the son promisedby Rudra to Gargya."The child grew in the gynaeceumof a childless king who was a Yavana, a great king: he was given the name Kalayavana"(HV 25.12). Many Mleccha kings took refuge in this unshakeablebeing and followed him. On accountof this powerful Kalayavana,Krsnapreferredto leave Mathuraandto move to the Westerncoast where he built Dvaraka.Kalayavanais an importantcharacterwho is eventually killed by Krsnain the HV. I intend to examine this characterin a later study. AnotherGargya is also mentionedin HV 16.5: seven Brahminswho were not devoted to the Fathers becamehis studentsin a formerlife. Even if they aremost probablydistinctcharacters, all these Gargyasshould be taken into account, since they all bear some relationship, howeverremotely,to Krsna. 9 Borrowing Brian K. Smith's own words, one could define the Vedic initiation as "a constructiveor transformativeritual"(samskdra)throughwhich one is reborn into the Aryan society with a differentiated,hierarchicallyorderedidentity,a specific knowledge impartedby a qualified teacher, and a qualificationfor performingthe sacrifices that will "continuethe ontological process of developmentand refinement

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ence must be emphasizedin this context because the BhP 10.45 distinguishestwo differentsteps in this initiation,thus helping to clarify the relationshipbetweenthe two gurus.Accordingto this passage,Vasudevaasks GargaandotherBrahminsto performthe dvijasamskrti(or upanayana)for both his sons. Havinggone throughthis samskaraand attainedthe statusof a twice-born(dvijatvamprdpya),the brothersimmediatelytakethe vow of celibacy requiredof those who wish to learn about the Gayatri-mantra(gayatramvratam)from Garga,the family priest of the Yadus (gargdd yadukuldcdryad). The upanavana ritual

marksthe passage from childhoodto full membershipin the community. First of all, Krsna and Samkarsanaare transformedinto twiceborn ksatriyas,rebornout of the Vedas because they have heard the Gayatrior Savitrimantra,andthereforeentitledto performsacrifices.10 Then, wishing to reside in a preceptor'shouse (gurukulevdsam) to complete their education,they approachSandipaniKasya. Only after they have been confirmedas twice-borndo they pass througha specialized trainingin a gurukula.The goal of this stay in SandTpani's hermitageis to qualify them, among othersthings, to handlethe most terribleweapons. As with the purohitaof the Yadavas,Gargahad to perform the different samskdras (particularly namakarana and upa-

nayana) in orderto complete Samkarsana'sand Krsna'ssocial identities as ksatrivasof the Yadavaclan. Sandlpanileads the brothersa step furtherin theirinitiationby giving them the ability to destroythe whole world. Froma mythologicalpoint of view, Gargaappearsto be continuing the work of Brahma the creator when he imparts to Krsna and Samkarsanaattributesrelated to the completion of their own beings. On the otherhand,in Sandipani'shermitage,both boys completetheir studies and master the secrets of weaponry. Having acquired new of being, in both this life and the next" (cf. Smith 1986: esp. 66, 83-84; and 1989, ch. 4: "TheRitualConstructionof Being"). See also Gonda 1985:316-317. 10Sacrifices seem to be the central rites for the ksatriyas of the HV (vg. 88.44). Krsnahimself is reportedto have been initiatedby a one-day (Soma) sacrifice(drksito ... ekahena ... karmana, 101.7-8,13; see below).

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divine bodies adornedwith every type of weapon, they possess the power, as Rudrahimself does, to reduce their worst enemies to ashes. Not only are both brothersable, throughGargya'sritual activity, to carryout theirresponsibilitiesin the Vrsni community(especially the protectionof the Brahmins),but they also gain the power to destroy all existing realities making way for the creation of a new world. Actually, this double initiationqualifies Samkarsanaand Krsna,who have already been presented as Sesa's and Visnu's manifestations, to perform the loftiest duties. Being born in Vasudeva's family as Samkarsanaand Krsna, the serpent Sesa and the god Visnu are henceforthacting as full-fledged Yadavas able to use both Brahma's creativepower and Rudra'sdestructiveweapons. 3. Samkarsana'sand Krsna'sInitiationUnderstoodas Sacrifice After the usual birth ceremonies (jatakarman)and name-giving (namakarana)take place, one of two scenarios may follow: either the initiationto the Dhanurvedaat Sandlpani'shermitagetakes place alone, or, according to the BhP, both the upanayana celebratedby Garga and the initiation at Sandipani's hermitage are performed. Even if one hesitates to link the purohitaGarga/Gargyato Brahma and the guru Sandipanito Rudra, it appearsthat glimpses of these deities may be caught in the shadow of these Brahmins.The most obvious conclusion to be drawnfrom the precedingdiscussion is that in texts dealing with Krsna'slife, both his and Samkarsana'shuman developmentare treatedin the most orthodoxmanner. At any rate, from a ritual point of view, the importantthing to rememberin this context is that the initiationconstitutesthe first and central part of a sacrifice (yajna)." More precisely, it is the part of a sacrificein which the one who sacrifices(yajamana)offers his own body as a victim to the gods beforeofferingfood or anotheroblationas a substitutefor himself. Moving on to more generalconclusions, since l The dfksd itself has been frequently studied and there is no need to repeat a descriptionof it here. See Levi 1966 [1898]:102-108; Gonda 1985:315-462; Thite 1975: esp. 112-123.

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Samkarsanaand Krsnahave passed throughsuch initiations,one can inferthattheiradultlives may also be understoodas realsacrifices.The fact that Krsnahimself is often identifiedwith the Yajfiapurusa(i.e., the sacrifice personifiedas a man) or with the Purusottama(i.e., the he affirmsthatthe only SupremePerson),andthatin the BhavagadgTta, action worth performingis one done for sacrifice (3.9) corroborates this assertion. As it now appearsuseful to resituatethe initiationof both brothersin the context of sacrifice, it is also worth noting that a dkksarequires three things: a person to perform the sacrifice, an oblationand a deity. CharlesMalamoudunderlinesthe complexity of the relationshipsbetween guru and student,seen from the sacrificial point of view, in the following manner:"Thereare two real persons, the preceptorand the student;but as theirrelationshipis assimilatedto a sacrifice,therearethreeactingcharacters:the one who sacrifices,the deity andthe officiant;the one who sacrificesis always the student,but the preceptoralternatesbetween the role of deity and officiant(when he acts as the officiant,the Vedais the deity)."12 If HV 79 is viewed from this perspective, SandTpanimay be consideredeitheras a deity (devata)or as an officiatingpriest(rtvij).In the firstcase, as they are students,KrsnaandSamkarsanaareidentified as those performingthe sacrifices(yajamana),offering themselves to theirguru Sandipanias a deity. Since he is the guru, Sandipaniis also consideredto be identicalto Rudrahimself and, as such, receives the offering that the boys make of their own egos and also of the bodies that they must cast aside before donning new ones. They surrender themselves completely to Sandipani, give him everything they are and join him in a relation of profound devotion. At festival times (parvasu),the text explicitly says, both brothershonourTryaksa(i.e., Rudra). On the other hand, Sandipanimight also be understoodto 12"I1 a deux y personnesreelles, le maitreet 1'eleve;mais des lors que leur relation est assimilee a un sacrifice, il y a trois personnages a jouer: sacrifiant,divinite, officiant;le sacrifiantest toujours1'1eeve,mais le maitre assume tour a tour l'un et l'autredes roles de divinit6et d'officiant (quandil est officiant,c'est le Veda qui est la devata)"(Malamoud1976:186).

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be playing the role of the officiating priest of the sacrifice which Krsnaand Samkarsanaoffer after they have learnedthe Dhanurveda. In fact, the study of the Dhanurvedaseems to imply a sacrificeto the deities who possess each of these weapons, even though no mention of such a procedureis made here. Nevertheless,just as when a priest is invited to officiate at a sacrifice, the work that Sandipanicarries out when assisting both brothers in their studies is rewardedwith appropriatefees. Krsna brings Sandipani'sson back to life and this deed is consideredto be a fitting recompensefor his work as a guru. This double sacrificial reading of what occurs between a guru and his studentsshows that it is logically possible to accountfor both the presenceof Tryaksaas a deity whom Krsnaand Samkarsanaregularly worship, and the readiness of the boys to pay their guru a formal fee (gurvartha).A comparisonwith Arjuna'sdTksdin Mahdbharata [MBh] III (38-45; 163-169) will prove useful for establishing the plausibilityof such an analysis of the HV 79 episode.13 During the twelve-year exile which the Pandavas spent in the forest, Yudhisthirareceives secret knowledge (upanisad/brahman) fromKrsnaDvaipayanaor Vyasa. To achieveit andbecome invincible, Arjuna has to visit both Indra and Rudra. First, Arjuna submits to an initiation,practicesa strict control in word, body and thoughtand receivesthe instructionwhich Yudhisthirareceivedfrom Vyasa. In this connection,he leaves the forest for a journeyto the North,passes over the Himalayas,and finally meets Indrawho is disguised as an ascetic on a mountaincalled Indraklla.Indra asks Arjuna to stop since he has reached the ultimate goal. Impressedby Arjuna'sfirm decision to continuehis journey,Indragrantshim a favour.Arjunaasks for the weapons he will need to avenge his brothershiddenin the wilderness. "Whenyou have seen the Lord of Beings, three-eyed,trident-bearing Siva, then I shall give you all the weapons of the Gods, son,"answers Indra.Arjunastands on the peak of mount Himalayaand engages in ascetic practiceswhich scare all the great seers. Forced,as it were, to rushup to Arjuna,Siva approacheshim disguised as a Kirata,a hunter 13 On this

passage,one can also readthe analysisofferedby Scheuer 1982:205-245.

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from the mountains,and strikes a Danavanamed Muka, who comes to threatenArjuna'slife. For a long time, Arjunawrestles with this strangeenemy who is literallyable to devourall his arrows.He finally falls unconscious, having been reducedby the god to a ball of flesh (pinda).When he wakes up, Arjunarecognizes Rudra,begs his mercy andreceivesthe Pasupata,a weaponalso called the Brahmasiras.After receivingothersweaponsfromYama,Varunaand Kubera,Arjunagoes to the city of Indrawhere he obtains and masters the use of all the muchcoveted arms.GandharvaCitrasenaalso teacheshim how to sing and dance. He stays in this city for five years. As a fee for his guru, Arjunafights and defeats Indra'spersonalenemies, the thirtymillion Nivatakavacasliving in an inaccessiblecity in the ocean. This episode is clearly divided into two partsinvolving both Rudra and Indra.Arjunagoes to Indra'scelestial city, passes a test prepared for him by Indrawho was disguised as an ascetic, before runningto Rudra'sdwelling where he gains the favourof the god. It would seem that,in orderto receive the weaponsfrom Indra,Arjunamust not only pay Rudrathe appropriatefee but must also submitcompletelyto him. Clearly,Arjuna'sinitiationimplies a double operation:the acquisition of arms from the gods and the submission to the god Rudraare two separateacts. Both are necessary,butthe submissionto Rudraremains a prerequisiteto the acquisitionof an energeticbody able to resist the most terribleenemies. In Krsna'sstory, as in Arjuna's.the vajamarna (Krsna or Arjuna)sacrifices his human body in a severe tapas, and prepareshimself throughthe use of similar ascetic practicesto don a new divine body which incorporatesevery imaginable weapon. The first part of both stories concerns Rudra,the Destroyer;the second partdeals, explicitly or implicitly,with the ritualconstructionof a new divine body with the help of all the gods, includingIndra. Among the metaphorsused by ritualiststo evoke the dTksaprocess, one of the most usual depicts the dtksita as reassumingthe form of a foetus so as to be born again, thus enabling the drksitato become a twice-born. A similar image is used for the teacher who becomes pregnantwith his student,bringingabout, as it were, the production of a new body for his student, and finally giving birth to him (cf.

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Atharvaveda11.5). The samskarasor life-cycle ritualsserve to purify, refine,and elaboratethe perfecthumanbody neededto act responsibly inside the Hindu society. This is why Gargamust performthese rites (especially the upanayana)for both Samkarsanaand Krsna.The same metaphorlies behind Sandipani'sstory.In orderto acquireknowledge of all the weapons,both brothershave to stripthemselvesof theiregos (nirahamkara,v. 4). When they come back to their home after their stay at Sandlpani'shermitage,they lay down (vinyas) their weapons and returnto their games (HV 79.39). Before descendingto earth,the glorious Visnu proceeded in the same manner:he went to a cave of the Meru named Parvatiand laid down his ancient body (puranam tatra vinyasya deham harir udaradhih, 45.49). Later, in HV 81, both

brothersdecidedto don theirancientweapons(dyudhandam puranandm adane, v. 55) when they have to fight againstJarasamdha.These four energies which are Visnu's weapons immediately fall from the sky (catvdry etini tejamsi visnupraharandni ca, v. 60). From this moment

on, the brothers, now visually identical with the person of Visnu (sdksddvisnos tanupamau,v. 65), tap into theirown divine power and begin to fight theiradversary.The energeticbody thatSamkarsanaand Krsna received was Visnu's own divine body. The weapons and the many skills (mantras,etc.) which they possess are the equivalentof a divine body. A body (humanor divine) is conceived of as a sort of garmentto be put on and taken off. In the same way as Visnu, at the Earth'srequest, takes off his tejas-made body before descending to earth, once the dfksd is performed,Krsna and Arjunamust also, on specific occasions, cast aside theirenergeticbodies. 4.

An episode built on father/son relationships

Sandipanigives birth to Krsnaand Samkarsanaby teaching them the art of archery.In keeping with the logic of the metaphor,we may also say that these studentsare his sons. Since the paymentthe guru requests is proportionalto the work done, it seems logical that these sons duly honourtheir guruby returninghis only son to him, the son who hadbeen seized by the terriblePaficajanaandcarriedoff by Yama.

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While actingthis way, KrsnaandSamkarsanasimply confirmthatthey are "good sons" (satputra)for theirguru. The way in which this episode relates to the theme of filiation is clarified by the ViP and the BrP, which combine ideas scattered throughoutthe preceding chaptersof the HV into a single narrative. (A) On seeing Devakl and Vasudeva, Krsna says that he and his brother have acted as true sons, bowing before the elders of the Yadus.Somethinghe says on this occasion helps to clarify the entire passage:"Thatportionof one's life which is spentwithoutworshipping one's parentsis indeed futile in the case of good sons. O father, if an embodied being performsthe worship of preceptor(guru), gods (deva), Brahmins(dvija) and parents,his life becomes fruitful"(BrP 86.3cd-5ab; ViP 5.21.3-4). (B) Krsnaconsoles Kamsa's wives who are weeping over his dead body. He releases Ugrasenafrom prison, proceeds to his consecration as king (abhiseka), and performs the funeralritesof his son Kamsa.Krsnatells Ugrasena:"Asa resultof the curse of Yayatithis family does not deserve a kingdom.But now that I am readyto be your servant(bhrtya),you can commandeven Devas, and why not, even kings?"(BrP 86.12; ViP 5.21.12). Then, Krsnaasks Vayu to bringthe Sudharmasabha, Indra'smarvellousAssembly Hall, befittingonly a king (rdjarha)down to earth.(C) Only afterthese two scenes, does Balaramaand Krsna'sinitiationat Sandipani'shermitage and the liberationof the guru'sson take place. In fact, all threeof these scenes deal with the problemof filiation,be it biological or analogical. (A) Samkarsanaand Krsnaare good sons (satputra).By killing Kamsawho has confinedthem,they honourtheir own parents.Accordingto the famous sloka, alreadyquoted twice in the HV (5.24; 66.20), a son is called a putra, because he liberates his parentsfrom the hell "put."This reasoning applies to more than just relatives. It is also applicable to other analogical sons such as the studentswho must similarly liberatetheir gurus and to the good subjects(prajd)who have to rescue theirking. (B) As a loyal subject, KrsnaworshipsKing Ugrasenawhose son Kamsawas killed, releasing him from all his bonds. This king was himself unable to reign due to Yayati'scurse. Krsnahas to intervenein the north-easternpartof India

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(cf. HV 22.17) to restore the Yadava lineage which lost its kingdom when old Yayati cursed his son Yadu who refused to support his father in his old age (HV 22.27-28). (C) Finally, Krsna honours guru Sandipani when he and his brother Samkarsana liberate the Daitya from the ocean, the son who had been snapped up by Paicajana.14 Krsna, as we have seen, acts as a son in three ways. He first restores the wholeness of his parents by saving them from bondage and looking after them in their old age. He then restores the Yadava King, Ugrasena, by re-establishing his lineage against Yayati's curse and acting as his servant (bhrtya). Finally, he restores his guru Sandipani by serving him as a son and rescuing the son he had lost. Without a son, a man is already dead. Using a provocative formula, Paul Mus said in his famous Barabudur: "A son is the rescued form of his father (Un fils est la forme sauvee de son pere)," meaning that a son is the form of his father after the father has been saved by him. The commentary that follows in Mus' book helps to understand the Indian logic in this matter. In India, notes Mus, "One does not inherit from one's father; instead one inherits one's father."15And when a son inherits his father, he does not receive only his belongings, he receives his very self. The son has actually become the father. Even if the son can also be said to be different from the father, filiation begins by a duplication of the father's self, wherever the relationship of filiation is recognized.16 From the Vedic point of view, the son is of course a physical body (by birth) growing through food, but above all it is a ritual construction 14As one

might guess from this overview,true filiationexemplifiedby the case of the satputra Krsnais certainlya theme which runs throughoutthe whole of the HV. Marcelle Saindon (1998) has shown how importantit is to take the father/sondyad into accountfor a correctreadingof chapters11-19 of the HV. 15Mus 1935:119-122 offers a corrective to the interpretationof A.B. Keith (1925:579-80). This sentence is translatedby Strong(1989:82). 16One should not overstressMus' contention.I agree with Brian K. Smith (1989: firstchapters)when he explains that the culturalreduplicationimplied in the ritualof initiationlies somewherebetween an excessive and unproductiveresemblance(jami) and an extremelydifferentiatedbeing (prthak),thatis at once an over-connectionand a disconnection.

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in which a man projects himself (through samskaras) and on which he props himself up to gain immortality. Texts like the HV and the Puranas are very critical of the possibility of becoming immortal by ritual means only. Life is rather seen as a series of births and deaths, of fathers and sons. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Krsna's intervention has been enveloped by successive layers of lineages (varmsa).The oldest Upanisads say explicitly that, once the atman is discovered, begetting sons is no longer worth while (esp. Brhaddranyaka-Upanisad 3.5.1; 4.4.22). Later Puranic texts would say exactly the opposite: it is useless to renounce begetting sons. The full recognition of a son by his father implies the father's death (or his retreating to the forest in renunciation). This renunciation is a regular feature in the Epics, except in those cases where a father might imitate king Yayati who tried to achieve immortality by foolishly stripping his own sons of their right to kingship. The same argument applies also to the guru or the purohita who "begets" a diksita. Although birth through initiation is usually thought of as a metaphor, in this context the fact that the adequate fee is the resurrection of the guru's biological son makes it clear that we are dealing with a much more literal interpretation. The guru's son has to be thought of as the rescued form of Krsna's preceptor Sandipani, as well as a paradigmatic figure for all sons whose lives must be ritually constructed to fill up the bamboo of their lineage. 7 5.

Variations on the Theme of the Son Restored to Life

Krsna's and Samkarsana's initiation introduces the theme of the son brought back to life. This episode is not an isolated case. Let us now consider three often neglected stories which throw light on this strange resurrection narrative. 17In the Sanskrit language, vamsa means at once the hollow bamboo and the lineage that must be filled up with sons. Actually, in HV 68.28-29, Krsna is said to come to earthin orderto cause the Yadavasto fill up (dpuravisyanti) and extend theirlineage (cf. Couture 1982:140).

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A. Arjuna'sfinal test after his initiation with Drona (MBh 1.123.6875). In the Adiparvanof the MBh, BhismarejectsDrupadaYajiasena as an appropriateguru for his sons, finally settling on Drona as his choice. Drona accepts on the conditionthat his fees are to be paid on the battlefield;Kauravasmust fight King Drupadafor his kingdom.At the end of their initiationto all weapons, Drona goes with his pupils to bathe in the riverGanges. When he dives into the water,a powerful crocodile that lived in the riverwas promptedby Time to grabhim by the shin. Although he is quite able to save his own life, he purposely ordershis pupils to kill the crocodileand save him. He has not finished speakingbefore Arjuna,with a burstof five arrows,kills the crocodile under the water. Drona deems him the best of all his students and rewardshim with the gift of a remarkable,invincible weapon named Brahmasiras.18

This episode immediatelyfollows Arjuna'sinitiation.As a sort of metaphoricalfee (that anticipates the real fee), Drona requires his studentsto save his very life. To understandthe real importof such a gesture,one must take into accountthat the studentsare like embryos begotten by their guru. At the end of the dtksd, those students may properlybe called sons of theirguru.In accordancewith the traditional etymology of the word putra, it is only after a son has been begotten by his father,who has broughthim to his specific perfectionthrough the appropriatesamskaras,that a son (putra)is able to save his father. In the presentscenario,in a contrivedsetting,the gurupretendsto die andis broughtbackto life by his "son."ArjunadefeatsDeathitself and becomes invincible.To become a real son is metaphoricallyto restore a father'slife. B. The salvation of Brahmin'ssons (HV 101-104). Later in the HV, when the Yadavashave moved to Dvaraka,Vaisampayanarecountsa story to Janamejayawhich Arjunahad told to Yudhisthiraas a way of illustratingVasudeva's(i.e., Krsna's)greatness.Arjunawas visiting his relatives at Dvaraka.Once, when he had committedto performa 18This section reproducesthe wordingfound in van Buitenen'stranslation.

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one-day (ekaha) sacrifice,an excellent Brahminapproachedhim and askedhim for assistance.The Brahmin'sproblemwas even worse than Sandipani'shad been. As soon as they were born, each of his three sons had died. He imploredVasudeva'sprotectionto save the fourth one who was about to be born. The protectionof a Brahminprevails over ritual integrity,argues Krsnain his desire to save the Brahmin. To allow Krsnato honour his undertakings(dtksd),Arjunaoffers to go to the village himself in order to save the child. He left Dvaraka with a huge armyand surroundedthe Brahmin'shouse. Unfortunately, these measureswere to no avail. He failed to protect the Brahmin's son who was ravishedby a Raksasa as soon as he left his mother's womb. Arjuna was ashamed and the Brahmin laughed at his false claims. When he was back in Dvaraka,Govinda (i.e., Krsna)noticed Arjuna'sdistress, consoled the Brahminand decided to take charge of the operation.Krsna,Arjunaand the Brahminwent north(102.23), met the Ocean which solidified its waters so that they might cross, were honouredby the biggest mountainswhich let them pass, drove through a zone of thick darknessand ran into a bright light in the shape of a man (purusa) which covered the whole world. All three

of them entered this great light, emerging a moment later with the four children.As they reachedDvarakaagain, Krsnaentertainedhis listenerswith even more marvellousstories. Then at Arjuna'srequest he explained what had happened. A Mahatma,he says, kidnapped these children,thinkingit was the only way to contemplateKrsnawho alwayscomes for Brahmins.As in chapters10-11 of the Bhagavadglta (or Markandeya'svision accordingto MBh or HV), Vasudevafinally explainshow he is identicalto the whole world and all its parts. Krsna'sinitiationto an ekaha sacrifice serves as a backgroundfor this story. Arjunadoes not realize his own invincibility.In order to teach Arjunathe power of sacrifice,Krsnatakes advantageof his own position to show Arjuna how it is possible, while being a diksita, to use his own divine body to supportthe Brahmins.The sacrificial theorysays that,in such initiations,the one who sacrificesbecomes an embryo,constructinga new divine body for himself thathe will use as a vehicle to reachheaven.The sacrificeis at the same time the vehicle

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and the trip to heaven. The Brahminof this episode, whose sons are in the powerof Death, asks for the ksatriya'sprotection.After the first trip had failed, Krsnahimself takes the lead and decides to unveil the powerfulsecret world to which sacrificegives access. Metaphorically, he crosses differentsteps leading to the world of total freedom. The sons still have to play a role in the liberation of the Brahmin,but they must first be saved by Krsnahimself who reveals himself as the and as the model of all those who sacrifice.Krsnais able Yajfiapurusa to liberatethe Brahmin'ssons from deathbecause he is the greatestof the purusas, and as such governs the perpetualmovementof creation and destructionof all beings. C. The resurrectionof Devak's sons (BhP 10.84-85). After Krsna killed Bhaumasura,a numberof sages, watching secretly the intense love that was being experiencedon earth at that time, came to earth to see Krsna and Balarama(i.e., Samkarsana).As soon as they saw him, they praised him as the ruler of the world, who had concealed his universaldominionundermere humanacts (84.16), behavinglike an ordinaryperson and teaching the world by his example (84.15). As they took leave of Krsna and the others, Vasudeva (i.e., Krsna's father)askedthem how one mightbest purifyoneself of all impurities. "One should devoutly propitiate and worship Visnu, the Lord of sacrifices,by performingsacrifice"(84.35). It is the best way to give up covetousnessfor wealth,to spendit in the performanceof sacrifices andgifts (84.38). "Afterhavingpaid yourdebtto the sages by studying the Veda,to the fathersby begetting sons, you have to dischargeyour debt to the gods by performingsacrifices,"said the sages. Hearing those words, Vasudeva performed as many sacrifices as he could, paid the sacrificial priests abundantfees, and gave all the people generous presents.The atmospherewas one of warm friendshipand even Nandagopapostponedhis departurefor threemonths(84.66). On one occasion aftertheirreturnto Dvaraka,Krsnaand Balarama had paid their respects to their parents who had already heard the words of the sages and could not preventthemselvesfrom singing the praises of their sons. On hearingthat her sons had broughtthe son of

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theirpreceptorback to life (85.27), Devaki was wonderstruckandtook advantageof this momentto implorethem in the following terms:"At the behest of Time and in responseto the wishes of his father,both of you broughtback the son of your preceptorSandipani,who had died so many years earlier,from the region of Pitrs(fathers),i.e., the abode of death and presentedhim in homage to your preceptor(thus paying the debt of your preceptorship).You should similarlyfulfil my desire as both of you are the Lords of the mastersof Yoga. I desire to see, broughtto life, my sons who have been killed by Kamsa, the King of Bhojas"(85.32-33). Then, Balaramaand Krsnaenteredthe nether world called Sutala. Krsna explained to King Bali who welcomed them, that Devaki's first six sons were Marici and Uma's sons in the first Manvantara.They were punishedfor having laughed at Brahma who was preparingto cohabitwith his daughter.Havingexplainedhis mission to Bali, he broughtback the six childrento Devaki. This variationon the same theme is explicitly linkedto Sandipani's initiation. The sequence of events is the same: at first, Vasudeva performssacrifices;afterwardsandas a consequenceof this abundance of sacrifice, Krsna brings back to life Devaki's sons. Even if the relation between the sacrifices and the resurrectionof the sons is somewhat loose, the explicit mention of Sandipani'ssacrificial fees illustratesthat this earlier episode serves as a model for the episode recordedin the BhP. Conclusion

HV 79 providesa narrativelink between Samkarsana'sand Krsna's childhoodand the rest of the storywhich deals with theiradultlives as ksatriyas.As the episode understudyin this paperprovidesinsightinto the overallstructureof the HV,I have chosen to emphasizethose topics which prove key to uncoveringthat structure.Therefore,the focus of this paperhas been to consider Sandlpanias a guru. I have unveiled, little by little, Sandipani'sconnections with (1) the whole trimurti comprisedof Brahma,Visnu and Siva-Rudra,(2) the sacrificiallogic which involves one who sacrifices,a deity and an officiant,and (3) the variationon the theme of filiationimplied in the narration.This paper,

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while not pretendingto exhaust all the possibilities of this episode, intendsabove all to underlinethe importanceof this apparentlytrivial storyfor an understandingof the whole life of Krsnaas presentedin the HV.Furtherinvestigationwould certainlyshed light on otherimportant themes alludedto in this episode. By the same token, this paper intends to show that the Sandipani episode is neither primitive, nor a confusing mixture of selected purplepassages. On the contrary,it is my deep conviction that Krsna mythology emerges from the reflections of Brahmins involved in rituals and eager to tell stories that reflect the new conception of the deity found in the Epics and the Puranas.As analysis of the HV progresses (cf. Couture 1995-96), two points emerge with greater clarity. First, Krsna's initiation at Sandipani's hermitage is closely connected to the overall plan and import of the MBh and HV; and second, betterknowledgeof these texts will undoubtedlybe the key to disentanglingthe threadsof the very curiousstory which is told in HV 79. In contrastto earlierinterpretationswhose general theories shortcircuitedthe ritualand technicalallusionscontainedin these episodes, this essay has demonstratedthat few of the details containedin these ancient texts are there by chance. Although it may be a cliche to say so, it bears repeatingthat it is preferableto resituatethe episodes of Krsna's biography within the setting that is proper to them and to uncover the Hindu categories which underliethem, than it is to tack onto these myths the so-called universalkeys of "greatgod" or "hero." Faculte de theologie et de sciences religieuses

UniversiteLaval Quebec (Quebec) G1K7P4 Canada @ftsr.ulaval.ca Andre.Couture

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Sources Bhagavadglta With a commentarybased on the original sources by 1969 The Bhagavad-GTta. R.C. Zaehner.New Yorkand Oxford:Oxford UniversityPress. BhP 1971 SrimadBhagavatamahapurana.[With SanskritText and English Translation.] PartsI & II. Gorakhpur:Gita Press. 1978 TheBhdgavataPurana.Translatedby G.V.Tagore.PartIV.(AITMSeries.) Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. BrP Delhi: Nag Publishers. 1985 TheBrahmamahapuranam. HV 1936 Harivamga-parvan. Vol. 7 of The Mahabharatam, ed. Pandit Ramchandrashastri Kinjawadekar, with Nilakantha's commentary Poona:ChitrashalaPress. BhdratabhdvadTpa. 1969-71 The Harivamsa.Being the Khila or Supplementto the Mahabharata. For the first time critically edited by P.L. Vaidya. Vol. I: Introduction, Critical Textand Notes; vol. II: Appendices. Poona: BhandarkarOriental ResearchInstitute. MBh 1973, 1975, 1978 The Mahabharata. Vol. I.1: The Book of the Beginning; vol. 11.2:The Book of the Assembly Hall, 3: The Book of the Forest;vol. III.4: The Book of Virdta,5: The Book of the Effort.Tr. and ed. J.A.B. van Buitenen.Chicago and London:The Universityof Chicago Press. 1929-33 TheMahabharatam.Ed. PanditRamchandrashastri Kinjawadekar,with Press. Poona: Chitrashala NTlakantha's BharatabhavadTpa. commentary 1933-66 The Mahabharata. Critically edited by V.S. Sukthankarand S.K. Belvalkar.19 vols. Poona:BhandarkarOrientalResearchInstitute. ViP 1989 The Visnu Purana. Text and Translationby H.H. Wilson. Delhi: Nag Publishers1840; reed. 1980; rpt.

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Studies Bhandarkar,RamkrishnaGopal 1913 Vaisnavism,Saivism and Minor Religious Systems. Rpt. Delhi: Asian EducationalServices 1983. (Ist ed.: Strasbourg.) Andre Couture, 1982 "G6enalogieet reincarnationdans le mythe d'enfancede Krsna."Studiesin Religion/Sciencesreligieuses 11:135-147. 1991 L'enfancede Krishna.Traductiondes chapitres30 a 78 du Harivamsha(ed. cr.). Paris:Cerf; Quebec:Les Presses de l'Universit6Laval. 1995-96 "Un projet d'etude du HarivamSa a l'Universite Laval." Bulletin d'etudes indiennes 13-14:73-89. 1999 "Krsna'sStrangeName of Damodara."Brahmavidya:The Adyar Library Bulletin62:169-191. Gonda,Jan 1985 Change and Continuityin Indian Religions. 1st Indian ed. New Delhi: MunshiramManoharlal. Hiltebeitel,Alf 1979 "Krsnaand the Mahabharata(A BibliographicalEssay)."Annals of the BhandarkarOrientalResearchInstitute60:65-107. Keith,A.B. 1925 The Religion and Philosophy of the Vedaand Upanishads. 2 vols. Rpt. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass1970. Kennedy,J. 1907 "The Child Krishna,Christianity,and the Gujars."Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of GreatBritain and Ireland,951-991. Levi, Sylvain 1966 [1898] La doctrinedu sacrifice dans les Brdhmanas.Paris:P.U.F. Malamoud,Charles 1976 "Terminerle sacrifice. Remarquessur les honorairesrituels dans le brahmanisme."In Ch. Malamoudet M. Biardeau,Le sacrifice dans l'Inde ancienne, Paris:P.U.F., 155-204. Mus, Paul 1935 Barabudur.Rpt. 1978. New York:Arno Press. Preciado-Solis,Benjamin 1984 The Krsna Cycle in the Puranas. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Ruben,Walter 1943 Krishna: Konkordanzund Kommentarder Motive seines Heldenlebens. Istanbul.

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Saindon,Marcelle 1998 Le Pitrkalpadu Harivamsa:traduction,analyse, interpretation.Qu6bec: Les Presses de 1'Universit6Laval. Scheuer,Jacques 1982 Siva dans le Maha-bharata. Paris:P.U.F. Mitra Shastri,Ajay 1969 India as Seen in the Brhatsamhitaof Varahamihira.Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Smith, BrianK. 1986 "Ritual, Knowledge, and Being: Initiation and Veda Study in Ancient India."Numen33:63-89. 1989 Reflectionson Resemblance,Ritual, and Religion. New Yorkand Oxford: OxfordUniversityPress. John Strong, 1989 The Legendof KingAsoka. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.( 1s ed. 1983.) Thite. G.U. 1975 Sacrificein the Brahmana-Texts.Poona:Universityof Poona. Weber,A.F. 1867 "Uber die Krishnajannmashtami (Krishna's Geburtsfest)."Abhandlungen der KoniglichenAkademieder Wissenschaftenin Berlin, 217-366.

LIGHTFROMDISTANTASTERISKS TOWARDSA DESCRIPTIONOF THE INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIOUSHERITAGE1 PETER JACKSON

Summary An attemptis made to summarizeand synthesize new and old evidence regarding the religious heritage among peoples speaking Indo-Europeanlanguages in preChristianand pre-IslamicEurasia.Initial stress is put on the methodological,theoretical and ideological problems of such an undertaking.The rest of the paper discusses how the transmissionof heritage was conceptualized (with examples from Vedic and Greek literature),to what extent we are able to discern the outlines of an Indo-Europeanpantheon,the possibility of tracing the realizationsof hereditary, mythicalmotifs in the oldest Indo-Europeanliteratures,and the prospectsfor a comparativeIndo-Europeanritualistics.

1. Introduction in disHistoriansof religions have used the term "Indo-European" cussions of sharedfeatureswhich are not the result of loan or universalia in the indigenous religions of peoples speaking Indo-European languagesin pre-Christianandpre-IslamicEurasia.Despite the importance of such undertakingsin the early historyof our discipline, nothing is takenfor grantedas to this categoryany longer.AlthoughVedism and classical Hinduismstill hold an importantposition in contemporaryresearch,as do the religions of ancient Greece and Rome-both as foci of studyin theirown rightand as a terminologicalreservoirstill in use by all studentsof religion-the sharedfeaturesrenderingthese remaina controversialissue. Thereare hisreligions "Indo-European" 1The

embryo of this article was presented at the IAHR congress in Durban, August2000. I am indebtedto ProfessorNorbertOettingerat the Friedrich-Alexanderfor offering much thoughtfulcriticismon the article. University,Erlangen-Niirnberg, ? KoninklijkeBrill NV, Leiden (2002)

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torical as well as methodologicalreasonsfor this scepticism.Without the anthropologicallyorientedrejectionof Max Muller'scomparative mythology duringthe late 19th century,the study of religions would not be what it is today.With some justification,many scholarsstill associate the study of Indo-Europeanreligions either with far-fetched comparativism(sometimes with an unmistakablepolitical bias2) or with seclusive antiquarianism,lacking explanatoryvalue in the study of living or historicallydocumentedreligions. I will endeavourto adjust this pictureby presentingsome traitsof culturalinheritancethat appearto be less questionable.That is not to say that we will be dealing with "hardfacts,"butat least with a body of falsifiableassumptions whichdeserveseriousconsideration.The descriptionis partlydesigned to serve as an introductionto the study of Indo-Europeanreligions, partlyto encouragereconsiderationamong scholarswho have rejected this approachas an impossible or dangeroustask. In doing so, I also hope to show thatthe traitsof religious heritagein the Indo-European 2 As Bruce Lincoln convincingly demonstratesin his recent book Theorizing Myth:Narrative,Ideology and Scholarship(1999), the study of Indo-Europeanmyth has been (and to some extent still is) closely associated with a search for perfect centres and uncorruptedcultural identities engendered by the nationalist projects of post-EnlightenmentEurope.This discourse found its modem articulationamong philologists, philosophers, folklorists and artists such as William Jones, Johann GottfriedHerder,the Grimmbrothersand RichardWagner,but may be tracedback to medievalscholarssuch as GiraldusCambriensisand SnorriSturluson,all of whom had more in mindthanmere antiquarianism.Lincolninsists thatthe studyof myth has its own mythic potentials,by means of which some of the most influentialtheoriesof myth may be approachedas myths themselves,as "ideology in narrativeform."I may be held guilty of participating(albeit unconsciously) in the discourse deconstructed by Lincoln, but still entertainthe hope that ideology, understoodas pretext,prologue or decoding, does not necessarily infect the body of data collected. That is to say that the ideological dimensionsof scholarshipdo not rule out its heuristicpotentials. I also assume that the "genealogyof discourse"as pursuedby Lincoln himself need not be essentially differentfrom a study of the Indo-Europeanreligious heritage.In both cases, recurrentmotifs are tracedthroughtheirdifferentelaborationsin time and space, not being takenas the resultof imaginativeuniversals,but as partsof the same trajectory(cf. Lincoln 1999:210).

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corpus provoke methodologicaland theoreticalconsiderationswhich are relevantto the study of religious persistenceand traditionalismaltogether. Few would deny the accuracyof the comparativemethodas pursued in historical linguistics. The method allows students of language to compare and describe the development of linguistic items in any languagefamily on the basis of regularsoundshifts.Yetit is sometimes forgottenthat the same method has renderedpossible a comparative pragmatics,particularlyas regards the study of metrics and poetic phraseology. On the basis of such comparisons, it seems obvious that the oldest Indo-Europeanlanguages were not mere adstrata or superstrata among the peoples speaking them, because if the only connection between these peoples were of a linguistic nature, they would not compose poetry according to similar aesthetic principles, nor would they adoptthe same formulasin legal processes or address the same gods in their prayers. The common religious vocabulary (including priestly titles, religious concepts and names of gods) was not a matterof loan, because it cannot be distinguishedfrom other vocabulariesin terms of linguistic development.Scepticism is more motivatedwhen it comes to comparingritualsor mythicalmotifs where such sharedlinguistic traitsare not extant.A thematicsimilaritymay be strikingenough,butshouldnot be takenas a proofof heredityunless the notion of secondary creation or loan appears less convincing. In rare cases, formal regularities may be due to chance as well, because the pronouncementof globally attestednotions or "floaters" in languages belonging to the same family invites the possibility of coincidence.3To avoid such pitfalls, evidence must be based on the singular detail, be it a matterof formulaics, stylistic peculiaritiesor 3 Some notable examples were collected in Schulze 1968 [1921]:34f. Having pointedto the accidentalcoincidenceof LatinandLithuanianclauses in the Lithuanian translationof the New Testament,he concluded:"Natiirlichist es Zufall, der solche Reihenbildet:altererbtist an ihnennurder lexikalischeRohstoff,nicht seine sinnvolle Verkniipfung.Aber es bleibt doch wohl ftir derartigeSpiele des Zufalls das Material so bequembereitstellt."

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instances of obsolescence. A comparisonmay in fact be particularly promising if the comparandahave been subjected to decoding, by means of which the thematicsubtextshave driftedapart,only leaving the formalsurfaceintact. This procedure is demonstratedby Calvert Watkins in a recent study (Watkins 1995), half of which is devoted to the formal and semanticmodulationsof the Indo-Europeandragon-slayingmyth. By proceedingfromthe basic formulaHEROSLAY(*gh en-) DRAGON, Watkins shows that this quasi-universalmotif had a recognizable Indo-Europeanrealization(with markedword orderand vocabulary). These features have rendered it possible to study how the motif drifts between differentgenres (from the myths of Hittite Illuyankas and Indo-Iranian*urtrato the Roman ludi saeculares and Old High German spells) without loosing its original qualities. In the midseventies, the same scholaroffered anotherinterestingcontributionto the study of Indo-Europeanmythical phraseology,"La famille indoeuropeennede grec oPXSg"(1975). The articlewas importantin many respects, not least because it confirmedthat Indo-Europeanpoetics may be pursuedbeyondthe sentencelevel. This was done by focusing multipartitemetaphorsor verbal collocations with emphasis on the preservationof markedvocabularyand recognizablestylistic features. The undertakingshould not be confused with the searchfor recurrent mythical themes, because it is precisely not the attentiondrawn to thematicdeep-structures,but ratherto formulaicartifactsundergoing change and dissolutionin differenttexts, duringdifferentperiods and in differentsocieties, that makes Watkins'study so importantfor the understandingof myth.Those objectingthatpoetic languageis just the arbitrarymedium of myth should find it difficultto demonstratehow the myths in Vedic India or Greece were just floatingaroundundera screen of rigid stylistic criteria,that they were elaborationsof blunt and amorphousnarrativesexisting outside the framesof ritualor epic performance.The insistenceon form in traditionalmythopoeiacannot be refuted unless the epistemological problems raised by the notion of a pure plot, the diction or performanceof which is irrelevantor circumstantial,have been solved.

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2. Heritageas footprint Before turningto the descriptionof the religious heritagewe must also consider how its transmission was conceptualized. Instances of poetic self-reflexivity in the orally transmittedpoetry of Vedic India offer interestinginsights in this respect. They may help us to explain the mutuallydiverse and consistentcharacterof the surviving materials.Metaphoricreferencesto the poet's task and the characterof poetic speech were not only anothermeans of expressingone's genius andversatility;such metaphorswere also modes of inferenceregarding alreadyestablishedritualconventions,the preferredbasis of which was observationsmade in daily life. As demonstratedin a recent study by George Thompson, an importantfocus of Vedic ritual hermeneutics was the observationthat,just as humans and animals may be traced throughthe footprintsthey leave on the ground,the gods may be traced throughthe footprintsthey left in the verbaland kinetic precedentsof memorizedritual.Hence the poet was held to be a padajnii or "trackseeker."According to the competitive traditionof Vedic poetry, the footprintor padd was regardedas a hidden message to be deposited in the poem.4 The constraintsof form and the freedom of innovation were perfectly balanced by the Vedic poets, who explicitly confirm thatthey belong to a particulartraditionor "decoratesongs aided by a formerexpressionof thought"(RV 8,6,11). A similarnotion is found in Pindar,who claims that "the older poets found a highway of song" in the epic deeds of the past, and thathe will follow along, makingthis highway his "own concern" (aurToS... [tCeXctv) (Nem. 6.53-54).

These independentvoices of the past confirm that the student of Indo-Europeanmyth is not facing divergent manuscriptsreflecting a textual archetype, but rather the local variability of competing mythical motifs transmittedorally.While manuscriptsare transcribed without any active involvementof the scribe as to their content, the oral poet has to apply the same hereditaryconventions in different ritual contexts, meet changing social expectationsand strive towards 4 Thompson 1995:94.

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originality.Even thoughthe poetrywas traditionalin its essence, it was constantly in the making. Recent anthropologicalresearch suggests that the veracity of tradition does not lie in its ability to encode semantic memory data, but in its ability to store events as such.5 This circumstancehas also renderedtraditionsparticularlyeffective means of manipulationand persuasion,because they may be decoded withoutlosing theirveracity,nourishedby the force still holding them in commontrust:the givennessof the past.6Since the Vedicconception of open-ended "footprints"or "verbalprecedents"is seen to fit the much more recentattemptsto theorizethe natureof orally transmitted traditions,the prospectof successfully applyingthis perspectiveto the datato be presentedhere seems all the morepromising. 3. Fragmentsof an Indo-Europeanpantheon 3.1. The Gitterfamilie Amongst the more convincing evidence for a rudimentaryIndoEuropeanreligious heritage is a group of deities whose names have a plausible Indo-Europeanetymology and whose positions in the individual pantheons are comparable.The genealogical structureis indicated by complementaryepithets such as "father,""daughter," "son,"and "grandson,"but the membersalso communicateby means of other characteristics.The basic reflexes are found in the Vedic hymns,Greekepic andthe LatvianDainas. By drawingon andslightly modifyingearlierattemptsto interpretits structure,7I suggest thatthe family had the following structure: F: *dieusph2ter IM: *diuoneh2 D: *diudsdhugh2ter= *h2eusosS1: *diudsputlos = 5Boyer 1991:42. 6Shils 1981:195. 7 Cf. Euler 1986, and Dunkel 1988-1990. Dunkel introducedthe notion of a "Heavenly Spouse" (see below) as an alternativeto the often postulated "Mother as an original epithet of *dieus. In the case of Earth,"but regarded*perkWu'h3nos *uorunoshe also arguedfor an old epithetof *dieus. I prefera differentmodel since the partialmergerof these deities is only discerniblein Greekmyth.

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[+ W] SS2: *diu6s nepothle/*diu6ssuHnu *perkWuih3nos [+ *seh2ueliosio dhugh2ter]

F: FatherHeaven IM: Spouse of Heaven D: Heaven'sdaughter= Dawn Si: Heaven'sson = Oak-god [+ W] SS2: Heaven'sgrandsons/sons(the Dioscuri) [+ Sun's daughter] (F = father, M = mother, D = daughter, S = son,

SS = sons, W = wife.) To this set should be added another,only vaguely discerniblesolar family, the female member of which (Sun's daughter)becomes the bride or companion of the Divine Twins. The head of this family, *seh2uelios,was perhapsperceivedas the son of *dieus (see below): F: *seh2ueliosIM ? D *seh2ueliosiodhugh2ter[+ *diuos nepothle/*diu6ssuHnu] F: Sun-god IM ? D: Sun god's daughter[+ Heaven'sgrandsons/sons] Some furtherdeities or semi-deities, which do not fit into this family, have been identifiedas Indo-European.When makingsuch claims, one should also look for complementarycharacteristicsin orderto exclude secondarycreation.By way of example, the possible Greekand Vedic namesakesHelen and Saranyui(*seleneh2 (or *sueleneh2)and *seleniuh2)are mutuallyassociatedwith the Divine Twins, sons of the sky-god *dieus. Furthermore,the two major continuatorsof *dieus, Zeus and Dyaus, are both evoked as "father(and) creator"(*ph2ter *genhltor). In such cases, the parallelismis simply too strikingto be coincidental.Whatremainsproblematicis the fact that a divine name in one corpus may appearas an epithet or attributein another.This problemwill not be furtherdiscussedin this study,but shouldbe borne in mind whenevera divine name is reconstructed.

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3.2. A note on Dumezil Many modem students of Indo-Europeanreligions have regarded linguistic approachesas misleading or superficial,not because they distrustthe etymological method, but because they assume that the real constants of religious heritage have been subjected to linguistic overlap.Leaning on the theories developed by Georges Dumezil, they arrangethe gods of individualpantheonsin accordancewith an implicit ternarystructurereflectedin the mythology, social organization, medicine,canonicallists, etc. of differentIndo-Europeanpeoples: 1) bifocal sovereignty,consisting of a) an esoteric and malevolentaspect and b) a political and benevolentaspect;2) physical force, especially warfare;3) fertility,especially richness and health. Since they are based on deep-seatedideological structuresratherthan linguistic evidence,8Dumezil's conclusionsare extremelydifficultto falsify. Although it is justified to separatedivine names from functional constants,this does not renderthe linguisticevidence less interesting,nor should the relativizationof function in divine onomastics incite us to look for such constantselsewhere. If the semantic ambiguityof heritage has turnedtraditionsinto ideal means of persuasionand manipulation,the assumptionthatthere was an Indo-Europeanideology (an Indo-Europeanmode of analysis)resultsin an unsatisfactorycircularity, because if the mode of analysis as well as its point of departure was hereditarythere is nothingto explain why changes have occurred at all. The structuralaffinities observed by Dumezil should perhaps not be reducedto a scholarlyillusion. Yet it seems more favourableto approachthem as independentelaborationsof heritageemergingfrom similar historical circumstances.

Even though there is nothing to prevent us from imagining a prehistoric prototype underlying some of the divine lists or pairs analysed in the works of Dumezil-for example the gods of the 8

Ironically enough, before giving up the etymological method in favour of the search for functional matches, Dum6zil made a number of misguided equations which seem to have played a decisive role (flamen/brahmdn, gandharvd-/KevTaMpot) in the developmentof his new method.

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Suppiluliuma/Mattiuazatreaty (Mi-it-ra-as-si-il, A-ru-ua-na-as-si-il, In-da-ra,Na-sa-at-ti-ia-an-na)or the Vedic pair Mitra-Varunaand the complementaryScandinaviangods Tyr and Odinn (Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz and *Wo9anaz)-we do not have to assume that this prototype reflectedthe same mode of analysis in all its historicalmanifestations.While Mitrapersonifiedthe contractamong the Indo-Iranians, *TIwazwas ratherperceivedas a god of war among the earliest Germanic tribes.Nevertheless,the suppositionthat *Tiwaz formed a pair with *W6oanazremains attractive.There is more than structuralcooccurrenceto suggest that Varunaand *Wo6anazdevelopedfrom the same prototype,for which see below. By combining these pairs and balancingtheirnames with Indo-Europeandivine onomastics(*Tiwaz < *dieus, Varuna < *uorunos), supposing that Mitra and *Wo6anaz

were secondarycreationsamong the Indo-Iranianand Germanicpeoples respectively,the result is a divine pair personifying the diurnal and nocturnalaspects of the sky, *dieus and *uorunos.This connotation survived as a fossil in Greek epic (see below) and in the Vedic hymns,9for which see, in particular,Atharvaveda-Paippalada(AVP) 2,65,lab(c): brhat te varcahprathathamupa dydm I mitrebhyaedhi surabhissuvarcdhadhi te rajd varunobravituI tasma u tvamhavisd bhdgadhaasah ... Wide shall your splendourspreadto the sky/Dyaus(dydm)be you good-smelling and good-shining to the friends (mitrebhya),king Varunashall say to you: thereforebe you with the sacrificea providerof prosperity...

As regards the second function (physical force) as personified in Vedic and Germanic religion by Indra and *Iunraz according to Dumezil, it would likewise be possible to postulate a common prototypebehindits local continuators.Gods of thunderandopponents of a cosmic serpentcomprisingthe watersof heavenor surroundingthe ocean, they both sharedimportantfeatureswith a less dominantfigure in the two traditions,*perkwuh3nos(Old Norse Fjorgynnand Vedic Parjanya[see below]). This god had a female counterpartidentified 9 2,1,7 (cf. Dum6zil 1948:90f.);for otherpassages in AVP see 72,2; 80,2.

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with the earth, perceived as his bride in Vedic?1and his mother in Germanic(Fjorgyn= "P6rr'smother"or "Earth").The Balkan Slavs celebratedhim (Peruna)and his female counterpart(*Perperuna)in ritual calls for vital rain, during which the female was represented by a virgin who had not yet had her first monthly period.11The last detail is important,because the earthis referredto as "menstruating" (rtviyavatt) in a Vedic hymn to Parjanya(AVP 2,70,2). Although associatedwith heavenlyviolence, *perkuih3nosseems boundup with fertility ratherthan with military force. When regardingthe killing of a giant serpentas the emblematicdeed of an archetypicalwarrior, one should also bear in mind that the most familiarinstancesof such motifs occur in fairy-tales and heroic epic, in which the agents are humans, heroes or semi-deities operating in a historical or quasihistoricallandscape. The thirdfunction in the structurepostulatedby Dumezil had several differentmanifestationsin the individualcultures.If we consider the Mitannian treaty mentioned above, however, this position was takenup by the Divine Twins, realizedin Vedic as the Nasatya("Rescuers" [cf. Gr. ocrOTlpcg]), Asvina ("Horsemen" [cf. Gr. EimjtroL]) or Div6 napata ("grandsons of Dyaus" [cf. Gr. Ati6 KoVpol]). The most

persistentfeaturesof these figureswere not their associationwith fertility, but their soteriological(particularlyas patronsof seafarersand rescuersof shipwreckedmortals)as well as erotic and nuptialaspects. By paying particularattentionto its Vedic realization,the ternary structureunderlyingthe list of gods in the Mitanniantreatycould thus correspondto the following prototype: la. *dieus O b. *uorunos 2. *perkWuh3nos= *diuos putlos 3. *diuos nepothle 10AVP 2,63,3; 70,2; AV 12,1,12. I Jakobson1985a:21.

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If there is any logic to this structure,it does not bring to mind the functional stratadiscussed by Dumezil: "sovereignty"may seem a fitting label for the first stratum, but "fertility"belongs to the second ratherthan to the third.12On the other hand, the hypothetical structurereflects a mutualgenealogical and spatialcontinuity:1) Two complementarydeities personifying the diurnal and nocturnal sky; 2) an atmosphericdeity perceived as the son of the diurnalsky; and 3) the Divine Twins, grandsons of the diurnal sky, active on sea. Althoughpurelyhypothetical,the mere possibilityof such a prototype suggests that the ideologie tripartite,instead of being hereditaryin itself, was nothing but a characteristicmode of decoding a common heritageresultingfrom similarsocial and economic conditions. 3.3. The individualgods Withoutclaiming exhaustiveness,I presenthere the majormembers of the pantheonby pointing to some salient features.The description may appearsomewhatstiff to readersacquaintedwith the historically attested religions from which the materialswere drawn. As pointed out above, however, I have only intendedto sketch the outlines of a heritage.This meansthatI havetriedto leave as muchspace as possible for the dynamicsof individualculturesin theirsocio-politicaldiversity. For the purposeof makingthe presentationmore accessible, technical details concerning etymology and textual criticism are found in the footnotes. a. *dieus He dwelled in the background of more active gods described as his descendants. He "smiled (*smei-) through the clouds" (RV 2,4,6d),13 a feature he may have shared with his children *h2eusos and *perkWihsnos.Vedic, Iranian,Greek and perhapsRoman data attest that he was addressedas *ph2ter*genhltobr, "father(and) procre12Just as it was supposed to have served as a process of "glissement"among the Germanicpeoples See Dumezil 1977:189 and BernfriedSchlerath'scriticalapproach to the model (1996:51). 13Discussion in Dunkel 1988-1990:9.

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ator."14He personified the diurnal sky and was possibly perceived as a benevolent counterpart of the nocturnal *uorunos. Greek data attest that Zeus brings on the day (*[tcap jradywov15) in contrast to Uranos who brings on the night (v6IuKT'ctaywov, Hes. Th. 176), indicating that the two gods were once regarded as complementary. A similar symbolism is well attested as regards Mitra and Varuna in Vedic (see above). In his role as a distant father and creator, recalling the typical features of a deus otiosus, Vedic Dyaus may in fact exhibit older characteristics than those of Greek Zeus or Roman Jupiter. These have more in common with *perkWuh3nos.If already functionally weak at an early date, the Indo-European sky-god could easily have been subjected to amalgamation in Greece and Rome (cf. in particular Zeus Keraunos and Jupiter Tonans).16 Nevertheless, the inactivity of Vedic Dyaus in his capacity as a typical deus otiosus should not be exaggerated. Except for his mating with Prthivi ("Earth") (referred to by Jaan Puhvel 14Schmitt(1967:?291)foundanextendedvariantof theformula *ph2ter*genhltor in RV 1,164,33a (dydurme pita janita) and Eurip. Ion 136 (1)oos36; o OLyEeTWp taCTrip),tentatively*dieus *moi *ph2ter*genhltor "Dieus (is) my fatherand creator." Accidentalas it may be (so the authorthinks),the coincidence may still be considered to reflect fragmentsof an archaicoath or prayer.Noteworthyin this context is also RV 3,54,9ab: sa'napurdndmddhyemy aran mahdhpittirjaniturrjamitdn nah I"From afar I perceive the things of the past: This is our descent from the great father,from the procreator." 15Cf. Hom. Od. 18.137; Archil. 68. For further references see Martin West's commentaryto Hes. Th. 176 (West 1966:218). 16LotteMotz (1998) drawscriticalattentionto the notionof an Indo-Europeanskygod in a recent article. Despite some interestingpoints, many of her argumentsfail to convince me and are to some extent inconclusive. That the proposedcontinuators of *dieus in Vedic, Greek, Roman and Germanicreligions do not share the same functions is not a new observation,nor an argumentagainstthe propositionthat they shouldbe conceived of as kindred.In some cases, Motz even tries to supportherthesis with observationsthat could, had she just been more careful in her comparisons,be used to strengthenthe oppositethesis. The conceptionof Jupiteras a personificationof the thunderstone,referredto by Motz to demonstratethat this deity was not regarded as "a luminaryof the sky"by the Romans,is in fact supportedby the Vedic notion of a "heavenlythunderbolt"(RV 1,176,3d:divyevaid?nir, et passim).

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"as his only mythic function"17),there is at least one furthermyth in which he actively, albeit dysfunctionally,participates.The oldest versions describehow he once approachedhis own daughter,Usas, in the appearanceof a bull, how he more or less successfully triedto rape or seduce her and how he was punishedfor the act by the othergods. As I have tried to show elsewhere, this myth may shed new light on the birthof the Asvina and the GreekDioskouroi.18 b. *diuoneh2

The spouse of *dieus.l9 She is only familiarthroughvague reflexes, but seems to be a more plausible partnerof *dieus than the often hypothesized"MotherEarth,"who, if prototypicalat all, ratherbelonged to the sphere of *perkwuLh3nos. c. *uorunos

This god personified the firmamentor dwelled in the night sky. The names of his Vedic and Greek continuators,Varunaand Uranos (oipactvo6[Aeolic opavtg]), are likely to be formed on a verbal root (*uer-) meaning "to cover" and a suffix (*-no-) denoting worldly or heavenlydominion.One may thinkof him as the personificationof the sky in its appearanceas a darkcover. Even though the etymological connection of the two names was considered untenable for nearly a century, it has recently proved to be perfectly sound.20It is even backed up by some furthercharacteristicsof the god in Greek and 7 Puhvel 1987:59. 18See Jackson, forthcoming. 19Dunkel 1988-1990. 20George Dunkel (1988-1990) has arguedfor an etymological connectionbetween Varunaand oipavcg, interpretingvdruna as a synchroniccontinuatorof the Vedic stem varu- (< Proto-Indo-European *uoru-)"toencompass,cover,"survivingwith different syllabization(*uoru-) in oppavog. For similarformations,note especially the nouns varutr,vdruthdand the adjectivevaruthia.Cf. RV 5,46,5d: varuthfyamvdruno 8,101,5c: varuithiyamvdrune.The last pada is particularlysignificantsince the adjectives sacathia ("friendly")and varuthia("protecting,covering")are used to create a contrastbetween Mitra/Aryamanand Varuna.The etymology implies qualitative Ablaut vdruna/*vdruna (cf. dpas/apas) (= *ueruno-, *uoruno-), Gr. *epav6g/Aeolic

opavcv (cf.uvpo6/oXv'po6g)(= *ueruno-,*uoruno-).This is compatiblewith the view

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Vedic poetry: he was "wide" or "wide-looking" (*uerH-), he bound or seized his victims (6bo Hes. Th. 502,21 grbhnati RV 1,24,12,13), he had or was a heavenly "seat" (*sedos), the starry sky was his cloak and the stars his heavenly spies (spaias RV 1,25,13; 7,87,3).22 ZaraOustra's Ahura Mazda is likely to have emerged from the preof M. Ktimmelin Rix et al. 1998, 625f., who reconstructsan Indo-Europeanroot *uer"aufhalten,(ab)wehren"preservedin Greekand subjectedto mergerwith *uel- "einschlieBen,verhiillen"and *Huer-"stecken"in Indo-Iranian.This mergeris controversial, however,as can be seen in the discussions in Mayrhofer1992-96 s.v. VAR2,as well as Schmidt2000, andLubotsky2000. The name varuna-has also been connected with *uel- "to see" (cf. Jakobson1985a:33-3), but because of the common features of Varunaand UranosI preferDunkel'setymology. 21The myth of Uranos in Hesiod (esp. the "Succession Myth" in the Theogony) has close parallelsin the mythology of the Near East, clearly indicatingthat Hesiod was familiar with one or more of its sources. The most striking parallels occur in the Hurriticmyth of Kumarbisurviving in Hittite adaptationsfrom the archives in Bogazkoy. Using data from this narrativein the Theogonywhen arguingfor an IndoEuropeanheritage consequently becomes a delicate matter.As regardsthe binding of the Kyklopes (or Uranids) by Uranos, however, a certain incongruityoccurs in the story. It was already recognized by Apollodorus, who tried to rationalize it in his mythography.In Hesiod, the concealed childrenof Uranos are said to have been releasedby Kronos,but the Kyklopesand Hundred-Handers (also sons of Uranos)are said to have been releasedby Zeus. West treatedthis incongruityin his commentary to the Theogony (West 1966:139-53), concluding that some kind of lapsus was at stake.It seems plausiblethatHesiod was drawingon andtryingto synthesizedifferent narratives,one (or some) of which was not relatedto the oriental"SuccessionMyth," but had its roots in an indigenous myth about Uranos. Furthermore,the Uranidsare in earth,not boundby Uranosbefore being released "concealed"(157: &xJoKp6rJTTW) The Kronos castration. nocturnalaspect of Uranos (176: vKrt' jT6yov) by through is not attestedin the orientalversions, where the Babyloniansky-god Anu takes the position of Uranos. 22Textual support for the etymological matches encountered: 1) *uerH- RV Cf. Dunkel 1988-1990:3. 1,25,5.16: vdrunam... urucdksasam - orpavo6 cE6pVg. 2) *sedos RV 8,41,9: vdrunasyadhruvdmsadah ~ Hes. Th. 128: o'pavcov ... eb6o &oq)cakg.3) The notion that the starrysky was the cloak of *uorunosis supported by evidence from RV 1,25,13, Yt 13,3, and Kritias(= Euripides[?]) fr. B25 DK (see below for furtherdiscussion).

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Zoroastrian counterpart of Vedic Varuna.23 As a patron of poets, *uorunos was probably the hypostasis of Germanic *Wo6anaz. Both Varuna and O6inn (*Wo6anaz) are affiliated with the poet, whom they invest with a particular kind of poetic formulation known as *bhregh(Vedic brahman, Old Norse bragr).24 Furthermore, the semantics and formation of the Germanic name (*uet- + suffix -no-) are comparable with those of Vedic Varuna (dpi [...] vdtantas RV 7,60,6). Further characteristics of this nocturnal deity are suggested in hereditary phraseology (see below). d. *perkWuh3nos The son of *dieus (RV 7,102,1), god of rain and thunder. He was evoked as "Oak-god" or "Striker." Provided that the different for23 Humbachand

Skjaerv0(1991) try to revise the old hypothesisthat AhuraMazda is a transformationof "a Proto-Iranianequivalent of the Rigvedic god Varuna" by arguing that Ahura Mazda embodied features of different pre-Zoroastriangods. Conceptsand mythical achievementsassociatedwith him are attributedto othergods than Varunain RV. E.g. Indrain 2,17,5 ("who holds the earth down below and the heavens [above] from falling? [dyam avasrdsah]")as comparedwith Ahura Mazda in Y 43,2 ("he held the earth [kasnddaratd],he supportedthe heaven [to preventit] fromfalling [nabascaauuapastois]").Not only does this argumentseem inconclusive, because the same goes for Varunain 4,42,4b ("I held the heaven [dharayamdivam]in the seat of truth"),but the general assumptionthat the differentgods were associated with the same concepts and mythical achievementsonly proves that these concepts and achievementswere not intimatelyassociated with a particulargod. On the other hand,when it comes to rtd-/asa, the attributiondoes not seem to be likewise arbitrary. Another importantdetail is the Young Avestan dvandva miOraahura (Y 2,11; cf. the salient Vedic dvandvamitra-vdrunau).Humbach and Skjaerv0justly insist that Ahura Mazda should be treatedas a new god in his own right, but as far as I can see this point of view does not affect the hypothesis that he developed from the same prototypeas Vedic Varuna.In the former case, the god is approachedfrom a synchronic perspective, proving him unique in comparisonwith anothergod, with whom he was once identical.Vedic Mitra,IranianMiOraand Graeco-RomanMithras should also be treatedas gods in theirown right,but the fact thatthey developedfrom the same prototypedoes not, for this reason,lose its interestor historicalrelevance. 24 Regarding bhregh- cf. RV 1,105,15: brdhmd krnoti vdruno ... vy urnoti hrda matim ~ Hdl. 2-3: Heriafoqr (O0inn) ... gefr ... brag scdldom.

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mations of the name were still associated with the same god, we would be dealing with one of the most widely attestedIndo-European theonyms (found in no less than 6 language families).25Like his father,he "smiled(*smei-) down lightningson earth"(AVP 2,70,1). He splinteredan oak and "slayed"(*gwhen-) a giant serpent26(perhaps vaguely connected with *uorunos),metonymicallycharacterizedby the "coils" (*bheugh-27)comprisingor surroundingthe heavenly wa25

Despite involving the same verbal root (*per-) and suffix (*-no-), the different formations of this name are not identical. The Vedic, Slavic, Baltic and Germanic evidence allows us to distinguishat least threevariants:*pergenio-(Vedicparjdnya, possibly Slavic *per(g)ynia"woodedhill"), *peruh3no-(Russianperun ) and (Lithuanianperkunas, Old Norse fjorgynn). Onomatopoeticreforma*perkWuh3notions (seen elsewhere in the treatmentof words for thunder)may have played a part in the developmentof this lexical family. There is consequently no reason to insist on a common prototypewithout variants,but in considerationof the fact that Baltic formed a partof a Balto-Slavic continuumfrom which Germanicmust be held separate, the coincidence of the Germanic and Baltic realizations speaks for *perkWuh3no-

as an early formation.I am indebtedto ProfessorNorbertOettingerfor clarifications regardingthese matters. Apart from the Vedic, Slavic, Baltic and Germaniccognates, attentionshould be broughtto Gr. Zeus Kepacvv6;(a possible substitutionfor *per(k)aunos),Albanian perendi, perudi "god, heaven,"a Thracianhero nepKo/rIepKov, andperune, a god of war among the Kaffirs. 26Watkins1995:passim. 27This metonymical characterizationof the serpent occurs in Old Norse and Vedicrespectively.In Skaldskaparmdl4, EysteinValdasoncharacteristicallydescribes d6rr's(faOirPruaar) fight againstthe Mi6gar6sormr,here known as baugr: Leitdbrattrarbrautar/ baug hvassligumaugum,/ oestiskadratflausti / oggs bud, fadir Prudar. Prui's fatherlooked with piercingeyes on steep-way's [land's]ring (baug) until red-fish'sdwelling [sea] surgedover the boat. (tr.AnthonyFaulkes) A similarsense of baugr is only attestedtwice elsewhere in the poetic records,in Hdttalykill36b and MerlinuspdII 15, for which reason the usage should be regarded as highly marked,perhapseven archaic. Signs of a Vedic usage of much the same type (both pertainingto the etymology of the noun, the metonymicalusage and the thematiccontext) is conspicuouswith referenceto the few attestationsof the cognate

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ters. He probably had a female counterpart identified with the earth, producing grain and cattle through mating with her. He carried an axe or a hammer with particular features, such as being yellow and 100(0)-bossed.28 The names of his Celtic and Germanic (possibly Italic) continuators (*Punraz, Tanaris and Jupiter Tonans) all derived from the root *(s)tenh2- "to thunder" and may have arisen as the result of fossilization of an original epithet or epiklesis. Some Vedic passages (e.g. AVP 2,70,4) confirm that Vedic Parjanya was referred to as stanayitnu-, "Thunderer,"an epithet formed on the same root.29 He was probably the hypostasis of the Anatolian Storm God (Hittite Tarhunnas, Luwian Tarhunzas), who likewise "slew" (*gwhen-) a serpent and whose name was formed on a root (*terh2- "to overcome" + the "Herrschersuffix" (*-no-) of his hypostasis) belonging to the same semantic field as *gwhen- and used as an epithet of Indra in RV 6,20,2. As regards the historical manifestations of *perkWuh3nos,they are obviously caught in a web of interrelated epithets which may only be bhogd- ("windung,Biegung, Schlangenring"accordingto Mayrhofer1992-96 s.v.) in RV.The following passage exhibits one of the most prevalentepisodes in the whole corpus, that of Indradefeating Vrtrain order to release the vital waters surrounded and confined by the snake. Not only has the parallel between this episode and that of P6rr'sstruggle with the Miogar6sormrfrequentlybeen drawnon a thematiclevel, but Indraand Porrare also defined by means of similar,partlycognate noun phrases denoting "serpent'skiller,"vrtra-han-(< *gwhen-)"Vrtra'sbane" and orms einbani (< *gwhen-[Hymiskvida 22]) "the serpent'ssingle bane."New supportfor the genetic prioritiesof such verbalmessages is found in the passage where bhogd- maintainsthe same markedstatusas baugr in Eystein's verse: ndvaydd asya navatimca bhogan sdkatmvdjrenamaghdvavivrscdt I When the Rewarder[Indra]cut up the ninety-ninecoils [of Vrtra]with the mace (RV 5,29,6a) 28Watkins1995:429ff. 29Notable are also phrasessuch as parjdnyastandyanhantiduskitah(RV 5,83,2d), "thundering,Parjanyastrikesthe evil-doers,"were the two characteristicroots *gwhenand *(s)tenh2- co-occur. Except for Indra, Parjanyais to my knowledge the only deity to be associatedwith the formulaicconstituents*gwhen-and *ogwhhis(cf. AVP 2,70,3).

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successfully resolved by bringing in Vedic data regarding Indra and Parjanya. e. *diuos nepothle30/*diuos suHnu The grandsons, sons or descendants of *dieus. They woo or marry a solar female, preferably Sun's daughter (*seh2ueliosio dhugh2ter),and sometimes appear as lovers or companions of Dawn. Although Greek epic exhibits typological parallels in this regard, as seen in the stories about Helen and the Dioskouroi, the name Helen (eXevrl) should not be compared with Surya as suggested by Jaan Puhvel. Vittore Pisani was probably much closer to the truth when assuming an etymological connection between Helen and Saranyu, the mythical mother of the Asvins.31 The Divine Twins sometimes appear as personifications of the morning- and evening-star in Vedic,32 a view which also left traces in Greek and Baltic.33 They were healers and helpers, particularly in cases of maritime distress, travelling in miraculous vehicles and rescuing shipwrecked mortals. The latter motif may have been decoded as epic return in Greek (see below). 30The pluralshouldprobablybe nepothje and not nepothl as suggestedby Dunkel (1988-1990). 31The namesHelen and Saranyucould, despiteMayrhofer'sscepticism,reflecttwo similarprototypes:*seleneh2and *selen(i)uh2s(-- *sel-) as arguedby VittorePisani 1969. Following up Kuhn'sold etymology, Pollom6 suggested *seren(i)uHswithout giving any semanticmotivationfor bringingVedic V/sar(sisarti), the verb underlying the name Saranyu, together with a Proto-Indo-European*ser-. The currentVedic verb most likely belongs to the family of Gr. &a,oluaL and Lat. salio (cf. Mayrhofer 1992-96 s.v., and Rix et al. 1998 s.v.), hence PIE *sel-. The set of Greek and Vedic myths comparedby Pisani display interestingcontrastsand parallels which deserve seriousreconsideration.Fora discussionof thematics(withoutattentionbroughtto the etymological conditions)see Grottanelli1986. New evidence is presentedin Jackson (forthcoming). 32Mayrhofer1992-96, 2:39, referringto T. Goto. 33Cf. Puhvel 1987:228f.

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f. *h2eusos

The daughter of *dieus. She was identified with the dawn and possessed the characteristic"smile" of her father and brother.34Her erotic nature(*uenos "desire")was preservedin Vedic (RV 1,172,1a), but was most likely subjected to overlap (Aphrodite [< Phoenecian Astorit]) and fossilization (Venus < *uenos) in Greek and Roman mythology.35Greek data relate the epithet *diuos dhugh2terto poetic inspiration(cf. the Muse Kalliope), with which the Vedic continuator of *h2eusos (Usas) was also associated. Euripidescharacteristically describes Eos as "bringinglight and chasing away the stars"(fq TC qooq)6pog "Eow bLWKovo' aoTpa Ion 1156f.). Similar images not

very surprisinglyrecurin Vedic,yet here with the verbbadhate"press, force" (cf. RV 1,92,5; 6,65,2). Besides the often focalized Vedic, Greek, Roman and Baltic continuatorsof this goddess, a possible memberof the same groupoccurs as a vague reflex in West Germanic sources.The figureis hintedat in the indigenousnamefor the Christian pascua, i.e. Easter,first referredto by Beda in De temporumratione C 15: Eostor-monath.Cf. also Old High Germanostara. g. *seh2uelios36 Personificationof the sun. He may have been regardedas the son of *dieus,37which meansthatthe Divine Twinswere wooing or marrying theirown cousin, Sun's daughter.A famousGraeco-Vedicequationdescribeshim as "spy (*spokos)of all beings."38The metaphoricalcharin Vedic, Greek acterizationof the sun-diskas his "wheel"(*kwekwlos) andGermanicshouldperhapsbe understoodas a referenceto the wheel of his chariot, in which he crossed the sky. A Graeco-Vedicmatch meaning"greatpath"(tentatively*h2ogmos*megoh2s)may originally 34Discussion in Dunkel 1988-1990. 35Ibid. 36The variantused above, *seh2uelios, is seen in Gr. i`XLO;, while Vedic surya reflectsthe variant*sh2ulios(with metathesis:*suh21ios). 37Cf. RV 10,37,1 and 1,160,3. 38h. in Dem. 62, and RV 4,13,3 et passim.

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have denoted the path of the horses of his chariot.39His association with cattle is indicatedby vague reflexes of the epic butcheringof the cattleof Helios (Hom. Od. 12.194-196), in a passagefromthe Greater Bundahisn,40Vedic Suryamilking the cattle of heaven and earth(RV 1,160,3)41and the mother of Helios, Euryphaessa,described as being "cow-eyed"(o)rOLg h.Hom. 31,2, elsewhere a salient epithet of Hera).42An Indo-Europeantaboo regarding"urinatingstandingup" (*h3meigh-*urHduos) clearly involved the sun,43but need not have pertainedto the personifiedsun. h. *seh2ueliosiodhugh2ter

See above (e). i. *plth2uih2-

A goddess identifiedwith or sprungfrom the earth.The onomastic evidenceis limited(cf. Vedicprthivt,Gr.(derived)nXdTcQa/-lXQctaLcLi, OE folde ... modor and ON fold), but clearly suggests a divine ep-

ithet. The name is derived from a metaphoricaldesignation of the earthas "broad."Despite the lack of etymological transparency(save for the element *plhlu- "much"in Greek and Old Norse), Vedic, Greekand Old Norse data indicatethat she was referredto as "muchnourishing" or "rich-pastured" (prthivtm visvddhayasam RV 2,17,5, X0ovi 7TOkvOTteipB and fiolnyta fold Sd. 444). The argument that she 39Cf. RV 4,53,4 and h.Hom.32,11. Discussion in Watkins1995:16. 40Discussion in Lincoln 1999:183ff. 41Cf. also 164,17 and 5,47,4. The "milkingof heaven"is alludedto elsewhere,e.g. in RV 1,100,3; 2,3,6; 3,57,2; 9,107,5. As first suggested by Charpentierin 1932, this RVedicnotion may shed light upon a metaphoricalexpression familiarfrom Greek epic, vvuKoga[tEkXy"duringthe milking of night." 42 As regards Euryphaessa,Campanile (1994:35ff.) argued that she originally representedDawn (Gr. ISg);), comparingthe name with a related epithet of Vedic Usas, vibhati "resplendissante."This would make Dawn the motherof *seh2uelos, for which Campanileclaims to have found Vedic evidence (RV 7,78,3). 43Cf. in particularWD 727; AV 7,102; AV 3,1,66. See also Watkins1995:14. 44Durante1968:308. I am indebtedto ProfessorAndersHultgardfor bringingmy attentionto the lattercomparandum.

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was the logical equivalent of *dieus ph2ter is based on a hypothetical juncture (*plth2uih2- meHter "Mother Earth") only weakly supported by the sources.45 As pointed out above, however, she is a more fitting partner of *perkwuh3nosthan of *dieus. The original name of this goddess may have been lost at an early date, but could still be hinted at in feminizations such as Old Norse Fjorgyn or Slavic *Perperuna. A group of gods and semi-deities without any obvious association with the "Gotterfamilie" may be added to this list. Some of the conjectures should be treated with caution since based on new evidence or a very limited body of data. j. *(H)iemos "Twin." Primordial being or mythical mortal. Among the IndoIranians he was regarded as one of the first mortals and a king of the underworld, himself the son of another mythical king, IndoIranian *uiuasuant-. He was dissected or dismembered (for a crime or sin he committed during the time of his reign) and treated as a sacrificial animal (preferably a cow46). Although the Iranian data suggests an etiology of death, Germanic reflexes of a similar motif, where *(H)imios (ON Ymir) appears in the role of a primordial giant, indicate that the dismemberment had a cosmogonic subtext.47 This subtext is also reflected by the basic verbs of the act of dismemberment in Iranian and Old Norse texts. There are no explicit references to a dismemberment of Vedic Yama, but attention should be brought to RV 10,13,4 (a hymn to the two sacrificial carts), where Yama is 45Discussion in Euler 1987:39ff. 46The word gaus "cow" occurs side by side with Yima in Y 32,8. Humbachand Skjaerv01991 discuss two possible interpretations,either "hero"(in a metaphorical sense) or "sacrificialanimal." 47The basic verb denoting sacrificial dismembermentmay have been *(s)kert"to carve" (cf. Yt 19,46 spitiiurdm(ca)yimo.kardntem"Spitiiurawho dissected (-> miscreated) Yima," with a Gmc. variant *skabh- "id." (-> create) (Vm. 21 and elsewhere). The semantic developmentof both verbs testify to the creative force of destructionand subtraction.For furtherdetails see Lincoln 1997.

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said to have "evacuated(or 'transcended')"his own body,48and to RV 10,52,3, where he is "smeared"(V/anj, i.e. in a liturgicalsense) by the gods, being constantly recreatedby them and described as havyavahor "bringingthe oblation(to the gods)."Furtherelaborations of this motif in Roman pseudo-historiography(Romulusand Remus) and continentalGermanicgenealogy (Mannus and Tuisto) are open to discussion, although the etymological evidence is lacking and the sacrificial context must be extrapolated.The Vedic story of the mythicaltwins Yama(m.) andYami(f.), in which Yamiunsuccessfully tries to seduce her own brother,may belong to a differentset or result from secondarycreation. k. *h2ekWomnepot

The different traditionssurroundingthis deity in Vedic, Avestan, LatinandIrishsources (see above:j) point to a "descendantof waters" associated with flooding and a luminous substancehidden in a body of water. The name of the god may be analysed stylistically as a coincidentia oppositorum,for which there is furthersupport in the metaphoricalexpressionscevarnidr ("descendantof the sea" = "fire"), preservedin the Old Norse poem Ynglingatal.In Yast 19,51 this fiery substance was identified with the xvaranah, a problematicconcept forming a part of the royal ideology of ancient Iran. The myth was studied in all its complexity by Dumezil 1973. An importantdetail regardingthe Roman data was added by Jaan Puhvel (1973), who saw a reminiscenceof the fiery aspects of Neptune in the expression aquamexstinguere"puttingout water(i.e. as fire is put out)"as it was used in a pseudo-historicRoman myth associated with the festival of Neptunalia.The lack of the element *h2ep- (or *h2ekw-)in the names of Neptune and Nechtan ("descendant")remainsproblematic. The defect is the inversein the name of AEgir(< *h2ekWio-"belonging to the see"49),the god of the sea in Old Norse literature.Although the sources are both too late and too sparse to distinguish Egir as 48Discussion in Lincoln 1981:80. 49The Germanicreflexes of this Indo-Europeanword for "water,sea," etc. (with possible Vfddhi-Ableitung)is discussed in Darms 1978:25ff.

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a distant kin of the "descendantsof the waters"with any certainty, there are still some motivic parallelswhich appearstriking.Particular attentionshould be broughtto a passage in SnorriSturluson'spoetic manualSkaldskaparmdl(31 [33]) relating a myth about AEgiras the explanationfor a poetic expression for "gold,"eldr cgis or "the fire of iEgir,"in Skaldic poetry. According to this passage, AEgironce arrangeda feast for the gods and carriedluminous gold into the hall as a source of light. One may speculate that this late mythographic adaptationcontains traces of pre-ChristianGermaniclore which was encoded in the hermeticlanguageof the Old Norse skalds. 1. *h ogni-

The Vedic hymns ascribe great significanceto a god Agni, understood as the embodimentof the sacrificial fire. The name is an animate (masculine)counterpartof the inanimate(neuter)word for "fire" (*peh2ur)also seen in Latin ignis, Lithuanianugnis and Old Church Slavonic ognb. Even though the theonym was alreadylost in Iranian (shifting from *agni- [cf. the Avestanname Ddstayni-]50to Atr), one should not rule out the idea that it was the name of an Indo-European deity.The assumptionis supportedby the fact thatone of his Vedicepithets or aspects (apam ndpdt)survivedin the names of individualand typologicallysimilargods in Avestan(apqmnapa), Latin([*aqudrum] neptunus),and Old IrishCeltic (nechtan),for which see above (k). m. *h3rbheuMichael Estell has recently reconsideredthe etymological connection between Orpheusand Rbhu by showing that 1) in both traditions the figure was either regardedas the son of a cudgel-bearer(vajrin [= Indra]/ O'aypog) or an archer(sudhdnvan/Apollo) and 2) known as a "fashioner"(*tetk-). The name O'Laypogis analysed as "cudgelbearer"with a first element reflecting a verb meaning "carry"(seen in o'loo, the suppletivefutureof epwo)and a second element mean50An Indo-Iranian prototypeof this god is vaguely suggested by Old Indo-Aryan (?) Da-ak-ni-is. The name occurs in a Hittitetext, but should probablybe understood as an Indo-Aryanloan ratherthan as the name of an indigenousAnatoliandeity.

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ing "cudgel"(*Faypog, as in *MeeFacypog and vdjrah< PIE *uago-).51The phonologicalmatchhas long been recognized,52but there would be no strongcase for the idea of a common past without additional matchessuch as those pointedout by Estell. Convincingas they seem, Estell's observationslead us to the tracesof a mythicalcraftsman in Greekand Vedic who may have formeda partof the Indo-European religious heritage. n. *peh2uso(n) "Protector"(lit. "who is characterizedby protecting"53).This pastoralgod survivedas Pusan(protectorof cattle, patronof thieves, etc.) in VedicandPanin Greek.Severalfeaturesof Pan,whose cult was only kept alive in distant Arkadiaduring the classical period, were most likely taken over by Hermes. Hermes was originally an ithyphallicapotropaicdeity of lesser importance,whose typical featuresin later periods were blended with influencesfrom the Near East. Seeing that he was regardedas the fatherof Pan,the connectionwith his antecedent left a genealogicaltrace similarto that of Old Norse P6rr(= Fjorgyn's son). A possible hereditaryfeature is the goad (Vedic dstra, Greek oloTpog), with which the god is wantto bait men andcattle.The result is a sudden horrorwithout any perceivablecause, referredto by the Greeksas jravLcog.The god may have had an unfortunateappearance which turnedhim into a marginalfigure unworthyof sacrifice, per51Estell 1999. 52First by ChristianLassen in 1840 and later accepted by de Saussure in 1879 (referencesin Estell 1999). If the two names are related, the common basis would eitherbe an otherwiseunattestedroot *h3rebh- or the less familiar*h3erbh- "change sides/change allegiance" (zero-grade*h3rbh-).The latter root was discussed (with particularstress on its reflexes in Hittite) in a lecture given by Craig Melchertat the Universityof Erlangenin April 2001. The core meaningof the root was firstsuggested orally to the lecturerby CalvertWatkinsin 1968. As observed by graduatestudent HisashiMiyakawain connectionwith Melchert'slecture,a root with the core meaning "changesides/changeallegiance"would fit well into the patternof the Vedic Rbhavas, who are rewardedwith immortalityby the gods as a result of theircraftsmanship(cf. RV 3,60,3). 53"derdurchHutenCharakterisierte," Oettinger1998:545.

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haps into a mediator between different cults. His animal was clearly the buck.54'55 o. promdth2euA successful comparison may shed light upon obsolete linguistic features, such as the fossilization of epithets no longer understood in one or more of the traditions approached. By analysing the Vedic verb mathnati as meaning "to rob, take away," occasionally formed with the prefix pra-, and separating it from ^/manth "to stir,"Johanna Narten observed a similar compound in the Greek name Prometheus (Doric flpoa[tcevt;) no longer perceptible to the epic poets.56 Since the verb left no traces elsewhere in the Greek language, it is not at all surprising that Hesiod and later authors, given the extant Greek verb C[avedtvc "perceive, remark, notice," analysed the name as meaning "Forethought." Thanks to Narten's comparison, we are now able to recognize a common core in the story of Prometheus and the Vedic story of Matarisvan, who "robbed" (mathnati, V/math-) the heavenly fire and brought it to mankind. 54The basic studies of this Indo-Europeandeity are Watkins1970, Oettinger1998 and Oettinger2000. 55It is conceivable, if only a matter of speculation, that the heriditaryformula *uiHro*pah2*peku-"protectmen andcattle,"as reconstructedon the basis of Indic, Iranian,Umbrianand Latinevidence (Watkins1995:197ff.),was somehow associated with the god *peh2uso(n).The name Pusanand the root (*pah2-) on which the name was originally formed become the subject of verbal play in a hymn to the Visve Devas (RV 1,89,5). In the same stanzawe encounterthe expressionjdgatas tasthusas pdtim "lord of that which walks and stands,"seemingly including a merism of the type pu'rusanpas'umsca "menand cattle"(AV 3,28,5-6). In his capacityas protector (raksitdr,pdyuth),Pusan is asked to increase(vdrdhati)property(vedas): tdm isadnam dvase humahevaydmIpusa jdgatas tasthusaspatim Idhiyamjinvcim no ydthdvedasamdsad vrdhe I raksitapayur ddabdhahsuastdye II 56Narten 1960.

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4. Mythicalimagery I have already touched upon the conceptualizationof heritage as footprint. Similar metalinguistic traditions allow us to distinguish the framing and prologues of specific genres, among which short referencesto a mythic and time-honouredpast may have constituted a salient group. By using *men-, a verbal root denoting "mental force,"or "memory,"at the beginningof such performances,the IndoEuropeanpoet also implied that he intended to tell the truth. The underlyinglogic was, with an examplefrom Greek: I remember (L[t1L[toKw) --* It is true

It is true >,HThR41 (1948) 273-74; plus r6cemment: Charges of 'Immorality' against Various Religious Groups in Antiquity>>,in Studies in Gnosticismand Hellenistic Religions presented to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday,6d. R. van den Broek et M.J. Vermaseren(Etudespreliminaires aux religions orientalesdans l'Empire Romain, 91), Leiden : Brill 1981, 161-170; on retrouvela these de Grantrenforceeparde nouveauxargumentsdans J.M. Pailler, Bacchanalia. La repressionde 186 av. J.-C. a Rome et en Italie : Vestiges,images,

? KoninklijkeBrill NV, Leiden (2002) Also availableonline - www.brill.nl

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Christianisme dans ses provinces aurait eu en tete l'affaire des Bacchanales comme on peut la lire chez Tite-Live, n'est pas nouvelle. L'idee que cette affaire a pu servir comme exemple non seulement a Pline, mais aussi aux autorites et au peuple romains dans la construction de l'image du Christianisme des 64 a ete aussi souvent formulee.2 Le but du present article est d'apporter quelques nouveaux elements a ces deux hypotheses controversees en examinant la question sous un nouvel angle. La plupart des chercheurs sont d'accord pour dire que l'affaire des Bacchanales servait comme modele a la creation de l'image du Christianisme et que les deux ont du etre consideres a l'epoque comme des entreprises visant a renverser l'ordre etabli du monde romain. La ressemblance desflagitia imputes aux deux groupes avec ceux imputes aux conspirateurs (deviances sexuelles, sacrifices humains, engagement par serment) nous conduit a la conclusion que les Bacchanales et le Christianisme ont du etre per,us par les Romains comme des coniurationes. Sans vouloir mettre en doute l'existence de cette image de coniuratio que nous tenons aussi pour certaine, nous aimerions apporter des precisions sur un point: meme s'il est vrai que ' opinion publique a certainement considere les Bacchants et les Chretiens comme des gens malefiques, ennemis de l'ordre romain, il faut insister sur le fait qu'aux yeux des Romains ces deux coniurationes etaient nees de superstitiones prauae. Et bien que cette distinction subtile entre coniurationes ordinaires et coniurationes d'origine religieuse semble negligeable, dans le cas du Christianisme, ce detail peut expliquer la contradiction entre les nombreux pogroms locaux et la relative tolerance de la politique imperiale du 2e siecle. tradition (Bibliotheque des ecoles francaises d'Athenes et de Rome, 270), Rome: Ecole Francaisede Rome 1988, 759-770. 2 P. ex. : D. Van Berchem, >.1 Les Bacchanales etaient done presentees a l'opinion publique comme une conjuration nee d'une superstition en formant un peuple avec des moeurs, des rites et des lois non seulement en contradiction avec ceux des Quirites de Rome mais diriges contre l'Etat. Le Christianisme comme coniuratio Le Christianisme, dans les yeux de la plupart de ses adversaires, a reuni les quatre elements qui caracterisent une coniuratio du type des Bacchanales. 1) Le renversement des liens sociaux Dans son discours, le consul Postumius souligne le fait qu'appartenir aux Bacchanales exclut le participant de sa famille originelle ainsi que de la communaute des Quirites: Si la d6bauche,si la d6menceont precipitequelqu'undans ce gouffre, on doit le considerercomme un de ceux avec lesquels il s'est associe pourcommettretous les crimes et toutes les ignominies, et non plus comme l'un des siens.12

C'est un discours fort ressemblant aux paroles radicales de Jesus sur la foi chretienne : Pensez-vous que je sois apparupour 6tablirla paix sur terre? Non, je vous dis, mais bien la division. Desormaisen effet, dans une maison de cinq personnes,on sera divis6, trois contredeux et deux contretrois : on sera divis6, pere contre fils et fils contre pere, mere contre sa fille et fille contre sa mere, belle-mere contre sa bruet brucontre sa belle-mere.13

Meme s'il est improbable que les Romains aient ete familiers avec les textes des evangiles, les conversions de femmes sans l'autorisation de leur tuteur, frequentes si l'on en croit l'hagiographie chretienne, ont 1139,16,6-7 : nihil enim in speciemfallacius est quampraua religio. Vbi deorum numenpraetenditursceleribus,subit animumtimornefraudibushumanisuindicandis diuini iuris aliquid immixtumuiolemus. 1239,16,5 : si quem libido, si furor in illum gurgitemabripuit, illorum eum cum quibus in omnefagitium etfacinus coniurauit,non suum, iudicet esse. 13Lc 12,51-53.

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du etre ressenties comme une menace contre la famille. On sait, qu'au deuxieme siecle, on accusait les Chretiens entre autres de corrompre les jeunes gens et les femmes en les incitant a la desobeissance envers leurs peres et leurs maris paiens14 - autrement dit de se detacher de la societe romaine en remplagant les liens traditionnels par de nouveaux liens les unissant a une nouvelle communaute. Celse accuse carrement les Chretiens .23 Caecilius de l'Octavius deplore egalement la croissance rapide du nombre des Chretiens, et ses propos sont revelateurs de l'image qu'un intellectuel romain pouvait se faire du Christianisme: Et voici qu'a present, tant la mauvaise graine est plus feconde que la bonne, avec les progresinsidieux que fait de jour en jour la depravation,les rites affreux de cette bande impie se developpentdans le monde entier. I1 faut reveler cette conspirationdans toute son 6tendueet la vouer a l'execration.24

Bref, aux yeux des Romains, les Chretiens tout comme les inities aux Bacchanales se montraient diff6rents des adeptes des autres cultes etrangers qualifies de superstitiones. Non pas au niveau des rites qui, generalement secrets ou meconnus, attiraient naturellement toutes sortes de soupqons, mais surtout au niveau de l'organisation. Les 19Tacite, Hist. V,5 : Nam pessimus quisque spretis religionibus

patriis tributa et illuc H. Le stipes Bonniec). congerebant(6d. 20aduersusomnes alios hostile odium (ib.) 21Ib., V,4 : Nouos ritus contrariosque ceteris mortalibus indidit. Profana illic omnia quae apud nos sacra, rursumconcessa apud illos quae nobis incesta. 2239,13,11 : Nihil nefas ducere,hanc summaminter eos religionemesse. 23X,96,9 : multienim omnis aetatis, omnis ordinis,utriusquesexus etiam. 24 IX, : Ac iam, ut fecundius nequiora proueniunt,serpentibus in dies perditis moribusper uniuersumorbem sacraria ista taeterrimaimpiae coitionis adolescunt. Eruendaprorsus haec et execrandaconsensio.

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autrescultes n'avaientjamais tente de remplacerles systemes sociaux (familiaux et meme politiques) existants de l'Empire, et surtout,ils n'avaientjamais ete assez efficaces pourqu'on les soupgonned'un tel dessein. Le Christianisme,cette nouvelle communautereligieuse qui avait pourbuteffectivementde changerle monde,s'est vu confronterdansle quotidien a la fois a l'ombre de son passe judaique et a sa ressemblance

structurelle avec les Bacchanales, une affaire traumatisantede la memoire romaine. Ce rapprochementavec l'affaire des Bacchanales se montre le plus cruellementdans la Lettredes Martyrsde Lyon et de Vienneaux eglises d'Asie et de Phrygie. A Lyon, le gouvemeurne suit pas la recommandationde Pline et de Trajan,il ne relachepas les repentisnon plus25- suivantainsi exactementle procededes autorites romaines de 186 av. J. C., lorsqu'elles maintenaientaussi en prison ceux des inities aux Bacchanalesqui n'avaientcommis aucuncrime.26 C'est ce qui ressortaussi des autrespogromslocaux dont les Chretiens furent souvent victimes au cours du deuxieme siecle : dans l'opinion publiquequi s'inspiraitplus volontiersdes rumeursmalveillantesque des resultats de l'investigation de Pline, l'image de la communaute des Chretienss'approchaitplutotde celle d'une coniuratiodangereuse 25Eusebe,H.E., ceux qui avaientconfesse ce qu'ils etaient,etaientempriV,1,33 : > (ed. et trad.E. Grapin).Bien sur, l'auteurchretiende la lettreeuphemisel'accusation qui pese sur les chretiensqui ont avou6 l'etre, mais meme ainsi on voit le motif de la condamnationa deux degres, comme dans l'affaire des Bacchanaleset, malgr6 l'intentionde l'auteur,il est evident que la chargecontreles chretiensobstinesdevaitetre plus lourdeque contre les autres. 26Tite-Live, 39,18,3-4 : Qui tantum initiati erant ... nec earum rerum ullam in quas iure iurando obligati erant in se aut in alios admiserant eos in uinculis relinquebant.Qui stuprisaut caedibus uiolati erant ... eos capitali poena afficiebant (>et des inscriptions du mobadKirdfr:Enet ............... 282 litteraire ...... ........... quete historique PeterANTES,Whatdo WeExperienceifWeHave ReligiousExperience? .......... .............................. 336 BookReviews Kocku von Stuckrad, Das Ringenum die Astrologie. Jiidischeund christliche antiken zum (Johann MAIER) 343 Zeitverstiindnis Beitriige Maria GraziaLancellotti, TheNaassenes.A GnosticIdentity Among Classical and AncientNear EasternTradiJudaism, Christianity, tions(IngvildSaelidGILHUS) ............................... 344 Marcos AIDA HERNAN(R. (Ed.), Gender/Bodies/Religions Sylvia DEZ CASTILLO) .......................................... 347 Sue Blundelland MargaretWilliamson(Eds.), The Sacred and the Feminine inAncientGreece(DorotheaBAUDY) ................ 348 in David Frankfurter, and ResisReligion RomanEgypt.Assimilation tance(MareileHAASE) .................................... 350 KurtHiibner,Glaube und Denken.Dimensionender Wirklichkeit 351 (KockuVONSTUCKRAD) .................................

SANCTUARIES,SACRIFICES,AND THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES NANCY A. EVANS Summary Eleusishaveconsistently madesomeassumptions Modemscholarsstudying about andthefamousritesthattookplacetherethroughout thesanctuary antiquity. Although we have no evidenceforaltarswithinthesanctuary continue walls,archaeologists beforethetemple,whilehistorians to produceplanswithaltarsin thecourtyard of thatfeaturescenesof animalsacrifice. fortheMysteries religionproposenarratives teletaimayremainunknownto us, Whileprecisedetailsof thefamousnocturnal we can inferothersignificant detailsaboutthefestivalfromtheevidencethatwe do have. This essay arguesthatthetypeof animalsacrificeknownas thusiathat excludedfrom tookplace atpublicaltarsin ancientGreecewas deliberately regularly theinterior ofthesanctuary atEleusis.Beginning witha reviewofthedevelopment of andTelesterion, andthenturnsto thesanctuary, theessayfocuseson theAnaktoron thatwereconsistently locatedoutsidethesanctuary walls.Objects features important wallsandoutsidethem.The analysisofthe werededicatedbothwithinthesanctuary locationswherethededicationsweremade suggeststhatmediationwiththedivine overanimal teletaiwas notaccomplished by priestsofficiating duringthenocturnal ofthesanctuary becausetheMysteries sacrifices. Altarswereabsentfromtheinterior ofthegodsthandidthetraditional entaileda moreegalitarian customsof experience thusia.

Introduction In theHomericHymnto DemeterwhenDemeterhas revealedher toQueenMetaneira andtheotherinhabitants ofthecityof trueidentity the to her she instructs Eleusinians Eleusis, propitiate angerbybuilding her"a templeand an altarbelowit" (Hymnline 270). The goddess' instructions appearat firstto be quitesimple,and scholarsstudying theEleusinianMysteries andthelonghistory ofDemeter'ssanctuary to help themreconstruct in Eleusis have used theseinstructions a ofthesiteandtheritesthattookplacethere. For picture comprehensive @ Koninklijke BrillNV,Leiden(2002) Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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modemscholarsthepoemsupplements fragmentary physicalevidence and silencesof literary in thetwentieth testimonia.1 Archaeologists and sketches that includealtars century customarily producedplans in thecourtyard at theentrance to Demeter'stemple.2Historians of the likewise lead, religion, perhapsfollowing archaeologists' proposed thatfeature narrative accountsof theMysteries scenesof prominent animalsacrifice.3 Bothgroupsof scholarsclearlyassumedthatthe oftheMysteries nocturnal celebration includedanimalsacrifice. Thisessaywillarguethatthetypeofanimalsacrifice knownas thusia thatregularly tookplaceataltarsinancientGreecewasdeliberately from the of thesanctuary at Eleusis.Although excluded interior precisedetailsofthefamousnocturnal rites,orteletai,mayalwaysremain tous,we can inferothersignificant detailsaboutthecult,its unknown and its from the evidence thatwe do have.In parpractices theology thisessaywillexaminethevariousplaceswherededications to ticular, of thegodsweremade.I willbeginwitha reviewofthedevelopment thesanctuary, first ontheAnaktoron andTelesterion andthen focusing to features that were located outside the consistently turning important walls.Objectswerededicatedinbothplaces,bothwithin the sanctuary walls and outside altars to lobut be them, sanctuary uniformly appear catedoutsidethesanctuary walls.The analysisofthelocationswhere were dedicatedsuggeststhatsignificant objects theologicaland ideof reasons lie behind the altars and animalsacrifice absence ological 1See forinstancePausanias1.38.6: "Hereis shownwhatis called the threshing floorofTriptolemos andthealtar.Butmydreamforbade metodescribewhatis within thewallofthesanctuary; hear surelyit is clearthattheuninitiated maynotlawfully ofthatfromthesightofwhichtheyaredisbarred." 2 See figure1,a drawing donebyTravlosthatsituatesaltarsinfront ofthetemple, herereproduced fromMylonas1961figure 25. SimilarimagesbyTravlosalso appear inVanderpool ofa scalemodeloftheclassicalsanctuary, 1982plate29 (a photograph in frontof thetemple),and Kokkoubuiltby Travlos,thatincludesaltarsdirectly Vyride1999 map 7, the same drawingby Travlosthatdepictsthe Peisistratean withaltars.Thisdrawing was originally sanctuary publishedinTravlos1951:12. 3 One of themostimaginative narrative accountsof theMysteries comes from Burkert 1983,discussedbelow.

of EleusisduringthePeisistrateap Figure1. Restoredviewof thesanctuary from thiscourtyard. Mylonas1961,figure25. Reproduced

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withinthesanctuary. Altarsrepresent, amongotherthings,thelocus fora commonand significant withthegodswhich typeof mediation those with simultaneously places politicalpowerin theculticcenter, and thosewithless powerat themargins. If altarswereabsentfrom theinterior thentheteletaiintheTelesterion ofthesanctuary, wereexin a moreegalitarian waybythosewhochosetoparticipate perienced in theEleusinianMysteries. A Review4 Development oftheSanctuary: In antiquity Eleusis was a deme withinthecity-state of Attica, a prosperousand well-fortified harbortownon the bay of Salamis about 14 miles northwest of the cityof Athenson the frontier of Atticaand Megara.The Mysteries at Eleusiswerean annualfestival to Demeterheld duringthe middleof the monthof Boedromion, to our late September/early October. approximately corresponding Thisfestival knownas the"Greater becamepan-Hellenic, Mysteries" or open to Greeksfromcity-states otherthanAttica,long before theClassical period.Duringthefifth and fourth centuries BCE the EleusinianMysteries assumed the status of the most quickly important andwidely-attended cultintheGreek-speaking world,a status mystery it maintained and evenenlargeduponthroughout untilthe antiquity 4 Travlos1988:99-102providesa fullbibliography fortheyears1864-1985.The basic handbookoffering an overviewoftheMysteries andtheexcavations at Eleusis remainsMylonas1961.The earlierworkofNoack 1927also remainsindispensable fora thoroughstudyof the sanctuaryand its history. Richardson1974:249-250 "Eleusinian discusses Noack and Mylonasin some I, (Appendix Topography") somenewinsights. The following differences andincluding detail,notingsignificant overviewofthedevelopment ofthesanctuary the of older updates study Mylonasby someofthemorerecentresearch. Morerecentandspecializedstudies incorporating ofEleusinianarchaeology includeDarque1981,Ziro1991,andKokkou-Vyride 1999. KevinClintonhas publishedmanyfinestudieson Eleusis:forthisessayI haveused inparticular Clinton1974,1988,1992,1993and1996.Clinton1988usedliterary and to that the altars of Kore in the evidence Demeter and were located epigraphical argue "forecourt" ofthesanctuary. To myknowledge hasthusfarprovoked thisobservation littlediscussionamongscholarsofEleusis.Foley1994also discussesthesiteandthe cultinthecontext ofherstudyoftheHomericHymntoDemeter

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evidenceforculticcontinuity betweenthe 14thcentury BCE structures discovered Kourouniotes in the and the 1920s and structures from the 8th and 7th by objects centuries. As Kuruniotis 1935:77and Kourouniotes 1936:12-14had done,Mylonas wantedtoconnectMycenaeanremains tocultpractices inthehistorical period,butdid nothavetheevidencetodo so, although 1961:34 does state with confidence Mylonas thattheMycenaean"MegaronB" is theTempleof Demetermentioned in theHymn toDemeter.Mylonas'argument forMycenaeanbackground has considerable length (Mylonas1961:38-54),butis, as Darque 1981 conclusively proves,mistaken. Mylonas 1961:273revealsthemotivation forhis desireto establishcontinuity between

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therelative oftheAnaktoron andTelesteFigure4. Planshowing position from 27. rion.Reproduced 1961, Mylonas figure tivityand votiveremainsat thesiteindicatea shiftin behaviorthat is consonantwithothersites aroundthe Greekworld,and is eviin thisregion dence foran increasedeconomicand social stability siteis a small of theAegean.6The earliestverifiable at the sanctuary terraceandsurrounded templebuilton a man-made by eighthcentury a periboloswall.7Evidenceforsacrificial pyreshasbeenfoundon and theClassicaland Mycenaeanperiods:he speculatesthatthehierashownat thecliwererelicshandeddownfromMycenaeantimesand storedfor maxoftheMysteries intheAnaktoron. centuries HereMylonasandKourouniotes wereevidently following thelead of MartinNilssonwhoalso saw possibleMycenaeanrootsforthisDemeter cult:Nilsson1932:161. 6 See Polignac1995 forhis argument abouttheformation of theGreekcity-state of extraurban cultcentersin Greeceduringtheeighthcentury. and thesignificance atEleusisas extraurban. Polignac1995:22classifiestheDemetersanctuary 7 Mylonas1961:57-58citesthefragment ofan ellipticalwallexcavatedbyPhilios The wallis notas fragmentary andlaterexaminedmorethoroughly byKourouniotes. as Richardson1974:328 implies;it is 5 m in length,and builtatop an artificial

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side of thewall.8On top of thiseighthcentury aroundtheexterior templelie theremainsof a later14 x 24 m oblongbuildingthatcan be datedto theseventh a small3 x 12 m roomoccupiesthe century; southwest endofthestructure. Againthisoblongbuildingis protected wall.9 a connected withtheworshipofDemeter by peribolos Objects werefoundnearby, againoutsidetheperiboloswall.'o the sixth During centurythe oblongbuildingis replacedby a In each subsequent larger,roofedtempleknownas theTelesterion. of remainsthefocal enlargement thetempletheoblongAnaktoron of the which overtimebegins Telesterion, larger point increasingly to assumethe appearanceof an indoor,squaretheater."The sixth terracecomprisedof Mycenaeanfill.Polignac1995:19notesthattheconstruction oftheterrace andtemenos extraurban centersof wallwas commontoall theprincipal worshipin theeighthcentury, including Delphi,EleusisandDelos. tracesof fireand smokestillto be seen on theouter 8 Mylonas1961:57:"strong faceoftheretaining wallprovedefinitely thatinthisarea... sacrifices wereheldover a longperiodoftime,certainly in honorofDemeterand Kore."The sacrificial pyres at Eleusishavebeenanalyzedin greatdetailby Kokkou-Vyride 1999. The factthat is on theexterior ofthewallwillbe keyformyargument evidenceforburning below. 9 Mylonas1961:67-69 calls this 14 x 24 m buildingtheArchaicTelesterion. was locatedalongthesouthwest side of the MylonaspostulatesthattheAnaktoron basedon theobservations andcalculations ofTravlos:Mylonas1961:69-70. building 10Objectsfoundare mostlypottery dishesand othersmallvotiveofferings often in theshapeof a femalefigure. Fora completecatalogueof findsfromthepyreson in theappendixofKokkou-Vyride ofthewallssee thephotographs theexterior 1999, plates7-62. The itemscataloguedin thisappendixincludemanysortsofvases(both fullscaleandminiature), clayplaques,andmetalartifacts. 11Most and archaeologists todaycall thelarger,theaterspace the"Telesterion," thesmalleroblonginterior Mylonas1961:69and 84 cites buildingthe"Anaktoron." abouttheoverlapping Travlos'observations layersof buildings,and suggeststhat in each successiveenlargement ancientarchitects madean effort and renovation to of the site Demeter's visit to the structure that Eleusis, Kourouniotes, original preserve Travlosand Mylonasclaimedwas the Mycenaeanshrine.Travlospublishednew forMylonas1961,including 4, 6, 26 and 27. I agreethatarchitects figures drawings tokeeptheearlyAnaktoron madetheeffort thefocusofthetemple,butwithDarque I agreethattheearliestDemetersanctuary is a simplegeometric structure datedtothe eighthcentury.

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centuryTelesterionis a square,25 x 27 m, roofedbuildingthat in itsnorthwest corner.12 fullyenclosestheolder3 x 12 m structure InsidethisarchaicTelesterion graduated stepsriseup threeofthefour a view of theinterior Anaktoron and an open space sides,offering aroundit. This archaicTelesterion was enlargedonce morein the and had probablybeen dismantled in preparation sixthcentury, for of thesanctuary whenthePersiansinvaded yetanotherenlargement Atticain480/479BCE.13Themiddleofthefifth thePericlean century, formajorbuildingprojectson the history periodfamousin Athenian of a new and AthenianAcropolis,sees theimmediateconstruction fifth (51 x 51 m). Thecompleted improved, largerTelesterion century structure is fourtimeslargerthanits Peisistratean predecessorand on the eightrising includesseatingforseveralthousandspectators all fourwalls.14At thisstageof thetemple's stepsthatnowsurround the Anaktoron design occupiesa large,openspaceinthecenterofthe Telesterion.15 The Telesterion was calledDemeter'sTemple,neos,and was like a defined ortemenos, all Greektempleslocatedwithin sacredprecinct,

12Mylonas1961:78-105;Mylonas1961 3 inthisarticle. 26,planB = figure figure 13Herodotus 9.13-14 and9.65 attesttothedestruction oftheEleusiniansanctuary. As T. Leslie Shear,Jr.1982 has shown,thisdestruction is supported bothby a fifth from421/420thatrecordsthe IG 12 81 (an inscription centuryAtticinscription, of a bridgeovertheRheitoiusingstonesfromtheArchaicTelesterion construction thathad been dismantled beforethePersianWar),and by theevidenceof a rebuilt wall. See Mylonas1961:106-107and figure26 planE = figure3 here.Shear 1982 also citestwootherinscriptions from408 and407 thataccountforbuildingmaterial takendownfromthearchaicTelesterion andlaterreused:IG 12313 lines103-110and IG 12314 lines113-120. 14Clinton1996 calls theTelesterion thelargestpublicbuildingin fifth century Attica. 15Itis thisfifth-century Telesterion thatI willbe focusing on inthispaper,although to notethatthesurrounding it is important continued to be elaboratedand sanctuary inboththeHellenistic andRomanperiodsas interest inthemysteries renovated grew, whiletheTelesterion andsanctuary itselfremainthissamesize.

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outside.16 of separatefromtheinhabited territory Onlyworshippers Demeter'smysteries, calledinitiates or mystai, wereallowedbeyond thegatesthatled intothegoddess'sacredprecinct whichincludedthe Telesterion and thepavedcourtyard aroundit.Outsidethesanctuary was a publiccourtyard less containing sacredsites:a Romanperiod templeto ArtemisPropylaia(Artemisof thePortals),severalolder altars,includingthegroundaltarsor escharai,and theKallichoron Well,knownfromtheHomericHymntoDemetertobe associatedwith themyth ofDemeter'swanderings toEleusisafterHadesabductedher 17 daughter. Constant FeaturesinSanctuary Design Whiletheevidencefromthedifferent buildingperiodsoverseveral centuries indicates thesteadyandsubstantial ofthesanctuary, a growth certain between different elements of the spatialrelationship sanctuary remains constant eachperiodofdesignandrenovation. The throughout is situated on a monumental raised terrace and goddess'temple always encircledbyperiboloswalls;thepubliccourtyard withthealtarsand theKallichoron Wellalwayslie belowthetempleandoutsidethewalls ofthesanctuary. Ancientarchitects thisseparation tookpainsto maintain of temple and altars.Beginningin the archaicperiod,each renovationand of theTelesterion also requiredexpanding thecourtyard enlargement and pushingback theperiboloswalls thatencircledtheTelesterion and hidit fromtheoutsideworld.The mostsignificant enlargements 16On theTelesterion-Anaktoron complexas a neos,see IG 1281:8,IG 12313:103; of marking outsacred Mylonas1961:40;Richardson1974:328.On thesignificance and the of the in the archaic see 1995:20. emergence Polignac space sanctuary period 17See Mylonas1961:169-70forhissuggestion thattheRomanperiodorientation of thegatesand thealtarsimpliespossibleearlierstructures. See Mylonas1961:60 fora discussionof the tracesof a muchearlierapsidal buildingdiscoveredby and identified Kourouniotes, byhimas a possiblelateGeometric templeof Artemis The or altar is a in the eschara Proylaia. ground simply pit groundringedby stone. Thissortofaltaris olderthantheraisedstonebomos.Theoldestaltarwe currently can in is a Greece an in Hera on see 1995:17. eschara Samos; identify sanctuary Polignac

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and thesanctuary to theTelesterion, thecourtyard weremadein the in thelate sixthcentury sixthand fifth centuries. UnderPeisistratos walls were built further to the eastso thatthenewand newperibolos muchlargerTelesterion couldbe builton a previously archaic existing that terrace. Sincethenewwallscutacrosstheolderpubliccourtyard containedthearchaicKallichoron Well,movingthewallsmeantthat also had to fillin thearchaicwell andbuildone further to architects theeast,and also rebuildthecourtyard the well so that surrounding bothwellandcourtyard wouldremainoutsidethenewwalls.'8Atthis themainentrance to sametimePeisistratean architects also reoriented thesanctuary, movingitfromthesouth,thesidefacingthesea, to the thethreshold Thisnorth betweenthegoddess' northeast.19 gatemarked andtheSacredWay(themainroadtoAthens)andwas later sanctuary rebuilt the scale.20 by Romanson a monumental The nextmajorrenovationcame when the Atheniansresumed afterthe theEleusiniansanctuary century enlarging earlyin thefifth Persiansdestroyed theAnaktoron. andstrengthened Theyfirst repaired thearea wherethePersianarmyhad breachedtheperiboloswall.21 Theythenfilledin an area betweenthearchaicterraceand an older the olderperiboloswall into a periboloswall, thustransforming wall that now withits could retaining supporta muchlargerterrace, andevenlargerTelesterion. interior courtyard Finallytheysurrounded wallwithyetanother, better fortified thenewretaining periboloswall. 18Fora discussion ofthecuriousdesignoftheperiboloswallsandhowtheircourse

accommodates thewell see Ziro 1991:292.For discussionof thisretaining wall see Mylonas1961:91. See Mylonas1961:44-47,72, and 97-99, 170 forhis scattered ofthewell. discussionsofthehistory 19See Ziro 1991:291on thenorth theculticsignificance gate.His studyunderplays of thewallsand theexterior locationof thewell andcourtyard, insteademphasizing thesanctuary thatPeisistratos transformed intoa defensible "fortress of vitalimportanceforthesecurity ofAttica." 20Labeled"5. Lesser 2. Propylaea"infigure 21See Shear1982:133-134on thebreachedwall southeast of theTelesterion and in480, followedbytherebuilding oftheAnaktoron andrefortification of theburning thesanctuary.

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This construction of a new outerwall requiredtheconstruction of a newouternorthgate.22The newperiboloswallandgatewerepushed as fareast as theycould be extended,while stillleavingthe well (alreadymovedonce before)and the outer-most courtyard open to thepublic.Thesefifth-century renovations markthefinalstagein the of enlargements to thesanctuary itself,and theyensuredthat history thesitesoutsidetheoutermost (the periboloswall of the sanctuary aroundit) remained altars,the KallichoronWell and the courtyard accessibleto thegeneralpublic,to bothinitiateand to non-initiate alike. This arrangement-anelevatedtempleenclosedbehindheavily fortified wallsin a restricted Welland location,whiletheKallichoron altarsstayat a distancebelow in a publicspace-was maintained each enlargement of thetempleand courtyards. Thereis no through materialevidenceforaltarswithinthesanctuary behindthewallsfor Altarbases and the anyperiodduringthehistoryof thesanctuary. remainsofpyresandground-altars charred areuniformly foundinthe outermost outsidethewallsin thepublicspace accessible courtyard, to bothmystaiand non-initiates. sourcesalso mentionaltars Literary outsidethesanctuary. Forexamplein EuripidesSuppliantWomen the of actorsand chorusmembersare sittingat thealtars Demeterand Kore.23Theymentionthattheycan see theroofof theTelesterion above themin the background and theyalso tell us thattheyare

22Labeled "3. GreaterPropylaea"in figure2. See Ziro 1991:292 on the new walls and theGreaterPropylaea,whichhe termsthe "NorthPylon."Ziro asserts defensive thattheouterfifth walls,likethePeisistratean ones,were"strictly century in character." to 490-480. Theywere 1.75 m thick,and he datestheirconstruction evenintothe Accordingto Ziro 1991:293-294thewalls continuedto be fortified all thelaterfortifications fourth whentheywerethickened to3.8 m.Evenafter century, madesurethattheKallichoron Wellremained on theoutsideof ofthewall architects thetemenos. 23EuripidesSuppliantWomen tothealtars 33,64,93, 268 and290. Euripidesrefers ofDemeterandKoreusingthreeterms:eschara,bomos,andthumele.

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seatedin immediate viewoftheKallichoron Well.24Sinceitwouldbe to represent theinterior of thesanctuary impossiblefora playwright thewomenat on stageforan audiencethatcontainednon-initiates, This thewell and thealtarsmustbe in the outer-most courtyard.25 evidenceclearlyfitswell withthe archaeologicalevidence literary fortheKallichoron Well and thegroundaltarsand pyresoutsidethe periboloswalls. TheEleusinianFestival:Thusiaand OtherOfferings of the variedtraditional The requirements practicesnecessitated bothpublicandnon-public sacredspacesatEleusis,withaltarslocated in the public and less restricted locations.The annualcelebration Demeter's was out over eightdays in two widely of rites spread separatedlocales. The festivalmovedfirstfromEleusisto theheart and then ofAthens,thento theinnermost recessesoftheTelesterion, back towardsthecenterin Athens.Different of were types offerings madein particular placesat specifiedtimesduringthefestival. Many oftheactivities andpurifications associatedwiththeGreater Mysteries on the 14th of Demeteractuallyhappenedin Athensitself,starting ofthehiera,or sacred withthetransfer dayofthemonthBoedromion in Eleusisto theEleusinionsanctuary on objects,fromthesanctuary the edge of theAthenianagora.26The nextfourdays werepassed 24EuripidesSuppliantWomen withthetemple 88 and980-989 describethesetting in thebackground; 391 and619 describethesetting withthewellin SuppliantWomen view. 25Richardson1974:249citesthisscenefromtheSuppliantWomen as evidencefor altarswithinthesanctuary. See Clinton1988fora discussionoftheplaysimilartomy innote1 above:clearlythealtarPausanias own.Consideralso thePausaniasquotation describesis inthepublicspaceaccessibletonon-initiates. Ofcourse,iftherehadbeen altarswithinthesanctuary, we wouldnotnecessarily learnof themfromtheextant sources. literary 26The GreaterMysteriesin Septemberwerepreceded(or perhapsfollowed)by the Lesser Mysteries,celebratedin Athensin earlyspringduringthe monthof Anthesterion. The following outlineofthefestival calendaris adaptedfromMylonas Parke1977:55-72.Parkecovers Clinton Clinton and 1988:69-71, 1961, 1993:116,

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in theheartof Athensitself;on thesedayspriestsperformed thusia and purifications.27 These preliminaries also includedthe official declarations of theArchonBasileus.The Archonstoodon theporch of theStoa Poikilein theheartof theAthenianagora,and declared thatanyonewho couldspeakGreekand was freeof thepollutionof was invited totakepartinDemeter'srites. murder The 19thofBoedromion fromAthens markedthegreatprocession to Eleusis,a 14 milepilgrimage duringwhichthepriests, priestesses, andtheephebesaccompanied thehieraandled themystai magistrates initiatesspentthefirstfull alongtheSacredWay.28The prospective forthenocturnal teletaibyfasting dayin Eleusis,the20th,preparing andperhapsvisiting theKallichoron Wellin thepublicspaceoutside the sanctuary; of meal to meanwhilepriestsmade a greatoffering Demetercalled thepelanos.29On thenightof the 20ththemystai and enteredthe passed throughthe gates and interiorcourtyards, Telesterion wheretheteletaitookplace, theholymysteria we still knowso littleabout.30 The lastdayofthefestival featured publicrites and libationsin honorof thedead,includingritesthatincorporated

thelogisticsof thefestival, thatdo notappearin Mylonasand callingon testimonia see Miles Clinton.For theroleof theAthenianEleusinionin theannualMysteries 1998:21-23. 27Foraltarsin theAthenian Eleusinionin theclassicalperiodsee Miles 1998:62and 34 with ofthesealtarbases. 63, plate photographs 28Clinton1988:70arguesthatthepilgrimage oftheinitiates happeneda daylater, on the20thBoedromion, from theofficialpompe.Clinton'sreckoning for separate is one dayshorter thantheone typically thewholefestival proposed;ourevidencefor of each day of thefestivalis especiallyunclear.Even Parke1977 is thescheduling ambiguous:on 69 he saysday6 (the20th)is thefinaldayleadingupto theinitiation; on 71 he claimsthattheinitiation happenedon thenightbetweendays7 and8. 29By fasting and visitingthewelltheinitiates wereimitating Demeter'sbehavior at Eleusis,as depictedin theHymnto DemeterFor thepelanos sacrificesee Parke 1977:69;Mylonas1961:260. 30Againtheschemain Clinton1988 differs fromthetypicalone; he claimsthe areheldon onlyone night(the21stBoedromion) insteadof two(the20th Mysteries and21st),as seenine.g. Mylonas1961:258and278.

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fordepositing themegara Figure5. TheporchoftheTelesterion, including from Clinton 1988:74. (a-e). Reproduced piglets the uniqueEleusinianvesselscalled kernoiand plemochoai,31 and the civic sacrifices at the altars and escharai in the public finally great andjoyousdancingfollowed, outsidethewalls.Celebrations courtyard and initiates and thisportionof thefestival was opento non-initiates couldfullyknowthecause alike,althoughperhapsonlytheinitiates forthecelebration. In contrast totheprocession toEleusison the19th thereturn whichhadbeena grand, affair, triponthe23rdhad organized The hieraremained in theinnermost no ritualized function. sanctuary werethenfreeto go in Eleusisuntilthefollowing year.Participants totheirnormal, theirindividual waysas theyreturned dailylives. altarsandpyreshavenotbeenfoundwithin theinterior of Although thesanctuary, thedesignof theTelesterion has an interesting feature did thatallow fordedicationof a different typeof animaloffering. as megarahavebeen foundattachedto thefront Five pitsidentified southeastside of theTelesterion portico.Thesepitsare impressively 31Amongthepottery vesselscalled kernoi,unusual findsat Eleusisare offering earthenware characteristic of Eleusis. Some arealso madeof marble. servingpieces Numerouslittlecups forcerealofferings and liquidofferings etc.) (oil, (grain,peas was are attached to the and the honey,wine) kernos, kernos carriedtiedon thehead. Fordescriptions andimagesofkemoisee Mylonas1961:221-2andfigure 87. Many in the Athenian Miles were also found 1998:95-103 Eleusinion; kernoi arguesthatthe kemoi vessels were as were also known and used on thefinal specialized plemochoai, the festival make the of the Miles of to to dead. See 1998 day offerings god plates 18-19 formoreimages.

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deep;oneis over20 mdeep.A recentreviewoftheoriginalexcavation reportsfromthe discoveryof thesepitsin the 1880s revealedthat excavators haddiscovered a fertile soilwiththeconsistency ofcompost thatcontainedanimalbones.32This evidencepointsto thewomen's festivalof DemeterThesmophoria celebratedduringthe following month,a festivalcommonin archaicand classical Greece which requiredcitizenwivesto offerwholepigletsto thegoddess,placing themin thegroundto rot.33Althoughwe cannotwithcertainty link oftheMysteries anycompostofdecayedpigletswiththecelebration were forbidden from what (initiates recounting happenedwithinthe of walls), scholarshave long knownof the significance sanctuary at Eleusis from evidence and the of the piglets literary iconography Eleusis was famousforits piggies,and initiateseven Mysteries.34 commissioned commemorative statuesdepicting themselves holding a pigletina posturethatrecallsthatmoment beforededication oftheir to Demeter. offering Sincewe knowfromepigraphic andiconographic evidencethatpigs a in role Eleusinian is to find ritual,it thennotsurprising play large areas for the of votive for the specific deposition pigofferings goddess to whompigs wereso oftendedicatedin Greekcultpractices.Furtherediscovery andanalysisofthemegarahasthepotential thermore, inourunderstanding tosolveseveralproblems ofthesanctuary andits Before this scholars to find or design. rediscovery struggled space even evidenceforaltarsnearthetempleoranywhere onthetempleplatform 32Clinton1988:73,76; photographs and illustrations of themegaracan be found on 74 and75. See figure 5. 33Clinton1988:77-78arguesthatwhatwas thrown downintothemegaraat the For further connections between Mysterieswas broughtup at theThesmophoria. theritesat Eleusis and theThesmophoria, see Brumfield 1981. See Miles 1998:22 whereshesuggeststhatthecityEleusinioninAthensprobably servedas a siteforthe celebration oftheThesmophoria. 34Mylonas1961:223citespigs on Eleusiniancoins;Mylonas1961:201and 203 discussstatues(andstatuettes) ofpigsandofinitiates holdingpigs.See Mylonas1961 66 fora lovelyexampleofa pig statuette. figure

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several"poswherethusiacouldhavetakenplace.Mylonasidentified courtjust south sible"areasforaltarson theterrace(e.g. theinterior in andanother southcourtyard constructed ofthearchaicTelesterion, Kourouniotes was estheclassicalperiod),buthe had no evidence.35 in establishing a Mycenaeanpre-history forEleupeciallyinterested also includedaltarsin thesanctuary's interior sis,andthispre-history Noackbeforehimarguedthataltarswerea "consistent" courtyard.36 showedthathe had featureof thesanctuary, butlaterarchaeologists levelsand periods.37 The architect conflated evidencefromdifferent and Mylonas,in JohnTravlos,who workedalongsideKourouniotes terracebefore one drawingevenplaces two altarson thesouth-east of this Travlos theTelesterion Versions drawingare often portico.38 in 1999,buthe too had no evidenceforthis mostrecently reprinted, desiretodepictan altarinfront ofa temthe placement, only apparent was the"sacred thattheinterior courtyard suggested ple. Vanderpool to us from a fourth butthis floor" known century inscription, threshing also requiredtheremovalofthealtarsthatTravlos'drawsuggestion has speculated Finally,Burkert ingsand modelshad placedthere.39 forsacrifice, without aboutthe"possibilities" admittedly anyphysical evidencefromothercultpractices, evidence,onlycomparative especult of sacrifice. His most the standard thusia, practices bloody cially reconstruction can be foundin Homo Necans,werehe imaginative climax of themysteries entailedthesacrifice of a that the speculates 35Mylonas 1961:91: "... a triangularly shaped courtwherethe altarsof the have stood" Goddessesmust (emphasismine-Mylonasknowshe has no evidence forthisaltar);Mylonas1961:137:"... rockcuttings indicating perhapstheposition ofan altar"(emphasismine). 36Kourouniotes thetwoaltarsof thecourt[insidethesanctuary] 1936:63:"Within thegoddessesmusthavestood,buttheexactlocationus unknown" (emphasismine). thatwas See also Kuruniotis 1935:68,a discussionof thesmallerinterior courtyard that wherewe must"assume"("als sicherannehmen") "dereigentliche Tempelhof" thealtarsstood. 37Noack 1927:10;Mylonas1961:57. 38Mylonas1961figure 2 above. 25 = Travlos1951:12= figure 39Vanderpool1982:173.

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castrated to thegoddess.Thereis sheepwhosetesticleswereoffered no basisin theiconographic, architectural, absolutely archaeological, or evidence for this conclusion.40 literary epigraphic Nocturnal Teletaiand theAbsenceofThusia:a Proposal of theMysteries did includeconventional Clearlythecelebration sacrificial rites.The Mysteries lastedforovera week,and included manyoccasionsfor thusia,both in Athensand in Eleusis. Altar bases havebeenidentified in bothlocations.The frequency and dual locationsof theseanimalsacrifices could have confirmed thesocial and politicalbondsbetweenEleusis and Athenssincethesequence oftraditional ritesrequiredAthenian andEleusinianofficials to come traveltogether andperform A specialpriest thusiatogether. together, was evenidentified to overseeall of the sacrifices:the hiereusepi to thearchaeologists and architects bomo.41But I propose,contrary who studiedthesitein thelastcentury, thataltarswereabsentfrom theinterior ofthesanctuary, andthattheinitiates communicated with in a different fashion. gods features teletaiwithin Uniquesanctuary implythatthenocturnal the Eleusiniansanctuarywere unlikethe normalritesfamiliarto residents oftheGreekworld.The siteatEleusis,including itsgeneral and contains structural features that architecture, layout distinguish it fromothersanctuaries and thesacrifices thattookplace in them. Firstof all, theelevatedarea withinthesanctuary walls containsthe This was Telesterion/Anaktoron complex. building distinguished by itssize,andby itsbuilding-within-a-building designwhichwas quite unknown elsewherewithinAtticaand indeedwithinall of classical 40Burkert hisreconstruction, 1983:282-283.To support Burkert citescomparative froma myth evidence,parallelsfromtheAnatolianDemetermysteries extrapolated Christianwriter.Burkertlater reportedby a muchlater,and hardlysympathetic, modifies thisposition;Burkert 1987does notpromote aboutsacrifice anyspeculation withinthe Telesterion, notingonly the sacrificesin the public spaces: Burkert 1987:109-110. 41Garland1984:103,Mylonas1961:233,237,Clinton1974:82-86.

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Greece. Most of the Telesterionwas coveredby a roof and had abundantseatingon all foursides; in thisrespectthe Telesterion resemblesa typicalCouncilHouse, or Boule,butis also unlikethe in thecenter.42 Boule sincethereis thesmallerbuilding(Anaktoron) Ancientliterary sourcesreport thatthepowerful mediating experience of theEleusinianMysterieswas visual and theseatingareas on all fourinterior wallsoftheTelesterion certainly suggesta spacelikean is unlikea theatersinceit was ancienttheater.43 But theTelesterion roofedandsincetheseatingareasfocusedon thesmallbuildinginthe centerandtheopenspaceaboutit. But the secondand mostnotablepointof contrastbetweenthe is theknown sanctuaries at Eleusis and otherpan-hellenic sanctuary this locationof the altars.Duringeveryperiodof its development, fortified was from altars the of Demeter by heavily separated temple madesacrifices tothegodsare periboloswalls.Thealtarswherepriests orinthe locatedoutsidethesanctuary, either14 milesawayinAthens, atEleusisalongsidetheSacredWaytoAthens.It is exterior courtyard ritualperformed at altars, conceivablethatthusia,bloodysacrificial of thenocturnal mysteria playedlittleor no role in thecelebration and We now know of the Telesterion. withinthesanctuary megara, 42ComparetheclassicalTelesterion plans to theplan in figure6, a plan of the fromTravlos1971:258.Thereis no exactparallel Athenian Bouleuterion reproduced fortheTelesterion-notempleor municipalroofedbuildingbuiltforseatedviewing had thatalso containsa smallerbuildingattheheartofit.TheCouncilHousetypically in openspaceat thecenter:see Travlos1971:192forhisaccountoftheBouleuterion Athens. 43Termsfromthecultlike epopteia("viewing")and Hierophant(a "priestwho was visual,andtheliterary evidence showssacredthings")implythattheexperience forvisual languageis so commonthatI cannotbeginto listit exhaustively. See, forexample,HomericHymntoDemeter480-482; PlatoSymposium 212; Sophocles fr.719; Pindarfr.102; thePausaniasquotationin note 1 above; Burkert1987:91saw: see Mylonas writers 110. Even theChristian speakof whatthepaganinitiates 1961:288-316fora discussionof key Christianpassages. Because the roofwas by rowsof columns(42 columnstotal:6 rowsof 7 columnseach), the supported butthatmaynothavebeena significant viewwouldhavebeensomewhat obstructed, in at factor the torch-lit room dark, night. negative

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in Athens, Bouleuterion hereshownon theright. Figure6. 5thcentury from 253. Reproduced Travlos1971,figure and we knowthatthe mysteriaconsistedof threeparts,dromena, deiknumena, legomena("thingsdone,""thingsshown,"and "things none of whichnecessarilysignifyritualsacrifice, spoken"), though the termsdo implysomething akin to drama.We also knowthat uniquevesselscalledkernoiandplemochoaiwereusedfordepositing votiveofferings of grainsand otherplantsacrifices. This combined evidenceleavesopen thepossibility thattheteletaiof Demeterand Kore excludedthe sheddingof animalblood at altarswithinthe sanctuary. The ideologicalreasonsforthisabsencereston thepoliticsoffood and sacrificein theclassicalpolis. Standardcultsacrificewithinthe polisentaileda preciseprotocol.Recentscholarship suggeststhatwe canlocatean individual's within the preciseposition politicalstructure ofthepolisbyanalyzing hisorherroleinthesystem ofsacrifice.44 Ata or and dedicated typicalsacrifice, thusia,priests magistrates specified 44TheFrencharethemainproponents ofthisunderstanding ofthusia:see Detienne 1989aand 1989b,Vernant Pantel1992.Jay1992likewise 1989,ZaidmanandSchmitt

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and inediblepartsto thegods and sharedta splanchna,theroasted theremaining meatto beforedistributing innards, amongthemselves If thecommunalmealat a polis sacrifice thecitizensin attendance.45 was distributed to thepolityof civic equals-male adultcitizensand if the presenceof others(women,foreigners, slaves,children) can notalwaysbe verified, thedetailsof how theseothersreceived theirportions of meatmustremainunknown.46 Nevertheless, sharing with the communalmeal did allow the individualto communicate the landscapeof the the gods, whileat the same timeestablishing A of and sacrificial series concentric overlapping politicalcommunity. communities lay nestedwithineach otherin thepolis: at thecenter withthemostprivilege werepriestsand officialmagistrates-those formediating andtherefore closestto thegodswhowereresponsible betweenthepolis and thegods; nextwas thebodyof male citizens, and slavesweremostoften thedemos.Women,children, foreigners theirpolitical, situatedon the marginof the sacrificialcommunity, tothecitizenmale.47 socialandculticpositionalikesubordinate Thusiawas the normin the classical Greekpolis, and provided most of the meat forthe ancientdiet.48Many smallersacrificial proposesthatblood sacrificesolidifiedthe bonds betweenmen in the Athenian politicalsystem. 45"The consumption of the splanchna,the centralmomentof the sacrificeas is in some waysa focalpointtowardwhichgesturesand actionsare religiousact, directed"(Durand1989:92). 46Thisessaydoes notassumethatwomenandnon-citizen menwereconsignedto In thisrespectI agreewithOsborne1993,whohas rejected a lifeof vegetarianism. someoftheclaimsfromDetienne1989b. 47Fora possiblyopposingviewsee Garland1984:119and75-78, whoarguesnot butrather fora quitecomplex fora stricthierarchical systemof religiousauthority, oracularauthorities, systemwhichincludedthedeme,priests,magistrates, religious assistants. Itis unclearexactlyhowgenderandthecivic andadministrative "experts," as statusofmeticsandslavesfitsintoGarland'ssystemofpriesthoods, exceptinsofar areincludedin thecatalogueofAtticpriests. priestesses 48Durand 1989:89 definesthusiaas "Greekalimentary blood sacrifice."For a meatforthe detailedand technicaldiscussionof therole of thepolis in providing Athenians ate Athenian dietsee Rosivach1994:3: "Fourth-century rarely freshmeat

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communities functioned within thelargerwhole:communities as small as a neighborhood or a clan,and as largeas theentirepolis itself. Thecitizens'participation inthesacrificial wasobligatory. community Atthesametime,however, culticcommunities thatwere-unlikethe official and that a formofmyesis, poliscults-purelyoptional required or initiation, attracted Thesecommunities are today manyfollowers. oftencalled "mystery and the cult of Eleusinian Demeter religions" wasofthistype.49 Mediation withthegodsdidplaya prominent rolein I amproposing, theEleusiniancult,as itdidinothermystery religions. thattheteletaiintheTelesterion didnotrequirethesacrifice however, of bullsand thesubsequent of meat.Rathertheinitiates distribution all dedicatedthecheapestand mostcommonvotiveanimaloffering: thepiglet.Perhapsat some now forgotten timein thepast,a local women'sfestival wastransformed andmenwereincludedinwhathad beenwomen'sritesto DemeterThesmophoria. formerly Throughout the transformation the votivepig offerings were maintained. Each theTelesterion on thenightof20thBoedromion mystes uponentering could have depositedhis or her pigletinto one of the fivepits. The megarathencould have been bailed out and emptiedof their at a latertimeby local womenat theEleusinian compostedcontents thefertile remainsthendedicatedto the Thesmophoria, presumably mankind howtotillthesoil.50 goddesswhotaught A famousAristotle comments aboutinitiates to themysfragment teries:he reportsthatinitiates becomeworthy notso muchbecause

whenthemeatof the sacrificed animalswas grilled exceptat religioussacrifices, boiledon thespotanddistributed tothosein attendance." and/or 49The bibliography forthe so-called"mystery religions"is vast. See Burkert 1987 forextensivebibliography on manyof thecults,especiallythoseof Eleusis, Samothrace, Mithras,Cybeleand Dionysos.All the"mystery religions"are called ofDemeter. "mysteries" bymodemscholarson themodelofthemysteria 50ClintonmakesthisproposallinkingtheMysteries withthelocal celebration of in 1988:78-79.Clinton1993:120goesa bitfurther, theThesmophoria andarguesthat the"Mysteries a transformation ofthemucholderThesmophoria andsimilar represent cultsopenonlytowomen."

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new(mathein) butbecausetheysuffer orexperitheylearnsomething ence (pathein)something to theproceedings.5' AtDemeappropriate ter'sritesinEleusis,mystical mediation withthegodswasperhapsnot an individual andveryprivateformofunion,as "mystical" has come to meanin theChristian era,norwas it accomplished bypriestsoffiat altars over animal sacrifices. Rather this form of mediation ciating withthegodsandthisknowledge ofthegodshappenedexperientially withinthegroupof menandwomenpresent in theTelesterion. What bothoutsidethesanctuary and theyencountered duringthefestival, withinthecentralbuilding, led themas a groupto an experience that at an emotionallevel.52If thereis anycorretaughtthemsomething between the recorded intheHomericHymntoDemespondence myth terandtheEleusinianrites,53 suffered as Demeterand perhapsinitiates suffered in the narrative of theirseparation andreunion. If Persephone sacrifice was excludedfromthenocturnal in the Telesterion, mysteries thegroupthatcommemorated thegoddesses'experiences wouldnot havebeenseparated intotheconventional of social statusin categories theGreekpolis,as markedoutby thepracticesof thusia.The teletai of Demeterat Eleusisthuswouldstandin sharpcontrast to themost commontypeofsacrificial ritualinthepolis.WeknowthattheTelesterionmysteries neither normarginalized privileged anyone-maleor on thefirstday,thepubfemale,citizenor slave.The proclamation lic proclamation madein theheartoftheagorain Athens, makesthat clear. completely some 20thcentury scholarstriedto place thusia,bloody Perhaps sacrificial oftheMysteries ritual,at theheartoftheirreconstructions becausetheyimagined--or evenassumed-a sortofmonolithic conin cultic Thusia and sistency practices. privileged priests magistrates51Aristotle 15. fragment 52Sourvinou-Inwood 1997has

thatduringthearchaicperiodindividuals suggested becamemoreinterested in theirowndeathsandhopesforan afterlife; shearguesthat thisincreasedinterest led totherapidgrowth ofthesanctuary. 53Clinton1993:112clearlystatesthattheHymnand theritesare notto be too closelylinked.

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ofsothemenwithvisible,politicalpower.Thisritualized expression ofGreeksofortheeveryday was necessary cial hierarchy functioning the absent was of mediation if Even this during liminalpetype ciety. didopen thefestival riodoftheritualwithintheTelesterion, certainly and then close in in theAthenian withmultiplesacrifices Eleusinion, to normal ofmeat,andthereturn Eleusiswiththusia,thedistribution sacricivic On thefinalday of thefestival, social relations.54 great and all theparticficesofbullstookplacejust outsidethesanctuary, outside in the and feasted celebrated courtyard ipantsandhangers-on thatthesefinalsacrifices has notedwithinsight Burkert thesanctuary. as a transirulesof civic sacrificeand function fittheconventional withample tionbacktothenormalworldofthepolis:"largesacrifices mealsof meatwouldstilltakeplace-the normalformof cultwas ofnormallife."55 withthereturn reestablished at Eleusis pointsto a The absenceof altarswithinthesanctuary andhuman-as divine between sortofsymbolic different relationship theEleusinian wellas humanandhuman-thatwasexperienced during external for the There are placefar-reaching implications Mysteries. mentof thealtarsat Eleusiswhenwe combinethisrealizationwith withthedivine.The sacofothermeansofmediation ourknowledge rificeof wholepigletsin themegara;thegrain,honeyand oil sacriinthe ficesinthekernoi;thesightsordramawitnessed bytheinitiates and theinitiates'ownbodilyknowledgeof an aspectof Telesterion; forhumans thesebearwitnessto thepossibility divinesuffering-all inthepoliscultofanimal thegodsinwaysnotpracticed toexperience menand In thisannualritualof theEleusinianMysteries, sacrifice. and slavesstoodon an equal footwomen,citizens,meticforeigners of and knowledgeof thegods.The determiningin theirexperience was access to in thispowerful for factor experience participating ing initiate neededtopurchasepigletsandneededto pay resources--each 54See Endsje2000 forhisanalysisofthe"primordial quality"ofliminalspace("ta andhis conclusionsaboutwhythe in Greekmythology, eschatia,"or theperiphery) in theEleusinianrites. ofliminalspacewas ritualized experience 55Burkert 1983:292.

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totheprieststocoverthecostsofthegreatcivicsacrifices 15drachmae on thefirst and lastdaysof thefestival.56 and Gender,age, ethnicity, civicstatus-citizen, meticorslave-playeda different roleatEleusis thaninvirtually culticexperience. everyothertypeofpan-hellenic in thestrictest Whilenotegalitarian sensebecauseof thefinancial of Demeterat Eleusisdo provideforus themysteries requirements, another onthepoliticalaspectsofcultpractices inclassical perspective Greece.The fullrangeof possibilities formediationwiththegods in theGreco-Roman worldincludedpopularand optionalmodesof that erasedmanyof the distinctions of social temporarily worship statusand location.This Eleusiniansystemof rituals,dedications and sacrificesremainedintactthroughout theearlycenturiesof the CommonEra, and provideda commonpointof experienceforthe citizensof the Empire,manyof whomwenton to formnascent communities. Christian How theselaterRomancitizensmighthave theirexperiencesintoa moreChristian idiomI leave for translated otherscholarstoexplore. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allaire Brumfield, 1981 TheAtticFestivalsofDemeterand theirRelationto theAgricultural Year Salem,NH: Ayer. Walter Burkert, ofCalifornia 1983HomoNecans.Tr.PeterBing.Berkeley:University Press. 1985 GreekReligion.Tr. JohnRaffan.Cambridge, Mass: HarvardUniversity Press. 1987AncientMystery Cults.Cambridge, Mass: HarvardUniversity Press. Kevin Clinton, 1974SacredOfficials (Transactions oftheEleusinianMysteries. oftheAmerican PhilosophicalSociety64.3.) In Higg,Marinatos, 1988 "SacrificeattheEleusinianMysteries." andNordquist 1988:69-80. 1992Mythand Cult:TheIconography Stockholm: oftheEleusinianMysteries. i Athen. SvenskaInstitutet 56In theClassicalperiod,thisamounted to 15 drachmae, orabout10 days' wages. Parke 1961:237 and note 1977:61. 67; Mylonas

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1993 "The sanctuary of Demeterand Koreat Eleusis."In Marinatosand Higg 1993:110-124. 1996 "Eleusis."In OxfordClassical Dictionary, 3rd ed., S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth Oxford New Press. and York: Oxford (eds.), University Darque,Pascal 1981"Les vestigesmyceniens sousle telesterion decouverts d'Eleusis."Bulletin de correspondance hellenique105:593-605. Detienne,Marcel In DetienneandVernant 1989a "CulinaryPracticesandtheSpiritof Sacrifice." 1989:1-20. In 1989b "The Violenceof Well-BornLadies: Womenin theThesmophoria." DetienneandVernant 1989:129-47. Vernant Detienne,MarcelandJean-Pierre 1989 (eds.) The Cuisineof Sacrificeamongthe Greeks.Tr. Paula Wissing. ofChicagoPress. Chicago:University Durand,Jean-Louis 1989 "GreekAnimals:Towarda Topologyof EdibleBodies."In Detienneand Vernant 1989:87-118. Endsj0,Dag Oistein 2000 "To Lock Up Eleusis:A QuestionofLiminalSpace."Numen47:351-386. Foley,Helene 1994 (ed.) The HomericHymnto Demeter:Translation, and Commentary Press. NJ:Princeton Essays.Princeton, University Interpretive Garland,Robert 1984 "ReligiousAuthority in ArchaicandClassicalAthens."TheAnnualofthe BritishSchoolat Athens79:75-123. Golden,MarkandPeterToohey 1997(eds.) Inventing AncientCulture. LondonandNew York:Routledge. Nanno and Robin, Marinatos, Nordquist Gullog Higg,

i Athen. 1988(eds.) EarlyGreekCultPractice.Stockholm: SvenskaInstitutet Jay,Nancy 1992 Throughout YourGenerations Forever:Sacrifice, Religionand Paternity. ofChicagoPress. Chicago:University Konstantinas Kokkou-Vyride, 1999 Eleusis: Proimespyres thysionsto Telesteriotes Eleusinos.Athens: AthenaisArchaiologike Hetaireia. Konstantinos Kourouniotes, 1936Eleusis:A Guideto theExcavationsand theMuseum.Tr.OscarBroneer. Athens:Printing Office"Hestia."

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Konstantinos Kuruniotis, bis zur vorperikleischer 1935 "Das eleusinishceHeiligtumvon den Anfangen Zeit."Archiv 32:52-78. Religionswissenschaft fur NannoandRobinHigg Marinatos, LondonandNew York:Rout1993 (eds.) GreekSanctuaries:NewApproaches. ledge. Miles,Margaret NJ:AmericanSchoolof ClassicalStudies 1998 TheCityEleusinion.Princeton, atAthens. Mylonas,George NJ:Princeton 1961Eleusisand theEleusinianMysteries. Princeton, University Press. Nilsson,Martin of 1932 The MycenaeanOriginof GreekMythology. Berkeley:University California Press. Noack,Ferdinand des Heiligtums. 1927Eleusis:Die baugeschichtliche Berlin:W. de Entwicklung Gruyter. Osborne,Robin 1993 "Womenand Sacrificein ClassicalGreece."Classical Quarterly 43:392405. William Parke,Herbert 1977FestivalsoftheAthenians. Ithaca:CornellUniversity Press. Polignac,Francoisde 1995 Cults,Territory and theOriginsoftheGreekCity-State, Tr.JanetLloyd. ofChicagoPress. ChicagoandLondon:University NicholasJames Richardson, 1974HomericHymntoDemeterOxford:ClarendonPress. Rosivach,Vincent 1994 TheSystem Athens.Atlanta, ofPublicSacrificeinFourth-Century Georgia: ScholarsPress. Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, 1997 "Reconstructing Change: Ideology and the EleusinianMysteries."In GoldenandToohey(eds.) 1997:132-164. Shear,T. LeslieJr. 1982"TheDemolishedTempleatEleusis."In Thompson1982:128-140.

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Homer Thompson, 1982 StudiesinAthenian and Topography to Architecture, Sculpture presented HomerThompson. NJ:AmericanSchoolofClassicalStudiesat Princeton, Athens. Travlos,John 1951"To Anaktoron tesEleusinos."Archaiologike 1950-1951:1-16. ephemeris 1971Bildlexikon desAntiken Athen.Tubingen: Wasmuth. zurTopographie 1988Bildlexikon desAntiken Attika. Wasmuth. zurTopographie Tubingen: Vanderpool, Eugene 1982"The SacredThreshing FlooratEleusis."In Thompson1982:172-174. Jean-Pierre Vernant, 1989"AtMan's Table."In DetienneandVernant 1989:21-86. Pantel Zaidman,LouiseandPaulineSchmitt 1992Religionin theAncientGreekCity.Tr.Paul Cartledge.Cambridge:CamPress. bridgeUniversity Demosthenes Ziro, ofEleusis.Athens:Athenais 1991Eleusis:The MainEntrance to theSanctuary Hetaireia. Archaiologike

WHY IS THE HOLY IMAGE "TRUE"? THE ONTOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF TRUTH AS A PRINCIPLE OF SELF-AUTHENTICATIONOF FOLK DEVOTIONAL EFFIGIES IN THE 18THAND 19TH CENTURY JOANNA TOKARSKA-BAKIR Summary The presentarticleexaminesthetwofoldmaterialprovidedby analysesof the first of ofreligionandthehistory offolkart.Itrefers borderline betweentheethnology in CentralandEasternEurope all to theetiologicallegendsofholyimagesvenerated in thepost-tridentine woodcut period,andsecondlyto folkholyimages,in particular as "trueimages,"whichwerewidespreaduntilthelastcentury, self-declared prints, in Polishfolkpiety. andrichlyrepresented 1

The thesisput forwardin the presentarticleis this:etiological emphasisethe"non-human" legendsofholyimages,whichuniversally a relicof the archaic of origin miraculousimages,2mayrepresent thebasis forthepresentarticleweregatheredunder 1The materialsproviding "The theauspicesofthePolishScientific ResearchCommittee (KBN) grantentitled I and the which between 1994 and of the headed holyimage holyplace," mythology in The 1998andin 2000-2002,duringmyA. vonHumboldt scholarship Heidelberg. intoEnglishbyMichalPawica. articlewas translated 2 See my book entitledObraz osobliwy.Hermeneutyczna lekturazr6deletnoIf a 8. is not claimedto be Krak6w2000, Chapter holyimage directly graficznych, locateitsorigins or notman-made, etiologicalfolklegendsnormally acheiropoietos, in "Rome,""theSouth,"or "Greece,"fromwhereit has beenbrought by angels,or whereit was transferred by St Helen.Oftenit is also tracedbackto Constantinople, as a matter ofitsauthorship to Mother St Luke,whichrepresents offacta delegation who miraculously transfers to it thelikenessof herface.The image of God herself, is sometimes "revealedby an unknown hand,"it is said to "comefromthetableof "itis impossibleto findoutwhereitwas created."If itis cresaints,"andsometimes a man, a particular humanbeing,as ifnotentirely atedbyhumanhand,itis through or morethana man:it is a workof an artistwhois drawnto createdespitehimself, BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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inwhichitis seennotas a function ofan adaequatio, conceptoftruth, an equivalencebetweenthe thingand its likeness,but ratheras a ofthebeingitself, whichis trueper se ipsum. property In thelightofthefolk,"pre-critical" beliefson truth, a thingis held to be truebecauseit is an image,a book,a name,etc.,and notby ofveracity virtueoffulfilling criteria particular requiredofan image, a book,a name,etc.In thefolk-type onecouldnotask "what cultures, is truth?" butit was constantly asked"whattruly (if unconsciously) is, and how?"The answerto thisquestionwas providedby thecult all that"truly is,"examplesofthephenomenon surrounding beingboth wordandtheemergence thesacralisation ofthewritten ofdevotional self-acclaimed as "true." Those scorned of prints prints, byhistorians artas commonplace devotional brica brac,are nevertheless wortha closeexamination an by ethnologist. thefirst workof an inexperienced or of a hermit; of a dreamor a creator, recording visionof thesaints.The imagemayalso be createdby one "curedof madness,"by a "criminalsentencedto death,"or by "unknown who refuseto accept craftsmen," in cash or fare,emphasising theirangel-likeorigin.The etiologicallegend payment whentheimageis discoveredby a groupof chosen rarelygoes beyondthemoment believers:theblind,theold,children, orIndians.The imageis oftenfound shepherds "inan unbecoming "ina sorry "byaccident," "unexpectedly," place,""inhumiliation," state."Once found,theimagechoosesitsownplace,to whichitstubbornly returns, moresplendiferous altars.Legendsoftenassociatethecreation holdingin contempt of theimagewithelements;herealso theeventis notperceivedas a birthin theliteralsense.The holyimageis presented likea relic,as a "non-created thing"withno and not motivated the external cause. Therefore, (Greekageneton), byany beginning is not it. Thus but revealed nature, image actuallyengendered by merely by Mary's imagesareoftenfoundnearthesprings, by theriveror bysea-waves,or "in brought a boatwithno paddlesandno sail."Sometimes theyaresavedfromthewatersbyan animal.At timestheimageis ploughedoutof thesoil or pickedup fromthemud. The soil mayrenewtheiconsthatwereentrusted to it.It mayalso revealstoneswith of the saints' hands and it is thosestonesare feet,though notsurewhether imprints fromthedepthsoftheearthor iftheyfallfromthesky.The beliefin "the extracted thingsfallenfromthesky"is one of themostarchetypal imagesof theBeginning, theembodiment oftheLatinformula fora curiosity, imagoinsolita,oran imagenotfrom-this-world.

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In thelightoftheaboveclaim,thenaiveinscriptions placedon the of woodcutprints-veraeffigies, wahreAbbildung, le vray framings actualimageor truelikeness-whichwereinterpreted so far portrait, oftypically ornamental verba as an expression certa, folkloric, purely shouldbe treated It cannotbe ruledoutthattheimagewhich literally. is "true"per se ipsum,by themerefactof beingan image-like the of truth which book,whichis heldto be a synonym (a phenomenon of an ontologicalconceptof language)-are tracesof is a reflection theprimitive, "un-Latinised" conceptof being,whichMirceaEliade characterises as "archaicontology." The offshoots of thisforgotten tiedbeingand truth, can be detectedin the archi,whichinseparably folk of the status of truthto each un-Platonic obstinate, imputation imageandeverybook. Threeimages thatthepresenttextdeals with We are introduced intothematter three manifestations of Polish The first ofthose folk-religiousness. by whichpresentsan aged inhabitant is a photograph of theKalwaria Paclawskavillage displayingher holy picture-a framedwoodcut printbearingthelikenessof Mary,signed"M[iraculouos]imageof the KalwariaM. of G." The secondof the imagesis a devotional theHolyFamily,signed"Anauthentic etchingrepresenting copy[sic] of theMiraculousImageof theHoly Familyin Miedniewice."3 The thirdof theimagesis a black-and-white printof theholyimageof theCzestochowaMadonna,underwhicha fragment oflace is placed, the "The veil rubbed the miraculous bearing inscription: against picture of The Motherof God at JasnaG6ra."These are two 19thc. images andone amonga thousand ofprintssoldat thefootoftheJasnaG6ra devotionalobjectssold at a fair.However,when monastery-typical we takea closerlookatthem,theirtypicality turnsouttobe symbolic. The thirdof theimagesis a classicalmanifestation of thereligious 3The so-calledMiedniewiceMadonna--achurchfairwoodcutrepresenting the of the from Studzianna. HolyFamily image

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in whichsanctity sensualism is disseminated What through palpation. andsecondimages? thefirst are,though, The keyto understanding thenatureof thetwolies in thephrases "authentic "a miraculousimage"and theoxymoron copy."The first of thosedescriptions is oftenfoundon woodcutimagesof saints, whiletheadjective"miraculous" is oftenreplacedby theexpression or like"a genuineimage"or"a genuinelikeness." "true,"4 descriptions A hundredand two hundredyearsearlier,whenLatinwas stillin current weremuchmorerevealing. Veraeffigies use,thosedescriptions BV Mariae in Berdiczoviensi Ecclesia Thaumaturgae Imaginis says theinscription undera woodcutprintrepresenting theimageof the Berdycz6wMadonna,renownedforits miraculouspowers(1756).5 Accordingto therulesthathavebeen observedto applyforsimilar prints,6 thisinscription couldbe transcribed as "thegenuine(i.e. true) for of a renowned its miracles and graces,"etc.Thisis image picture an whatthefullformof abbreviation like"theMiraculousimageofthe KalwariaM. ofG." couldreada hundred ortwohundred yearsbefore. Withthepassageof time,thisdoublemimesiswas contracted ("the of a renowned for its miracles and genuineimage[11] picture graces" buta briefconversation withtheowner --* [2] "a miraculous picture"), 4 "MostPolishfolkwoodcutsrepresent so-called'trueimages'of holypictures,

A. Kunczynska-Iracka, andM. mostoftenoftheMotherofGod" (A. Frys-Pietraszek, Sztukaludowaw Polsce,Warsaw1988,239). Pokropek, 5 M. Kalamajska-Saeed, OstraBramaw Wilnie, Warsaw1990,Fig. 108. 6 For instancean "actualrepresentation of theimageof theHolyMotherof God renowned formiraclesandgraces"(ib.,Fig. 109 [mid-18th c.]; see also Fig. 134(early Ludoweobrazydrzeworytnicze, 19thc.), Fig. 136 (1874), etc.See also J.Grabowski, is to be observedin the Warsaw1970, Fig. 63, 68, 114. The same phenomenon a woodcut of the Madonna:Veraeffigies under inscription print Luxembourg placed in MatrisIESU Consolatricis suburbano Miraculiset afflictorumagro Luxemburgi celebrisAnno1640 (JoanCarrollCruz,MiraculousImagesof HominumVisitatione Our Lady: 100 FamousCatholicStatuesand Portraits, Ill.: TAN Books Rockford, referred to as "Cruz"). On the principlesof callingan image 1994, henceforth forgraces"(imagogratiosa), "miraculous" (imagomiraculosa)ormerely"renowned Warsaw 191-198. see Jasnog6rska 1982, Bogurodzica,

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thatherethepowerofthemimesis oftheprintis sufficient to confirm was notin theleastlesseneddespiteitsbeingonceremovedfromthe original. of KalwariaPaIn theperception of themodern-day inhabitants inequalmeasuretothe refers "miraculous" clawska,thecharacteristic and to its woodcut ("theprint").7 representation original("thepicture") "Theholypictureis theoriginal, butthecopyandtheoriginalcan be them.Ifyoubelievethat-say,youhavea print holyifyouconsecrate and theprintis conseof theKalwariaMadonna-She is miraculous can this for it is faith to thatthatgivesit,so I crated;you image, pray You believeit,whether She is in Kalwaria wouldsay,thetruthfulness. or in theimage."8In thePodolakhouseholdand at theirneighbours,' imagesaretobe found,butnoneofthemenjoysthe manyconsecrated this kindoffamethat bleached,leakage-marked woodcutprintdoes.9 relationobtaining betweenthechurchoriginalandthe The profound consecrated copyis evenmoreclearlyvoicedin thecase of thesecond print,described-indiscordwiththelogic as we knowit,but in accordancewiththefolkbeliefson samenessand difference-as "an authentic suchbeliefs,whichallow copy."It is to reconstructing forthecopy to be "authentic" and,by the same token,fora combe devotional to classifiedas "true,"thatthisarticle monplace print is devoted. Selfauthentication The Kalwariaand Miedniewiceprintsare unitedwiththeCzestochowa devotionalprintby the principlethroughwhichtheyselfreferred to as 7 Own fieldstudy,1994-1999,cataloguenumber199.2(henceforth JTBfollowedbythecataloguenumber). 8JTB28 (18A). 9 In a numberofinstances, suchcheapprintshavebeensacralisedandgainedthe statusof independent sanctity, e.g. the 18thc. TurskoMadonna,whichis a copyof a theMariazellMadonna,the 17thc. Madonnaof theIll fromKevlaer,Germany, of Madonna or the afore-mentioned Madonna of (see Cruz), copy theLuxembourg Miedniewice.

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In all ofthose,theauthentication authenticate themselves. is performed to thegenesisof thecandidateforthestatusof holiness. by pointing The auto-verification is performed of totheexemplar bythereference theimage,yetnotto theactualpersonof Motherof God,whois its theUrbild,butrather tothechurchexemplar setbytheholy prototype, theBild. picture, "The veilrubbedagainstthemiraculous pictureof The Motherof God at JasnaG6ra,"the"authentic copy,"and "thegenuine(i.e. true) of of image thepicture Miraculousimageof theKalwariaMadonna" are threemannersin whichthenon-differentiation betweentheBild and theAbbild,theholypictureand its copy,is expressed.Yet the of suchtestimonies of"truthfulness" questionofthevalidity imposes of theCouncilof Trent,a holy itself-accordingto theresolutions If the it pictures.1o pictureis solelyauthenticated by the"prototype" inan identical ineachimage, weretobe manifested manner prototype therewouldbe no pointdemonstrating therelationship betweenthe anditscheapreproduction, miraculous whichhasbeentouched picture witha veil or is authenticated a of its "authenticity" by testimony of prints,voiced printedon a Xerox copy.The self-authentication 10Decretumde invocatione, veneratione et reliquiisSanctorum et sacriis imaginibus(a CouncilofTrentresolution announced duringthe25thsessionon December 3rd,1563) states:"The imagesof Christ,of theVirginMotherof God, andof other saintsaretobe keptwithhonourinplacesofworship especially;andtothemduehonourandveneration is tobe paid-not becauseitis believedthatthereis anydivinity of tothemforwhichtheyarereverenced, norbecauseitis fromthemthat powerintrinsic is sought, northata blindtrust is tobe attached toimagesas itoncewas by something theGentileswhoplacedtheirhopein idols[cf.Ps 134:15ff.], butbecausethehonour whichis showntothemis referred totheprototypes Thusitfolwhichtheyrepresent. lowsthatthrough theseimagewhichwe kissandbeforewhichwe kneelanduncover ourheads,we are adoringChristand venerating thesaintswhoselikenessesthese That is what is of thecouncils,especiallythe bear. enacted the decrees by images SecondCouncilof Nicaea,againsttheopponents of images"(The ChurchTeaches: Documentsof theChurchin EnglishTranslation, St. Louis and London:B. Herder Book Co. 1955,215-16; cf.H. Denzigerand A. Schinmetzer, Enchiridion symbolet declarationum de rebusfideiet morum,35th.ed., Barcinone orum,definitionum toas: DS]). referred 1973,985 [henceforth

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as effigies mostclearlyin such inscriptions vera,wahreAbbildung, le vrayportrait,or actual image (in Polish,obraz prawdziwyor prawdziwepodobienstwo), perforce expressesthebeliefthatin some withmorepotency is accumulated imagesthepoweroftheprototype a for thanin others.Such a specialimagebecomes kindof reliquary theprototype, and it shinesnotonlywiththeprototype's reflected a sortof light,butalso withitsown.In it,theprototype experiences "enhancement ofbeing."'' Roman Catholictheologydenies as a matterof principlethat in it. The an imageassuresthepresenceof thepersonrepresented documentsof the Councilof Trentstateclearlythatit shouldnot be believedthatin an image,a deity(divinitas)or power(virtus) is present.12 such a stancedoes Accordingto Catholictheologians, notin anyway departfromtheteachingsof theSecondCouncilof whichare largelya responseto the Nice.13The Councildocuments, avoidgetting involved idolatryaccusationsraisedby theProtestants, in the detailsof the matter, and ascribeall the gracesthatcan be receivedthrougha holypictureto the properties of the prototype. thatitsvery CloserreadingoftheCouncilresolution reveals,however, authorswerenotfreefromthebeliefthatdespitetheobvious"unity" of theprototype (Urbild),one image(Bild) is notequal to another, and thatsanctity amassesin imagesin itsownmysterious ways.This is to be seen in theresolution of theCouncilentrusting thebishops thusdescribesicons:"According totheteachings ofthefathers 11PavelFlorensky of the7thUniversalCouncil,artis supposedto act as a 'reminder'...It shouldbe of theFathersof theChurchis the constantly keptin mindthatthenomenclature of Greekidealism,and thatit is completely withontology. nomenclature penetrated on the ... Whatis meantis notanykindofa subjective remembering partoftheartist, in the sense of Plato's i.e. theideaitself butrather anamnesis, 'remembering' revealing in theidiomofthesenses"P.A.Florenskii, "Molennyeikonyprepodobnogo Sergiia," 9 (1969) 80-90. ZhurnalMoskovskoiPatriarkhii 12TheCouncilspecifically statedthattheimagesofChrist, ofhisMotherandofthe veneration whichis nottantamount saintsshouldenjoyreverent (timetikeproskinesis), to theactualadoration (alethinelatreia)(DS 601). 13DS, ibidem.

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withtheresponsibility ofassuring thatartcomplieswithrequirements of orthodoxy and of verifying thattheimagesthatare venerated are notsubjectto theaccusationoffalsumdogma.14Thisresolution only concernstheimagesbeingobjectsofpubliccult,andthatonlyifthey shouldbe "unusual."15 The beliefthatthe sacredis not distributed equallyin different is characteristic of Orthodox Eastern images religioussensibility.16 It is wellknownthatwithin thisspirituality, certain iconswerevenerated as relics. "Those were the icons whichused to remainin some sortof contactwiththe saintdepictedin the picture,"a modern historian writes.17Theybecametheiconographic theywere archetype: and their were miraculous believed to be constantly copied powers transmitted ontocopies,as longas thecopyistfaithfully recordedthe featuresof the acclaimedprototype.18Historiansof cultpositthat a certainrapprochement of Easternand Westerntypeof piousness occurredaroundthe14thc. andthatthephenomenon was manifested thenature ofa religiousimage.Up bythechangeofbeliefsconcerning to thatpoint,Western was ofthe religiousness shapedbytheheritage 14In Poland,theCouncilresolutions wereimplemented thedecisionsofthe through CracowSynodorganised Marcin in which entrusted the byBishop Szyszkowski 1621, with the of the of the art. D. See Luszczek, bishops responsibilityassuring orthodoxy "Koronowanekopie obrazuMatkiBozej Jasnog6rskiej od XV do XVII wiekuw 10 (1989) 192. Polsce,"StudiaClaromontana 15Forthetermimagoinsolita,see DS 1821. 16SergeiBulgakovstatesthateachiconis in miraculous, principle addinghowever, that"venerated as miraculousiconsin thepropersenseof thetermare thoseicons whichhavedemonstrated theirpowerin an especiallyclearand accessiblemanner" Wiadomosci Kosciola ("Ikonai kultikonw prawoslawiu," Polskiego Autokefalicznego 1975,36). Prawoslawnego Studia 17M. Kowalewiczowa, MikolajaLanckoronskiego," "Wok61'Peregrynacji' Claromontana 5 (1984) 63. is to be 181b.A detailedanalysisof theimagetheologyin EasternChristianity foundinT. Lukaszuk,"Teologiaswietegoobrazu-ikony. Studiumz dziedzinyteologii 1 (1981) 42, as wellas inthefundamental StudiaClaromontana, work ekumenicznej," Leonid the tr. A. E. 2 and Icon, vols., by Theology of Meyendorff, Ouspensky, Gythiel NY: St.Vladimir'sSeminary Crestwood, Press,1992.

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LibriCaroliniandtreated imagesas merevesselsforrelics.Suddenly aroundthe 14thc. thepotencyso farattributed merelyto relicswas on somehowbestowedontocertainimages,whichbegantobe treated E. Sniezynskaparwiththerelics,lateron toreplacethemcompletely. Stolotstatesthatroyalty travelling through Europeat thattime(e.g. or theHungarian Charles IV) developeda livelyinterest Anjoukings in Italo-Byzantine was further by images.19This interest amplified of legendsaboutdiscoveriesof miraculousimagesby theinfluence Eudoxia,Justinian, Pulcheria,Germanicus lay rulers(Constantine, the and others)and popularised thePatriarch by storyof St. Helen's search discoveryof the Holy Cross,as well as by the intensified i.e. "true foracheiropoietoi ("non-man-made images,"), images"(Lat. vera icon) of Jesusand Mary,forinstancethoseallegedlyproduced The adventofthose"true duringthelivesofLuke andNicodemus.20 invasion was an of images" accompaniedby copies.At theclose of the Middle Ages, the demandforthe vera icon was so highthat thecopyistsproducing themformeda separateguild.21Thiswas the The first, secondvera icon epidemicin thehistoryof Christianity. as a responseto recordedin the8th C.,22has oftenbeen interpreted thearguments oficonoclasts-thetrue,non-made imagewas theonly one to be safe fromtheiraccusations.However,the occurrenceof iconoclastscannotbe held to providean explicationforthesecond

19E. "Kultitalo-bizantyjskich w Europie obraz6wmaryjnych Sniezynska-Stolot, w w. XIV,"StudiaClaromontana 5 (1984) 22-23. srodkowej 20Ib. 21Cf. Lexikonder Kunst,Leipzig 1968-1978, 4:422, s.v. "Schweisstuchder Veronika";I. Wilson,The Shroudof Turin:TheBurial Clothof JesusChrist?Image Books:NewYork1979.Afterthe4thCrusade,therewas anincreaseddemandfor trueimages,i.e. those"ofOrientalorigin,eitherfromtheHolyLandortheByzantine thesamestatusas relics." world.Thoseimagesenjoyedpractically 22The Chronicleof Theophanes,tr.H. Turtledove, of Philadelphia:University in some Press 113 746 and 1982, Pennsylvania (Sept. 1, Aug. 31, 747): "Suddenly ofsmalloilycrossesbegantoappearon men'scloaks, unseenfashion, a greatnumber on theholygarbofthechurches andon theircurtains."

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wave of "trueimages,"and of theirsturdypresencein European eversince.23 religiousculture It seemsthattheinscription "actualrepresentation" or "trueimage" into a 18th or 19th c. devotionalprintis a folkloric incorporated of the image. rendering conceptoftheveraicon,orthenotman-made Does theperseverance ofthismotiveinEuropeanculturearisemerely of the obsolete,or is it possiblyfoundedon fromthe persistence moreprofound rationale? another, Thetruthfulness ofimage:theobjectofstudy Let us first determine theobjectto whichthediscussionof image It thoseissues truthfulness will be convenient to describefirst applies. remarks. whichwillnotbe addressedby thefollowing Amongthem willbe theveraiconinthestrict historical sense:theimageofChrist's faceimprinted on thekerchief, whichis a lateWestern Christian travoftheEasternChristian motiveofthenonman-made esty24 image(Gk in embodied the of Veronica, acheiropoietos), personage allegedlyspeInthetradition ofWestern Christianity, ciallycreatedforthepurpose.25 refer eitherto a thenotionof"trueimage"(vero-icon, vera-icon)may to as referred of St. Veronica'skerchief, eponymically representation "veronica"(thefaceof Christon thewayto Calvary,withmarksof model or to theiconographic thesuffering, eyesusuallyhalf-closed), 23See E. v. Dobschtitz, zurchristlichen Christusbilder: Untersuchungen Legende Literatur18),Leipzig derAltchristlichen zurGeschichte (TexteundUntersuchungen 1989,p. **268-269,**275,28, 79, 99, etc. 24It is supposedlyfirstmentioned in the 12thc., and themotifbecomeswideVeronicaand hercloth:History, later(E. Kuryluk, Symspreadonlytwocenturies Mass.: Blackwell1991,Chapbolism,and Structure ofa "True"Image,Cambridge, in Dobschiitz,Christuster8). A detailedgenealogyof thetrueimageis presented bilder 25Worthnotingis thefactthat,in a typically thesaint'snamebears "oral"fashion, tothecompound vero-iconia thusbyGiraldus a reflexive relation vero-icon, (recorded TheHolyYearofJubilee, Cambrensis, SpeculumEcclesiae,4:278f.;tr.H. Thurston, tothenameofthe"veronica." London1900,193-194)andeponymised

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knownas mandillion26 (thefaceof Christwitheyeswideopen,with on thekerchief, no marksof suffering, or the miraculously imprinted Neither of is relevant to our research. those so-calledAbgarimage). willbe considered hereis in facta The imagewhosetruthfulness such as thetwo woodcutswe discussedat the start.These "print," a folktravesty of the "high"motivesmentionedabove, represent and are normallyfoundin the shape of printed,sometimeshandsites,etc.Self-authentication painted,imagessold at fairs,pilgrimage suchas theonedescribed fortheexamplesdiscussedabove techniques areto myknowledgeexclusiveto suchprints, and areneverfoundin oils ofthesaints.The following issuesaresalientforthediscussionof thephenomenon ofthe"trueimages": "a trueimage,""a truelikeness," veraeffigies, 1) Thespecifications le vrayportrait, wahreAbbildung, or "an actualrepresentation" are in factinscriptions foundon theframesof thewoodcuts, or such as thosedescribedabove,whichlithographs etchings andaffordability-began, withthepropduetotheiravailability to an of agation printing techniques, play increasingly imporTo tantrole in individualpietyin thepost-tridentine period.27 no suchspecifications wereattachedto images myknowledge, in an altar or a that on placed chapel-unlessitwas sucha print was elevatedto thealtar,as in thecase of Poland'sOur Lady of TurskoandOurLadyofMiedniewice, Sufferers' Germany's orothers. Comfort ofKevlaer,28 26WhichstemsfromtheArabicfor"cloth" (Kuryluk, op. cit.,4, etc.)In Orthodox the typologicalacheiropoieton will be represented not only by the spirituality, ora representation butalso bytheso-calledepitaphion, ofChristintomb, mandillion, a faceveilor an altarcovering. 27See H. Diinninger, "WahresAbbild:Bildwallfahrt in und Gnadenbildkopie," kenntkeineGrenzen:Themenzu einerAusstellung des Bayerischen NaWallfahrt desAdalbertStifter tionalmuseumsund ed. L. Kriss-Rettensbeck andG. MrhVereins, ler,Miinchen1984,274-283. 28Cf. thefollowing in Cruz: Veraeffigies captionundera paperprintreproduced Matrislesu consolatricisafflictiorum i agro suburbanoLuxemburgi Miraculiset Hominum Visitatione celebrisAnno1640.

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like "a trueimage,""a 2) These factsindicatethatformulations truelikeness,"veraeffigies, wahreAbbildung, le vrayportrait, or "an actualrepresentation" arein factfolkrather thanChurch This is an attribute thatis notto be foundin the expressions. resolutions of theCouncilof Trent,whichnevertheless make references A paper to imagoinsolita,gratiosaormiraculosa.29 with a be self-authentication could only perceived print provided a the Church as fake. As late as at theturnofthe by hierarchy 20thc., FatherWaclawof Sulgost6wexcludedfromhis work On Poland's MiraculousImages,"thefolkprints,whichare devoidofthesignsofcraft andfaithful oftheholy representation The this of of form "self-authentication" images."30 goldenage startsaftertheCouncilof Trentand continuesuntilthe 19thc. The authors ofPolishFolkArtaffirm that"themajority ofPolish folkwoodcutsrepresent so-called'trueimages'of miraculous most often of Our Lady."31 pictures, "true"on folkwoodcutsdoes notmakerefer3) The description ina church(theauthenticity encetotheoriginalexhibited ofthe norwouldsucha confirmation be Bild neednotbe confirmed, withinthepowersof thefolksensuscommunis), butratherto its woodcutrepresentation (Abbild),or themimesismimeseos, in thiscase the a productof a massprinting process.Therefore truth thatPlato(Republic,Book 10) valueis ascribedtoan entity as "thriceremovedfromtruth," dismissedcompletely despite theChurch'sdisapproval, whichhasbeenexpressed quiteunam29Decretumde invocatione, veneratione et reliquiisSanctorumet sacriis imaginibus(a CouncilofTrentresolution announced at the25thsessionon December3rd, 1563), see DS1823. See also F. Diekamp,TheologiaeDogmaticaeManuale,Paris in Lexikon 1950,2:294-297; P. Bayerschmidt, "Bilderverehrung," fiirTheologieund Kirche,2nded.,2:466-467. 30Waclawz Sulgostowa, Matki obrazachw PolscePrzenajswietszej O cudownych Bozej,Krak6w1902,4. 31A. Frys,A. Kunczynska-Iracka, and M. Pokropek,Sztukaludowa w Polsce, Warsaw1988,239.

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is a truelikeness(3) Theimagesignedas veraeffigies biguously. locatedin a church(2). ofan inaccessiblepainting The phenomenon of doublemimesis,whichproducesa sequence can be recordedin an abbreviated of threelevelsof representation, in the in whichnon-differentiation formpresented followingfigure, concernsthefirst(as it is usuallythecase formiraculous images)or "true" thesecondlevelofmimesis(for prints): 1) Urbild 1stdegreemimesis Non-differentiation 10: thetrueimage 2) Bild 2': thetrue"print" 2nddegreemimesis Non-differentiation 3) Abbild withan emphasison thetruthfulness A similartwo-stage mimesis, of theAbbild,or the end product,is preservedin so manyof the (such inscriptions inscriptions placedon woodcutsthattheremaining "ThetrueImageofSt.Joseph,"33 as "ThetrueImageofSt. Isidore,"32 "theimageof...," followedby thename etc.,as well as, repeatedly, of the basic of the represented saint) appear to be abbreviations form: ofthefollowing inscription, - "theImageof MaryMotherof God in theLezajsk Bernardine renowned formiracles"34 church, - "theTrueImage of theVirginMarywho is knownformiracles"35 - "INRI,theTrueRepresentation ofJesusin Kobylonka"36 - "an Authentic of theMiraculousImageof the Representation etc. HolyVirginMaryattheOstraBramainVilnius."37 what The questiontowardswhichwe areheadingis thefollowing: is the conceptof truththatthe folksensuscommunisbases upon 32J.Grabowski, Warsaw Ludowe obrazy 1970,Fig.114,p. 236. drzeworytnicze, 33Ib.,frontispiece.

34TheLezajskMadonna; ib.,p. 166,Fig.44. 35TheCzestochowa Madonna; ib.,p. 180,Fig.58. 36TheKobylonka ib.,p. 185,Fig.63. Christ; 37Ib.,p. 68.

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in recognising such an image,whichaccordingto Plato is "thrice removedfromtruth," as "true"?In preparation toanswerthatquestion let us pose anotherproblem:whatrole is performed in the selfauthentication ofthosebywriting andprint? Such questionshavebeen repeatedly dismissedby positinglacktheChurchconcordia adaisicallythat"true"folkprints simplyimitate cumoriginalisformula, whichis traditionally thebasis forgranting theimprimatur tocopiesofholyimages.38 theethnographer However, in whokeeps mindtheincredible careersof"truestories," ever-present in on illustrated film and literature covers, titles, magazine Harlequin brochures soldatfairsduringChurchholidays,should,rather thanbethe secondariness of the folk "true by alleged ingdiscouraged image," be drawnall themoreto studythephenomenon, seeingin it an exin whichtruth is producedby imitation or a pressionof a worldview ofThe Same. magicalreiteration "Theimage"as thesourceof "theprints" Let us ponderfirstthe thirdof the aspectsof the phenomenon discussedabove,i.e. the"precession"of mimesis,or thetransfer of of fromtherelationobtaining between question imagetruthfulness theUrbildandtheBild ontothatobtaining betweentheBild and the Abbild. In orderto addressthisissue,let us analyseappropriate Eastern data. Researchersof icon painting39 Christianity pointout thatthe 38The Churchhas notalwaysbeenliberallydisposedtowardscopies and prints. In different thenumberofcopies-or replicastimesofWestern Christian history, forinstancebythethreat ofexcommunication was strictly as testified on controlled, anybodywho woulddrawan unauthorised copy,placed on a replicaof theSancta of 1617. Anothermeasurelimiting Sanctorumacheropith the freedomof copying was a canonicallaw regulationprohibiting venerationof imageson paper,e.g. tradition, (Cruz 263). In theEasternChristian chromolithographs copyingwas only thecanonicalcharacter limitedbyrequirements oftheimage. concerning 39 base my description on information providedby ProfessorBarbaraDabofArtHistory, ofWarsaw,Poland. KalinowskafromtheDepartment University

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a gradualevolutionin the Orthodox statusof an icon underwent Church,in thecourseofwhichan increasing emphasiswas placedon the itself at theexpenseof its themiracle-endowing of power image Thisprocessis tobe clearlyseenin: Prototype. in the contentof the inscriptions 1) a modification placed on theicon bordering, wheretales of themiraclesperformed by saintare graduallyreplacedby tales of the the represented influence oftheiconitself, miraculous 2) an increasingemphasison celebrationsdevotednot only to thedifferent saints,butalso to thecultsurrounding particular icons.40 inRussiain thelate 17thc., and Suchphenomena gainsignificance in reach their the 18th and the19th c., i.e. preciselyat the they apogee timeof therenaissanceof "trueimages"in theWest.It is at exactly thattendencies thesamemoment starttobuildup inRussiawhichwill of Old Believers,whointroduced metalcasts lead to theheterodoxy to replacethe icons painting, whosecanonstheyfoundexcessively relaxed.Bothphenomena-thetransferring of themiraculous power and the controlof the icon fromthe Prototypeonto the image, standard reactions tothesame bytheOld Believers-aretwodifferent whichis or the"precession"oftheimagetruthfulness, phenomenon, from the first the transferred to second (Urbild-Bild) (Bildgradually level. Abbild)mimesis If theOrthodoxicon is sanctified to theiconoby its conformity theOld-Believer ofan unreiconsarean expression graphiccanons,41 in whichis symbolically anti-relativism, lenting expressed thereplace-

40This phenomenon is describedin GrazynaKobrzeniecka-Sikorska's doctoral thesisRosyjskieikonymaryjnew okresieponikonianskim i ichpolityczno-religijne ofHistory, ofWarsaw2000. wartosciowanie, Department University 41On the iconographic canon and the ensembleof paintingmethodsthatit is estetika, (theartist'scanon),see V.V. Bychkov,Vizantiiskaia implemented through Moscow 1977.

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mentof theOrthodoxpaintingcanons42by theOld-Believermetal mould. Withall theirdifferences, boththeOrthodoxcanonand theOldBelievermouldare,toutesproportions ofan garddes,an embodiment idea: thatof a canon,assuringfaithful identicalunderlying reproductionoftheform.Itis themeticulous recreation oftheform, alongwith theinscription it(thename)thatassuresthetransfer of accompanying thePrototype's benediction. Onlysuchan imagecan be consecrated a solemnceremony which"institutes theassociationbetween through If we wereto comparethemannerin theimageand its Prototype." whicha woodcutorlithographic intheWestis self-authenticated print ernculture withthewayin whichtruthfulness is endowedbyvirtueof to thecanonin EasternChristianity, we will observethe conformity similarities: following to the 1) a printsignedas "true"normallymakesno reference it of but rather recreates the form the Urbild, Bild, schematically a churchlikeness= theprecessionofmimesisfromthe 17thc. on; = Old-Believer theimageremains 2) thankstoprinting, unchanged to the a lesser extent, painting moulds,and, canon; as "true," characterised "ac3) theimageis signedandadditionally = on an iconconditions tual,"wahrvray,orvera theinscription oftheiconconitsconformity to thecanon,andtheveneration cernsinequal degreethePrototype's likenessandname. Let us attempt to graspthefolklogicbehindtheself-authentication of a print.A certainprecedentforthiskindof self-authentication was set by the influenceof the artefact knownin mediaevalfolk 42The first recordedofthosecanonsis A.P. Stroganov's historically icon-painting handbook(Stroganovskii litsevoipodlinnik), whichappearedat theturn ikonopisnyi ofthe16thandthe17thc. The saint'ssketchwas transferred fromthehandbookonto theuse of birchbarkand a primedboardby a setof complextechniques, including is revealedby thefactthatthis needles.The highstatusof thetaskin iconpainting whowas thehighest-ranked was performed bytheikonopisets, amongthe operation artisans on theicon. working

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as longitudoChristi,43 a few-inch Christianspirituality apotropeion againstsuddendeath44called "The TrueMeasureof theBody Our Itappearsthatthelongitudo of was "true"byvirtue Lord,JesusChrist." the"measureofmeasures"takenfromChrist's faithfully reproducing on the cross. This faithfulness is at no odds with martyred body the figurativeness of the artefact-inorderto arriveat the literal dimensionsof Christ'sbody,the measureneededto be multiplied is notforeignto thewoodcutversionof by 33. Such figurativeness the"truelikeness,"whichimitatesitsoriginalin thesamemanneras theabove-mentioned "measure":itrepresents thebasiccharacteristics schema(forinstance,the to a conventional of theBild by resorting CzestochowaMadonnais differentiated fromothersonlybyherfacial scars,andtheOstraBramaMadonnaonlybythesharpdesignoflight The imagein thoseis oftenso schematic thefigure). rayssurrounding at all (see thedescription thatone can hardlyspeakofBild imitation Father Waclaw of as "devoid who Sulgost6w, perceivessuchprints by ofthesignsofcraftandfaithful oftheholyimages").If representation itis notby virtueof faithful how representation, is a printrecognised as "true"? I believethatfromthepointof viewof theculturewhichverified thoseholyprints,the authentication of a printwas foundedon the following rudimentary assumptions: first on an of archaicconceptof truthcharacteristic for all, 1) thisculture, and on an "uncritical" of an imageas qualification to sacred-true"byvirtueofbeing"rather thanof"resemblance a conceptoftruth whichwasnotlimited whatis true," toimages, as butencompassing writing well; 2) secondly,on the exceptionalstatusgrantedin the cultureto seenas a magicalvariety ofrepetition; printing 43See mybook,Obrazosobliwy, Chapter6. carried on "True a 44 images" personwerebelievedto guardone fromsimilar fromheaven."Freedbergquotes a Latinprayer and "letters as dangers longitudo which D. Freedberg, Power a during theywereconsecrated: spokenduring ceremony in and 124. Studies the 1989, History TheoryofResponse,Chicago ofIlmages:

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on thephysicalcontactbetweentheprintandtheorigi3) thirdly, nal,thanksto whichtheAbbildwas endowedwiththestatusof theBild; andfinally, valueoftheinscription 4) on theontological (thenameequalsthe which includes the the name of thing), personrepresented along withtheperformative declaration ofits"truthfulness." Theontologicalconceptoftruth and itslongevity A fewremarks mustbe providedfirst thephilosophical concerning systemwhichis implicitin theimageand thewordbeingperceived as trueper ipsum,and in whichtheconceptof truth is notbased on or"equality." "similarity," "adequacy," Thisis a conceptoftruth wellknownandcelebrated in thehistory ofphilosophy. "Sincetimeimmemorial," "truth and Heideggerwrites, have if not to each have been other, they being belonged completely identified witheachother."45 GiovanniRealeadds:"Fora Greek,being is truth."46 The Greekexpression estiauto("itis so") is tantamount to theexpression "itis true,""thisis thewaythingsare."Thedeclaration ofbeingamounts tothedeclaration offact,oftruth. CharlesK. Kahn, the authorof a fundamental workon the Greekconceptof being, claimsthatbeingwas bynaturedefinedas "aletheic," a namederived fromtheGreektermfor"truth" "the (aletheia, non-concealed").47Yet whenwe attempt to understand truthas a property of beingwithin and of what is true it takes us a longtimeto false, today'scategories getthegistoftheidea at all. How can onerelatetheconceptofbeing to truth at all? Whatdoes combining thefactof "being"withthatof "beingtrue"entail? 45M. Heidegger, Sein undZeit,?44: "Die Philosophiehatvonaltersher Wahrheit mitSeinzusammengestellt." 46G. Reale,Storiadellafilosofiaantica.Dalle Originia Socrate,6thed., Milan: Vitae Pensiero,1989,Appendix2.6. 47Ch.H. Kahn,The Verb"be" in AncientGreek(= The Verb"be" and its Synvol. 6 [Foundastudies,ed. J.W.M.Verhaar, onyms:Philosophicaland Grammatical tionsofLanguage:Supplementary Series16]),Dordrecht: Reidel1973.

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of ontologicalconceptsof truth to themodem The inaccessibility mindhas beenbrought dominanceofthesoaboutby centuries-long This conceptis mostoftenencouncalled classicalconceptof truth. teredtodayin the shape of a simplified versionof Aquinas' interto Aristotle, rectified theontologicalconcept who,relating pretation, of Augustine, AnselmandMatthewof of truth foundin thewritings and determined thattruth residesnotin thething,but Aquasparta,48 in thethought. The influence of theontologicalconceptof truth was so strongthatthescholasticformulaveritasest adaequatiointellecandwas only tusad remwas longrefused philosophical recognition,49 in the13thc. Some researchers-mostly ofHeideggerian popularised conpersuasion-pointoutthatthepredominant compatibility-based as a of truth is in to the of truth secondary respect perception cept ofthebeingitself, orthepowerofdiscovering its"openness," property thata thingis as it is, thatis embodiedin being.It is the"openness" of beingwhichmayprovokereflection of the upon,and formulation of affairs. state perceived in religion:theimage Theontologicalconceptoftruth The extentto whichthismotiveof theidentity betweenthought and being,and lateralso betweenimage and being and between wordand being,is reflected and sustainedin folk-type culture,is One can hardlyimaginea religionwhichwould not symptomatic. based on this doubleontologicalequation.The ontologicalconbe cept of truthwas at the sourceof boththe cultof imagesand the

48It is expressedin Augustine'sfamousformulaverumest id quod est ("Thatis to thingsfirst, truewhichis"), whichascribestruth-value andonlythento wordsand of signification butveryfew Anselmwrites,"Everyonespeaksofthetruth thoughts. considerthetruthwhichis in theessenceof things," and Matthewof Aquasparta claims that"if therewere no truthin the thing,therewould be no truthin the of thethingis thesourceof that,"quotedin G. Allen, sincethetruth understanding, Truth inPhilosophy, Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press1993,12. Cambridge, 49Ib., 186,nl.

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rebellionof theiconoclasts.50The ontologicalconceptof (thetruth of boththeobligationof recordof) word,in turn,is a foundation in liturgy, and the embodied and theprohibition ing naming Holy, ofit. The ontologicalconceptsof image and speechsometimesinterwhichis particularly twine,something clearlyexpressedin thenames usedforsacralpainting. is a an exactrenItsRussianname,ikonopis, of of is also the Greek and the motive iconography, dering writing to be seen in theTibetaniha bris-literally,"thewritingof gods." The Russiantermforpaintingin general,zhivopis,suppliesanother of theart-the imitation crucialcharacteristic of life;thiselementis in a parallelnameforiconpainting, also present Also zhivopodobye. the termfora false icon,bohomaz,somehowexpressesthe belief in theontologicalvalueof evenimperfect of deity.51 representations The combination of theconceptsof "painting" and "writing" in the word"iconography" revealsitsconcealedtheurgic, creative a nature,52 factwhichmostlikelywas also at theoriginsoficonoclasm,or nondifferentiation airebours. to According the ontologicalconceptof truth,a thingis true as it is thecase becauseit is whatis per se ipsum.The truth-value, in Greek,is associatedwiththe copularfunctionof the verb "to be." The verystatement "x is a painting," is or "y is a writing," of sufficient forthefolksensuscommunis to declarethetruthfulness x or y. This occursby thepowerof non-differentiation, sometimes thesignansandthesignatum, goingall thewaytomagicallymerging is tantamount to theontological whichin thecase ofwriting concept of language-being. The "uncritical" conceptof truthcan hardlybe

50L. Kochan,BeyondtheGraven Image:A JewishView,London1997. 51See thespeculation on lifewhichis carriedon concerning idols(Heb.elilim),ib., 11,20. 52This issue is raisedby P.A. Florensky, whoseremarksare quotedin theenin Mifynarodovmira.Entsiklopediia, try"Izobrazitel'noeiskusstvoi mifologiia," Moscow 1988,1:483.

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accordingto expressedbetterthanin thepopular,folkinterpretation, which: y is truebecause: "I readaboutitinthenewspaper, book,sawiton TV, hearditon theradio";53 x is truebecause: etc." "I saw itin a picture, photograph of truth thatis In thefolk-type culture,it is thewitnesscriterion RochSulimawrites: dominant. Polishanthropologist ofthe"similarontheworldrepeatedly Folkcomments emphasise oppositions ofdescribing anddiscovering the "true-untrue" Thisisa criterion different," type. intheshapeknown isbasedonpersonal Peasant culture world which experience. inthespoken andthecredibility tous so farhasbeenfounded word, uponbelief ofthespeaker, whoutters wordshereandnow,rather thanon interpretation in booksor ofwritten found andcomparison records, imagesandjudgements andbookshada sources. Untila certain otherintermediary moment, writing as pictograms, functioned imagesorsacral magicalvalue,andoften mythical, as a given, andwhich weresurrounded whosesignificance wastreated by objects mystery.54

areconfirmed Theseobservations bythefamousGermanantiquarwho writes: ian,LudwigZimmerer, in whoareilliterate orwhohaveconsiderable difficulties andpainters Sculptors intense areoften characterised andwriting relationship bya particularly reading to provide andin particular, theprinted withthewritten, word;theystrive MrsWisnios themostexactnameto whattheydepict.Forinstance possibly Polishfolkpainter] almostanybookas magicalor [a renowned perceives which are fromfools.She willnever and concealed revealing things holy her own but what hasaccording tohertruly of invention, only paintanything of of takes the the lives saints She provided literally descriptions happened. in blackandwhitein books.Shewouldneverdarechangetheslightest detail whilepainting. She considers herpaintings unfinished untilhersonprovides 53Cf. also thefolk"to see something in black and white,"whichexpressesthe of criterion. of as the i.e. a kindofa truth paragon factuality, perception writing 54R. Sulima,"Album'cieni.'Slowoi fotografia w kuturze ludowej,"in hisSlowoi 117-118. Warszawa 1993, etos,

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oftheircontent in blockcapitals. Thesameobtains forthetin a description which Mr renowned Polish folk witha Chajec[a plaques sculptor] produces of care effort. These are in amount and not an addition to the statue: great it is of them that the statue attains the status a Chajec'sview, onlythrough document.55

Zimmerer's thetwocategoriesofontologitestimony incorporates cal truth, whichareknownandalmosttautological: 1) almost(?) anybookis magicalorholy,i.e. true; is whathas notbeen "invented," but 2) whatis truein a painting has "truly" happened; the of beingby 3) represented thingonly acquiresthe entirety virtueof theinscription on theicon as the ( theinscription of its requirement canonicity) The sacralvalueofimageandwriting as a result maybe intensified of theformchosenforits communication communicator (the being themessageitself),which,as MarshallMcLuhanteaches,is an actof communication itself.Letus inthiscontext considerphotography first, andprintlateron. Sulima quiterightly observesthatit is photography ratherthan or which heralds the end of the painting, description journal spokenwordmonopolyin folkculture.The advantages of photography over othermediaare describedin a penetrating Roland Barthes. studyby he writes,"has something in commonwithResurrec"Photography," tion."56 Andmoreemphatically still:thisis a kindof acheiropoietos, notmadebythehumanhand.57 something inphotography Justas themagicofimageculminates ("I'm sending of the on the back one of peasant shadow," you my says inscription whileothersreferto theimageas one's "soul,""heart,"or pictures,

55L. Zimmerer,"Rozwazania w obliczu Swietego Michala Archaniola, wyrzezbionegow roku 1971 przez WladyslawaChajca z KamienicyG6rnej," PolskaSztukaLudowa3-4 (1976) 239. 56R. Barthes, La chambre claire.Notesurla photographie, Paris1980,?35. 57Ib.

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is paradoxically in print. intensified "eyes"58),themagicof writing or-as Printing equips writingwiththe qualityof indestructibility, this Sulimaputsit-"a pass to eternity."59 association with However, does not exhaustthe matter. Thereis one element indestructibility thatprint,photography and "The True Measureof the Body Our Lord,JesusChrist"have in common:themotiveof a "seal,"60of a theimage,miraculously which,farfromdistorting magicalrepetition, transfers Thanksto printandphotography on (expands?)itsidentity. theone hand,and theunchangeable measureof Christ'sbodyon the without other,the shape of the verythingis transferred faithfully of humanhand,and witha meticulousness intervention resembling thatof theOrthodoxcanonand theOld-Believermould.The shape thatthethingin questionis as if no longer is renderedso faithfully but rather becomes It subjectto miraculousmultiplication. copied, was in thismannerthatin Byzantiumacheiropoietoi multiplied,61 andchurches-relics, andin treasuries mensuraetakenfromChrist's in Pilatus'praetorium,62 "letters fromheaven"(whichhave footprints into "chains of as well as thelongitudo, whichluck"), grown today's in the formof multifarious magicalbelts thatwere said to have all overmediaevaland to almost saint-mushroomed every belonged Europe.Whichbelt is true,if thethingthatis true post-tridentine in all of themis thesame "measure"takenfromthearchetype and for A similar can be raised numerous studiously question multiplied? butit appliesin particular to woodcuts,etchingsand folkartefacts,63 58Sulima,op.cit.,120.Onthesignans/signatum inphotogranon-differentiation D. 278-279. see Power 231-235, Freedberg, ofImages, phy,

59Op.cit., 57.

60Kuryluk, and herCloth,113. Veronika 61lIb

62Theodosius, theMartyr, Perambulatio locorum De TerraSancta,andAntonius

in Itinerahierosolymitana et descriptiones terraesanctaebellis sacris sanctorum,

dela Soci6t6 del'Orient ed.T. Tobler andA. Molinier latin: anteriora, (Publications Geneva Zeller 61ff. 1879, 1966, 1-2), 89ff., rpt.Osnabriick: S6rieg6ographique 63Andforthemagicalconcept ofidentity ingeneral--to be observed e.g.inthe inthisrespect: ofthenameas thebeing. Cf.M.Buber's remarks "The'true' treatment

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forwhichtheconceptsoftheoriginalanda copylose any lithographs, whatsoever. significance a woodcutprintpropagatesa view accordingto which Therefore to a magicallymultiplied a concept truthis tantamount repetition, in whichis utterly for raised a culture that incomprehensible people venerates theoriginaland holdsthecopyin contempt. If an image it is is holybecauseit represents sanctified holymen, paradoxically whenit becomesa print,a copy,a seal, "a stampof idenfurther Without andin fact-thanksto itstypito illusionism, tity." recurring cal schematicity-providing a counterbalance forit,a woodcutprint, thanweakening rather it. non-differentiation, paradoxically amplifies The printis based on thefolk"ontological" oftruth as repcriterion etitionofThe Same,thatis, toutesproportions gardes, thesamecriterionto whichall religiousmentality based on iconographic canon aspires.Folk printsimitatein thisrespect-withthedue difference in scale-Byzantineicons and numerous othervarietiesof religious forexamplethatof TibetanBuddhism.The canonand the painting, the thephotography each andtheprinting mould, seal andthemeasure, allowin itsownmannerto avoidthedangerof eidolon,or "thefalse of repreimage."Theyare unitedby one feature-theautomaticity whichfreesthecopyfromtheaccusationoftakingliberties sentation, withtheoriginal,as it removesanypossibility of thisoccurring. In thisdegradedmanner, thehighidea ofacheiropoietos returns: just as theholyimagehad itssourcein thePrototype, theholyprintis provideda sourcein theformof thewoodcutmatrix, to whichall the of theUrbildare transferred. It is exactlydue to thispropattributes a that becomes most like "a true erty print image"thatourremarks focusupon. The principleof miraculousmultiplication maketherelationobbutone tainingbetweentheBild andtheAbbildnotone ofsimilarity, nameof a person,likethatof anyotherobject,is farmorethana meredenotative formenwhothinkin categories ofmagic;itis theessenceoftheperson, designation distilledfromhis realbeing,so thathe is presentin it once again"(Moses,Oxford 1946,51).

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of identity.64 Whatis annihilated in theprocessis theverypossibiltheimage(Bild) "is endowed"ontoprints ityof falserepresentation: is and its in theformof (Abbild), sanctity expandedand reproduced theprints, whichneednotbe identicalvisually, yetaremanifestations true.The identity of"thesame,"andtherefore guaranteed byprinting is sealed withby therubbingof theimageon theoriginal.Whatis is thatthewarranty of ontologicaltruth is providedby symptomatic or in contact between the Bild andtheAbtouch,65 physical general, bild.66 Folk-typecultureis by the verynaturefoundedon repetition. is theonlywayin thisworldto turntowardstheBeginning, Repetitio in this"reversed In theculture, literalimitation andthe perspective." of The Same does notreduce,butratherincreasesthe multiplication rankof a thing, it witha certificate oforigin,credibility byproviding The uncriticalness andthesole measureoftruthfulness. typicalofthe is a wayofreachingtheunreachable, of ontologicalconceptof truth in the "non-man-made and witnessing person archetype-the image" the"heavenly book." 64See Freedberg, PowerofImages,120, and Diinninger, "WahresAbbild,"274283. 65See legendsconcerning theblessingbestowedby Christon His imagepainted forKingAbgar(cf. in thisrespecttheTibetanlegendon theblessingbestowedby on his "double"(Tib. Tshab),in bSam yas: "On seeingthefigure Padmasambhava in bSam yas GuruRinpocesaid,'It lookslikeme,'andthenblessedit saying,'Now it is likeme,"'quotedin TibetanCalendar2116: EarthSnakeYear1989-1990with BuddhistFestivals,London1989). See also thelifeof SimeontheYounger(t592): Fromthetopofhiscolumn,thesaintthusaddressesa certainpresbyter, father tothree sons:"Takethisblessing,theeulogymadeofmydust,andwhenyousee thelikeness, sonsfallsill and plans itis as ifyousaw us in person."Whenone ofthepresbyter's to go andvisitthesaint,hisfather thepowerofcoming "Saint has Simeon, son, says: hereand visitingyou;youwillgetwell andyouwilllive."Thanksto theeulogythe "Getup,lightuptheincenseandpray,for sonsawthesaintandcriedouttohisfather: SaintSimeon,God's Servantis here."(La vieanciennede S. Syme'on le Jeune Stylite P. Brussels ed. van den Ven, 1962,1:205.) [521-592], 66Freedberg, PowerofImages,119-120.

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"ExegetesoftheBookclaimthatall booksaspiretobe theOriginal. offlight returns life,whichat themoment Theyonlylivea borrowed to itsold source.This meansthatbooksgetfewer,and theOriginal So BrunoSchulz wroteof theparadoxof sameness getsstronger." thatmystified from and difference him.67"Trueprints"and "letters ofthesamelonging, theaspiration to heaven"arefolkmanifestations the thestatusof theOriginal,whichis fulfilled by questioning very of thepossibility of differentiation and non-authenticity. foundations is expandedherein a modelmanner:through the"seal" (that Identity "TheTrueMeasureof ofa woodcut), the"measure"(thatoflongitudo: from theBodyOurLord,JesusChrist")andthe"copy"(thatof"letters or "chainofluck")-and itis in thosethatthesignificance heaven"68 of folkrepetition resides.This is a mentality whichbringsto mind theamazingwayin whichTheZohar explainsthemannerin which is multiplied: "BeforeGod createdtheworld,His namewas Identity enclosedwithinHim,and therefore He and His namewerenotone. Norcouldthisunity be effected untilsealingHis seal, He endowedthe decided universe withbeingandcreatedtheworld.Having,therefore, todo so,He traced[literally: chiselledsigns]and built...,"69 workPowerofImages,we read In David Freedberg's exceptional that"thestudyofcopiesandtransformations remainsone ofthegreat of images."70 tasksof thehistory Thoughall maynotbe convinced of thesignificance of thatclaim,ethnographers havefora longtime whichis "unjustified, irrational, haphazard, suspectedthatrepetition, 67 B. Schulz,"Sanatorium

inhisProza,Krak6w1973,130. podKlepsydra," 68The following "chainof luck"cameto me by mailin November1998: "Please send20 copies of thisletter, and you will see whathappensbefore4 days pass... Because thecopiesof thislettermustcirculate, youmustsendthemto yourfriends andacquaintances." On thecopyI received, whichwas clearlyoneoftherequired 20, who orderedcopiesto be made: a noteis to be foundby theanonymous supervisor office, "Supervisor's pleasemail." 69ZoharI, 29a; TheZohar,tr.H. Sperling andM. Simon,LondonandBournemouth 1949,I, 110-111. 70Freedberg, PowerofImages,121.

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fromthepointofviewoftraditional evennonsensical"71 metaphysics, the differentia culture. may well constitute specificaof folk-type the folk "true Thanksto themagicalrepetition by represented print," anew of reviewing andmaybealso interpreting we gaina possibility and other motives of the thequestionsof theacheiropoietos "high" within elitistculture,whichcould notrevealtheirfullsignificance therestrictions imposedby theGreatDivision(intotheliterateand in We owe thisnewperspective illiterate or highand low tradition). whichtheycan now be placed to thenaivequestionson truthand identity posed by folkpiousness.As RolandBarthessays,theseare or simplemetaphysics (though questionsthatbelongto the"foolish," answersto themare quitecomplex),thatis probablytheonlytrue metaphysics.72

JOANNA P1-03-710Warszawa,ul. Okrzei34/25 TOKARSKA-BAKIR Joanna.Tokarska-Bakir @urz.uni-heidelberg.de [email protected]

71B. Banasiak,"Wstep"in G. Deleuze,Rdznicai et [orig.Diffdirence powt6rzenie K. Warsaw 8. P. tr. 1997, Matuszewski, rdpitition], Banasiak, 72Barthes,La chambreclaire,?35.

AUX FRONTIERES DE L'IRANITE: ET DES INSCRIPTIONS DU MOBAD KIRDIR: ENQUETE LITTERAIRE ET HISTORIQUE CHRISTELLE JULLIEN ET FLORENCE JULLIEN Summary in themobadKirdir'sinscripThe identification ofthenasrayeandthekrTstyonj tionsis stilldisputed.In thiscontribution theauthorsmakea systematic examination of theSyriacand Mazdaeansources.Each term,situatedin its context, can be uninitsliterary derstood andhistorical environment. Theconsideration ofa geostrategic enablesus to understand thesetwo designations polarityIrdn/Aniran by meansof a re-evaluation of therelationship betweenChristians andMazdaeans.Politicalmouse tives,and theirconjoinedreligiousimplications, explaintheSasanidauthorities' ofthesetwotermstodesignateChristians.

des ndsrdyeet des kristyone mentionnes dans les L'identification a du mobad Kirdir fait de diverses inscriptions l'objet hypothbses de recherche, notamment graceaux travauxde J. de Menasceet de M.-L. Chaumontet, encorerecemment, de S.C. Mimounil.Sur ces nous desironspresenter une nouvelleidentifijalons documentaires, cationde ces deuxgroupesau regarddes sourcessyriaqueset mazdeennes.Ce travailde miseen contexte n'a jamais faitl'objetd'une il un etudeapprofondie; or, apporte 6clairageessentiela chacundes

du IXe sidcle.Skand-GumanTk 1J. De Menasce, Une apologetiquemazddenne VicarLa solutiondocisivedes doutes(CollectaneaFriburgentia NS 30), Fribourg M.-L. 207-209. La christianisation de 1945, Chaumont, l'empireiranien(Corpus Christianorum Subsidia Orientalium 499; 80), Louvain1988, 111-120, Scriptorum r6sumecommod6ment la de de Kartir l'historiographie question.Id., > 5 Pour la chronologiedes inscriptions de Kirdiravec la date de 293 comme terminus aux analysesde Gignoux,. D'apres >,dansL. CirilloetA. vanTongerloo(6d.), di studi "manicheismo e orientecristiano Attidel terzocongressointernazionale antico".Arcavacatadi Rende-Amantea, 31 agosto- 5 settembre 1993, Louvainet o ManichaeismintheEarlySasanianEmpire>>, Naples 1997,313-342.Cf.M. Hutter, entreManich6isme et Numen40 (1993) 2-15. Cf.aussiGignoux,? Contactsculturels

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du syriaque chezTh0odesbaptistes simplification mnaqqded6signant dorebar Konail7.Contrecette6tymologie qui ne paraitgubreplauH.W. Baileyinterprbte ce nom'a partir siblepourcertainscritiques, >parcettememe moyen-perse racinemaq-,>,L'ancienProche-Orient Parallelismesinterculturels religieux(Studia Orientalia70), Helsinki1993, 6573. 17W. Sundermann, 'BSWDG'N 'Die Taifer'>>,ActaAntiquaAcadei Parthisch miaeScientiarum 25 Hungaricae (1977) 238-240.M. Back avaitpropos6d'y voirles ne faitpas l'unanimit6 Staatde mais sonhypothese (Die Sassanidischen jains l'Inde, Studien und des der zurOrthographie Phonologie Mittelpersischen Insinschriften. Iranica (Acta 18),T6heranetLiege 1978,415). La critiques'accordeen g6schriften les bapneralpourassocierce termeavecle champs6mantique aquatique,comprenant cf.Duchesne-Guillemin, tistesou les mand6ens, au sensplus large,par n. 8), 882-883,les zandiqd6signant pourlui des h6r6tiques les manich6ens etre a la religionofficielle;danscetteperspective, pourraient rapport consider6s commetels. MKRTEM->>,Revuedes EtudesArmei18H.W.Bailey,i IranianMKTK-,Armenian niennesNS 14 (1980) 8-10. 19Ph. Gignoux,o. 20En les d6signant, sa connaissancedes minorites Kirdirmanifeste religieuses iranien: les manich6ens dans l'inscription de maniere en territoire apparaftraient aucuneavec les chr6tiens sansassimilation (commece futle cas lorsdes sp6cifique, La de Seert ulterieures). Chronique rappelleces confusions pers6cutions 6pisodiques mirent bonordre: officielles de la partdes autorit6s perses,auxquellesles chr6tiens >> n. 237 nestorienne inedite , dansTheDefenceoftheRomanand Byzantine inApril1986 a East. Proceedingsof ColloquiumHeld at theUniversity ofSheffield Oxford and D. Freeman 1986,491). [BAR297/2],6d. P. Kennedy, the 135N.G. Garsoian,o Armeniain theFourthCentury. to re-define An Attempt 8 NS Revuedes EtudesArminiennes, (1971) concepts"Armenia"and "loyalty">>, 341-352. 136Le r6dacteur de Sapur de la passionde Simeonexpliqueles instructions anonyme surl'6quivalenceentre en insistant divulgu6esdans toutle pays du Beth-Aramaye nazareenset amis du Cesar romain: o... car nous autres,nous n'avonsque les ennuisde la guerreet eux (les nazar6ens)n'ontque reposet plaisirs! Ils habitent de C6sar,notreennemi>> les sentiments et partagent notreterritoire (ActaMartyrum etSanctorum II, 136); Simonveutexciterses discipleset sonpeuplea la r6bellion : voila contremonempire.II veuten faireles esclavesde C6sar,leurcoreligionnaire orientalium, (E. Assemani,Acta martyrum pourquoiil n'ob6itpas a mes ordres>> Rome1748,20).

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le soucidu mobadd'6vincertousles 616ments genantsonprojetunitaireexclut,au nomde l'int6ret toutce qui estsusceptible de national, au non-iranisme. Ce motif a etre participer d'infid61it6pu constat6A des primats de S61eucie-Ct6siphon. Seloncertaines sources l'encontre le refus aux ordres syriaquesconsid6r6es, d'obtemp6rer royauxde la des "nazar6ens";ainsi, capitationest l'un des mobilesd'arrestation sous SaptirII, Sim6onBar Sabba'e est-ilaccus6pource motif, l'auteurdu r6citpr6cisant contreles chr6tiens a que cet6ditde pers6cution finalit6 de les soumettre aux lois pour perses137. Sim6on,responsable des nazar6ens, estdoncarret6 traitrise et son discourscherche'a pour montrer sa loyaut6etcellede la communaut6 enversla qu'il repr6sente ettoutl'empire: (cf.BHO 1117,?6)140. Dans la Viede SimeonBar Sabba'7,le termenazar6enprononc6 parles accusateurss'apparente 'a celuide non-mazd6en, non-iraniens 6trangers dansl'empire.Cettememevisionse d6gagerait dutextefragpeut-etre mentaire P 8823 en moyen-perse; surla liste l'un des hommesinscrit de recrutement, contrairement estappel6naa ses quatrecompagnons, Nous retrouvons le memeproc6d6de zardenfilsde Ddd-Ohrmezdan. dansl'inscription de la Ka'aba de Naq'-i Rustam.L'6tude d6signation 137M. Kmosko,Martyrium Beati SimeonisBar Sabbace,dans PatrologiaSyriaca

1/2,Turnhout 1907,792, ?4. 138Ibid.,794-795; cf.818, ?18; 867,?52. 139Cf.Wiessner, Untersuchungen (ci-dessus,n. 62), 148-157. 140P. Devos, o Sozombneet les actes syriaquesde S. Sim6onSabbMe>>,Analecta Bollandiana84 (1966) 455-456.

328

JullienetFlorenceJullien Christelle

de KirdirparPh. Gignouxa des inscriptions textuelles des variantes dans des transmontr6 des diff6rences apparaissant orthographiques noms de termes etrangers: telestle cas pourde nombreux criptions du grecou du syriaque'41. transcrits de villesou de provinces Or,nous de transcription cettememedifficult6 retrouvons pourndsraye,dont la graphiese diversifie : n' l'y dans la Ka'aba de Zoroastre(1. 10), de ainsiqu'a Sar Ma'had (1. 14),mais6crit[n]'s[l'y]surl'inscription parles problimes s'expliquent Naq'-i Rustam(1.30)142. Ces variantes dans en a d'une langue l'autre, particulier la transcription d'adaptation donc import6s de termestechniquesou de nomspropresqui furent uneminorit6 avecprecision sp6cifique. pourd6signer sonttouchesparles mesures en g6n6ral(krTstyonj) Si les chr6tiens du termenazar6en il resteque l'emploisp6cifique de discrimination, c'est la vision de persecution, recouvreici ce sens : dansce contexte unrejetenblocdescommunaudesd6tracteurs impliquant quipr6vaut, devantle t6slocalesde l'empire.Les nazar6enssonttax6sde traitrise de MarQardag,le protagoniste roi.Dans la l6gendeplustardive porte et en d6le christianisme en nationales prechant insulteaux traditions Ce motifassoci6aux nazales lieuxde cultezoroastriens143. truisant unecoloration r6ensappliqueici encoreau substantif politiqueau sein ' de Kirdirparticipe ce memecontexte de l'empire.L'inscription : la li6eaux enPerseest6troitement duchristianisme persecution premibre A un momentoitse soudaitl'unit6nationale, nationaux. int6rets qui les minorit6s du mazd6isme, religieuses impliquaitl'affermissement en raison notamment d'instabilit6 des facteurs constituaient interne,

141klky'y pourla Cilicie?ala Kaeabade Zoroastre(1. 12) et Naq'-i Rustam(1. 38); Ma'had (1. 18) ; kysly'y Sar (1. 12); pourC6sar6edansla Ka"abade Zoroastre [k]lk'ya Ma'had Sar (1. 18) parexemple. kyslyd'y ?a 142Gignoux, E< tudedes variantes textuelles>> (ci-dessus,n. 2), 210. 143Abbeloos,?Acta Mar Kardaghi>>, (ci-dessus,n. 41), 68.10-13; 69.12-13. Cf. les liensde l'Eglisede Perseavecl'Occident r6pertoriant l'analysede A. Guillaumont Oaks Papers23-24 [1969-1970]39et l'Iglise de Perse>>,Dumbarton (< Justinien 66).

ethistorique Enqute litte~raire

329

Les chr6tiens de l'Anerdn, et ceux de de leurexpansion'44. d6port6s, ne formaient parleurconversion, pas l'empire,passesau non-iranisme sur Kirdir des fiables 6l6ments lesquelscompter. pour La questiond'uneconversion des mazd6ens d'8tre La questiond'unechristianisation pr6cocedesPersansm6rite ? Alsoulev6e: une conversionde mazd6ensest-elleenvisageable faitepar la loi perseaux mazd6ensde Tabari6voquel'interdiction au christianismel45. Le zoroastrisme se convertir n'estpas naturellele statut mentouvertAunpros6lytisme ; la naissanceconf'ere religieux. Les t6moignages de nossourcessontraresmaisles indicest6nusr6v616sne permettent pas de rejeterentierement l'impactde mouvements en Iranau d6butdu IIje sibcle.Le Livredes Lois des missionnaires d'unepr6sencechr6tienne constitue la plus ancienneattestation pays de l'Iran,memes'il ne s'agitpas d'un christianisme dansces contr6es a proprement at6tabliou structure parler.Ces pochesde chr6tient6 de la doctrine testent chr6tienne, p6pourle moinsd'une p6n6tration un suffisamment n6tration efficace, profonde pourprovoquer changedu mouvement ment6thique146. La diffusion baptiste jud6o-chr6tien : les proselytes troumanich6ens versl'Orientestelle aussir6v61atrice surle trajetcotierversl'Inde(portsd'esverentsansdoute,s'6grenant de petitescommunaucale desrivesduMakranetduBalouchistan147), in6dite>> 144Scher,>(ci-dessus,n. 16),313-342. Elements ,Bulletinof the cf. A.V. Williams,> occidentaleet septentrionale)156. de Syrie (extension 152 Pourdes pr6cisions cf.G. Gnoli,TheIdea oflran: AnEssayon de vocabulaire, Italianoper il Medio ed EstremoOriente: Serie OrientaleRoma itsOrigin(Istituto A CatalogueoftheProvincialCapitalsof nsahr 67), Rome1989.Cf.J.Marquart, Er, Rome Orientalia 1931,introduction. 3), (Analecta 153V.G. Lukonin,,ibid.,411. Cf.Ph. Gignoux,Glossairedes inscriptions History Series 1), Londres1972, s.v. Iranicarum: Supplementary (CorpusInscriptionum cette >).Mais forceest de constater pas des que tous les captifsne b6n6ficierent ce que le texteinduitpar l'emploid'un d6monsmemesconditions, : > des inscriptions du mobadKirdfr:Enlitteraire et 282 historique.................................. quite PeterANTES,Whatdo WeExperienceifWeHave ReligiousExperience? ........... ............................. 336 BookReviews Kocku von Stuckrad,Das Ringenum die Astrologie. Jiidischeund christliche antiken zum (Johann MAIER) 343 Beitriige Zeitverstiindnis MariaGraziaLancellotti, TheNaassenes.A GnosticIdentity Among Classical and AncientNear EasternTradiJudaism, Christianity, tions(IngvildSaelidGILHUS) ................................. 344 HERNANMarcos (Ed.), Gender/Bodies/Religions (R. AiDA Sylvia DEZ CASTILLO) ............................................ 347 Sue Blundelland MargaretWilliamson(Eds.), The Sacred and the FeminineinAncientGreece(DorotheaBAUDY) ................ 348 David Frankfurter, and ResisReligioninRomanEgypt.Assimilation tance(MareileHAASE) ...................................... 350 KurtHiibner,Glaube und Denken.Dimensionender Wirklichkeit 351 (KockuVONSTUCKRAD) ..................................

NVMEN INTERNATIONALREVIEW FOR THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS EDITED ON BEHALF OF THE INTERNATIONALASSOCIATION FOR THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS by E. THOMASSEN andM. DESPLAND VOLUME XLIX

BRILL LEIDEN - BOSTON 2002

CONTENTS Articles 1 ArvindSHARMA,On Hindu,Hindustdn, andHindutva... Hinduism AndreCOUTURE,Krsna'sInitiation at Sdndrpani's 37 Hermitage..... Towardsa Description PeterJACKSON, LightfromDistantAsterisks: 61 oftheIndo-European ReligiousHeritage ..................... as a KoreanNewReligion........... 113 MichaelPYE, WonBuddhism Siv EllenKRAFT,"ToMixornottoMix": Syncretism/Anti-syncretism 142 in theHistoryofTheosophy............................. . A. et Coniuratio 178 ..................... Agnes NAGY,Superstitio 193 SuzanneEVANS,TheScentofa Martyr....................... A. and the Eleusinian MysterNancy EVANS,Sanctuaries, Sacrifices, 227 ies ................................................. Joanna TOKARSKA-BAKIR, Why is the Holy Image "True"? The

as a PrincipleofSelf-authentication OntologicalConceptofTruth

of Folk Devotional Effigiesin the18th and 19th Century ......... ChristelleJULLIENet Florence JULLIEN,Auxfrontieresde l'iranite:

et des inscriptions du mobadKirdtr:Enethistorique................................ qu te littiraire PeterANTES,Whatdo WeExperienceifWehaveReligiousExperience? .............. ........... ..... .. ................ is MahdyanaBuddhism? Jonathan ProbA. SILK, What,ifAnything, . ...................... and Classifications lemsofDefinitions Paolo XELLA,Aspectsdu "Sacerdoce"enSyrieancienne:Remarques et examend'un cas particulier................ methodologiques and the LUBIN,The Virtuosic Timothy ExegesisoftheBrahmavadin ........ ................. Rabbi .................. inIndia ..................... J.DuncanM. DERRETT,A Blemmya

255

282 336 355 406 427 460

BookReviews JamesRandallNoblitt,Pamela Sue Perskin,Cultand RitualAbuse: ItsHistory, and RecentDiscoveryin Contemporary Anthropology, America (Adelheid HERRMANN-PFANDT).....................

103

uityto theMiddle Ages (J6rgRuPKE) .........................

104

Ken Dowden,EuropeanPaganism:TheRealitiesofCultfromAntiq-

vi Jean-LucAchard,L'essenceperleedu secret.Recherches philologisur l'originede la GrandePerfection dans la ques et historiques traditionrNyingma pa (Adelheid HERRMANN-PFANDT) .......

106

Religion and Globalization (Kocku VON STUCKRAD) ..........

212

theirReligion (Michael STAUSBERG) .........................

218

tions(Ingvild Saelid GILHUS) .................................

344

DEZ CASTILLO)

347

& JeanRichardCaron,JoscelynGodwin,WouterJ. Hanegraaff Louis Vieillard-Baron (eds.), Esotirisme,Gnoses & imaginaire ai AntoineFaivre;Roelofvan den symbolique:Milanges offerts Broek & Cis van Heertum(eds.), FromPoimandresto Jacob Bohme: Gnosis,Hermetism and the ChristianTradition;Olav Hammer,ClaimingKnowledge:Strategiesof Epistemology from Theosophyto the New Age; Mikael Rothstein(ed.), New Age JesseS. Palsetia,The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identityin in collaboration withShehnaz G. BombayCity;Philip Kreyenbroek NevilleMunshi,LivingZoroastrianism: UrbanParsisSpeakabout

Kocku von Stuckrad, Das Ringenum die Astrologie:Jiidischeund christliche zumantiken (Johann MAIER) 343 Beitriige Zeitverstdindnis MariaGraziaLancellotti, TheNaassenes:A GnosticIdentity Among Classical and AncientNear EasternTradiJudaism, Christianity, (R. AiDA HERNANSylviaMarcos (Ed.), Gender/Bodies/Religions ............................................

Sue Blundelland MargaretWilliamson(Eds.), The Sacred and the Femininein AncientGreece (Dorothea BAUDY) ................

348

tance (Mareile HAASE) ......................................

350

(Kocku voN STUCKRAD) ....................................

351

sion and Responses (ManfredHUTTER) .......................

475

Japan's New Religions (R.J.Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

476

Palace ofImmortalJoy(R.J. Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

480

DavidFrankfurter, andResisReligioninRomanEgypt:Assimilation

KurtHiibner,Glaube und Denken:Dimensionender Wirklichkeit PeterG. Riddell,Islamand theMalay-Indonesian World.Transmisin RobertKisala, Prophetsof Peace: Pacifismand CulturalIdentity Paul R. Katz,ImagesoftheImmortal: TheCultofLii Dongbinat the received............. Publications

..................

108,223,482

International Reviewfor theHistory ofReligqions VOL. XLIX

NO. 4

BRILL

2002

NVMEN PUBLISHER: BrillAcademicPublishers PUBLISHED: Fourtimesa year:January, April,JulyandOctober. SUBSCRIPTION:The subscription price of volume 50 (2003) is EUR 169.- / andEUR 88.-/US$ 102.-forindividuals, US$ 196.-forinstitutions inclusiveofpostageand handlingcharges.All pricesareexclusive ofVATin EU-countries (VATnotapplicableoutsidetheEU). Price includesonlinesubscription. ordersare acceptedforcompletevolumesonly. Subscription withthefirstissueof anyyear.Ordersmayalso Orderstakeeffect willonly on an automatic basis.Cancellations be entered continuing be acceptedif theyare receivedbeforeOctober1st of the year is totakeeffect. Claims theyearinwhichthecancellation preceding formissingissueswillbe met,freeofcharge,ifmadewithinthree monthsof dispatchforEuropeancustomersand fivemonthsfor customers outsideEurope. Once theissue is publishedtheactualdatesof dispatchcan be foundon ourwebsite:WWW.BRILL.NL. ordersmaybe madevia anybooksellerorsubscripSubscription tionagency,ordirecttothepublisher. OFFICES: TheNetherlands U.S.A. BrillAcademicPublishers BrillAcademicPublishers Inc. 112WaterStreet, P.O. Box 9000 Suite400 2300 PA Leiden Boston,MA 02109 Tel: +31 71 535 35 66 Tel: 1-800-962-4406 (tollfree) Fax: +31 71 531 75 32 Fax: (617) 263 2324 E-mail:[email protected] E-mail:[email protected] BACK Back volumesofthelasttwoyearsareavailablefromBrill:please VOLUMES: contactourcustomer servicesdepartment. Forbackvolumesofthe P.O. Box 830, precedingyearsplease contact:Swets& Zeitlinger. 2160 SZ, Lisse,TheNetherlands. NOWENJOYfreeonlineaccess

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NVMEN Numenis editedon behalfoftheInternational Associationforthe HistoryofReligionsbyEinarThomassenandMichelDespland VolumeXLIX, 4 EditorialAddress ofBergen,Oisteinsgate Prof.EinarTHOMASSEN, IKRR/Religion, University 3, N-5007Bergen,Norway;E-mail:[email protected] of Religion,ConcordiaUniversity, Prof.Michel DESPLAND,Department 1455 Boulevardde MaisonneuveOuest. Montreal,Quebec, Canada H3G IM8; E-mail:[email protected] Book ReviewEditor Dr. Brigitte Universitat LUCHESI, Bremen,Fachbereich 9, Postfach330440, D-28334 Bremen,Germany; Sportturm, E-mail:[email protected] EditorialBoard P. Antes(Hanover,Germany); R.I.J.Hackett(Knoxville,TN,USA); M. AbumalhamMas (Madrid,Spain); A.W. Geertz(Aarhus,Denmark);G. ter The Haar (The Hague, The Netherlands); W.J.Hanegraaff (Amsterdam, G.L. Lease (Santa Cruz, CA, USA); M.N. Getui (Nairobi, Netherlands); NewZealand); Kenya);I.S. Gilhus(Bergen,Norway);P. Morris(Wellington, J.K.Olupona(Davis,CA, USA); A. Tsukimoto (Tokyo,Japan);A.T. Wasim Indonesia). (Yogyakarta, lifemembers oftheIAHR Honorary L. A. Caquot(Paris);C. Colpe Awolalu J.O. (Ibadan); Bickman(Stockholm); L. Gonzailes Torres Honko Y. (MexicoCity); (Berlin); (Turku);A. Hultkrantz Fan J. Leclant (Paris); M. Marzal (Lima); (Stockholm);Kong (Beijing); G.C. Oosthuizen(Durban);M. Pye (Marburg);J.R.Ries (Namur-Suarlee); A. Schimmel(Cambridge, K. Rudolph(Marburg); USA); N. Tamaru(Tokyo); R.J.Z. J.Waardenburg (Lausanne); (Jerusalem). Werblowsky inAnthropological MLAInterNumen is indexed IndexOnline, Current Contents, on national Books and Articles Modern and of Languages Literatures, Bibliography IndexOne:Periodicals, IndexTwo:Multi-Author Works, Religion Religion Religious Historical America: and & Theological Abstracts, Abstracts, History Life,andthe ArIAHRbibliographical ScienceofReligion, Abstracts andIndexofRecent journal ticles.

CONTENTS Articles A. SILK, What,ifAnything, Jonathan is MahdyanaBuddhism? Proband Classifications lemsofDefinitions ....................... Paolo XELLA,Aspectsdu "Sacerdoce"enSyrieancienne:Remarques etexamend'un cas particulier................ methodologiques The Virtuosic and the LUBIN, Timothy ExegesisoftheBrahmavadin Rabbi ....................... .................. J.DuncanM. DERRETT,A Blemmya inIndia ...................

355 406 427 460

BookReviews PeterG. Riddell,Islamand theMalay-Indonesian World.Transmission and Responses (ManfredHUTTER) .......................

475

Japan's New Religions (R.J. Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

476

Palace ofImmortalJoy(R.J. Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

480

in RobertKisala,ProphetsofPeace: Pacifismand CulturalIdentity Paul R. Katz,ImagesoftheImmortal: TheCultofLii Dongbinat the received.............. Publications

.....................

482

WHAT,IF ANYTHING,IS MAHAYANABUDDHISM?* PROBLEMS OF DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS JONATHAN A. SILK Summary This studyinvestigates of Mahayana some problemsregarding the definition itpaysparticular Buddhism.Tracingthehistory ofthenotionin modernscholarship, to thequestionof therelationbetweenMahayanaand so-calledHinayana attention which usedmethodsofclassification or SectarianBuddhism.Findingthecommonly it and conditions to be to the on sufficient task, suggests inadequate rely necessary a methodwhichpermitsa of polythetic thealternative classification, employment variableset of questionsand data to be takenintoaccountin themost constantly flexible andaccommodating manner.

Any attemptto focus on a givenobject of studypresupposes,in theveryfirstplace, the abilityto recognizethatrelevantobject,to itfromthesurrounding world,thatis,to definetheobject. distinguish Andanyattempt to sortor ordermorethanone objectrequiresus to toperceivethe those objects.Thus,ourveryattempts classify multiple worldaroundus requireus to defineandtoclassify. reflect onthedeUsually,ofcourse,we havenoneedtoconsciously we employ.Butwhenwe areunsureofthe finitions andclassifications intheway theremaybe someerrors statusofan object,whenwe think someapparent whenwe encounter disagreement objectsareorganized, to communicate withthosewithwhomwe are attempting concerning or evenexistenceof an objectis an object,or whentheveryidentity ofdefinition and in question,thenwe mustresortto explicitstrategies in ordertoclarify thediscussion. classification *I wishto expressmy sincerethanksto myerstwhile student Ms. BonnieGulas, have been very fromtheviewpointof paleontology whoseinsightsintotaxonomy helpfulto me. Thanksalso to Profs.KennethBaileyand RichardEthridgefortheir encouragement. BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

NUMEN,Vol.49

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A. Silk Jonathan

The identity andthestatusofMahayanaBuddhismarepointsvery muchin question,and it is virtually self-evident thatcommunicationconcerning Buddhism occasions manydisagreements. Mahayana and classification ofMahayana theneedforthedefinition Therefore, Buddhismis obvious.But how we shouldapproachsuchdefinition is somewhat and classification less plain.For it is basicallytruethat in orderto definean objectone musthavesomefundamental senseof whatitis. I cannotknowthatmydefinition ofapplesmustaccommodateMacIntosh, Red DeliciousandFuji,butnotnaveloranges,unless I knowbeforehand thattheformer areapplesandthelatter is not.And this must I be more than circular. must be able to refine yet, process and mydefinition, to correctmisclassifications or myunderstanding evenalterentirely thebasisoftheclassificatory schemeas myfamilwith of How this myobject studygrows. iarity processmaybeginin thefirst forcognitive andneed scientists, placeis a questionprimarily notconcernus here.We mayacceptas an irreducible giventhatan objectofstudyexists,whichhasbeenlabeled"MahayanaBuddhism," andthatcertainsensesofitsdefinition andclassification areandhave beenheldbystudents ofthisobject.We maytherefore fruitfully begin some of these byexamining ideas.1 An apparently fundamental in at leastmostof the presupposition of conceptualizations MahayanaBuddhismso faris thatit is one pole of a binaryset,thatis, it is seen in oppositionto something else, some otherformof Buddhism.The questionthenariseshow thetwoare related.Dependingon who is talking,theoppositepole may sometimesor even usuallybe called "Hinayana,"or by those withsomewhatmorehistoricalawarenessdenotedby such names as SectarianBuddhism,NikayaBuddhism, Conservative Buddhism, and Mainstream Buddhism similar termsin (or Sravakayana, recently otherlanguages).Whatever thenamesused,theconceptualization is 1

One of theterminological issuesthatmightbe addressedis whether we aimat or taxonomy; theformer is conceptualand qualitative, thelatterempirical typology andquantitative. I think we willsee belowthatultimately whatwe seekis a taxonomy. See Bailey1994:6-7.

is MahayanaBuddhism? What,ifAnything,

357

oftenbasicallyas follows:First,thereis an olderportionofmonastic closertothesource,which Buddhism, usuallyfeltto be conservative, a liberation from samsaraaccessibleonlyto the emphasizes personal monkwhocan devotehimself to intensive meditation andso practice, on. This is theBuddhismwhosemodemlivingrepresentative is the Theravdda school,andwhenthetermis useditis thiswhichis called the vehicle. inferior, Hinayana, small,ormoreliterally The oppositeof this,theMahayanaor great,superiorvehicle,is oppositein everyway.As portrayed byitspartisans, MahayanaBuddhismcanbe presented inwhichthedecayed as a sortofReformation, arerejectedin favorofnew,positiveinnovapartsoftheold tradition areofcoursewhollyin concertwith theseinnovations tions,although theoriginaland authentic coreintentions of Sakyamuni's Buddhism. The selfishness oftheold monastic, search forescape world-denying is replacedby thebodhisattva is fromrebirth ideal. The bodhisattva thepolaroppositeoftheHinayanamonk,andthisMahayanaBuddhist fortheliberation from hero,activein theworld,mustworktirelessly he that is no because knows there difference of all suffering beings, Thusportrayed betweenall beingsandhimself. MahayanaBuddhism universal a forall, is at oncebotha timeless, truth, pathto liberation forthe monkandlayperson (manorwoman)alike,anda replacement indeed inferior, older,limited, Hinayanapath. It almostgoes withoutsayingthatthereare too manyobjections to thispicture,thiscaricature, really,of Mahayanaand Hinayanato listthemall. Amongtheproblemswe mightnumberthequestionof thisaccountclaimstobe history. whether History happensin time,of seemsto be timeless. course,and MahayanaBuddhismso presented Anotherobjectionmightbe How can thetimelessoccurin history? hereis notaccurate,a of that the simply picture Hinayanapresented view takenby manymodempartisansof TheravadaBuddhism,for mayacceptthebasicbinaryscenario.That example,whonevertheless is easilydemonstrated. suchviewsareprevalent The late ProfessorAndr6Bareau, in his articleon "Hinayana Buddhism"in the Encyclopediaof Religion,promotedas a new wrote: standard reference,

358

A. Silk Jonathan

schoolsorsectsthatappeared ThetermHfnayana refers tothegroupofBuddhist derivedfromthem. of thecommonera and thosedirectly beforethebeginning It was applieddisdainfully to theseearly The wordHfnayana... is pejorative. movement thatarose ofthegreatreformist formsofBuddhismbythefollowers at the of the common which referred to itself as the era, Mahayana. just beginning towhatis called togivethename"earlyBuddhism" ... Itwouldbe morecorrect forthetermdenotesthewholecollectionofthemostancientformsof Hinaya-na, Buddhism:thoseearlierthantheriseoftheMahayanaand thosethatsharethe sameinspiration as theseandhavethesameideal,namelythearhat.2

A are moreabstract, less quasi-historical. Yet otherformulations is instructive. The lookat severalstandard sources,somerather recent, Bukky6 Daijii says: ridden to ShojoJ Daijo. Mahayana.In contrast [*Hinayana].The Dharma-gate Dai meansvast,Jo meanscarrying. So, this by people of greatdisposition. of compassionand wisdom,self-benefit and benefitfor is the Dharma-gate others,whichcarriesthepeoplewho havethebodhisattva's greatdisposition, ofBodhi-nirvana. themontheother-shore ... TheMahayanaDoctrine depositing is designatedas whatis preachedin orderto convert[beings]throughthis In oppositionto thisis theHinayana,theDharma-gate of selfish Dharma-gate. whichcarriestheSravakasand Pratyekabuddhas to thegoal of the liberation Thisis designated theHinayanaDoctrine... .3 nirvanaofdestruction.

Nakamura'sBukkyogo Daijitensays:4"GreatVehicle.One of the twogreatschools(ryaha)ofBuddhist Aroseinthelst-2nd teachings. In contrarst centuries. tothepreceding so-calledHinayana. Buddhism, It is especiallycharacterized by practicewhichsaves othersrather thanworkingforits own benefit, and thusemphasizesbecominga Buddha...." Oda's Bukkyo from Daijitensays:5"Dai is distinguished toDoctrine, thatis theGreat Sho [small].Jomeansvehicle,andrefers is the which causes Teaching.Hinayana teaching [beings]to seekfor thequiescentnirvanaofthewisdomofdestruction ofthebody,within whichare distinguished theSravakaand Pratyekabuddha, whilethe 2 Bareau1987:195. s.v. Daigaku1914-1922:5.3169c, 3 Ryiikoku 4 Nakamura1981:920cd. 5Oda 1917:1144b.

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withinwhich Mahayanais theteachingwhichopensup omniscience, the One Vehicleand the ThreeVehicles."In his are distinguished of his long article"Daij6" in the shortdescription at thebeginning term Hobigirin,HubertDurtstatesthatMahayanais a "Metaphorical the divided into movement, describing soteriological manytendencies, whichdevelopedwithinBuddhismwiththe aim of promoting the the Bodhisattva as ideal of for the followers of conductof the practice themovement."6 Mochizuki'sBukkyo Daijitensays:7 "GreatVehicle. In contrastto Hinayana.That is, the Dharma-gate whichpractices bodhisattvas who thesix perfections, saves all beings,and converts aspiretobecomebuddhas."It is clearfromthissamplethat,at leastin of thedefinition and our standardsources,theexplicitformulations contrast it classification of MahayanaBuddhismalmostuniversally with"Hinayana." But even if we do not use the termHinayana,whichwithout is it rightto see the caluminous, questionis in originintentionally of Buddhismas essentiallydichotomous(or if we take structure anotherapproachwhichincludestheso-calledVajrayana, tripartite)? Or fromanotherpointof view,is thebestway to thinkabout-that defineandclassify-MahayanaBuddhism is, to tryto conceptualize, at all? into divide to things Mahayanaandnon-Mahayana really This seems to be the way thingshave alwaysbeen done, with withHinayana orinstitutionally either doctrinally Mahayanacontrasted or SectarianBuddhism.And it mightevenbe possibleto traceone in modemscholarship. Mostscholarswho sourceofthisformulation relationsbethe institutional have expressedthemselves concerning tweenMahayanaand SectarianBuddhismseemto have been motiofremarks madein themedievalperiod vatedbytheirinterpretations fromBuddhistChinato BuddhistIntravellers by Chinesepilgrims, indetailtheMahayanaorHinayana dia whokeptrecordswhichreport inIndiaandIndianCentralAsia. It ofvariousmonasteries populations 6Hodbgirin, 767 p. (published1994). 7Mochizuki1932-36:4.3248b.

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is partly onthebasisoftheseaccountsthatEtienneLamotte, forexample,wrotehishighlyinfluential studyontheoriginsoftheMahayana.8 Since thegeneraland overallhonestyand accuracyof theinformationinthesepilgrim's recordscanbe verified fromarchaeological and otherevidence, thereseemedprimafacietobe littlereasontoquestion is notalways theiraccounts.Buttheinterpretation ofthesedocuments and it is ironic that straightforward, perhaps AugusteBarth,basinghis ideas oftherelationship betweentheMahayanaandtheHinayanaon the same reachedconclusions accounts, exactly diametrically opposed tothoseofLamotte. oftheChinesetraveller-monks Faxian,XuanAmongthewritings and that of the Record Buddhist datPractices, zang Yijing, of Yijing,9 definingfrom691,is theonlyone whichmakesa pointof carefully its This makes for the most it, us, ing terminology. probably importantof theavailableaccounts.Yijing'scrucialdefinition runsas follows:10"ThosewhoworshiptheBodhisattvas andreadtheMahayana Sutrasare called theMahayanists, whilethosewho do notperform theseare calledtheHinayanists." In a phraseimmediately preceding thatjust quoted,it seemsto be statedthatschoolsor sectsmaybeTakakusualreadyoblongto eithervehicle,and on thisbasisJunjir6 servedoverone hundred to histranslayearsago, in theintroduction tionofYijing'swork,that"I-Tsing'sstatement seemstoimplythatone andthesameschooladheresto theHinayanain one place andto the a schooldoes notexclusively Mahayanain another; belongto theone ortheother.""Onlytwoyearslater, Barth offered hisdetailed Auguste comments on Yijingin theformofa reviewoftheworkofTakakusu and Chavannes.12DiscussingYijing'sstatement aboutthedefinition 8 Lamotte1954. 9 Faxian(mid-late 4thcentury), Xuanzang(602-664) andYijing(635-713). 10Takakusu1896:14-15.The textis theNanhai T. 2125 (LIV) jigui neifa-zhuan 205c11-13. " Takakusu1896:xxii-xxiii. 12Barth1898,whileactuallya detailed is written as a review studyinitsownright, ofTakakusu1896andChavannes1894.

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of theMahayana,Barthconcludedthat"therewereMahayanists and in all or in almostall theschools."13 He wenton to draw Hinay~nists outsomeoftheimplications ofthisobservation:14 The Mahayanathusappearsto us as a religiousmovement withrathervague modification of primitive Buddhismand a limits,at thesametimean internal seriesofadditions tothissameBuddhism, alongsideofwhichtheoldfoundations wereable to subsistmoreorless intact. It is thusveryprobablethatthereare .... manydegreesand varietiesin theMahayana,and thatit is perhapssomething of an illusionto hope that,whenwe definethatof Asafigaor Vasubandhu, for we a formula to all the will obtain others. All example, thereby applicable things we can supposethatthingshereare as theyso oftenare in thisso considered, andmurky andthatthebestwayofexplaining theMahayana Buddhism, unsteady is to nottrytoohardtodefineit.

Barthremained cautious.He Atthesametime,however, extremely was in own even that it interests topersuade Yijing's suggested, argued, difference hisaudiencethattherewas littleornofundamental between theMahayanaandHinayana,sinceYijingwas trying to propagandize almostall exclusiveMahayanists, the amonghisChinesecompatriots, This and the Sarvdstivdda.15 is an of observation, insightful Vinaya tothemultiple factors whichcould illustrates Barth'sacutesensitivity the of statements of anyof our havebeenat workin thebackground witnesses. seemto haveremainedunBarth'sapproachand his observations an extremely creative noticedby mostscholarsuntilJeanPrzyluski, on therelationbetweenthe and iconoclasticscholar,againremarked discussed variousMahayanascripand Mahayana Hinayana.Having

13Barth1898:448. 14Barth1898:449-450. 15Barth1898:450.It is actuallythe thatYijing Vinayaof theMula-Sarvastivada translated intoChinese.Althoughtherelationbetweenthesetwo sectsis not yet the two wheneverpossible.I entirelyclear,it would be well to avoid conflating of the confessthatI remainunconvinced by arguments Enomoto2000 thatthetwo, arethesame. andMfila-Sarvastivada, Sarvastivada

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turesin his seminalstudyon theearlyBuddhistCouncils,Przyluski concluded:16 As rapidandas incomplete as itis, thisdiscussionoftheMahayanist canonsaltheinsufficiency ofthetheories whichhaveprevailed lowsus atleasttorecognize as a untilnowin Europeanlearning. The Mahayanahas longbeenrepresented from in of school which the first the North-west India, developed regions unique fromwhenceit spreadto Centraland East Asia. It is a subdivision of "NorthButthisso-called"Northern Buddhism"is onlya geographical ernBuddhism." It alreadyappearedtoopenminds,likea showerofdiversesectsoriexpression. entedtowardtheNorth, EastorWest,andmoreprecisely, eachsectresolvesitself in itsturnintotwodistinct one the other Without parts, Mahayanist, Hinayanist. ofaspirations, ofgreatdogmascommonto doubtonecannotnegatetheexistence all theMahayanafactions. Buttheseconvergent do notcauseus tofail tendencies oftheoriginalgroups.Ouranalysisofthecanonshas torecognize theremoteness shownus thattherehadnotbeena sole MahayanaissuedfromtheSarvastivada school.Onecanalso speak,uptoa certain point,ofa Dharmaguptaka Mahayana, a Mahasarimghika so of thisfact,in addiand on. The establishment Mahayana, tiontoitsobvioushistorical has theadvantageofallowingus, on many interest, ofdocuments andoffacts. points,a newandmorepreciseinterpretation

NotingtheopinionofLouis Finotthatthereis somecontradiction betweenYijing'sdescription of Buddhismin Champaand theepias follows:17 evidence,Przyluski graphical responded The contradiction ofYijingandepigraphy betweenthetestimony is onlyapparent.It seemsinexplicable thatforsucha longtimetheMahaydnahasbeentaken as a 19thsect,separatefromtheHinaydnistic 18 sects.Butall difficulty disapat the moment when one admits the existence ofa Sarvastivadin pears Mahayana and a Sammitiya Mahayana-thatis to say,of groupsthecanonof whichwas formedout of one or manybasketsconsistent withthedoctrineof theGreat VehicleandthemanySravakapitakas to orSambelonging theMiilasarvastivada mitiyaproper.

Soon after thepublication ofPrzyluski's remarks theyandtheearlier observations of Barthwerenoticedby Louis de La Vall6ePoussin. La Vall6ePoussinobservedthatthequestionof "sect" is a matter of Vinaya,of monasticdiscipline,and thatthedesignation "school" 16 1926-28:361-362. Przyluski 17Przyluski 1926-28:363.

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is a matter of Abhidharma or doctrine. "Therewerein all thesects, in all the groupssubjectto a certainarchaicVinaya,adherents of thetwoschools,Hinaydnaand Mahayana,schoolswhichare further subdivided intoSautrantikas andso on."18 La Vall6ePoussinhas clarifieda veryimportant distinction here, althoughlaterscholarshave not always followedhis lead. Since some confusionseemsto have been caused heretofore by a certain in vocabulary, itis perhapsbestto clarify ourterms.By inconsistency theterm"sect"I followLa Vall e Poussinand intenda translation or ofthetermnikaya.A nikayais defined equivalent strictly speakingnot butby adherence to a commonsetofmonasticrules, by anydoctrine a Vinaya.One entersa nikayaor sectthrough a formalecclesiastical act of ordination, an upasampadakarmavacand. My use of theterm "sect" herediffers, from at least one establishedmodem therefore, of Westernuses of theterm"sect" usage. A commonpresumption a Weberian even betweenChurch dichotomy, an antagonism, posits and sect.19This is not the case forthe sectsof IndianBuddhism, institutional as I use the term.All independent groupsin Indian as definedby their(at leastproforma)allegianceto their Buddhism, are sects.The BuddhistChurchin own governing Vinayaliterature, hereof India is constituted by the sects.20Thereis no implication 1s La Vall6ePoussin1929:234.In whatis perhapsan isolatedcase in Japan,the

Entai1932:332.Therecan be littledoubt samepositionwas espousedbyTomomatsu thatTomomatsu, whostudiedinFrance,wasdeeplyinfluenced byPrzyluski's thought. 19van der Leeuw 1938:1.261goes evenfarther: "[T]he sect ... seversitselfnot butfromthe"world"in general.... [T]he sectis onlyfromthegivencommunity thatis severedfromanother notfoundedon a religiouscovenant religiouscommunity in general.... The fromcommunity suchas thechurch;it segregates itself,rather, it is themost notthechurchbutthecommunity; correlateof thesectis therefore outcomeofthecovenant." extreme 20The onlymeaningful Church"in Indiais theso-called candidatefora "Buddhist thesarighaof thefourdirections. UniversalCommunity, However,it appearsthat existence.(But with no institutional andimaginary thiswas a purelyabstract entity, oftenrecorded it is notknown,forexample,how giftsto thisuniversalcommunity, like the It may,in thissense,be something in inscriptions, were administered.)

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institution setoffagainsta newand schism,ofan old andestablished one.21 innovative tothenotiondesignated Theterm"school,"ontheotherhand,refers in Sanskritby the word vida. Schools are definedprimarily by and are associationsof thosewho hold to doctrinalcharacteristics, butthey andfollowthesameintellectual commonteachings methods, existence.A Buddhistmonkmustbelongto a have no institutional identification sect,thatis to say,he musthaveone,uniqueinstitutional was ordained.22 the to which he determined by liturgyaccording Thereis no evidencethattherewas anykindofBuddhistmonkother thanone associatedwitha Sectarianordination lineageuntilsome and taking withfullordination ChineseBuddhistsbegandispensing To "bodhisattva break the ordination only lineageinthese precepts."23 which termswouldbe to severoneselffromtheephemeral continuity of Man." This Brotherhood, no "Brotherhood thoughit mayexist,has no officers, no meeting treasurer, hall,no newsletter. 21It is thislattertypeof definition, whichwas assumedby T.W.Rhys however, Davids 1908:307awhenhe wroteabout"Sects(Buddhist)"fortheEncyclopediaof Religionand Ethics.RhysDavids assumedthemeaningof "sect in theEuropean sense-i.e. ofa bodyofbelieversin one or moredoctrines notheldbythemajority, a bodywithits own endowments, its own churchesor chapels,and its ownclergy ordainedby itself."He wenton to say 308b: "Therewereno 'sects' in India,in any tendencies ofopinion,namedaftersome properuse ofthatterm.Thereweredifferent teacher..., or aftersomelocality..., orafterthekindofviewdominant. All the ofsuchviewsdesignated followers inany.... ofthelists bythetermsornamesoccurring weremembers ofthesameorderandhadno separate ofanykind."I think organization thisviewis also questionable, butinanycase thepointis thatRhysDavidsis applying herea verydifferent definition oftheterm"sect"thanI am. 22Thispoint,andtheterminological hasbeennoticedandreiterated distinction, by HeinzBecherta number oftimesrecently. Becherthowever refers inhisnotesonlyto La Vall6ePoussin'sdiscussion. 23La Vall6ePoussin1930:20wrote:"I believethatintheIndiaofAsafigaas inthat ofSdntideva onecouldnothavebeena Buddhistmonkwithout beingassociatedwith one oftheancientsects,without acceptingone ofthearchaicVinayas."On theother hand,I meanexactlywhatI say by theexpression"thereis no evidence...." This does notmeanthatthereabsolutely wereno monksotherthanthoseassociatedwith Sectarianordination lineages.Itmeanswe haveno evidenceon thispoint.

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theauthenticity of one's ordination guarantees by tracingit back to a teacherordaineddirectlyby the Buddhain an unbroken line of each of whom in turn had received ordination from sucha teachers, ordainedteacher.Thus themythology is suchthatif one's properly ordination cannotbe tracedbackin a linewhichbeginsatSakyamuni, it is not valid. It is again La Vall6e Poussinwho offersa crucial observation:24 All the Mahayanistswho are pravrajita[renunciants] renouncedthe world into one of the ancient sects.-A to thedisciplinary monk, entering submitting code (Vinaya)ofthesectintowhichhe was received,is 'touchedbygrace'and undertakes theresolution tobecomea buddha.Willhe rejecthisVinaya?-'If he orsays"A future thinks buddhahasnothing todo withlearning orobserving the law oftheVehicleofSravakas,"he commits a sinofpollution (klistadpatti).'

In thesamestudy, La Vall6ePoussinconcludedthus:25 Fromthe disciplinary pointof view,the Mahayanais not autonomous.The of theMahayanaare monksof theMahasaritghika, adherents Dharmaguptaka, the vows and rulesof the and othertraditions, who undertake Sarvastivadin bodhisattvas withoutabandoningthe monasticvows and rules fixedby the tradition withwhichtheyare associatedon theday of theirUpasampad[full In the same way, at all timeseverybhiksuwas authorizedto ordination]. undertake thevowsofthedhiitagunas. .... is onlya 'particular andin itsorigins, devotional The Mahayana,inprinciple practice,'preciselya certainsortof mysticallife of whichthe centeris the thismysticallife,likethemysticallife doctrineof purelove forall creatures: towardNirvanaandpersonalsalvation, ofancientBuddhismwhichwas oriented thekeepingofthemorallaws,themonasticcode. has foritsnecessarysupport orthodoxand wouldhavebeen able to recruit The Mahayanais thusperfectly to theold disciplinary rule. those monks most attached adeptsamong

24La Vall6e Poussin 1930:25. The reference at the end of thisquotationis a of thesource,fromtheBodhisattvabhami translation, anymention althoughwithout (Wogihara1936:173.5-10).La Vall6ePoussinhad in factquotedthispassageyears in note1. At thattimehe also noted earlier,1909:339-40,theregivingtheSanskrit "unp6ch6mortel." oftranslating thedifficulty apatti, suggesting klistdd 25La Vall6ePoussin1930:32-33.In his prefaceto Dutt1930:vii-viii,La Vall6e Poussinexpressedexactlythesamesentiments.

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Afterthetimeof La Vall6ePoussin,fewindeedare thescholars who seemto havenoticedtheseobservations orpursuedthestudyof theMahayanawithan eye on thishypothesis. One scholarwhohas, ofLa Vall6ePoussinis Heinz tothehypotheses however, paidattention Bechert.26 thatBecherthas gonebeyondwherehis I think, however, evidenceleadshim.He writes, forexample:27 Welearnfrom theaccounts ofChinese andfrom theIndianBuddhist pilgrims, sources that been invarious there had themselves, Mahayanic groups nikayas. a late text like the still that theadherents Thus, emphasizes Kriyvsangrahapafijika ofMahayana must theordination orupasampada as prescribed undergo bytheir before as introduced monks another formal act. Thus, nikaya being Mahayana by oftheoldnikayas theoutside forms werepreserved, though theydidnotretain their original importance.

The claimthattheold nikayasdid notretaintheiroriginalimportanceis notdefended, andas faras I knowthereis littleevidencethat wouldsuggestthisis true.Whatis more,without whatwe specifying think"theiroriginalimportance" how we would to was, begin investhismayor maynothavebeen retained?In another tigatewhether Bechert has suggested thefollowing:28 formulation, Forthosewhoaccepted their totheir wasofquite Mahayana, allegiance nikaya a different nature from thatofa Hinayanist: itwastheobservance ofa vinaya tradition which madethem members oftheSangha, butitnolonger necessarily included theacceptance ofthespecific doctrinal oftheparticular viewpoints Inthecontext ofMahayana, thetraditional doctrinal controversies ofthe nikaya. hadlostmuch oftheir as a one would not and, thus, rule, nikayas importance give toone'snikaya onaccount ofbecoming a follower ofMahayanistic upallegiance doctrines withmonks inthetradition ordained ofanother originating nikaya. 26Becherthas repeatedly in sometimes publishedmoreor less thesameremarks, thesamewords.See forexample:1964:530-31;1973:12-13;1976:36-37;1977:36364; 1982:64-65,and 1992:96-97.HisashiMatsumura 1990:82-85,note53, has also offeredsome bibliographic noteswhichindicatehis awarenessof the opinionsof Barthandhissuccessors. 27Bechert1973:12.Thereference totheKriyasanigrahapaiijikd is evidently toDutt 1931:263. 28Bechert identicalwith1977:363-64. 1992:96-97,virtually

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Whetheror not thisis partiallyor even totallytrue,I knowof no evidencewhichmightdecidethematter eitherway,andneither does inmindthatwe almost Bechertprovideany.Itis worthkeepingfirmly alwayswishto say morethantheavailableevidenceactuallyallows. These are urgeswhich,if notresisted,will almostsurelylead our studiesastray.29 One thingthattheapproachesmentioned above havein common is theirimplicit thattheconceptofMahayanamovements assumption is meaningful, butonlyin thecontextof somecontrast withwhatis notMahdyana.Thisis generally torefertopre-Mahvyana understood it I think in verymanycases in need and not, Buddhism,although Buddhismis oftendesigfactcertainly does not.Thisnon-Mah5yana I it is quitecertain, in modem think hownated writing "HinaySna." oftheterm"Hinayana," whenitoccursin Budever,thatthereferent is neveranyexistent institution ororganization, dhisttextsthemselves, I thinkquiteacfiction. We can sayrather but buta rhetorical freely, "whomever do that"Hinayana"designates we,thespeakers, curately, here or otherwise notat thepresentmomentagreewithdoctrinally in our discussion."30 Althoughtheexampleis notfromtheearliest in hisMahaydnasatrdlanikdra the scholar period, Asafiga'scomment "Thatwhichis inferior (namely,theHinayana)is trulyinferior,"31 to an actual,specific,and incan hardlybe construedas referring identifiable stitutionally groupof HinayanaBuddhists.In addition, therhetorical contextin whichwe findsuchreferences suggeststhat whichin turnis such"enemies"wereimaginedto be contemporary, refer thatwhatever a strongindication to,it is not "Hinayana" might erroris thusmade Buddhismas such.A fundamental pre-Mahayana 29As an examplesee Cohen 1995:16,who says,withouta shredof evidence: thatprior "Mahayanists mightcome fromall nikdyas;yetthereis an expectation is made." aremootoncea ydnicconversion nikayaaffiliations 30Itis inthissenseformally ortTrthya, theformer tfrthika similartothedesignation orheadofanyother 1899 s.v.quitewellas "an adherent defined byMonier-Williams thanone's owncreed."The termsare,ofcourse,derogatory. (It is perhapsalso worth as tfrthika.) tootherBuddhists textsdo notrefer notingthat,as faras I know,Buddhist 31L6vi 1907:I.10d: eva tat. yathrnamh hrnaih

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whenwe imaginereferences to "Hinayana"in Mahayanaliterature to applyto so-calledSectarianBuddhism,muchless to EarlyBuddhism.32 It may be largelydue to the numerousvitriolicreferences in literature to the "inferior vehicle" that some such scholars, Mahaydna as StephenKent,havefoundithardto believethattherecouldbe any sortof continuity betweenSectarianBuddhismand theMahayana.33 Thismisunderstanding is basedona seriesoferroneous identifications, whichwe can encapsulateas theequation:Hinayana= Sravakayana = actualidentifiable nikayas.Sasaki Shizukapointsto the equally = ranvaka = bhiksu.34Whileit is erroneousequation: Iravakaydna 32An exampleof a scholarled into just such an erroris Cohen 1995:20,who whichto reconstruct IndianBuddhism'shistory, says:"Of all thecategories through ourreconstructions Nevertheless, MahayanaandHinayanaare themostproductive. havea secretlifeof theirown.Each yana can be definedpositively, a necthrough characteristic forindividuals'membership withinthattaxon. essaryand sufficient becausethesetwoyanas are logicalopposites,each can also be defined Moreover, itslackoftheother'snecessary andsufficient characteristic. Hownegatively, through definitions arenotconceptually ever,inbothcases,thesepositiveandnegative equivalent.Thatis, theMahayanais positively characterized by its members'pursuitof thebodhisattva characterized as thenon-Mahayana, path;theHinayanais negatively its do not members Buddhahood as their ideal.However, when i.e., necessarily pursue characterized the is defined members' affiliation with one or positively by Hinayana another of means that the is known its nikaya,which, course, Mahayana negatively by members'institutional fromthosesamenikdyas." separation 33See Kent 1982. Kent,a specialistin sectarianmovements but not terribly aboutBuddhism,suggestedthatthe rhetoricof Mahayanasfitras knowledgeable resemblestherhetoric commonto embattled sectariangroupsin variousreligions. He portrayed thecontrast betweenMahayanaand Hinayanamonksas one of great and emphasizedtheroleof thelaityas a forcein forming theMahayana hostility, communities andtheiroutlook.NoticeherethatKent'suse oftheterm"sect"follows thestandard dichotomous Weberiandefinition, andessentially differs fromthewayI use theterm. 34I will discussbelowtheviewsof Lamotte,who considerstheMahayanato be anti-clerical. Hirakawaalso believesthatMahayanatextsareanti-clerical. His reasoning,as Sasaki has pointedout,is based on theidea thattheso-calledSravakaydna is heavilycriticized in thatliterature. Butattackson theSrivakaydnaarenotattacks

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the reversecertainly probablytruethatall raivakasare bhiksus,35 does notfollow.The polemicalattackson sravakasthatwe findin farfromall, Mahayanascriptures should some,althoughcertainly be understood as a criticism notof all monksbutof thosewho do notaccepttheMahayanadoctrines. Since thetermHinayanais not an institutional label butan ideologicalone, we mightevenloosely translateit as "small-minded." The termembodiesa criticismof certaintypesof thinking and of certainviews,butdoes notreferto I therefore institutional affiliations. doubt,pace Kent,that strongly theMahayanaliterature whichcriticizestheHinayanais a product whoisolatedthemselves, or wereisolated,physically of sectarians or Rather,I wouldsuggestthatit is a productof groups institutionally. whichdoctrinally oneand opposedothergroups,quitepossiblywithin orgroupofcommunities. thesamecommunity If MahayanaBuddhismis not institutionally separatefromthe sects of SectarianBuddhism,and if it mightexist in some form moretangiblethana set of abstractdoctrinalideas, how thencan we defineit, how can we locate it? Let us posit thatMahayana and a Mahayana BuddhistsweretheauthorsofMahayanascriptures, of such authors. immediateand was a One community community is thatwe muststopreferring, resultof thisformulation fundamental Until to"theMahayana"inthesingular. attheveryleastprovisionally, betweentexts,and therefore and unlesswe can establishaffinities we must-provisionallybroader to communities, begin identify a different a different to represent community, supposeeach scripture if each note here that We should Mahayana.36 Mahayanascripture in general(thatis, Sravakabhiksu),butattackson thosewho hold on monasticism of criticism, thatis anti-Mahdyana doctrinalpositionswhichare worthy positions. this as Sasakihas emphasized, "anti-clerical" aboutit.Nevertheless, Thereis nothing misunderstanding pervadesHirakawa'sworkon thesubject.See Sasaki 1997. 35Atleastin Mahayanaliterature, see the as faras I know.On thispoint,however, studyofPeterMasefield1986. interesting 36Quite obviously,in thecase of some texts,as Shimoda1991 has arguedfor workmaybe forinstance,a givenliterary theMahayanaMahaparinirvana-saitra as it grewovertime.I do notnecessarily theproductof morethanone community,

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a different we havegonefarther in represents Mahayanacommunity, of than La and thedirection diversity Barth,Przyluski, Vall6ePoussin, interms ofSectarian a thatwe think otherswhosuggested Mahayanas, In Sarvastivada Mahayana,a Dharmaguptaka Mahayanaand so forth. still with we even farther and fact,theoretically say, go speaking might thateach readingof a workwhichproducesa new modemtheorists, it does notnecessitate, thecreationof allows,although interpretation whichamountto re-writings, Radicalre-readings, a newcommunity. but create new indeed communities, access to thislevel of the may is certainly tradition(s) impossibleto obtainand so, froma practical in accepting of we are thegeneralities ofa surelyjustified point view, unit,atleastas a starting point. giventextas an integral If each Mahayanascripture denotesa Mahayanacommunity, we mustnextask ourselves:What,then,is a Mahayanascripture? As, again,onlya starting point,a verypracticalandreasonableansweris identified forinstancein the topositthatthosescriptures bytradition, as Mahayanastitras TibetanandChinesecanonicalcollections, should to second-guess be so considered.37In fact,efforts suchtraditional attributions are virtuallyalways based on preconceptions modem scholarsholdconcerning nature of the the Mahayana,andalmostnever on a consideredand methodologically sophisticated approachto the sources.

withthedetailsof Shimoda'sanalysisofthecase oftheMahayana agreecompletely butthegeneralpointis beyonddispute. Mahaparinirvana-satra, 37This shouldnotbe takento meanthat,witha certainhindsight, we maynot findtraditional attributions to be occasionallywrong.We do find,forexample,that Chinesescripture translations ofMahayana cataloguessometimes designatealternate as non-Mahayana. We may note forexamplethe cases of T. 1469, in scriptures fact a sectionof the Kaisyapaparivarta, or T. 170, in fact a translation of the Neither textis recognized Chineseclassifications Rdstrapalapariprcchd. bytraditional as a Mahayanascripture. I am of courseawareof thefactthattheclassification of in Chinaand Tibet(and doubtlessin Indiatoo) was a polemicalactivity, scriptures motivated of forces.These sourcesare not"objective," of course,a by a multitude traittheysharewitheveryothertypeofsource.

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thatI thinkit morehelpful,if notmoreaccuI have mentioned oftheearly tomultiple rate,torefer Mahayanagroups,tocommunities than to the article "the" beforethe rather definite employ Mahayana, wordMahayana.SinceI havedefinedthesecommunities bythetexts it is natural that we should which are of course multiple, theyproduced, speakof theseMahayanasin theplural.It is a possiblebutnotcerthattherewereactualpeople,perhapsmonks,arranged tainhypothesis in multiplegroupssharingMahayanistic ideologies.It is againposmonastic communities distributed not that various but certain, sible, overIndiaon theonehand,andassociatedwithdiffergeographically varientsectsofSectarianBuddhismon theother, produceddifferent Ifthisis so,almostcertainly, etiesofearlyMahayanaBuddhism. then, laterontherewas a kindofleveling, perhapsbythetimeofNagarjuna, inwhichoriginally distinct a more to "Mahayana," generalized leading ofthistype Thesuggestion andutilizedequally.38 sourcesweretreated is in harmony with in theearlystagesof themovement of diversity incommon, thefactthat,whileapparently havingsomecharacteristics sometimes radand variousearlyMahayanasubtras expresssomewhat, in pointsofview,andoftenseemto havebeenwritten ically,different of such the tenor For to stimuli. diverse (apparently) example, response on and the sutras as the early Rastrapalapariprcchd Kdasyapaparivarta rhetoric with the and in common have little seems to theonehand logic behindthelikewiseputatively earlyPratyutpannasam mukhdvasthita, on theother. or SaddharmapundarTka Praji7aparamitd Astasdhasrikd to we shouldmakean attempt Whenwe readthisstitra literature, I this to its lateralinternalstratification. attention By pay particular and wouldsuggestthatwe should intendan analogyto archaeology, whichis to saychronological, notonlyvertical, be able to distinguish strata horizontal butdifferent than later text one another, being layers, Textsdating of textswhichmaybe moreor less contemporaneous. 381 thinkas a clearcase of the Siksasamuccaya, datingfroma ratherlaterperiod withoutapparentregardfor are quotedtogether to be sure,in whichdiversesfitras I thinkthattheapproachofthistexttoitsmaterials theirinitialsourceorprovenance. a sortof"leveling." reflects

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to thesameperiodmaystillbelongto different lineages,andmaybe communities. theproductsof distinct Manyscholarsseem,perhaps to have triedto fit the withoutproperly considered matter, having the small portionof it all Mahayanaliterature (or morehonestly, withwhichtheyare familiar)into one chronological progression, withlittleregardforthepossibility thatwe maybe dealingnotwith of themultipletraditions one tradition butwithmany.A conflation of Mahayanaliterature into"the"Mahayana,thatis intoa unitary confusion and andmonolithic entity, inevitably producesconsiderable contradiction.39 apparent The verynatureofthisapproach,letting themanytextsdefinethe communities whichare groupedtogether underthegeneralrubricof on of concerns Mahvyana,means theone handthatthecommunity whichwe mayextract froma singletextcannotrepresent morethan one aspectof the manyfacetedMahayana.On the otherhand,it studyof multipletextsmightdetect suggeststhata simultaneous butis unlikelyto uncovertheworldviewof a generalizedpatterns, of authors.It seemsreasonablethenthatwe particular community mightspeakabouttheMahayanaideologyimaginedby one textor theMahayanaideologywe maybe groupoftextswithout prejudicing abletoextract fromothersources.Wherethereis overlapbetweenthis and that foundin other(early)Mahayanascriptures, we may ideology dareto speakof theseoverlapping features as characteristic of some Therewill be otherfeatures which, generalizedMahayanadoctrine. whileallowingus togroupourtextstogether into,andas representing, a community ofconcerns, at thesametimesetthiscommunity apart fromothers. In additiontotheproblemofthemultiplicity oftexts,we mustalso confront theproblemoftheinherently fluidstateof anysingletextitself.If we insistupontheverticaland horizontal of the stratification sttraliterature, arewe justified in treating diverse sources admittedly 39The comparablesituation in studiesof the"treeof life"is critiquedin Gordon 1999.

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suchas lateSanskrit ChineseandTibetantransmanuscripts, multiple lations,and othertypesof evidence,as a singleunit?Mustwe not rather treateachandeveryelementinisolation?One practicalsolution tothepotential infinite hereis totreatas represenregresswe confront tativeofan imaginedauthorial those whichhave community materials a community ofcharacter orofvalue.To treatas a unitmaterials which we mayidentify witheachotherconceptually meansthatwe maywell be dealingoccasionallywithchronologically andgeographically hetand we must this in fact mind.40 materials, erogeneous keep Given thatthe sourcesthroughwhichwe mightlocate Indian are by definition itstexts, MahayanaBuddhismand itscommunities it is naturalthatin investigating theoriginsand earlyhistory of the we shouldwishto availourselvesoftheearliest Mahayanamovement accessibleevidence.Unfortunately, we have absolutelyno reliable in just whatthatmightconsist.For despitea way of determining ratherfacileapplicationof the designation "earlyMahayana,"this The reasonlies in the factthatwe usage is ratherdisingenuous. haveverylittleidea abouteitherwhatsourcesbelongto theearliest or evenhowwe mightfindthat periodof theMahayanamovement, out.Theremayin factbe good circumstantial groundsforassuming, as Paul Harrisonhas suggested,41 thatnoneof theextantexamples in of Mahayanaliterature the formin whichwe have them, date, to theperiodof themovement's rise,and so even theveryearliest recoverable materials mustin somesensebe called"medieval"(in the sense).42Almosttheonlyhintwe get to the relative chronological 40I amquiteawarethatthereis a certain tothissuggestion, but,as I said circularity to see thelogicas spiralrather thanas a closedcircle,progress above,I wouldprefer beingpossible. 41Harrison1993:139-140. 42I do notknowif thisis whatMochizuki1988:157meanswhenhe says that "The Maharatnakata, viewedfromthepointof view of its establishment, maybe to the compilation He may be referring called a MedievalMahayanascripture." of the collectionby Bodhiruciin the eighthcentury, but at the end of the same texts arecertainly olderthan Mochizuki asserts that these paragraph, Maharatnakata theMahayanaMahdparinirvana-satra.

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old Mahayanamaterialscomes from of comparatively chronology thesecondandthird theirChinesetranslations, datingbacktoroughly C.E. Whatmakesus suspectthattheliterature is olderstill centuries not is theimpression we getfromthismaterial(whichis, admittedly, it to that a considerable alreadyrepresents alwayseasy understand) the of and ratherthanrecording degree sophistication development, firstfewroughstepstowardan expressionof a new and raw set of we willprobablyneverhaveaccess ideas.If thisimpression is right, oftheMahayanatradition's to theoldeststratum literary expressions. Thisis a crucialpoint,sinceinfactthetradition's remainsare literary or other evidence we all we have. Whatever virtually archeological andgivenmeaningonly mightwishto employcan be contextualized ofthetradition's an examination literature. through Because thecontentof Mahayanatextsshowsa veryhighdegree of familiarity-wemightsay a totalfamiliarity-with all virtually of Sectarian Buddhist and it is difficult aspects thought literature, very to believethattheauthorsof thesetexts,thede factorepresentatives oftheMahayanacommunities, wereotherthaneducatedmonks.It is to imaginethattheMahayanasuftras difficult couldhavebeenwritten of by anyoneotherthansuch monksor,morelikely,communities suchmonks.If we followtheclassicalreasoningas expressedin the normative theonlywayto becomea monkwould Vinayaliterature, havebeenthrough an orthodox ordination lineage,one whichtraces its imprimatur back to Sakyamuni Buddha.At a veryearly directly the time of the Council(although so-called Second period,perhapsby we cannotbe sureaboutthis),therewouldhavebeennowaytobecome a monkexceptthrough orthodox intoone of thesectarian ordination Unlessthereexisteda tradition of whichwe are Vinayatraditions. ignorant-andthisis farfromimpossible-theonlywayforone totally tobecomea monk(ornun)intheIndianBuddhist context wasthrough Ifwe followtheassumptions orthodox ordination. the justarticulated, immediate is all thatis implication that authorsof Mahayanastitras, to say all thosewho madeup thecommunities we have definedas of theearlyMahayana,wereat one timemembersof representative

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ofsectsas I havedefined orthodox ordination them lineages,members above. Couldthemonk-authors ofthesetexts, ourprototypical earlyMahayanists,have splitfromthoseordination lineagesand thesectsthey defined?Whatwouldit meanto leave sucha sectand startanother defined ordination sect,giventhatthenormatively lineagecouldnotinitsownterms-bebroken? Without a Vinayaoftheirown,thebreakordinations awaymonkswouldhavebeenunableto carryoutfurther of new monksin theirown lineage.If correct,this suggeststhat mostprobably itwouldnothavebeenpossible,in an IndianBuddhist forone to becomea Buddhistmonkat all without ordination context, if in an orthodoxordination this is true, lineage.Again, Mahayana communities could not have becomeinstitutionally of independent Sectariancommunities, fortheywouldhavehad no wayof effecting of themovement otherthanby conversion of already thecontinuity of a religious ordainedmonks.Such an approachto themaintenance inworldreligions, whilenotuninstanced is relatively rare, community, if were either and difficult to maintain. these Moreover, Mahayanists is also farfromsure-how doctrinal rebelsor reactionaries-which brethren? Wouldithave couldtheyhavecoexistedwiththeirsectarian beennecessaryto establisha newsectin orderto freelyprofesstheir ofdoctrine newdoctrines andbeliefs?Itwouldnot,ifdissentinmatters was permissible. are decidedis not necThe way in whichsectarianaffiliations An institutional of with doctrine. connected split essarily questions It has termedsarizghabheda. in a Buddhistcommunity is technically been suggestedat least sincethetimeof theMeiji periodJapanese scholarMaeda Eun thatearlyand fundamental Mahayanadoctrines sect.43 oftheMahasariighika havemuchincommonwiththeteachings of definition tonoticetheMahasamfighika ofgreatinterest Itis therefore in theMahasahiighika Vinaya.Sarighabheda sarighabhedaas offered inthesamesacred monks resident failure of all the is constituted a by 43Maeda 1903.

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holdtheuposatharite.44 enclosure(stmd)to communally Differences in theMahasarhghika overdoctrine arenotgroundsforsarizghabheda withtheviewsof other Vinaya.In fact,whatappearsto be a contrast sects,someof whichallowdoctrinal disputesto splitthecommunity a virhas been shown Shizuka Sasakitobe inreality (cakrabheda), by ofopinionthattheonlytruecause ofschism,at least tualuniversality in thetimesaftertheBuddha'snirvana, is failureto holdjointrituals On theotherhand,thisvirtualuniformity ofopinion (karmabheda).45 the of the in this that suggests explicitposition Mahasaringhika regard cannotserveas evidenceforitsparticular connection witha nascent movement. Mahayana We havebeenconcerned so farmostlywithgeneralities ofreceived I ideas which can no be wisdom,accepted suggest longer accepted. It mightbe helpfulto briefly indicateherein particular whyI have foundmyselfunableto acceptmanyof theideas of perhapsthetwo mostinfluential recentscholarsofMahayanahistory, HirakawaAkira andEtienneLamotte.The mostcharacteristic ideasof Hirakawaand Lamotteare,respectively, thatstiipaworshipimpliesa laycommunity at theheartof theearliestMahayana,and thatMahayanatextsare anti-clerical. At leastforLamotte,moreover, thesetwoideas arenot unrelated. normative Accordingto Buddhistcanonlaw,theputatively stipulationsof theVinayas,thedistinction betweenlaityand monastics is defined the difference in the A take. monk has taken by preceptsthey theprimary and secondaryinitiations (pravrajyaand upasampadd), andhas vowedto upholda setofmonasticrules(theprdtimoksa). A ofBuddhismhas takenthethreerefuges(in theBuddha, lay follower DharmaandSanigha)andperhapsfive,oreight,vows.In addition, the 44The situation is nuancedbytheexistenceofthecategories ofsamdnasamvdsaka and nandsatimvasaka monks.See Kieffer-Piulz 1993:52-54,and Chungand KiefferPiulz 1997:15. The constellationof sarhghabheda,nikdyabheda,cakrabheda, and nanasamhvdsaka deservesto be thoroughly karmabheda,samanasamrvdsaka (re)investigated. 45Sasaki 1992,1993.

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sexual laymanor laywomanmayvow to giveup notonlyforbidden butall sexualactivity whatsoever. One who takesthethree activity or is called an refuges, more, updsaka(malelay disciple)or updsikd Therewouldinaddition ofcoursebe thosewho (femalelaydisciple).46 alms and so but these are not considered orrecogforth, casuallygave nizedto be Buddhistlay supporters in anyformalway.In spiteofthe of this seem availability manyMahayanasutrasgenerally terminology, to prefer thesetof terms thatis, renunciant pravrajitaandgrhastha, andhouseholder, a distinction thatrequiresseparatediscussion. RichardRobinsonhas suggested thatrather thanthesetechnical and strictcategoriesa moreusefuldistinction is thatbetween"laicizing" and "monachizing," and "secularizing" and "asceticizing."47 By this Robinsonmeansto emphasizetendencies towardlay participation or as to monastic or a concern with control, control, lay opposed greater or valuesas opposedto thevaluesof renunciation worldlyactivities and asceticpractice.Thereis quitea bitof greyspace in Robinson's butit servesto highlight thefactthata strictdistinction definition, betweenlay andmonastic, oftherolestheindividuals regardless play in thesociallifeofthecommunity, can be misleading. His distinction allowsus to speakof an asceticizedlaity,forexamplea householder who vows to give up sex withhis wife altogether, or secularized for a monk who lives at a monastics, example royalcourt. whostrongly advocatedtheidea thattheMahayanarepreLamotte, inBuddhism,48 sentsthetriumph oflayaspirations usedtheexpression tocharacterize "anti-clerical" sitras, earlyMahayana pointing specifipaperonthesubjecttotheRdstrapalapariprcchd, callyinhisinfluential 46Let us recallthewordsof La Vall6ePoussinyetagain 1925:20:"Scholarsset of degree,notof nature.All up betweenmonk,noviceand lay people a difference threearesdmvarikas, peoplewhohaveaccepteda samvara[vow-JAS]... All three whichconsistsnot themorality ofengagement,' possessthe'morality samadaintairla, torefrain fromit." in thesimpleavoidanceofsinbutintheresolution 47Robinson1965-66:25-26. 48He flatlystatedthisin Lamotte1955:86:"The adventof theMahayanaconseoflayaspirations." cratedthetriumph

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whichhe calls an "anti-clerical tract."49 It is truethatthesingleverse he quotesappearstobe a violentcriticism ofmonks,50buta glanceat thecontextmakesit quiteclearthattheRdstrapalapariprcchd is not monksin generalandis farfromanti-clerical-rather criticizing quite theopposite.The textis concernedwith(future) evil anddegenerate In thissensethetextmight monks,andthedecayofthetrueteaching. be considered morea reactionary document thana revolutionary one. Whatwe see hereis notanti-clericalism, butagainrather theopposite: a concernwiththepurification oftheclergy, andtherelatedassertion ofitssuperiority andrightful placeas thesolelegitimate representative ofBuddhist I have addressedthisthemeinanother orthodoxy. paper,51 andobservetherehowpervasive thisideologyis inBuddhism, notonly inMahayanasitras,buteveninearliercanonicaltextsbelonging tothe Nikaya/Agama corpus. If, as I have argued,theMahayanacame intoexistenceand persistedwithin Buddhist socialandinstitutional it structures, pre-existing wouldfollowthatall monastic members oftheMahayanashouldhave been associatedwitha traditional ordination lineage.I have further thattheMahayanatextsmusthavebeenwritten suggested bymonks, andhavedefined notion of a as one constimy Mahayanacommunity tutedbytheauthors ofthesetexts.Theremay,ofcourse,havealso (or butit wouldbe instead)beenanother typeof Mahayanacommunity, incumbent whomever asserted this to be the case to showhow upon thiscouldhavebeenso. HirakawaAkirais probably themostinfluentialofthosewhodo notbelievetheearliestMahayanato havebeena monasticmovement, andhe suggeststhatformalMahayanaBuddhist socialunitsdidexistindependently ofthetraditional sectarian safighas. He hasoffered an alternative solution toourquestions, onthe centering that what made such non-monastic suggestion Mahayanagroupspossiblewas theirorientation aroundstupaworship. 49Lamotte1954:379. 50He givesnoreference, buttheverseis infacttobe foundinFinot1901:28.17-18. 51See Silkforthcoming.

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HirakawaholdstheMahayanato havebeena movement promoted in contrast to Nikayacommunities by non-ordained peoplewho devotedthemselves to stdipa One ofthemainpresuppositions worship.52 behindHirakawa'sthinking on thissubjectis thecontrast between Buddhism and the in which he was Nikaya Mahayana, perhapsinfluencedby thewritings of NalinakshaDutt.53The importance of this shouldbe clear.Ifwe compare, as we inevitably must,MahayanaBuddhismwithitsubiquitous mistaken ideasaboutthatbackbackground, or Buddhism will lead to erroneous conclusions ground pre-existing aboutthesituation oftheMahayana.In oneparticular regardI thinkit is precisely herethatHirakawahas goneastray. Hirakawa'sideas are based on a verywide readingin theVinaya literatures, Agamas,and Mahayanasutras.Basicallystated,his positionis thattheMahayanagrewoutoflaycommunities institutionally external to theNikayaBuddhistcommunities. Theselaycommunities grewup aroundsttpasnotassociatedwithanyNikayaBuddhistsect, and thelay groupsmanagedand administered thesttpas.Gradually infiltrated the monastic in and communities, they responsetothisthere was a transformation within themonastic inwhichsome communities oftheseoutsideideas andpracticeswereadopted.Thisis thegenesis oftheMahayana. Hirakawa'sargument forthistheory runsas follows:According to theMahaparinirvdna just beforethedeathof theBuddhahe su~tra, forbademonasticparticipation in thestipa cult,rulingthatthiswas 52I translate as "Nikayacommunity" Hirakawa'sJapanese buhaky5dan. expression AlthoughHirakawahas publisheda certainnumberof articlesin English,and an ofonehalfofhispopularsurvey ofIndianBuddhism has appeared Englishtranslation on the (Hirakawa1990), I referin all cases to his latestJapanesepublications, thatthesepresent hismostrecentandconsidered views.He has,moreover, assumption beenpublishing a seriesof CollectedWorksin whichmanyof his olderstudiesare sometimes withsomemodifications. Whennewerversionsof old papers reprinted, areavailable,I generally refertothemoreupdatedpublication. In themain,theideas context discussedin thepresent arefoundinHirakawa1954(rpt.1989). 53Hirakawaseldomrefersto Western works,butdoes occasionallytake scholarly noteofDutt1930-not howeverin Hirakawa1954.

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sincethecultofthestipaconsists thedomainofthelaity.In addition, in worshipoffered withflowers, dance,andmusic,itwould perfumes, sincesuchactivities nothavebeenpossibleformonksto participate, to themby theVinaya.In addition, thefactthatthere wereforbidden a stipa as belonging to a areno inscriptions on stipa sitesidentifying sectprovesthatstipaswerenotthedomainofthemonastic particular All of thisshowsthat,despitesomesuggestions thatthe community. it Mahayanagrewup fromwithinspecificsectsofNikayaBuddhism, couldnothavebeenNikayasectmonkswhocreatedtheMahayana.It ofthestipas.54 musthavebeenlaypeoplewhowerethemanagers has shown that the standard interpreGregory Schopen conclusively of monastic tationof theMahaparinirvdna prohibition satra's sttipa is farfromprohibiting The suitra monasticworworshipis wrong.55 inthe sincetheprohibition shipofstuipas, appliesonlytoparticipation and moreover not all monks actualfuneral to but ceremony, mayapply butonlyto thatof theBudonlyto Ananda,and notto all funerals dha.Be thatas it may,it is clearthatthereareno doctrinal grounds, fortheidea thatmonkswereprohibited at leastin earlierliterature, in sttiparites.Schopenhas also shownelsewhere fromparticipation thatinfactstupaswerea commonifnotcentral ofIndianBudfeature dhistmonastery life,andthatthemainstupasofmonasticsitesdidin factbelongto specificsectsof SectarianBuddhism.56 As faras the rather 54I believewe can lay outHirakawa'sargument clearlyalmostin his own words:Hirakawa1954 (1989):377: Because lay believers(zaikeshinja)erectedthe his?artra(relics),therefore sttpaoftheBuddha,and distributed (yueni) in thetime whentheMahdparinirvana was in redacted the sutra primitive Safighathebelievers were for the administration of the (shinja) responsible stuipas (buttono keieiiji), and were not involved. Because of the sects (buha)discussstupas directly bhiksus Vinayas were taken care of the Buddhist communities (buhakyodan)in the they by Nikaya Buddhist that At Nikaya Age (buhabukkyo jidai-whatever is!). thesametime,there weremanyindependent not withsects(buha).Themanystfipas connected with stfipas which do not a sect record name there were dedicatory inscriptions proves stipasnot connected toa sect. 55Schopen1991. 56See forexample Schopen1979and 1985.

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to participate in dance,theoffering of flowers and so on, prohibition SasakiShizukahas shownthatthisruleis notin theoldeststratum of and thatevenonce introduced a specificexceptheVinayatradition, totheBuddha,including tionwas madeforofferings stipaofferings.57 Giventhis,Hirakawa'sargument the monastic basis of stupa against worshipcan be shownto lack evidence,and withthisfallsthemain forthelay originsof theMahayana.We may pillarof his argument inadditiontheideathatonlylaypeoplewouldhavebeenable mention as stiipas.Here again, to affordto endowsuchexpensivestructures thatcontrary to theimpression demonstrated Schopenhas repeatedly from the derived a of traditionally reading Vinayas,monkswerenot we sometimes atall thecompletely pennilessrenunciants romantically to monastics seem tohavebeen liketoimaginethem havebeen.Some and perfectly capableof endowingexpensivestrucwealthypatrons, carvedon thisfactin inscriptions tures,and moreoverof recording thosestructures.58 To be fair,Hirakawahas in factrepeatedlyofferedextremely forthe theoriesI have summarily detailedand learnedarguments would be critiquedhere.A full critiqueworthyof his arguments and I am happyto referhereto thedetailed involvedand lengthy, studiesof Sasaki in thisregard.59 Moreover,the model Hirakawa his alone. A sociologicalstudyof a new is not necessarily suggests as follows:60 hasclearlystatedthepresuppositions movement religious ofthings, tobe theproduct of inreligion Newmovements tend,inthenature to have been have as what often arisen initiative. perceived responses lay They orimplicitas a challenge--expressed intheclergy, andoften as deficiencies beena demand for In effect, thatchallenge hasusually topriestly dominance. distrust to of more access resources, by accompanied spiritual opportunities open aloneare whichthepriests doctrines of complicated andelaborate liturgies 57Sasaki 1991. 58Thatmonksandnunsofhighstatusmademanyendowments was alreadypointed out,forexample,by Njammasch1974:281-282.However,she seemsto resistthe conclusionthatsuchmonkspossesspersonalwealth(p. 283). 59Mostaccessibleis hisEnglisharticleSasaki 1997. 60WilsonandDobbelaere1994:232.

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tounderstand. Thelayimpulse hasbeentoseekmore toclaimfully permitted inwhich lessofthemanipulative immediate priestly spiritual helpwith apparatus orunconsciously, thelaymovement seeksa classestendtoinvest. Consciously the vital of reorientation focus endeavor (for by concerning spiritual example, Priests seek to on faith rather than on ritual performances). preserve emphasis ofsacredobjectsandplaces.Theymarkoff andbecomecustodians orthodoxy their means oftraining, andritual dress, bytonsure, purported piety bydistinctive todistance themselves from allofwhich leadthem routines, ordinary peopleand which not see as even affairs and mundane, everyday infrequently they perhaps as a source ofpollution. Insuchcircumstances, are sometimes laymen prompted from theuntoward to seeknewmeansbywhichtoacquireprotection andfor ofreassurance whatever form salvation in newsources aboutsalvation (in may, is their be Such a of orientation culture, conceived). growing divergence likely ifa priesthood-purporting tobeexacerbated tooffer service-in indispensable A process itself becomes ofthiskindleadsa andself-indulgent. cynical, corrupt, either to have recourse to whoclaimtooffer disenchanted laity competing agents assistance toward or to take into ownhands.61 affairs their salvation, spiritual

I do notmeanto implythatHirakawahas knowingly borrowed a modelfromthesociologyofreligion, I wantto suggestthat butrather thismodelis fundamentally in muchofthethinking takenforgranted that which is seen to relate concerning religioushistory, especially to theevolutionof "sects."Thereis littlepointin speculating on the of the model in studies as a whole,but generalapplicability religious evenifthemodelweregenerally applicable,itwouldremaintruethat itneednotnecessarily to each andeverycase. apply 61 The authors

to makeexplicittheapplication go on,in thefollowing paragraph, of theirremarks: "The processoutlinedin theabstractappliesto varioushistorical to thehistory ofProtestantism. The Reformation, whistnot instances, conspicuously an initiallylay movement, of all believers, met,withits doctrineof thepriesthood theaspirations of thelaity,whilstsubsequent and schismatic movements dissenting forlay spiritual soughtmoredirectaccess to savinggrace,and wideropportunities betweenpriestsand laityare by no meansconfinedto experience.Such struggles Christianhistory:theyhave occurredin variousreligiouscontexts."The authors in an overlycredulousmanner, I believe,to discusstheissueoftheschism continue, betweentheNichirenShoshfiandtheSoka Gakkai,relyingalmostentirely it seems on polemicalmaterials the (inEnglish!)publishedbytherespective parties, primarily latter.

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Now,evenif we positMahayanaBuddhismas a movement-or, I shouldpreferto say at leastfortheearlyMahayana,movement-s, existenceas such, plural-whichhas doctrinalbut no institutional a nikaya,anorthodox whichis neither ordination lineage,nora vada,a schooldefined butrather a sortofmeta-level movement, bydoctrines, whichdrewits adherents frommonasticBuddhismbutadherenceto whichin no waycontradicted theestablished sectarianidentification ofitsfollowers, andwhichwas co-local,compatible with,andexisted the of these Buddhist communities, within, complex distinguished or fromnon-Mahdyana on thelevelofphilosophical doctrine primarily or artistic someemphasesin practice, formsofliterary "systematics," some and andeven and of aspects mythology cosmology, expression, ifwe acceptthatitwas onlyinthisrealmofdoctrine that andrhetoric in India Buddhism without real-world existence existed, Hinayana any I think has stillfallenintoa maze orelsewhere, ourquestfordefinition fromwhichitmightnotescape. Even if we accept thatthe distinction betweenMahayanaand we findin theworksof Indianauthorshas, froma non-Mahayana ratherthana polemicalpointof view,been ill-drawn, descriptive theexistenceof theverydistinction itselffixesthebasic and hence frame, setting Mahayanaagainst following questionsina dichotomous In otherwords,the question"Whatis Mahayana non-Mahayana. Buddhism?"stillmeansmoreor less thesamethingas "Whatis the ofthesects?" relation betweenMahayanaandtheBuddhism framework whichlies behindthe the to By failing question very more whichwe recognizeas verylikelynothing dualisticdistinction of thanpolemical,we are castingthewholequestionof theidentity in the terms. Buddhism entirely wrong Mahayana is tosuggestthatanexamination to look at theproblem Another way whichhave, and classification modelsof definition of theunderlying so far scholars albeitno doubtsubconsciously, may reveal guided data. toadequately accountforall therelevant failures oftheirtheories or construct within Since a theoryis nothingmorethana structure ofthe whichto organizedata,suchfailuresarefatal.An examination

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andclassification maylikewisesuggest possiblemodelsfordefinition newapproaches totheproblem. of languagedistinguish betweentwobasic typesof Philosophers In the definitions and "Lexical"definitions. definitions, "Stipulative" one stipulatesexactlywhatone meansby a certainterm, former, or even acceptableto others. whetheror notthatsense is intuitive In manycases we mustrelyon stipulative and in fields definitions, laws or like scienceandlaw,theyareusuallyessential.Forinstance, contracts withoutstipulated definitions are unenforceable and often definitions On theotherhand,formanyuses stipulative meaningless. are obviouslynotwhatare needed.In mostcases, in fact,we could ifwe weretorelyon stipulative notcarryoutordinary communication Whatwe are concernedwithin thesecases is "lexical" definitions. definition. Lexicaldefinition is whata dictionary aimsfor.Howis a wordmost generallyused? Whatdo mostusersof a wordintendby it? What do theyintendit to mean?A dictionary to aims,amongotherthings, formalizeforus theconsensusof a word'susage. One problem,of hardto pindown.The course,is thatthismeaningis oftenextremely American the HeritageDictionary of EnglishLanguage,forexample, defines"red"as and saturation, whosehue Anyof a groupof colorsthatmayvaryin lightness resembles thatofblood;thehueofthelong-wave endofthespectrum; oneofthe additiveorlightprimaries; one ofthepsychological evoked in the hues, primary normalobserver the end of the by long-wave spectrum.

It is clear how deeplycontextualized this definition is. "Red" resembles blood.How close does something havetobe to "resemble" else? What is the end something "long-wave" of thelightspectrum? How longis long?62The samedictionary saysthata "hero"is "any mannotedforfeatsof courageor nobility of purpose,"or "a person insomeevent,field,period,orcausebyreasonofhisspecial prominent 62Itmaybe thattherearetechnical definitions of"longwavelight"inoptics,stated forinstancein termsof a rangeof Angtrims.This simplymakesthispartof the definition intoa virtualtautology, however.

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orcontributions." ofpurpose"?Are achievements Butwhatis "nobility notvillainsalso "prominent"? Whatis theproblemhere? One problemis thatthistypeof definition aims at identifying an essence.Thesedefinitions aimtolocateone ora veryfewcharacterisA definition ticsthataredefinitive. Andthisis veryproblematic. is a ofa classareincludedinthatclass ofa class.All members description becausethedefinition appliesto them.Classes aredefinedby definiand what definitions do is defineclasses.63Buta definition will tions, notonlyqualifya givenparticular forinclusionin a class;itmustalso A definition tellsus whatqualifiesas a memexcludeotherinstances. berof a class,andalso whatdoes notqualify.Thatis one reasonthat of"hero"has a problem. Theword"prominent"-which thedefinition definesas "widelyknown"--does notexcludevilthesamedictionary lains.Andof course,ourcommonusage tellsus thatvillainsare not itis not is perhapssufficiently heroes.Whilethisdefinition inclusive, exclusive. sufficiently lets us make explicit And whatof essences?A good definition and establish the implicitcharacterof the objectof the definition, its unityas an object.In otherwords,it allows us to includeand we ordinarily excludeappropriately. assumethat Generallyspeaking, of or characteristics we can do thisby locatingthedefinitive features thefeatureor groupof featureswhich theobjectof our definition, in theclass. to determine are necessaryand sufficient membership Thisis whatwe generally meanbyessence.If suchfeatures exist,we Class (see below).When can establishwhatis called a Monothetic we are usingreal language,however,we generallydo notfunction in thisway.We work,as thedictionary by quotedaboverecognizes, is "red" We workby analogy.Something associatingresemblances. ifitresembles-intheappropriate thingswe thinkof as ways--other

63It is worthstressing herethatwhileindividuals mayevolve,classesdo not.The that theindividual such ofan individual characteristics mayno longerbe maychange ofa certainclass,buttheclass itselfcannotchange. includedas a member

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thatunderstanding? Buthowcan we formalize "red."64 Or,first, why it? wouldwe wanttoformalize Most definitions. don'tneedto formalize Of course,we generally neverlookedup theword"red"in a dictionary. readershaveprobably in We one? should usuallyonlyneed to resortto definitions Why borderline cases, or whenthereis a problem.But sometimesit is do wantto and so we sometimes to important resortto a definition, Howcanwe do thiswhenwe cannotfind ourunderstanding. formalize whichis bothnecessaryand an essence,a featureor set of features toqualifyan objectforinclusionin a class? sufficient In developinghis philosophyof language,LudwigWittgenstein spokeaboutwhathe called "FamilyResemblances"[Philosophical that wondered, ?67].65How do we know,Wittgenstein Investigations into sorts of What ties all is a gamestogether something "game." of coursewas notconcernedto formalizethe a class? Wittgenstein in logicaland interested he spokeabout,beingprimarily similarity naturallanguageproblems.But a coincidenceof intellectual history withthoseof scholars theseideas of Wittgenstein broughttogether such"FamilyResemblances," toformalize whoare concerned namely The problemforsuch scholarsis really thebiologicaltaxonomists. quitesimple.Whatanimals(orforsome,plants)arerelatedtoothers? ideas betweenWittgenstein's Whatformsa species?The connection led to the and those of the biologicaltaxonomists suggestionof whichdoes awaywith approachto classification utilizinga different Thisapproach conditions. fornecessary andsufficient therequirement of contrasts Class.ThePolythetic is thatofthePolythetic course, Class, above. Class mentioned withtheMonothetic

64I leaveoutof consideration herethefactthatall humansverycloselyagreeon and neuroscience whatis a good exampleof "red"and whatis not.The psychology buttheresultis a well establishedfact.See Varela, of thisis rathercomplicated, Thompsonand Rosch 1996:157-171,esp. 168; theclassic studyis Berlinand Kay 1969. 65Wittgenstein 1958:32.

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In a Polythetic a memberoftheclass each Class,tobe considered numberof features or objectmustpossessesa large(butunspecified) characteristics whichare considered relevant formembership in that class. And each such set of featuresmustbe possessedby a large numberof membersof theclass. But-and thisis thekey-thereis no set of features whichmustbe possessedby everymemberof the class.Thereis no onefeature orsetoffeatures andsufficient necessary forinclusionin theclass.Whena class has no singlefeature or setof features commonto all itsmembers, itis calledFullyPolythetic. Thismaybe expressedin over-simplified formgraphically:66 Individuals Characteristics

1 A B C

2 B C D

3 A B D

4 A

5

6

F G H

F G H

C D

Hereindividuals 1,2, 3, 4 forma fullypolythetic class,while5 and 6 forma monothetic class. toformalize thenotionofFamily One cansee howthisis an attempt We can thinkaboutit thisway:How does one define Resemblances. a "family"?We mightwantto considerfeaturessuch as marriage We mightwantto or blood relation,butwhatof adoptedchildren? liveapart. butofcourse,manyfamily members considercohabitation, And so on. Anysinglefeatureis open to thechallengeof countermustalso exclude,so example,butat thesametimeourclassification of lestwe we cannotsimplyrelyonexhaustive listing possiblefeatures, we wanttoexclude.So while toincludeindividuals be forcedtherefore 66Needham1975:357.

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features" and sufficient the"necessary model,by collecting rejecting a resemblance we can establisha pattern, a largenumberof features taxonomists Andin fact,manynumerical betweenindividuals. tryto thatis, thisprocesstothepointwhereitis almostautomatic, formalize canbe calculatednumerically. wherethedegreeofresemblance betweennaturalsciencesandsocial Thereis ofcoursea difference studies.Whileforthemostpartnaturalscientists or humanistic try discreteempiricalparticulars whichare themselves to selectfeatures or externalskeleton?), does an animalhavean internal (forinstance, even fortheman elementof the ad hoc remains.67Nevertheless, can select inmanycases naturalscientists despitea certainambiguity, in definedfeatures.But forthoseof us interested monothetically whichwe mustconsider theveryfeatures socialphenomena, studying classes.68 oftenconstitute willthemselves polythetic ofthismethod A particularly concerns goodcase fortheapplication difficult to been has thenotionofreligion. define, notoriously Religion we should here. Rather recount that is not to it history necessary though What to thequestionofthemethodof definition. directourattention whichwill allowus is finda definition we wantto do, in a nutshell, whichwe feel to includein theclass ofreligionall thosephenomena and excludethosewe feelarenot.In other arereligionsor religious, words,we wantto formalizeour lexicaldefinitions. Manyprevious could be produced, because have failed counter-examples attempts we sensed,as excludedindividuals definitions becausethesuggested orbecausetheyincluded tobe religions, usersoftheword"religion," individualswe feltwerenot religions;thatis, theyfailedeitherto thishascausedfunny exclude.Sometimes includeorproperly properly tobe a religion, MostpeopleconsiderBuddhism yet pseudo-problems. 67Forexample,a researcher tolerant creature mightask,is oris nota single-celled 0.5 ppm?Is itnottotally to 0.5 ppmof salinein solution?Butwhypickthenumber features are ad hoc? Another exampleis foundin thewaymorphological arbitrary, cladisticanalyses.Holes andbumpson bones("large recognized bythoseattempting inbasicallyimpressionistic forinstance)arerecognized as significant fenestra," ways. 68Needham1975:364.

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manyBuddhistsdo notconsidertheirobjectof ultimateconcernto be God or a god. So, somescholarshavesuggestedthatBuddhismis These scholarstried not,in fact,a religion,butrathera philosophy. to imposea stipulative definition wherea lexicaldefinition belonged. But thosewho werewillingto let thedatadirectthetheory, instead of lettingthetheoryor definition makethemmanipulate theirdata, for realizedtherefore thattheismis obviouslynota good touchstone thedefinition of a religion.The suggestion thatBuddhismis nota of to is an failure includean objectin the religion example properly class. thosewho On the otherhand,if we look to the functionalists, what and focus in one's that is religion suggest producesmeaning and so on, we have life,whatorganizesone's social interactions A theistic butofexclusion. another problem-notthistimeofinclusion which definition didnotenableus to includeBuddhismas a religion, on the otherhand,may we want to do. A functional definition, us from American Baseball,forexample,fromthe excluding prevent class of religions.For of course,baseballprovidesa sourceof great, perhapseven ultimate,meaningformanypeople,it can structure can produceand focus theirworldviewand theirsocial interactions, of religion meaning,and so on. But we shouldexpectourdefinition whichmight features to excludebaseball,andso whilethefunctional determine inclusionin theclass are certainly important, theycannot A polythetic on theotherhand, be necessary andsufficient. approach, without as manyfeatures as we feelnecessary, allowsus toincorporate decisive.Thisis itsgreatstrength. feature makinganyoneparticular Beforewe tryto applythisall to theproblemof MahayanaBudwhichI thinkis notradical,that dhism,let us maketheassumption, andthattherearekinds MahayanaBuddhismis a kindofBuddhism, the ofBuddhismwhicharenotMahayana.Butthisis notnecessarily an imsamethingas sayingthatMahayanais a speciesofBuddhism, betweenMahayana Forwhat,indeed,is therelation distinction. portant Buddhismand therestof Buddhism,or betweenMahayana.andthe largerclassofBuddhismofwhichitis a part?

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we are individualreligionsor religioustraditions, Whendefining abouta structurally different typeofclassthantheclass usuallytalking of religion.The class "religion"qualifiesinstancesformembership Phenetic pheneticgrounds.69 purelyon whatis calledbythebiologists defined of which are are strictly relationships relationships similarity, Thereneedbe nohistorisincetheyindicatea product. synchronically, forthemtobothbe whatsoever betweentwoinstances cal relationship ofthesameclass.In thestudyofreligionan instanceofthis members As van of is whatwe call phenomenological relation similarity. type we cantalkabout derLeeuwhasdiscussedin suchinteresting detail,70 on in whichhave of and so traditions of instances prayer, asceticism, andin thesamewaywe can talkabout"rehadno historical contact, in anywaya historical connection between implying ligions"without In otherwords,we can grouptogether instances theworld'sreligions. is whatis of Theirpresentsimilarity without regardfortheirhistory. interest.71

In contrast to this,phyletic showthecourseofevolurelationships relatedphyletically and thus indicate a Two individuals tion, process. inherited features froma commonancestor, and sharesomecommonly in if share this feature even their pathsdiverged theymay evolutionary is relatively we speak theancientpast.Ifthecommonancestry recent, ofsharedderivedcharacteristics,72 whichlinktwoor moreindividuSuch als, butseparatethemfromtherestof theircommonancestors. recentrelations, whicharedefineddiachronically, aretermed"cladistic." So we havetwobasic categories: Firstarerelationships whichare in which two individuals be on the synchronic, may groupedtogether orcommonchancesimilarities, basisofancientcommoninheritances 69 Bailey1983:256. 70vanderLeeuw 1938.

71 Thesearetermed the similarcharacteristics by biologistshomoplasies, indepen-

areindependently acdentlyevolved.Whentheoriginsof thesimilarcharacteristics whenindependently evolvedparallel. quiredtheyaretermed convergent, 72Technically calledsynapomorphies; Gould1983:358.

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adventitious similarities whichhavebeenindependently acquiredby theindividual. Secondarerelations basedon commonsimilarities due to a geneticand historical linkwhichproducedin bothindividuals a sharedinnovation, notsharedwiththeircommonancestor. Phenetic-thatis, synchronic, is phenomenological-classification or nottheyhave anyprevious,that possibleforall groups,whether is to say historical, but classification connection, cladisticor phyletic Whenwe talkabouttheclass "religion," inference. requireshistorical withphenetic butwhenwe we areofcourseconcerned relationships, formof a it is the cladistic tradition, study givenreligious usually classification thatwe areinterested links in,whichis to say,historical arevital.73 theclass"Buddhism" Wecancertainly relatesometraditions within toeachotherfromsomeperspectives means of theirsharedderived by characteristics-that is, cladistically. Thus,broadlyspeakingMongolian Buddhismcan be linkedto TibetanBuddhismby,amongother or theirsharedinnovathings,theirsharedderivedcharacteristics, We can draw a is tions. tree-diagram-what calledby thebiologists a cladogram-illustrating suchrelations.74 Butdoes thissameapproachapplyto theobjectwe call Mahayana Buddhism?Does the pair of Mahayanaand other-than-Mahayana on Buddhismseem to assume,whatis techform,as manywriters in a "sistergroup,"thatis twolineagesmore called cladistics nically Or is the closelyrelatedto each otherthanto anyotherlineages?75 wholequestionbeingaskedin a misleadingway?Is it possiblethat scholarswho have consideredthequestionhave somehowassumed thebiologist'scladisticclassisomeversionofa modelwhichmirrors forthisis to be it is unlikely thattheirmotivation fication? Naturally 73This is nottrue,by theway,withclassifications of typesof religions,suchas like theclassification "New Age" Religions.Such classifications, "religion"itself, almostalwaysrelyon phenetic relationships. 74On theapplicationof biologicalconceptsto otherfieldsof study,see thevery interesting essaysin HoenigswaldandWiener1987. 75Cf.Gould1983:357.

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andwhileitis obviousthatone foundinbiologicalclassification itself, Reformaof theProtestant possiblesourceis an analogicalextension it and Protestantism, tionidea,and therelationbetweenCatholicism andsuffithatgeneralnotionsofnecessary is also farfromimpossible haveled scholarsto cerandof speciesclassification cientconditions whichI thinkwe must It is theseveryassumptions tainassumptions. back to our core And so we come question:Justwhatis the question. ofMahayanatotherestofBuddhism? relationship mustbe a lexicaldeThedefinition we seekofMahayanaBuddhism forus to suggesta stipulative finition. It wouldbe pointless definition, in traditional offered for such definitions example although stipulative becomedataforourquest.We textslikethatof Yijingmaycertainly whatare generally wantto determine agreedto be thelimitsof the class,in thiscase of MahayanaBuddhism.And thisclass shouldbe a largenumber notmonothetically butpolythetically, defined through theclass. I suggestthe of features whichcumulatively circumscribe of whichwill lead us to a definition place we will look forfeatures in the first be the Buddhism should suitras. place Mahayana Mahayana as it mightat firstsoundBut-and thisis not as meaningless are Buddhisttexts,and all Buddhisttextsare BudMahayanastitras dhisttexts.In otherwords,we assumethatall Buddhisttextsare Buddhist-butreallywithoutknowingwhatwe meanby this,and than without thisfeeling.Thissuggeststhatrather havingformalized a Buddhist text it what makes Mahayana Mahayana mightbe asking andMahayana.Orwe might better toaskwhatmakesitbothBuddhist visualizetheproblemin a quitedifferent way: is thereanyway we someimaginary canlocalizeMahayanatextswithin multi-dimensional which we call "Buddhism"? space If we imagineBuddhismas a multi-dimensional space,and we do of notprejudgethelocations different kindsof Buddhism-withfor in one corner and Zen farawayin another-but Theravada example insteadstartourthinking on thelevelof individualtexts,I thinkwe wouldquicklyrealizethatvarioustextswouldbe locatedat various sometextsbeinglocatedmore matrix, pointsinthismulti-dimensional closelyto each otherthanto a thirdtypeof text.Of course,there

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can be no such thingas an absolutelocation,but only a location relativeto otherobjectsin thespace (justas is thecase in thethree of ourphysicaluniverse).This is relatedto the"degree dimensions ofresemblance" calculations which,as I mentioned above,numerical taxonomists more would showus thatthe thought employ.Slightly still.Forwhatarethecriteria problemis morecomplicated bymeans of whichwe wouldlocateourtextsin thisspace?In fact,thereis an infinite numberof possiblecriteriawe mightwantto use to locate numberof waysof relating theobjectsof our study,and an infinite numberof multiour datapointsto each other,and thusan infinite dimensionalmatrices.For instance,we shouldrecognizethateven theunit"text"is itselfamenableto further analysisand localization. theKadsyapaparivarta, Let us considertheexampleof one suitra, just We have a Sanskritversion(in thiscase forthe sake of argument. witha fewvariantfragments, onlyone nearlycompletemanuscript, and a but sometimeswe will have more),a Tibetantranslation, to the numberof Chineseversions,not to mentiona commentary in otherworks,and so on. textextantin severalversions,quotations Fromone perspective, we would expectall of theseto be located in space;theyareall versionsof, verycloselytogether ourimaginary relatedto, the "same text."Fromanotherperspective, or intimately in translation forinstance, if we are interested however, vocabulary we mightalso have good reasonsto want to relatethe Chinese of one translator moreclosely of the Kdaiyapaparivarta translation of the same translator thanto otherChinese to othertranslations morecloselythan and certainly versionsof the Kadyapaparivarta, of the same text.Or again,a textwith to the Tibetantranslation be relatedmoreclosely content doctrinal mightfromthatperspective ofsimilarcontent, theHeartSutra(Prajidpdramitahrdaya) toanother forinstance, whileifwe were withtheDiamondSiitra(Vajracchedika), we mightgroupit with in thesame textused liturgically interested intermsofits textortextstowhichitmightbe unrelated quiteanother in ritual, or similarly butwithwhichit maybe used together content withthe SmallerSukhdvatTvyiuha, the same Prajiidpdramitahrdaya of the sorts So the groupings datawillproducewilldependon perhaps.

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whatwe are askingofourdata.Therewillnotbe one finaldefinitive thatis to say,no one uniquelocalizationof our objects grouping, multi-dimensional withinourimaginary space.Andthemoreflexible we willbe able ofourdata,themorecomprehensively theorganization and classifyits internal relations.To putthisanother to understand in-no matter howwe are way,noneof theobjectswe areinterested or as be to those define objects,singly groups-will relatedto likely another objector setof objectsin a single,uniqueway.The relation willdependon whataspectsof theobjectswe chooseto relateevery betweenobjects timewe ask a question.Andifwe maptherelations of thatspacewill withinourmulti-dimensional space,thegeography of the be determined combination therefore objectsand aspectsin by limitless objectsandvirtually aspects question.Sincewe havemultiple the which to compare-constrained onlyby imagination generates our questions-nouniquemappingor solutionis eventheoretically possible. Thereare in factestablished techniquesavailablein theso-called for about suchproblems.One of themost Social Sciences thinking numerical is calledClusterAnalysis.Whatclusimportant techniques deal witha largeamount teranalysisenablesone to do is rationally it intomorecompactformsforeasiermanageabilofdata,clustering ity.The clustersmaybe definedin anynumberof ways.It mightbe to selectfeatures, suchas theoccurrence possibleforus,forinstance, of doctrinal concepts,keywords,stockphrasesor thelike,and code Butgivenourgoals,one them1 or0 forMahayanaornon-Mahayana. of whichis to avoidprejudicing therelationship betweenMahayana andotherformsofBuddhismas thismonothetic classification would, suchan approachcanbe seentoembodythesamesortofflawinherent in previousthinking on thesubject.76 A muchbetterapproachwould be to clusterdiscretely ratherthancumulatively, thatis, to measure thepresenceor absenceof givenfactors, and thenmeasurethetotal clustered factors not whichresult Theclusters individually, additively. 76Thisis also thesameflawtowhichcladistic analysesareprone.

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ofa polythetic class.77Naturally, would,then,allowfortheformation themathematics ofmultivariate methods behindsuchstatistical analysis are sophisticated, andI do notpretend to haveevena rudimentary of thetechnicaldetails.My wishhereis to introduce understanding thebroadest, mostgeneraloutlinesoftheprocedure, andto appealfor a consideration byscholarsofBuddhismofthisnewwayofconcepturather the thanto offera definitive alizing verynatureoftheproblem, tocarryoutthedetailsoftheproject. arrayofstatistical techniques us back for a moment to the self-evident claimoffered Let step above:MahayanaBuddhismis Buddhism.As such,notonlyshould instancesof MahayanaBuddhismbe relatedand relatableto other objectsin the same class, but to otherobjectsin the largerclass "Buddhism"as well.JusthowthoseMahayanaBuddhistobjectsare relatedto Buddhistobjectswillprovideus an answerto ourquestion therelationbetweenMahayanaBuddhismandBuddhism concerning as a whole-thatis to say,thequestionWhatis MahayanaBuddhism? Anotherway of puttingthisis as follows:If we startwiththe called Mahayana,butwe do not thatthereis something assumption knowwhatitsfeatures are,we willwantto lookat theobjectswhich ofMahayanaandextract fromthosethe we thinkmightbe definitive ifwe think Moreover, qualitieswhichgroupor clusterthemtogether. or also somehow to another other thesesame objectsmight belong set--evenona different logicallevel,forexample,thesetofBuddhism to whatextent at large-we will wantto have a wayof determining the objectis Mahayanaand to whatextentit is simplyBuddhist. Thatis, whatwe willbe lookingforis nota presenceor absenceof withsomecluster, Mahayana,buta questionofdegreeofidentification orevenbetterofgenerallocationwithinthewholespace,in thiscase of"Buddhism." I knowof to do anything evenremotely likethis The onlyattempt is thatof ShizutaniMasao,78 who lookednotat Buddhistliterature in generalbutrather triedto stratify chronologically Mahayanastitras 77 See Bailey1994. 78Shizutani1974.

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intowhathe termedPrimitive Mahayana(genshidaijf) and Early Mahayana(shokidaijo) on the basis of the presenceor absence of certainconceptsand technicalterms.Unfortunately, as faras I can see, he approachedtheproblempurelyimpressionistically and I without method. have doubts about the Moreover, anyrigorous grave ofestablishing evena relativechronology ofthisliterature possibility on the basis of internal not to mention thebackward evidence, purely of such an approach.Nevertheless, carefulreadingof methodology Shizutani'sstudymightyieldvaluablecluesforfuture research. WhatI suggestinsteadin no way precludestakingintoaccount the age or relativeage of our sources;it simplydoes not depend on sucha determination. The comprehensive of multiple comparison aspectsof a largenumberofobjectswillallowus to see themultiple naturesof theseobjects,theirrelativesimilarities in and differences, a comparative do light.Let us againconsideran example.Individuals notholdconsistent setsofideologicalor politicalviewpoints. Notall are opposedto thedeathpenalty, notall abortionrights vegetarians activistsopposenuclearpower,and so on. The complexmakeup of however,can ideologieswhichcharacterizes any givenpopulation, It is a similarcensuswhichI suggestfor be studiedstatistically. thepopulation of "Buddhism," theobjectsconstituting whichinclude art and so on. texts, objects, Oncewe rejectthegroundless thatMahayanaandnonassumption in Buddhism are the related fashion ofcladisticclassificaMahayana ofthedefinitions tion,thenwe arefreedto exploreotherdimensions of MahayanaBuddhism.We areenabledand empowered to thinkin termsof degreesof similarity andrelatedness, rather thansimplythe Thisinturnenablesus tothinkmoreflurelated/unrelated. dichotomy about in the forexample,a MahayanaBuddhisttext which, idly ways conceitsof earlierliterature, or a mythological mayborrowliterary while the doctrinal content of theepisode.It episode, reformulating us a tool to think about gives multiplewaysthatone and thesame be while the unused, objectmight objectitselfremainsessentially A stone changed. imageof Sakyamuni mayhavedifferent meanings in different ritualcontexts, as a textual just pericopemay shiftits

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meaning-orwe shouldbettersay,haveits meaningshifted-byits changingcontext.Such an appreciation givesus good toolsforresuch as the "transfer of merit"orthe"perfections," problems thinking claimedas characteristic of MahayanaBuddhismbutfoundin nonliterature as well,amonga hostofotherpossibilities. Mahayana Thisalso enablesus todealwiththeproblem, alludedtoabove,that much of the literature citedin discussions veryobviously commonly of MahayanaBuddhismas thatof "SectarianBuddhism," and surely notrarelyimpliedtorepresent somepre-Mahayana in ideas, factdates froma periodaftertheriseof theMahayanaBuddhistmovement. If we assumethatMahayanaBuddhismarosein thefirst of the century CommonEra-a reasonabledatingwhichinreality we haveverylittle or no evidenceto justify-andwe simultaneously recognizethatno Chinesetranslation ofBuddhistmaterial that predates period,thatthe Pali canonwas notwritten downbeforethe fifth although century, its redactionclearlypredatesthattime,and so on, we mustcome to appreciatethateven if we wish to be muchmorecarefulabout our comparisons of Mahayanaand pre-Mahayana materials thanwe have been heretofore, we will have a verytoughtimeof it. To this If we revertto theprevious we add theproblemof contamination. fora moment,and borrow of a cladisticclassification assumption herethe model of thephilologists'cladogram,the stemmaor tree fromthebiologistin thefirst place,we will diagramhe has borrowed have to recognizethatthe historyof MahayanaBuddhismreflects a heavilycross-contaminated situation.The materialsto whichwe are comparingour extantMahayanaBuddhistliterature may well or revisedin lightof thatveryMahayanaBuddhist havebeenwritten Even theoretically, there materialitself,and vice versaad infinitum. is no wayto producea clean schematicof therelationsin question, in a glassafter a mixture anymorethanitwouldbe possibletoclarify into that mix had been soda, poured pouredintocoffee, orangejuice thenaddedbackintotheorangejuice, and so on. The contamination

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is complete,its historyirreversible.79 This leaves us onlywiththe of clarifying variousaspectsof thephenetic,synchronic possibility relations betweenobjectsofourinterest. Butthisdoes notin anyway meanthatwe are to ignoretraditional information. Yijing-and of coursehe is nottheonlysource-tellsus thatworshipofbodhisattvas is definitive ofMahayanaBuddhism. We neednottakethis,evenifhe so intended as a and condition toacceptitas one sufficient it, necessary intoconjunction pointinourdataset,oneobjectwhichis tobe brought withothers.The sameappliesto theproblemoftheidentification ofa Chinesestitra giventextas, forexample,a Mahayanasuitra. catalogues do notgiveus a definitive to be taken answer,butprovideone feature intoaccountin theprocessofformulating a polythetic And definition. so too forfeaturessuch as thementionof emptiness, bodhisattvas, theperfections, and so on. Withsuchtoolsin handwe maybe able to approachanewtheproblemof thedefinition of and classification Buddhism. Mahayana In conclusion, letme explainwhatis behindthetitleof mypaper, whichI confessto have borrowedfromauthorsmorecleverthan I. I was inspiredin the firstplace by the titleof a paperby the andbiologistStephenJ.Gould,"What,If Anything, is paleontologist a Zebra?";Gouldin turnhadborrowed histitlefroma paperofAlbert E. Wood,"What,if Anything, Is a Rabbit?"80 WhatGouldwonders is whether thevariousstripped horsesactuallymakeup a cladistic If and cladistically group. theydo not,thenstrictly speakingthereis no suchthingas a zebra.This lineof thought me about got thinking I first I couldask"What,ifanything, is MahayanaBuddhism. thought I Buddhism?" because wanted to know whether Mahayana Mahayana Buddhismwas cladistically relatedto non-Mahayana Buddhism.But whatI havecome to realizeis thatwhatwe reallywantto knowis howto locateMahayanawithrespectto Buddhismas a whole,andas 79Of course,somehistory evenfromhighlycontaminated or maybe recoverable hybridized examples.Someoftheprocesseswhichledtoan extant complexstatemay be tracable-butnotall. 80Gould1983;Wood1957.

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a partof thatquestionwe wantto understand above all how objects are definedas "Mahayana"in thefirstplace. But cladisticscannot ofMahayanatoBuddhism as a helpus here.Askingabouttherelation ofthezebratothecategory wholeis closertoaskingabouttherelation "animal"(or perhaps"mammal").The toolswe mustuse to approach ofMahayanaBuddhismaremuchless andclassification thedefinition thancladistics,muchmorefluid,variableand rigidand dichotomous buta methodological flexible.And so, withan aestheticreluctance I concedethatthisincarnation of Gould's titledoes not confidence, to confront setthestageforthetaskfacingus as we attempt properly the problemof how to defineMahayanaBuddhism.But afterall, to trumpcontent justthisonce.As a perhapsformmaybe permitted ofMahayanaBuddhism as a Polythetic title"TheDefinition Category" thepoeticlicence. seemssufficiently anaemictojustify A. SILK JONATHAN

UCLA

ofEastAsianLanguagesandCultures Department Box 951540 Los AngelesCA 90095-1540,USA [email protected] BIBLIOGRAPHY D. Bailey,Kenneth and ClusterAnalysis."Qualityand Quantity 1983 "SociologicalClassification 17:251-268. AnIntroduction to Classification and Taxonomies: 1994 Typologies Techniques. in theSocial Sciences (A Sage University Paper:Quantitative Applications 102.)ThousandOaks,London,NewDelhi:Sage. Bareau,Andr6 1987 "HinayanaBuddhism."In JosephM. Kitagawaand MarkD. Cummings and Culture:ReadandAsianHistory:Religion,History, (eds.),Buddhism New 195-214. The Macmillan, of Encyclopedia Religion. ingsfrom York: Barth,Auguste 1898 "Le PblerinChinois I-Tsing." Journaldes Savants, mai:261-280, juillet:425-438, and septembre:522-541.Rpt. in: Quarante ans d'Indianisme:Oeuvresde AugusteBarth4: ComptesRendus et Noti-

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A. Silk Jonathan ces (1887-1898),Paris:ErnestLeroux1918,408-462.I referto thereprint edition.

Heinz Bechert, 1964 "Zur Frtihgeschichte des Mahdyana-Buddhismus." Zeitschriftder DeutschenMorgenldndischen 113:530-535. Gesellschaft 1973"Noteson theFormation ofBuddhistSectsandtheOriginsofMahayana." In GermanScholarsonIndiaI. Varanasi:TheChowkhamba Sanskrit Series 6-18. Office, 1976 "Buddha-Feld undVerdienstiibertragung: imTheravadaMahayana-Ideen Buddhismus Acadimie de Bulletins de la Classe Royale Belgique: Ceylons." des Lettresetdes SciencesMoralesetPolitiques5e s6rie,tome62:27-51. in SriLanka:The EarlyPhase."In LewisLancaster 1977 "MahayanaLiterature (ed.), Prajiaparamitdand RelatedSystems:Studiesin honorof Edward BuddhistStudiesSeries 1). Berkeley:BerkeleyBuddhist Conze (Berkeley StudiesSeries,361-368. 1982"On theIdentification ofBuddhist SchoolsinEarlySriLanka."In GiintherDietz Sontheimer andParameswara KotaAithal(eds.),Indologyand Law: Studiesin Honourof ProfessorJ. DuncanM. Derrett(Beitrigezur StidStidasien-Institut, asienforschung, Heidelberg77), Wiesbaden: Universitit FrankSteiner, 60-76. 1992"Buddha-field andTransfer ofMeritin a TheravadaSource."Indo-Iranian Journal35:95-108. Berlin,BrentandPaul Kay 1969Basic ColorTerms:TheirUniversality andEvolution. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press. EmmanuelEdouard Chavannes, 1894 MimoireCompos a' l'Epoque de la GrandeDynastieT'ang sur les la Loi dans les Paysd'Occident ReligieuxEminents qui allerentchercher par I-Tsing.Paris:ErnestLeroux. Chung,Jin-ilandPetraKieffer-Ptilz

forthedetermination 1997 "The karmavdcands of sima and tictvarena avippavasa." In BhikkhuPasadikaand BhikkhuTampalawelaDhammaratana au VWnMrable ThichHuyen-Via' (eds.), Dharmadita: Milanges offerts l'occasionde son soixante-dixieme anniversaire. Paris:EditionsYou Feng, 13-56. Richard S. Cohen, 1995 "Discontented Categories:Hinayanaand Mahdydnain IndianBuddhist JournaloftheAmerican History." AcademyofReligion63/1:1-25.

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Dutt,Nalinaksha 1930 AspectsofMahayanaBuddhismand itsRelationto Hinayana.(Calcutta OrientalSeries23.) London:Luzac & Co. IndianHistoricalQuarterly 7:259-286. 1931"Bodhisattva Suitra." Pr.timoksa Fumio Enomoto, In Christine 2000 "'Milasarvastivadin'and 'Sarvastivadin."' Chojnacki,JensUwe Hartmann, andVolkerM. Tschannerl (eds.), Vividharatnakarandaka: FestgabefiirAdelheidMette(Indica et Tibetica37), Swisttal-Odendorf: IndicaetTibeticaVerlag,239-250. Louis Finot, 1901Rastrapalapariprcchd: Satradu Mahayana.(BibliothecaBuddhicaII.) St. II. The Hague: Petersburg: ImperialAcademy.Rpt.:Indo-Iranian Reprints MoutonandCo., 1957. Gordon,MalcolmS. A SpeculativeEssay."Biologyand Philoso1999 "The ConceptofMonophyly: phy14:331-348. Gould,StephenJ. is a Zebra?"In Hen's Teethand Horse's Toes,New 1983 "What,If Anything, 355-365. York:W. W. Norton& Company, Paul Maxwell Harrison, of MahayanaBuddhistSuitras: Some 1993 "The EarliestChineseTranslations Buddhist StudiesReview10/2:135-177. NotesontheWorksofLokaksema." HirakawaAkira seikaku."In MiyamotoSh6son (ed.), 1954 "Daij6 Bukky6no ky6danshiteki Daij5 Bukkyono Seiritsushiteki Kenkya,Tokyo:Sanseid61954,447-482. no KydritoKyadan(HirakawaAkiraChosakushi5), Rpt.in Daij5 Bukkyo edition. Tokyo:Shunjiisha1989,375-414.I referto thereprint 1990 A Historyof IndianBuddhism:FromSakyamunito Early Mahayana. andeditedbyPaulGroner. Translated (AsianStudiesatHawaii36.) Hawaii: The University ofHawaiiPress. Habogirin du Bouddhisme 1929- Dictionnaire d'apres les SourcesChiEncyclopddique noisesetJaponaises.Tokyo:MaisonFranco-Japonaise. HenryM. andLindaF. Wiener Hoenigswald, An Interdisciplinary 1987 BiologicalMetaphorand CladisticClassification: Press. of Perspective. University Pennsylvania Philadelphia: Kent,StephenA. oftheRiseofMahayana."Religion12:311-332. 1982"A Sectarian Interpretation

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Petra Kieffer-Piilz, Die in 1992 Sima: Vorschriften zurRegelungderbuddistischen Gemeindegrenze zur indischen buddhistischen Texten.(Monographien dilteren Archiologie, KunstundPhilologie8.) Berlin:DietrichReimer. EtiennePaul Marie Lamotte, andUlrichSchnei1954"Surla formation duMahayana."In Johannese Schubert der (eds.), Asiatica: Festschrift FriedrichWeller.Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz,377-396. 1955 "Le bouddhismedes Laics." In Nagao Gajin and Nozawa J6sh6(eds.), Hakase KanrekiKinen:IndogakuBukkyogaku Ronso/ Studies Yamaguchi in Indologyand Buddhology: Presentedin Honourof ProfessorSusumu on theOccasionofhisSixtieth Birthday. Yamaguchi Kyoto:Hozokan,7389. La ValleePoussin,Louisde 1909"Notessurle GrandV6hicule."Revuede l'Histoiredes Religions59:338348. 1925 "NotesBouddhiquesVI ?3: Notessurle chemindu Nirvana:Les Fidbles Laics ou Upasakas."AcadimieRoyalede Belgique:Bulletinsde la Classe des Lettres etdes SciencesMoralesetPolitiques,5e serie,tome11:15-34. and "Note 1929 "NotesBouddhiquesVII: Le Vinayaet la Puret6d'Intention," Additionnelle." AcadimieRoyalede Belgique:Bulletinsde la Classe des Lettreset des SciencesMoraleset Politiques,5e serie,tome15:201-217, and233-234. 1930"NotesBouddhiquesXVIII: Opinionssurles RelationsdesdeuxVehicules au pointde vue du Vinaya."AcadimieRoyalede Belgique:Bulletinsde la Classe des Lettreset des SciencesMoraleset Politiques,5e serie,tome 16:20-39. Levi,Sylvain 1907Mahayana-Sitrdlanikara: Selon Exposede la Doctrinedu GrandVehicule, le SystemeYogacara.TomeI: Texte.(Bibliothequede l'cole des Hautes etPhilologiques159.)Paris:LibrairieHonor6 Etudes:SciencesHistoriques Champion.Rpt.:Kyoto:RinsenBook Company,1983. Maeda Eun 1903Daijo Bukkyo Shiron.Tokyo:Bunmeido. Peter Masefield, 1986DivineRevelationin Pali Buddhism. Colombo:The Sri LankaInstitute of Traditional Studies/London:GeorgeAllen& Unwin. Hisashi Matsumura, 1990 "MiscellaneousNoteson theUpdlipariprccha and RelatedTexts."Acta Orientalia51:61-113.

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MochizukiRyok6 1988Daijo Nehangy5no Kenkya.Tokyo:Shunjisha. MochizukiShink6 1932-1936Bukky6 Daijiten.Tokyo:SekaiSeitenKank6Ky6kai. Monier Monier-Williams, 1899 A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologicallyand Philologically with Arranged Special Referenceto CognateIndo-European Languages. Oxford:The ClarendonPress. NakamuraHajime 1981Bukkyogo Daijiten.Tokyo:T6kyOShoseki. Needham,Rodney 1975 "PolytheticClassification:Convergenceand Consequences." Man 10/3:349-369. Marlene Njammasch, undseineStellunginderHierarchie derbuddhistischen 1974"Dernavakammika Altorientalische Kl6ster." 1:279-293. Forschungen

Oda Tokun6 ed.: Tokyo:Daiz6 shuppan1974. 1917Bukky6 Daijiten.Newcorrected Jean Przyluski,

a l'Histoiredes Canonsetdes 1926-1928Le Councilde Rajagrha:Introduction SectesBouddhiques.(BuddhicaPremiere tome2.) Paris: s6rie:M6moires, LibrairieOrientaliste Paul Geuthner. RhysDavids,ThomasWilliam In JamesHastings(ed.), TheEncyclopedia 1908"Sects(Buddhist)." ofReligion andEthics(New York:CharlesScribner's Sons), 11:307-309. Robinson,Richard Bodhisattva." Bulletinofthe 1965-1966"TheEthicoftheHouseholder BharatT: 9/2:25-56. CollegeofIndology Daigaku Ryuikoku 1914-1922Bukkyo Daijii. Rpt.Tokyo:Fuzamb6,1940. Sasaki,Shizuka 1991 "Biku to gigaku"[Monasticworshipof stuipaswithmusicand dancein ShigakuKenkya34/1:1-24. vinayatexts].Bukkyo 1992 "BuddhistSects in the AMokaPeriod(2): Sathghabheda(1)." Bukkyo 21:157-176. Kenkyu 1993 "BuddhistSects in the AMokaPeriod (3): Sarmghabheda (2)." Bukkyo 22:167-199. Kenkyu 1997 "A Studyon theOriginof MahdyanaBuddhism."The EasternBuddhist 30/1:79-113.

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Schopen,Gregory Indo-Iranian Journal21:1-19. 1979"MahayanainIndianInscriptions." 1985 "TwoProblemsin theHistoryof IndianBuddhism:The Layman/Monk of Merit."Studienzur Distinction and theDoctrinesof theTransference IndologieundIranistik10:9-47. An Old Mis1991 "Monksand theRelic Cult in theMahaparinibbanasutta: and in to Monastic Buddhism." In Koichi Shinohara understandingRegard to on From Benares Buddhism and Beijing:Essays Schopen(eds.), Gregory ChineseReligionin HonourofProf JanYiin-hua, Oakville,Canada: Mosaic Press,187-201. ShimodaMasahiro 1991 "GenshiNehangyono sonzai:Daij5 Nehangyono seiritsushiteki kenkyii: sono ichi" [The Urtextof theMahayanaMahaparinirvana-satra]. To6y BunkaKenkyuijo Kiy6103:1-126. ShizutaniMasao 1974ShokiDaijo Bukky5 no SeiritsuKatei.Kyoto:Hyakkaen. A. Silk,Jonathan TowardPracticeinEarlyMahayanaBud"Conservative Attitudes Forthcoming. dhism." Takakusu, Junjiro 1896A Recordof theBuddhistReligionas Practisedin Indianand theMalay Press. (A.D. 671-695) byI-Tsing.Oxford:The Clarendon Archipelago Tomomatsu Entai 1932 Bukky6Keizai Shis6 Kenkyi:Indo kodai bukkyo jiin shoyuni kansuru shoin. gakusetsu. Tokyo:T6h6 vanderLeeuw,Gerardus

1938 Religionin Essenceand Manifestation. Rpt.:New York:HarperTorch1963. books, Varela,FranciscoJ.,EvanThompsonandEleanorRosch 1996 The EmbodiedMind: CognitiveScience and HumanExperience.Cambridge,Mass.: The MIT Press. Wilson,BryanandKarelDobbelaere inBritain.Oxford:Clarendon 1994A TimetoChant:TheSokaGakkaiBuddhists Press. Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1958 PhilosophischeUntersuchungen / PhilosophicalInvestigations. Trans. G.E.M. Anscombe.3rded. New York:Macmillan.

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WogiharaUnrai A Statement 1936 Bodhisattvabhami: of[the] WholeCourseoftheBodhisattva Section of [the] Yogacarabhumi). (Being [the] Fifteenth Rpt.: Tokyo: SankiboBuddhistBookstore1971. Wood,AlbertE. 1957"What,ifAnything, Is a Rabbit?"Evolution11/4:417-425.

ASPECTS DU "SACERDOCE" EN SYRIE ANCIENNE: REMARQUES METHODOLOGIQUES ET EXAMEN D'UN CAS PARTICULIER PAOLO XELLA Summary A historico-religious on "priesthood" and"priest"hastofacemany studyfocusing interms ofterminology andofcontent. On theonehand,itis methodologdifficulties, tolink"priesthood" todebatedmodemconceptssuchas "religion" or icallyincorrect "cult"which,liketheformer, defined needtobe (evenconventionally) each timefor underandnotto be assumedas universal culture, everyparticular keysofhistorical On theotherhand,previousstudieson thetopic-wheretheaimhas been standing. to determine latentformsand/orparticular manifestations in other of "priesthood" of thisphenomenon-exhibit culturesand also to writea "generalhistory" thetotal ofsuchan approach, historical irrelevance basedonlyon ourmodem(Christian) conIn ordertolimitethnocentrism and,atthesametime,toemploy ceptof"priest(hood)." usefulconceptualcategories, newheuristic mustbe found.In additionto parameters thecriterion indicatedbyJ.Riipke(thereligiousspecialistas a control-agent within I proposeto distinguish theframework of symbolicsystems), betweenprofessional andpractical(cultic)function. Thecase studyI present heretoillustrate specialisation someaspectsandproblems ofthisresearch is thatofancientSyrian(Ugaritic)culture, inourmeaningaredifficult where"priests" tobe found,whereasa fullynewconcept if we the from a look at issue functional (and "emic")perspective. emerges

le "sacerdoce,"danstoutela gammede ses Les 6tudesconcernant et de ses manifestations, d6finitions ontunelonguehistoire, tantdans le domainede la th6ologieque dansceluide l'histoiredes religions. De ce dernier a pointde vue,il esttouta fait6vident que l'on a affaire de recherche un terrain et difficile oti l'on retrouve, multipli6s d61icat et diversifi6s, tousles problimesfondamentaux-de d6finition et de touteapprochescientifique de la religion.' m6thode-quicaract6risent 1 Cf.

les nombreuses 6tudessurla m6thodedans Bianchi1994 et dernibrement dansGeertzetMcCutcheon 2000. BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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En effet,le terme"sacerdoce"--etles termesapparent6set/ou d6riv6scomme"prtre,""agentdu culte,""op6rateur rituel,""sp6cialistereligieux," de leur et des etc.-ind6pendamment 6tymologie2 formesattest6es dans les languesoccidentales, renvoiea un concept celui 6troitement de de qui d6pend "religion"et,si l'on veut,de celui de "culte."Il est par cons6quent touta faiterron6, du pointde vue en d'orienter une m6thodologique, enquete s'appuyantsurla "relidiscut6(y comprisen 6ternellement terme/concept gion"elle-meme, de sa d6finition!), ce qui concernela 16gitimit6 afind'y rapporter les notionsde "sacerdoce"et de "pretre."3 Sur le plans6mantique, et en on estunefoisde plusrenvoy6 a la tradig6n6ralsurle planculturel, et a la distinction tionjud6o-chr6tienne ou moins plus expliciteentre unesphbre/dimension ou "sacr6e"etunesphere"profane" "religieuse" ou "liaque,"4qu'on a bienpeu de chancesde rep6rer commetellenon cela va de soi-aupres des cultures radicalement seulement--comme du a la mais aussi les civilisations "autres"parrapport n6tre, parmi ancienet du mondeclassiqueen particulier Proche-Orient qui, a la sont cens6es de notre culture. rigueur, 8trebeaucoupplusproches Commel'observent MaryBeardet JohnNorthdansl'introduction desreligions a unr6centvolumeconsacr6auxpretres paYennes: The priestly officials resemblance to discussedin thisvolumebearno significant of the wise did not thecomforting Christian ... the image pastor they play part ofmoralleaders;theywerenotinvolvedwitha congregation (at leastofficially) whichlooked to the priestfor advice and guidance.Unlike the priestsof andothermodemworldreligions, whocancommunally Christianity yieldpower of in sometimes to)theestablished independently(and opposition politicalpower in the state,paganpriestsnever(or onlyin exceptionalcircumstances) stood from a of the order. There is that-to us-familiar political hardly sign apart 2 Cf.entreautresMouterde1962.

3 Dans ce cas, on viole ouvertement une des reglesqui sonta la base de la de la "the definiensmustnot includeany d6finition, c'est-a-dire, m6thodologie in or that occurs the that couldbe defined definiendum, onlyintermsofit" expression et Yonan (Penner 1972:114ss.). 4 En particulier su ce sujetcf.Sabbatucci1988 et d6ji ses remarques surs a c e r Voir aussi Neumann 1998. (Sabbatucci1951-52).

408

Paolo Xella clashbetween"church"and"state",betweenpriestly interests andthedominant

politicalhierarchy.5

Les auteurssoulignent en outrele faitqu'en d6pitdes difficult6s qui uned6termination empechent pr6cisedes traitscommunsaux pretres deuxpointsau moinss'imposent la sp6cialisation pafens, hl'attention: le plus desdevoirscultuelset-ce que nousint6resse parfoisexasp6r6e ici-le faitque le personnel attach6au culten'exercepresquejamais ' ses fonctionstempsplein: thereligioustasksthemselves wereapparently closelydefined, they ... although full werenotnormally Mostreligious assignedto specialist timepractitioners. in theworldcombinedpriestly dutieswithotheroccupations. Thiswas officials thecase at all levelsof society:peasantfarmers or blacksmiths, say,mightplay theirpartas flute themajormagistrates ofthestate playersorritualwatercarriers; wouldalso function as priestsof themajordeities.In thissensepriestly power was strikingly itwas embeddedwithinthesocial andpolitical undifferentiated; order.6

Cettedernibre constatation doitretenir toutenotreattention, puisqu'elle il une fois de combien est montre, plus, dangereuxd'appliquernos ' sansavoirune cat6gories conceptuelles d'autresr6alit6sculturelles, i consciencehistorique meme en visant att6nuer les effets de ad6quate, l'ethnocentrisme. ' L'histoiredes recherches ce sujetoffreun bon 6chantillon des la etdes 6checsd'unecertaine a eu erreurs scholarship qui pr6tension en arriereet en d'6crireune "histoire"du sacerdoceen projetant dehorsde notreculture cettecat6gorie avec des butsplus conceptuelle ou moinsconsciemment 6volutionnistes. d'un S'agissantpr6cis6ment domainede recherche sans doute meme dans d'autres, plus que oi~, il fautla plus grandeattention et une extreme prudenceafind'6viter il vautla les risquesde l'ethnocentrisme etdes d6finitions pr6conques, surcetaspectdu probleme. peinede s'arreter brievement 5 Beardet North1990:2.Une 6valuationcritiquede cet ouvrageet une miseau pointde certainesquestionsli6es a la notionde "sacerdoce"dans le mondeancien dansTtibingen WorkGroup1993. 6 BeardetNorth1990:3. Italiquesmiens.

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le "sacerdoce,"on est confront6 a une bibliographie Concernant richepourle mondeh6braique assezlimit6e, maisrelativement g6n6rale ainsique pourd'autresreligionsanciennes(Grace,Rome) etchr6tien, avecquelquesmonographies etorientales (ProcheetExtreme-Orient), et des travauxsp6cifiquessur des themesplus ou moinsrestreints Face a ces 6tudesd'orientations et/oudes personnages particuliers. le nombrelimit6 ce le diff6rentes,qui frappe plus,c'est pr6cis6ment consacr6s'a la probl6matique d'ouvragesd'ensembleexplicitement recherche surle d6veloppedu c'est-a-dire a la historique sacerdoce, "sacerdotales" dans les menthistorique des formeset des fonctions diff6rentes culturesen rapportavec leurstructure 6conomique, poli' isoler cette et vise et sociale. On cat6gorie 'a la g6n6ralement tique traiter commesi elle avaitunstatut ontologique, m6ta-historique. ' les plusanciensetles monographies Mis partles travaux sp6cialiceux d'Edwin0. s6es,les nomsqui reviennent toujourssontsurtout James(1955) etde L6opoldSabourin(1973),7auteurs d'ouvragessans maisdontlesr6sultats sur aucundouteremarquables parleur6rudition, a de le planproprement sont cause historique d6cevants, l'approche fondamentalement qu'ils adoptentet les a-priori ph6nom6nologique ce demierpoint, leursenquetes.Concernant ideologiquesqui inspirent chr6bienstirde la notionmoderne(occidentale, les auteurspartent le et en arriere dans tienne)de sacerdoceet la projetent temps dans l'espaceavecle but-plus ou moinsouvertement d6clar6--de"recon"histoire du sacerdoce"dansd'autrescultures, unepr6tendue struire" des r6ade ou lointaines nous, qui ontconnuou connaissent proches difficilement ou pas du toutcomparables sic et simlit6sdiff6rentes, la notion de avec pliciter d6part. Il s'agitbel etbiend'uneapprocheouvertement inspir6ed'uneviavec toutesles limiteset les d6fautsde m6thosion ethnocentrique, en g6n6ralet Le "sacerdoce"---consid6r6 de qui lui sontinh6rentes. et 6thiquement dansses aspectssocialement pluspositifs-est6valu6 7 Ce n'est pas du au hasards'ils sont les deux seuls ouvragescites dans la de 1'Encyclopedia de M. Eliade (cf. Oxtoby de l'entr6e"Priesthood" bibliographie 1987).

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commeuneinstitution connueparl'homme(plusou moinsconsciemdonton peutsuivregrossomodole d6veloppement)depuistoujours, mentlin6aire:'a partirde ses formesprimordiales, et imparfaites chez les peuplesprimitifs (dans ce cas, les guillemets "grossibres" ses sont omis d61ib6r6ment), manifestations jusqu'd toujoursplus les peu"6volu6es"au furet a mesurequ'on prenden consid6ration du en "civilis6es" monde au Proche-Orient ancien, particulier plesplus les cultures traditionnellement (Egypte,M6sopotamie, Syro-Palestine: l'Ancien En si Testament). d6finitive,l'on suitcetteaprapport6es aI proche,le sacerdocetrouveson expressionla plus accompliedans le mondeh6braiquequi, 'a son tour,repr6sente directde l'ant6c6dent de pretre(en tantque figure divine),celle de l'uniquefigure parfaite J6sus-Christ post6rieure. qui sertde moduleid6alaitouteexp6rience il fautencoreunefoisremarquer Surle planm6thodologique, que la ph6nom6nologie religieusefaitbien stirappel 'a la comparaison, maisexclusivement afinde d6terminer ce qu'il y a de communentre les diversesculturesqui puisse8trerapport6 a notreconceptde sacerdoce.Au lieu de valoriser la dimension des originaleet sp6cifique une chim6rique faitsdans la r6alit6historique, on essaie d'atteindre du sacerdoce dans les diverses le pluspecivilisations, "quintessence" titcommun d6nominateur touteslesexp6riences parquicaract6riserait il en r6sulte un tableau abstrait et inexistant dans la r6alit6, ticulibres: et quinenousapprend pas grandchose.De la sorte,onperdtotalement de vue faits la des irr6m6diablement humaine, signification historique la rechercheet aianalyser puisqu'on renonce'al'avance 'acontextualiser

de montrer les diff6rences la dimension qui, seules,sontsusceptibles de l'originalit6. il est6videmment Du pointde vueop6rationnel, imposparailleurs, siblede ne pas se fonder, dansce typede recherche, surl'exp6rience que nous avons du sacerdoceet la notionqui en d6coule.II faut n6anmoins 6tretoujoursconscientd'avoiraffaire'a une id6e-guide, et nonpas a un outilconceptuelde travailproduitpar nous-memes, et L'histoire absolu valable. des reli6ternellement un A. parambtre gionsconnaitdu resteplusieurscas analogues,parmilesquelson rappellerala recherche qui portesurla "magie"ou surle mythe, que

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l'on peut6galementmeneren partantd'une d6finition conventionnelle 'a v6rifier Sur un plan plus g6n6ral, chaquefoissurle terrain. il s'agit ici de la dialectiqueentrece que l'on appelleles pointsde vue "emic"et "etic,"une questionbienconnueen anthropologie et dansles sciencessociales,maisqui nejouitmalheureusement de pas la memepopularit6 de l'Altertumswissenschaft parmiles sp6cialistes ou de l'Orientalisme.8 Dans le cas du sacerdoce,en particulier, on souligneradavantage a un affaire terme et un que l'on 'a gA conceptqui ne peuvent6tre utilis6ssansuneconsciencehistorique etcritique ad6quate.Surle plan tres op6rationnel, l'on constateune oscillationentredes d6finitions d6taill6es etponctuelles du sacerdoce,impossibles comme aiappliquer ou bas6essurdescritbres et telles,9etd'autrestropg6n6rales subjectifs comme ex. la des de la approximatifs, p. typologie sp6cialistes religion Joachim avec les 10classesfond6es surle charisme Wach, par 61labor6e individuel.10 WillardG. Oxtobya parailleursremarqu6 que a justetitre le mot"Priesthood," commed'autrestermes/concepts de signification et d'6tymologie estsouvent"pressedintoserviceforthe occidentales, of a rangeof phenomenaworldwide.""Si l'on emploie description le terme"pretre" dansun senscross-cultural, en effet, ".. . a priestis fororon behalfofa community. anyreligiousspecialistactingritually Witha termusedin so broadandflexible generalsense,one excludes littlefromthecategory."12 ausside fonder la d6finition du sacerdocesurdeux Oxtobyproposait criteresseulement: au serviced'une com'a savoir,la sp6cialisation et "Whenbothof these l'activit6sacrificielle: munaut6/congr6gation ' 8 Cf. entreautresles diff6rentes contributions (dues MarvinHarris,ThomasN. L. Pike,etd'autres)dansHeadland1990etaussidans Headland,JamesLett,Kenneth McCutcheon1999. 9 Cf. le cas des 18 616ments le sacerdoceselonHonigsheim qui caract6riseraient 1961. 10Wach 1944:331ss. Voir les remarquescritiquesde Riipke dernibrement 1996:241-245. 1 Oxtoby1987:529.Cf.aussiNeumann1998. 12 Oxtoby1987:529.

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in a strictor narrowsense."13 factorsarepresent, we havepriesthood en adoptantces deux seuls parametres, on rencontre de Cependant, nombreuses difficult6s identifier les dans autres cultures (meme pour cellesqui sonttresprochesde nous)despretres le titre". C'est plein "a du monde et de certains courants du Chriscas, p.ex., juif protestants tianisme. Le sacerdoceh6braYque, commechacunsait,146tait6troitementli6 qui ne se d6roulait que dansun seul ea l'activit6sacrificielle lieu sacr6.Le destruction du Templeeut pourcons6quencela tendance'a la disparition de cetteinstitution, remplac6epar une classe de "maitres", de la tradition (rabbins),d6pourvus sages d6positaires de pr6rogatives sacerdotales strictosensu.En milieuprotestant, par le est selon 8tre huailleurs, principe largement r6pandu lequelchaque mainpeutrevetir la fonction sacerdotale etinterc6der personnel 'a titre de Dieu. trouve-t-on dans ce cas le exclusifavec le aupris Oi~ rapport de la divinit6, la fonction sacrifisacr6,le r6lereprdsentatif vis-ha-vis cielle? si L'approximation conceptuelle peutdiminuerconsid6rablement l'on essaie d'6tablirdes paramitres d'analysemoinsambiguset des coh6rents la recherche. Une voie plus qui puissentorienter critbres la spdcialiprometteuse 'a suivre,entreautres,consiste'a distinguer de la fonctioncultuelle.La premibre, sationprofessionnelle en partides diff6rents contextes culier,doit6tre6tudi6ed'abordAl'int6rieur ensuiteles r6sultatsde la historiqueset culturels,en soumettant recherche la De historique. ce dernierpointde vue, 'a comparaison on a pu constater que le processusde sp6cialisation professionnelle se r6aliseplus rapidement dans le domainede la religionque dans d'autresdomaines,sans doute'a cause (entreautres)du haut deles organisations gr6d'"id6ologisation" qui affecte religieuses.'5 J6rg a attir6 titre sur l'attention l'utilit6 Riipke heuristique d'analyser Ajuste

13Ib, 528. 14 Cf.entreautres Cody 1969;Olyan1985;Anderson1991;Nurmela1998. 15Voir Riipke1996:257.

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la figuredu sp6cialistede la religioncommeagentde contr1le'a l'int6rieur de diff6rents de symboles.16 systemes Du pointde vue comparatif, la double fonctionm6diatrice (et ou operaassum6eparfoispar les divers"pretres," transformatrice) cultuels,est aussi particulibrement Ils teurs/sp6cialistes remarquable. sontparfoisles repr6sentants des hommesaupresde la divinit6(oi, de toutefagon,auprisd'unpouvoirextra-ou surhumain) et,en meme lesporte-paroles) de cettederniere (ou parfois, temps,lesrepresentants des mortels. De la cultuel revet unr1ledialecsorte,l'operateur aupres en agistiqueentrele niveauhumainetle niveauextra-ou surhumain santau contactdes deux,maisdansunesortede troisieme dimension, autonome et'a deuxvoies. A ce sujet,J6rgRiipkeencorea exprim6 desreservessurl'utilit6 de du de "m6diation" la tradition chr6(redevable l'application concept 'a etreanalys6es tienne)dansles 6tudessurles religions, qui devraient as of social actions more attention tothecogor,paying "only systems nitivedimension, as systems ofsymbols."17 II observeencoreque "the in describing suitableparameter religiousspecialistcannotbe theinof therelationship betweenthe 'mediator'and a trascendentensity taldeity."'8 si d'unerelation homme/divinit6 Or, l'intensit6 (avec tous les problemes un critere d6riv6s)ne peut6videmment pas representer et si la inscientifique perspective d'interpretation socio-symbolique diqu6epar Riipkedans son excellentarticleme sembledignede la plus grandeattention, j'estimepar contreque l'aspectde la "mediation"doit tre6galement gardecommeun possiblepointde repere, surtout danssa dimension exactement commec'est sur fonctionnelle, le planfonctionnel se situe de de l'6tude l'action que contr1le exerc~e meneeparRiipkelui-meme. parles specialistes religieux Un autremoyenpouretudierhistoriquement etmorphologiquement cettefigure dansles diversesreligionsconsisteencorel'avaluer par A fonctionnelle d'autres Dario entre Sabbatucci, opposition figures. 'a 16Ib. 17Ib.,246. 18Ib.

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insist6surl'opposition entresujetmythique autres,a particulierement et opdrateur une perspective de recherche rituel,en adoptant qui est sansaucundouteplusind6pendante de la notionmoderne fond6esurla dichotomie La r6duction d'unph6nomine laic/cl6rical (ou religieux).19 comme la fonction dite sacerdotale une complexe simpleopposition 'a entrespheremythique et sphererituelle20 le danger entraine pourtant d'uneg6n6ralisation arbitraire de vider de son la recherche qui risque dansles cas ottla mythologie contenu, joue un r6le particulibrement mineurou bien n'existecarr6ment est vrai,par ailleurs,que pas. Il le "sacerdoce"apparaitcommeet tend'a devenirune institution dans les cas ottil apparaitcommele d6veloppement des figures historique rituels des dans soci6t6s d'op6rateurs quiagissent "pr6-monarchiques", des soci6t6squi ne connaissent (au pas (encore)la royaut6 c'est-ha-dire sensg6n6raldu terme).Au furet ai mesurequ'une soci6t6se hi6rarcellede "pretre" chise,les sp6cialisations (touapparaissent, ycompris sens dans un L'on en conventionnel). peutajouter, passant,qu'il jours ne s'agit pas toujoursd'une classe improductive 6conomiquement, commeon le litsouvent(uneautred6formation d6riv6ede historique Quant'a la royaut6, l'histoirenousmontre l'optiqueethnocentrique). le clairement souverain est en que g6n6ral(commec'est souventle cas au Proche-Orient rituelparexcellenceet les ancien)21 l'op6rateur ne des sont fontionnaires que parle roi,d6tenteurs "pr6tres" d616gu6s de pouvoirsetde fonctions diversifi6es. Il est de toutefaqon6videntque les notionsde "sacerdoce"et de "pretre" restent ambigueset soumises'a des oscillationsde sens, surtoutsi l'on d6pendd'une d6finition troprigidetir6ede notre culturelle. donn6 les Etant attribu6es aux exp6rience que pr6rogatives dansune memepersonneou bien "pr6tres" peuvent6treconcentr6es entre il fautexaminer defacto partag6es plusieurs figures, pourchaque culturela terminologie (le point adopt6eet les fonctions particulibres 19Sabbatucci 1987:141ss.: "Glioperatori rituali". 20Sanscompter destermes tir6s d'autres cultures quedansce casaussion

emploie etlangues, avectouslesrisques dontonvient deparler. 21 Cf.

p. ex. Labat 1939;Engnell1967.

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de vue "emic") exerc6espar les diff6rents personnages qu'on peut de notrepretre.C'est ce que je me proposede faireici, rapprocher en exposantbrievement le cas de la religionsyrienne 'a la findu IIHme mill6naire. Ce choixs'explique,entreautres,par le faitqu'il s'agit d'une aire culturelle parfoisn6glig6epar rapport, p. ex., "al'1 gypte ou la M6sopotamie,22 mais qui rev~tn6anmoinsune importance aussibienen raisonde ses coordonn6es et particulibre g6ographiques a exerc6 sur la tradition l'influence chronologiques, que par qu'elle jud60-chr6tienne 'ades 6poquespost6rieures.23 Le cas sp6cifiqueque je soumets'a l'attention est celui d'Ugarit, afinde verifier dansunrapidecase studyla presencede fonctions que comme leur les manieres dont 1'onpeutd6finir "sacerdotales," nature, ces fonctions sontconcentr6es et/oupartag6espar des personnages particuliers. Chacunsaitque ce sontsurtout les textesde Ras Shamraqui nous la plupartdes informations surla culturesyrienne foumissent 'a la fin du BronzeR6cent(XIVe-XIIe sieclesav. J.C.),en nousrenseignant sur le pantheon,la mythologie, le systhme rituel,ainsi que sur la structure et de ce politique socio-6conomique petitroyaume, qui peut etreconsid6r6commeembl6matique de la situationde l'aire syropalestinienne Acette6poque. On y trouveunpantheon bienstructur6, unesoci6t6arpolyth6iste avec au centre le une 6conomie dont le coeur estrepr6sent6 roi, ticul6e cenIl s'agitd'un v6ritable par le palais royalet son organisation.24 treproductif, aux niveauxstrat6gique et op6rationnel, dans la install6 des communaut6s ville,'a c6t6duquelexistent villageoisesapparemmentautonomes, mais de faitd6pendantes de l'autorit6centralede 22 Cf.McEwan

dansQuaegebeur1993etWatanabe1999, 1981,les 6tudesrecueillis ainsique l'excellenteanalysede Renger1967-69. 23 Un exemple-parmiles autres-particulibrement de l'influence frappant que les traditions onteu surle milieujud6o-chr6tien tardiveest syriennes pendantl'antiquit6 des NaassenesparLancellotti 2000. fourni parl'6tuded6taill6ede la sectegnostique 24 Heltzer1982.

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presquetousles pointsde vue.En ce qui concerneles templesurbains et les sanctuaires une certaine ruraux,ils avaientvraisemblablement autonomie administrative le avait le droit (p. ex., personnel d'accepter les offrandes), maisils restaient les templesde la ville) (sp6cialement dansl'organisation rigoureusement int6gr6s palatinequi leurfournissaitla base de la subsistance et la plupartdes "matibres premieres" exercer leur activit6. pour La premiere remarque peut-&tre 'afaire,surce point,uneremarque le roi c'est que 6vidente, d'Ugarit6taitle centreet la sourcede tous les pouvoirs, dupouvoir"religieux." Premier y compris parmiles mordes hommesauprbsdes dieux,il interc6dait tels,il 6taitle repr6sentant le bien-6tre de ses de son royaume. pour sujetset pourla prosp6rit6 Sa positionAl'int6rieur du culte6taitprimordiale. Le souverainparcomme acteur la des ticipait principal'a plupart rites,dontun certain nombrese d6roulait memedu palaisroyalet 6taitc616br6 Al'int6rieur en l'honneur desdieuxtut61aires de la dynastie. Sa participation n'6tait abpas exclusivement passive,puisqu'il6taitsouventle protagoniste solu des c6r6monies et 6tait,entreautres,soumis'ades ritesde "cons6cration" le passagedu qui marquaient (hl) et de "d6sacralisation"25 au temps"sacr6".Les nombreux textes'acaractere rituel tempsprofane attestent sa dans toutes les c6r6qu'on possede26 pr6sence presque monies(au moins,les c6r6monies publiques),tandisqu'ils ne mentionnent des (khnm)ou d'autresop6rateurs presquejamais "pretres" cultuelsdansle d6roulement des rites.27 Aussila reineet les "filsdu ce terme l'on aussi bien les enfants du souverain roi"(par d6signe que les membres, au senslarge,de la familleroyale)participaient-ils au surtout dans le cadre des rites et de fertilit6. Last culte, dynastiques butnotleast,le roid'Ugarit6taitsoumis'a un processusde divinisa25I1s'agitbienstird'unetraduction approximative. 26Xella 1981;Pardee2000. 27Sura peu prbsun centainede documents concernent le culte,les "pretres" qui ne sontmentionn6s dans une conjuration que dans un seul cas, pr6cis6ment pour neutraliser la morsure venimeuse des serpents (KTU 1.107:47,partiellement restitu6).

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dugroupedesRapition28 de la sortemembre apressa mortetdevenait des analogies uma,les ancetres puissantsetb6n6fiques qui pr6sentent fonctionnel-avec les h6ros le et frappantes-sur planmorphologique grecs.29 Les textesmythologiques confirment par ailleurscettesituation. Les deuxroisprototypiques KirtaetDanilu,30 qui y sontmentionn6s, en 6troitcontactavec les dieux(en particulier Ilu et sont6galement Ils accomplissent Baal) commeinterlocuteurs aim6set privil6gi6s. des exorcismes, des ritessacrificiels, et president surtout divinatoires, au banquetsacrificielappel6 dabhu, auquel les dieux, les esprits des ancetreset les hommesparticipent ensemble.31 I1 s'agit d'une dont la fonction fondamentale, d'importance (qui nousest c6r6monie 6taitde "fairedescendre" les dieuxdu ciel en parles mythes) rev616e les attirant le des de offrandes et par parfum permettre parconsequent la c616bration du repascommunautaire et le contactentreles deux spheres. ' Sans que l'on puisseparlerde sacralkingship proprement parler, du roi d'Ugaritdans tousles aspects on constatedonc la centralit6 du culte.32Il est en effetune sortede "dieu mineur," une qualit6 dansles rites,oii le qui rendbiencomptede sa pr6senced6bordante du culte ne semble apparemment jouer aucunr81e.Il est personnel bien clairque le r81edu souverain6taiten memetemps n6anmoins il d616gait etque,parconsequent, la plupart de hautement symbolique ses fonctions rituelles des plus "op6rationnelles" 'adiverspersonnages, aux de la du importants plushumbles, hi6rarchie royaume. 28 L'on peutdiscutersur l'emploides mots,mais il est certainque le rangdes

celui des autresmorts,il suffit souverainsd6funts de rappeler d6passaitlargement des le les noms 6tait 6crit avec d6terminatif divin. que dynastes 29MerloetXella 2001. 30Ces deux personnages commeroisd'Ugarit, n'apparaissent pas explicitement maisil repr6sentaient des modelesid6alsde souverains. assur6ment 31Le texteKTU 1.91 mentionne une longues6ried'occasionsrituellesoi~ l'on la participation du roi,toutescaract6ris6es parl'emploidu vin. pr6voit 32Del Olmo 1993.

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de faireappel aux textesadministratifs Il est indispensable pour v6rifier l'existenced'un personnelcharg6du cultedans tousses aset ses taches,vu le typede docupects,tandisque son articulation doivent6treprudemment d6duitesdes informations ments, laconiques ne nous nous sont Ces textes renseignent que rarement, parvenues. qui en nousconfinant souventau niveau6typ. ex.,surleursp6cialisation, mologique. r6velequ'il existe administrative et 6conomique La documentation se rapportent i ou indirectement, unes6riede termesqui,directement on cultuels.Sans vouloiranticiper ici mesconclusions, des op6rateurs conventionnelle constater d'embl6equ'unedistinction peutn6anmoins des devoirsetdes fonctions n'estpresquejamaispossible. khn(ug. khn,a vocaliser Le termes6mitique classiquepourpr&tre, est bien attest6 dans les textes d'Ugaritet il sembleque kdhinu) stir dansunecertaine mesureh6r6ditaire. Les khnm(dont cettechargeffit constituaient on connaitaussile correspondant akkadien,lusanguaime) une corporation ou groupeprofessionnel (un "college"ou "famille" de pretres, dr khnm,est attest6edans le texteKTU 4.375:24) qui, commetousles autres,civilsou militaires (donc,touta fait"laics," du selonnotre6valuation), faisaitpartie personnel royal,les "gensdu roi."33 On a calcul6qu'il y avait,dansla capitaleduroyaume d'Ugarit, "chef" de sous la direction d'un une khnm, quarantaine peu a pres nomm6 le roi. chef des 6tait assur6ment Ce (rb khnm), par pretres un les plus influents du royaumeet son autorit6 des personnages n'6tait celle du roi et du du inf6rieure "gouverneur pays" (akkadien: qu'a' estd6fini sdkinmatti), (un chefdes pretres qu'il appelle"monfrbre" "le sukallu,le surintendant des pretres"). dontle nom6taitHurasanu6taitun personUn "chefdes pretres" dont surl'acropolede la nage tresimportant, la maisonse trouvait auxdieuxBaal etDagan.On sait ville,entreles deuxtemplesattribu6s

33Ug. bn' mlk,akk.ardemeSsarri.On leurattribuait rationsalimentaires etchamps des archers a cultiver. Un texteindiqueaussiqu'ils 6taient tenusa fournir pourla garde royale.

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etavaitrequ qu'il 6taittresriche,poss6daitd'autresbiensimmobiliers du roila permission des terres.34 d'exploiter On a la chancede connaetre le nometles titres d'unautre"chefdes au terme desmythes d'Ugaritgraceauxcolophonsqui figurent pr~tres" de Baal: c'estuneindicepr6cieux les pour renseignements qu'on peut en tirer.Il s'agitdu c61"brescribeIli-malku, d'un sage 61"ve appel6 la plupartdes textesmythologiques de Attenu,celui qui a transcrit Ras Shamra.Voicila traduction de la versionla pluslongueet la plus du 1.6 VI 54-58): complete colophon(KTU le Shubanite, a 6crit, leDevin,35 chef(56) d'Attenu, (54)Ili-malku, (55)disciple des"pretres," chefdes"pasteurs", deNiqmaddu, roid'Ugarit, (57)c616brant (58) deYargabu, de maitre Tharmanu. seigneur

Meme si les sp6cialistes ne s'accordentgubresurla traduction de ' ' sur1'attribution destitres Attenu ou mots,etenparticulier plusieurs le sensg6n6ral estclair.Personellement, le texte Ili-malku, j'interprete dansle sensqu'Attenu6taitseulement le maitred'Ili-malkuqui,a son seulement de tradition n'6tait l'autorit6 tour, pas supremeen matibre le scribeauteurde la r6daction des textes mythologique-c'est-a-dire, les du de Baal"-mais aussi mythologiques plus significatifs "cycle un devinet le titulaire des autreschargesmentionn6es parle texte.II 6taitvraisemblablement "chefdes pretres"et "chefdes pasteurs"et avaitaussila fonction de "c616brant" (termequi traduit l'ugar.t'y),sur toutde suite. laquelleje vaisrevenir En ce qui concernele titrede "chefdes pasteurs"(rb nqdm,akk. commebeaucoup naqidu),il doit s'agir d'un groupeprofessionnel d'autres(les nqdmappartiennent, commeles khnm,au personnel administratifs ne donnent royal):les documents pas l'impression que a affaire a une La est l'on corporation religieuse. question pourtant plus compliqu6equ'il n'y parait,puisqu'onconnaitun autretermepour c'est-a-dire entrece dernier etle "pasteur," r'y(*re'u)etla distinction 34Lipinski1988:126-131. ' 35Surcettetraduction du motprln(hourrite pu-ru-lu-ni) qui correspondHAL et r dansles listeslexicales,cf.vanSoldt1989. bard

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nqdn'estpas ais6e.S'agissant,dansnotrecolophon,d'untitreattribu6 a quelqu'unqui est en memetemps"chefdes pr&tres," un soupcon subsisteque nqd puisse(aussi) 8treune d6signation a peu religieuse, le pape, pris semblablea celle de "pasteur"employ6epourd6signer les 6veques,etc.Il n'estpas exclu,parailleurs,que les nqdmfussent des troupeaux des "vrais" et,commetels,les contrOleurs responsables pasteurs.36 Le textequi nous int6resse attribue encoreau scribeIli-malkule titrede tcy,un termetraduit ici par "c616brant," dontla signification La savanteam6ricaine pr6cisea 6t6tir6eau clairparDonnaF. Freilich. d'une manieretouta faitconvaincante, a montr6, que le tjy 6tait whoanswereddirectly to theking,andwas "(...) a religiousofficial associatedwithhimin theperformance of certainrites.The tjywas a manof highdegreewhocouldholdotherreligiousofficesas well, suchas prln,rbkhnm, and rb nqdm.In thecase of Ili-malkuhe was also an accomplishedscribe."37 L'on ajouteraqu'une des fonctions du t'yestbienillustr6e parun texted'exorcisme(KTU 1.169),ouice termed6signepr6cis6ment le c616brant charg6d'expulserles "mauvais esprits"du corpsdu malade. Si l'on consideretoutesces donn6es,il est6videntque la personne 6taitd6positaire d'unpouvoirconsid6rable etqu'il exergait d'Ili-malku une activit6de contrOlesur le restedu personnelet sur l'activit6 Son activit6 m6diatrice estclairement attest6e religieuse. parle rapport entrele roiet les sujets,d'unepart,et la fonction de t!yqui opre en ' des fiddles. contactavecles dieux faveur Un autredevindontl'identit6 estconnueportele nomd'Agaptharri: il vivaitdans une maisonsitu6eau sud de l'acropole.Sa r6sidence abritait une bibliotheque sp6cialis6e,oij l'on a mis au jour plusieurs textesinscrits surdes modulesde foieet de poumon.Pourlui aussi, 36Lipinski1988:132.Le templeaurait directement car les pasteurs 6t6int6ress6 les ovinspourl'alimentation en plus d'autres devaientlui fournir et les sacrifices, de leuractivit6. produits 37Freilich1992:25, aussi pour le problemede la correspondance entrety et SUKKAL (cf.aussivanSoldt1989).

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il existediversindicesqui parlenten faveurde son hautrangetde sa puissance6conomique.38 D'autrespersonnesde la soci6t6ugaritique doiventencoreretenir notreattention, qui peuventtousse rattacher plus ou moinsdirectementa la spheredu culteet a l'activit6religieuseen g6n6ral.Il s'agit en particulier des qd'm, motd6riv6de la racine*qd? qui renvoie au "sacr6"39en plusieurslanguess6mitiques. Exactement commeles la cat6gorie des qdim6taitunecorporation a l'int6rieur du perkhnm, sonnelroyaledontla fonction se transmettait de probablement pereen fils.En d6pitde son6tymologie etde certaines acceptions particulibres ce a Ugarit,ne d6signeparsp6cialement (M6sopotamie, Israel), terme, des "prostitu6(e)s sacr6(e)s,"maisunefonction religieusequ'on n'est en mesure de indices d'une avec le pas pr6ciser(les correspondance devinm6sopotamien sont assez bardi faibles). appel6 Pourconclure,il fautencorerapidement rappelerd'autrestermes sont de retenir notre attention dans le cadre de qui susceptibles cetteenquete,commele mlhi,un "charmeur" de serpents (mentionn6 dans l'enchantement KTU 1.100),le "chanteur" akk. le (yr, lundru), au "purificateur" (mhll),le trmn(d6signation possibledu participant sans d'autres de repas cultuel), compter cat6gories personnelplus humbles,commele "joueurde cymbale"(msl),1'"approvisionneur d'eau du sanctuaire" et (fibmqdct),les esclavesattach6saux temples, ' d'autresencoreplusdifficilesidentifier avecpr6cision,40 sansoublier enfinle rb mrzhqui 6taitvraisemblablement une chargehonorifique les r6unions de l'associationreligieuse assign6ea celui qui pr6sidait centr6e sur les la mrzh, appel6epr6cis6ment repascommunautaires, consommation rituelle du vinetle cultedes morts.41 Toutbienpes6,le tableauqui ressort de cetexpos6ne permet pas de dans la documentation des coordonn6es de rep6rer, syrienne antique, classement a nosnotionsde "pretre" et qui correspondent pr6cis6ment 38 Lipinski1988:137. 39Cf.Xella 1982. 40crb,hdrgl,etc.Cf.en g6n6ral Heltzer1982:131ss. 41Voiren dernier lieuMcLaughlin1991.

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de "sacerdoce." Vuel'inexistence-gubre dureste--d'une surprenante distinction indigeneentrela spherede la religionetd'autresdomaines recherche (une qui restea faire),il en r6sulteque les pouvoirset les fonctions de cette"typologie" sontr6partis selonuneoptiqueoriginale, ses suit et est bien loinde comprendre dans qui proprescritbres qu'on toutesa complexit6. Une foisde plus,les donn6esconcernant unecivilisation diff6rente de la nOtre, peu importesi celle-ciest ancienneou moderne-mais ce dans cas trisprochede nous,elle se trouve8trem6diterran6enne ' et peineant6rieure au mondeh6brafque-nese laissentpas r6duire a notred6finition, r6affirmant de cette vigoureusement l'originalit6 culturelle. (chaque)exp6rience Ceci dit,rienn'empachebienstird'y d6celerdes aspectsetdes ten' dancesinspiratrices, de contribuerune6tuded'ensemble susceptibles d'un ph6nomine dontla "d6finition" ne doitnousservirque comme orientation Toute autre g6n6rale. approchequi ignoreles dangersde etdes a priorisid6ologiques-ilfauten 8tretoujours l'ethnocentrisme bien conscient-neseraitqu'une violenceexerc6esur l'histoireet, commetelle,d6pourvue de toutesignification pourl'6tudescientifique des religions. Si, en 1843, BenjaminWinchester pouvaitencorese permettre A history d'6crireunlivreintitul6 ofthepriesthood fromthebeginning the to world the il time a a et, of present y peine30 ans,JamesA. ' encore rechercher The originand evolutionof Mohlerse mettait thepriesthood, des l'historien religionsd'aujourd'huine doitjamais anti-r6ductionnistes manquerd'&trevigilantet c6deraux tentations comme des au chant se sans cesse sirines fascinant, proposent qui, le masquede l'exigenced'un dialogueinter-disciplinaire derriere et d'id6auxcecum6niques.42 Les religionsdu mondeantique,par cons6quent, parfoisoubli6es au des mouvements actuels etdesenquetes aujourd'hui profit religieux 42Voirles remarques assezpol6miques maisfondamentalement justesde Fitzgerald 1997surl"'ideologicalconstruction" dansles etudessurla/lesreligion/s.

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sontaussi susceptid'anthropologie religieusemen6essurle terrain, bles d'offrir un domainede recherche f6condpourles historiens des des l'utilisation d'une L'6tude religions religions. antiquessuppose apavec celle des sp6cialprochequi ne peutcoincidersic et simpliciter istesdes religionsencoreanalysablesdirectement et montre, en tout d'une m6thodehistoriquement cas, que, gracea l'utilisation fond6e, soutenuepar la "bonne"philologiedontparlaitKurtRudolph43 et en 6tanttoujoursattentive aux pieges de l'6ternelledialectiqueinde r6sultats nouveauxet scientifiquement l'obtention sider/outsider, valablesdansce domainen'estpas unechimbre. Via ValleScrivia37 1-00141Rome,Italie [email protected]

PAOLOXELLA

BIBLIOGRAPHIE ET ABREVIATIONS Anderson, GaryA. 1991 Priesthoodand Cultin AncientIsrael. (Journal for theStudyof theOld Testament: Series Sheffield: Sheffield AcademicPress. 125). Supplement et John North Beard,Mary 1990 (ed.) PaganPriests:ReligionandPowerintheAncientWorld.Ithaca,New York:CornellUniversity Press. Bianchi,Ugo 1994 (ed.) TheNotionof "Religion"in Comparative Research.SelectedProthe XVIth Rome 3rd-8thSeptember1990. ceedingsof IAHR-Congress, Roma:L'"Erma"di Bretschneider. Cody,Aelred 1969A History Priesthood. Roma:Pontifical BiblicalInstitute. ofOld Testament Del OlmoLete,Gregorio 1993 "RoyalAspectsoftheUgariticCult."Dans Quaegebeur1993:51-66. Engnell,Ivan 1967 Studiesin DivineKingshipin theAncientNear East. 2`me6d. Oxford: Blackwell. 43Rudolph1985:28(c'est unephilologieau senselargedu mot,un motutilis6"to denotethescholarly on a people'sculture"d'apresses sources). investigation

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Timothy Fitzgerald, 1997 "A Critiqueof 'Religion' as a Cross-Cultural Category."Methodand TheoryintheStudyofReligion9:91-110. DonnaF Freilich, 1992 "Ili-Malkutheity."Studiepigrafici e linguistici sul VicinoOrienteantico 9:21-26. Geertz,ArminetRussellT. McCutcheon 2000 (ed.) Perspectiveson Methodand Theoryin the Studyof Religion. (= Methodand Theoryin theStudyofReligion12.) Leiden-Boston-Kiln: Brill. Headland,ThomasN. etal. 1990 (6ds.)Emicsand Etics: TheInsider/Outsider Debate.Newbury Park,CA: Sage. Heltzer,Michael 1982 TheInternalOrganization oftheKingdomof Ugarit.Wiesbaden:Dr.LudwigReichert Verlag. Paul Honigsheim, 1961 "Priestertum.I. Die Religionin Geschichteund Religionsgeschichtlich." MohrSiebeck,5:570-574. 3"me6d.Tiibingen: Gegenwart, James,EdwinOliver 1955 TheNatureand FunctionofPriesthood. London:Thames& Hudson. KTU Manfried OswaldLoretzetJoaquinSanmartin. TheCuneiform Dietrich, AlphabeticTexts fromUgarit,Ras Ibn Hani and OtherPlaces. Miinster: Ugarit Verlag1995. Labat,Ren6 1939 Le caracterereligieux de la royautd Paris:Librairie assyro-babylonienne. et d'Orient. d'Amerique MariaGrazia Lancellotti, 2000 TheNaassenes:A GnosticIdentity Classical AmongJudaism, Christianity, andAncient NearEasternTraditions. Miinster: UgaritVerlag. Eduard Lipinski, 1988 "The Socio-Economic Condition oftheClergyintheKingdomofUgarit." Dans MichaelHeltzeretEduardLipinski(ed.),SocietyandEconomyinthe EasternMediterranean (c. 1500-1000B.C.). Leuven:Peeters. RussellT. McCutcheon, 1999 (ed.) The Insider/Outsider Problemin theStudyof Religion:A Reader. LondonetNewYork:Cassell.

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MacEwan,GilbertJ.P. 1981 Priestand Templein HellenisticBabylonia.(Freiburger Altorientalische Studien4.) Wiesbaden:Steiner. JohnL. McLaughlin, 1991 "The marzeahat Ugarit.A Textualand ContextualStudy."Ugarit23:265-281. Forschungen, Merlo,Paolo etPaolo Xella antecedenti vicino-orientali 2001 "Da ErwinRohdeai Rapiumaugaritici: degli MariaRocchiet Paolo Xella (ed.), La eroigreci?"Dans SergioRibichini, sulla religionegreca.Statodegli vicino-orientali questionedelle influenze studie prospettive della ricerca(Attidel Colloquiodi Roma,C.N.R.,20.22.5.1999).Roma:ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche,281-297. Mohler,JamesA. A Return totheSources.Staten 1970TheOriginandEvolution ofthePriesthood: Island,NY: AlbaHouse. Mouterde, Ren6 1962 "Les mots hiereus,sacerdos,et presbyteros, Milanges de presbyter." l'Universite 38:164-172. Saint-Joseph Johannes Neumann, Handbuchreligionswissenschaftlicher 1998 "Priester." Grundbegriffe, 6d. H. 4:342-344. Cancik,B. Gladigow,etM. Laubscher. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart: Nurmela,Risto GA: as a Second-ClassPriesthood. 1998TheLevites:TheirEmergence Atlanta, ScholarPress. Olyan,Saul M. 1985 Problemsin theHistoryof the Cult and Priesthoodin AncientIsrael. Diss. Mass.: HarvardUniversity Cambridge, WillardG. Oxtoby, An Overview."Dans The EncyclopediaofReligion,6d. M. 1987 "Priesthood. Eliade,New York:Macmillan,10:528-534. Pardee,Dennis surles Civilisations. 2000 Les textesrituelsI. Paris:EditionsRecherches HansH. etEdwardA. Yonan Penner, 1972 "Is a ScienceofReligionPossible?"TheJournalofReligion52:107-133. Jan Quaegebeur, Lovaniensia intheAncient NearEast. (Orientalia 1993(ed.),RitualandSacrifice Analecta51.) Leuven:Peeters.

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Johannes Renger, in deraltbabylonischen 1967-69 "Untersuchungen Zeit I-II." zum Priestertum 58:110-188,59:104-230. Zeitschriftfiir Assyriologie Rudolph,Kurt 1985HistoricalFundamentals andtheStudyofReligions.NewYork:Macmillan. Riipke,Jbirg 1996 "Controllers and Professionals: AnalyzingReligiousSpecialists."Numen 43:241-262. Dario Sabbatucci, 1951-52"Sacer."Studie materiali di storiadellereligioni 23:91-101. di storiadellereligioni. 1987Sommario Roma:BagattoLibri. 1988"KulturundReligion."DansHandbuchreligionswissenschaftlicher GrundB. et H. M. Laubscher. KohlhamCancik, begriffe, Gladigow Stuttgart: 6d. mer,1:43-58. Sabourin,L6opold A Comparative 1973Priesthood: Study.Leiden:Brill. H. VanSoldt,Wilfred 1989"'atnprln,'Atti/enu theDiviner."'Ugarit-Forschungen 21:365-368. Work Andreas et Bendlin, (= alii) Group Tiibingen inMediterranean 1993"Priesthood Religions."Numen40:82-94. Wach,Joachim ofChicagoPress. 1944SociologyofReligion.Chicago:University Kazuko Watanabe, 1999(ed.),Priestsand Officials in theAncient Near East: PapersoftheSecond in the Ancient Near East: The Colloquium Cityand Its Life,heldat the MiddleEasternCultureCentrum in Japan(Mitaka,Tokyo), March22-24, 1996.Heidelberg: Winter. Winchester, Benjamin 1843A History ofthePriesthood fromtheBeginning oftheWorldtothePresent Time.Philadelphia: Brown,Bicking& Guilbert. Xella,Paolo 1981I testiritualidi UgaritI. Roma:ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche. 1982 "QDS. Semanticadel 'sacro' a Ugarit."Materialilessicalied epigrafici I. Roma:ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche, 9-17.

THE VIRTUOSIC EXEGESIS OF THE BRAHMAVADINAND THE RABBI TIMOTHY LUBIN Summary theRabbinicand BrahDespitethevastspatialand theologicalgulfsseparating theirrespective intellectual ofanalogous maniccommunities, projectshavea number a setof interpretive stratefeatures. My discussionwill(1) outlineforeach tradition similarin approachandlogic.Then gies,showinghowthesetwosetsare strikingly I will(2) proposethattheseresemblances arenotentirely coincidental. Theylargely stemfroma similarviewof theobjectof study-Torahand thebiblicaltextforthe fortheBrahmins-aseternal, notof and itsverbalarticulation Rabbis,thesacrifice in form, thecriterion ofrightachumanauthorship, richin hiddenmeanings, perfect thesacredword,to tionand trueknowledge.The exegeteaimsto fullyinternalize it,and to uncoverwhatis hiddenin it.Thismuchof my perceivetheworldthrough thatregardthemselves as possessanalysismightalsobe applicabletoothertraditions these but(3) I arguethattherearefurther parallelshereinthedirection ingrevelation, Ineachtradition, theinterpreters contintraditions carriedtheirinterpretive enterprise. andinterpretation evenas thecentralrites ued tobuildan edificeofritualknowledge becausethecultbecameinaccessible wereeclipsedbyotherformsof piety:whether or becauseit (whentheTemplewas destroyed), (in theDiaspora)or unperformable lostpatronage (as appearstohavehappenedin India).In tandemwiththeshiftaway frompriestly eachtradition theidealofstudyforitsownsake,and sacrifice, promotes ofpriestly functions tothelearnedhouseholder. thetransfer

I. TheAimandParameters oftheComparison a typeof comparison whichis stillconsidered Thisessayattempts warns us that shouldaddressa "total J.Z. Smith comparison daring.' 1This despitethe precedentslatelyset by BarbaraHoldrege(1996) and the

collectedin Goodman1994. The researchforthispaperwas supported scholarship of IndianStudiesand the National funds providedby the AmericanInstitute by A briefversionof this forthe Humanities, forwhichI am grateful. Endowment of the American was at the annual Academyof Religionin meeting paper presented BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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ensemble"andnotjust"isolatedmotifs" lestwe succumbto"parallelomania."The modelhe offers forthissortofcomparison-namely his ownwork-is "a comparative within hisenterprise closelyadjacent orlinguistics units"(thereligions ofLateAntiquity).2 torical,cultural I will and Rabbinic Judaism late-Vedic Here, Brahmanism, compare at greatgeographic, traditions andtheological distancefrom cultural, I wouldjustifytheundertaking each other.Despitethisdisparity, by that it is not an that assortment of contextless noting just phenomena is buttwoinstances ofa complexhermeneutics viewed beingcompared, as itdevelopswithin their historical respective processes.Thus,thisestoexegesis,butseesthem saynotonlyoutlinestwosimilarapproaches within their contexts.3 Thus,although following analogoustrajectories I focusmainlyonexegetical ofthecomparison thevalidity approaches, Bothtradidependson a muchbroadersetof similarcircumstances. tions(a) arefoundedon thetraditions ofritualsacrifice (b) shapedby a hereditary a of elite;each(c) possesses body texts, priestly composed and compiledovera longperiod,(d) thatcometo be regarded as divineinorigin, andthat(e) arepartly concerned withritualmatters (this inbrahmana concernpredominates andTalmud, butmidrash literature devotesvastspace to theexpositionof non-legalscriptural topicsas In both these texts other data treated cases,(f) well). (or analogously) are subjectedto a complexformof patterned exegesis,(g) muchof whichcomesto be classifiedas revelation as well (viz.,Oral Torah, of exegesisand text-study becomesin sruti).Finally,(h) theactivity formofpiety(i) withitownritualformats, itselfan important and(j) whenthecentrality ofthesacrificial cultis calledintoquestiondue to in socialandpoliticalchanges(as Indiaduring theGangesurbanization ofthe6th-4th c. BCE, andin Hellenistic JudeaandRomanPalestine)

November1999.I havebenefited fromthecomments of thepanelorganizer, greatly BarbaraHoldrege,ofothermembers ofthepanel,LauriePatton, MichaelBerger, and FrancisX. Clooney,S.J.,andofmycolleagueRichardMarks. 2 In hisprefacetoMap Is NotTerritory (1978),ix. 3 Here,withSmith1978:xi,I use RobinsonandKoester's(1971) term.

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or is fullydestroyed ofthesecondTemple),this (withthedestruction thetradition. tradition providesa basisforrefocusing interpretive Thisabstract setofparallelsconcealsinnumerable differences large andsmall,butshouldnevertheless showan adequatebasisformaking ofjustwhatsortsof interpretive were a close comparison techniques developedand the directionin whichtheywere applied.My aim ofhermeneutic hereis to sketchtheoutlinesof a typology principles, and to observethattheywereappliedin broadlysimilarwaysunder in thetwotraditions.4 Since I do broadlycomparablecircumstances not knowHebrew,I will be relyingon publishedtranslations and and development of on severalexcellentanalysesof the structure in main will Rabbinicinterpretation. contribution be My correlating withtheBrahmanical theJudaicmaterial sources,whichI havestudied in somedepth.5So aftermakingsomepreliminary about observations andtext(partI), I willsketch attitudes to knowledge thesetraditions' ofrhetorical outa typology devicessharedbythem(partII), andthen 4 The comparison is compromised somewhat by thefactthatwe knowverylittle theVediccult.On the abouthow theGangesvalleyurbanization affected directly one hand,it is clearthatit emergedin an increasingly pastoralist sedentary society whereastherenunciant movements thataroseduring theperiod turned farmer-herders, of Magadhain theeast.If,as it seems, of urbanization beganin thenew city-states fromthevillage-based clanwarlords totheurban politicalandeconomicpowershifted relations ofpatronage andritualoffice kings,itis likelythatthetraditional, hereditary weredisrupted, anda newsetofpowersoffered betweenthechiefsandbrahmin priests in and aroundthenewtrading to thenewcharismatic holymenpreaching patronage centers. Thisis thepicturesuggested byErdosy(1988; andErdosyin Allchin1995). Yet the Brahmanicalsourcesgive no clear indicationsof such a rivalry, although it appears,forinstance,in theearly(yetnotcontemporary) Buddhistsources.So, althoughsomechangeis likelyto havetakenplace in thatperiod,it is notclearhow forthepriestly dramatic ordisruptive thedeclineofpatronage Vediccultreallywas.A motivation forchangemaysimplyhavebeena desireto accommodate within greater a widerrangeofpotential inVedic Brahmanism patrons byencouraging participation ritualobservance. andhome-based practicethrough Veda-study 5 The Indic sourcesare less well known,and tendto presentgreaterlinguistic whichjustifiesmy (or anywaythereis less consensusabouttheirmeaning), problems moreoftheoriginalwording. including

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theparallelvectorsalongwhichthesestrategies came to be identify transformed thespecialrole deployedas socialandpoliticalpressures in ofthepriestly cult,whichhadbecomea centralsubjectofreflection thetraditions (partIII). To compareexegeticaltechniques, we mustfirstascertainwhat thoseare in each case. On theJudaicside,I am thinking mainlyof in themidrash, or "investigation This itself is a very [ofscripture]." and vague" broadcategory; ShayeCohenhas deemedit so "slippery thathe prefersto use Englishtermsto denoteparticular kindsof Yet one of thoseterms,exegesis,seemshardlyless interpretation.6 broad.Midrashis exegesis,but it is a veryparticular sort.Cohen offers an irreverent definition: midrash is intentional misinterpretation. ofliteralor "obvious"reading(peshat)the Whilefromthestandpoint a surprising midrash oftenrepresents theprocessis notquite departure, it so arbitrary as Cohenmakes soundhere.No doubttherabbihad of derash(the considerablelatitudein his reading;yetthe activity searchfortheinnermeaningof scripture) as practised by theSages cameto followa discretesetofprinciples. Thesehavebeenexplained in morethanoneway. David Weiss Halivnihas arguedthatderashis the earliestand formof interpretation in Judaism.For him,it reflects the defining Judaicpreference for"justified law" ratherthanapodicticlaw-that is to say,theJewswantedto knowthereasonsand motivesbehind God's commands.This concernhe tracesback to theTorahitself, of "motiveclauses" ("for [ki] whereit appearsin the frequency ...," "that [lema'an]

..

.," "lest [pen] . . .," "therefore[al ken] ...").

Likewise,Michael Fishbanehas shownthatthe rootsof Rabbinic also arefoundin theBible.7Forexample,Jacob'sname interpretation is explainedinGen.25.26and27.36on thebasisofa "lexicalaffinity" (see below): "Andhis handhad takenhold of Esau's heel (Caqev); so theynamedhimJacob(Ya'aqov)," and "Is he notrightly named Jacob?For he has supplanted me (wayyaqeveni)thesetwo times." 6 Cohen1987:205,cf.204-213. 7 Fishbane1985,1989.

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The long periodduringwhichinterpretation was transmitted orally a periodof halakhicmidrash,thatis, was, in Halivni'sreckoning, thatappealedexplicitly to scripture forsupport. legal interpretation He sees theMishnah,a compilation by thetannaimof legal rulings without to and arranged reference by topic,as propounded scripture an aberration arisingfroman impulseto codifyJewishritualpractice of thesecondTemple,and thedislocations the following destruction of theBar Kochbarebellionand its suppression. Midrashicexegesis witharguments oftheamoraim, embodiedinthetwoTalmuds, returns is and theaggadicmidrashcollections.Thus,Rabbinicinterpretation to theBiblicaltext.The MidrashRabbahfollows orientedprimarily as a commentary oftheMishnah, thetextualorder,whiletheTalmud, is organized bysubject. is absentin theearliestVedicexegesisas repreSuch a distinction sentedinthegenredesignated brahmana,'thatwhichrelatestosacred in that the Vedic cameintobeingpreciselyas utterance,' "scriptures" and,in thecase of theYajurVeda collections compilations, liturgical in particular, followedtheorderof ritesin theVedicsystemof worbya medieval ship(yajiia).Thebrahmana genrecouldthusbe defined of a ritualact andofthemantras becommentator as "an explanation to For the of sacred brahmavadin it."8 texts),the (expounder longing oftheritualofworship, a Vedicmantras weretheauralmanifestation orientation for action. The first is of pious principle yajhia(ritual point saidtohavewon themeansbywhichthegodsarefrequently worship), theirplaceinheaven,andyajhiais oftentheprimary objectofinterprethereof. Thisis onesourceof tation:thewordsoftheVedaarea mirror between the two traditions. Where the rabbisoftheTalmud incongruity to a canonoftexts(to attaina deeperunalwaysaddressthemselves can allow the Jewto fulfill hispartofthecovenant), that derstanding and actionsditheearlybrahmavadins examinetheritualutterances of the enacted textsbeingjusttheaudiblehypostasis primordial rectly, in of later as the most formsof centuries, (However, practice mystery. ad Taittirtya 8BhattaBha-skara Samhita1.5.1;Gonda1975:340.

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Vedicritualceased,and theemphasisfellon recitation andcommentheVedawas increasing treated as a text.) tary, primarily ineffect Becauseofthisritualfocus,brahmana servesthecombined aimsof theMishnahwithits accompanying gemara:thelatercodes two in brahmana: the ritualinjunction (vidhi distinguish components or karma-vidhana) and itsexegesis(arthavada,'discussionof meaningor purpose').9The exegesisin factcontainsmuch"aggadic"lore notrelateddirectly to theritual,buttheotherapplication ofmidrash, as commentary torevealedscripture thetextualorder, is not following in India a in until much later the medieval commenpreserved period, tariesto theVedictexts(including theworkscalledBrahmanas).This is notto say thatsuchcommentary was notmadeorallyat a much earliertime.Indeed,theextantworksof Vedicinterpretation, as of are simplypreserved of the sorts of midrash, examples explications thatthesageshadlongoffered orallyintheirteaching. thereis a clearanalogybetweeninterpreDespitethesedifferences, inRabbinicandBrahmanic tiveapproaches literature. Thelatercourse ofthetraditions offers someinteresting as well. Halivnidubs parallels the post-talmudic period(afterthe 6th c.) a "periodof harmonization."10 time this Talmudhad becometheprimary By pointof reference and objectof interpretation as faras Halakhahwas concerned, the so Talmudis treatedon a par withthe(Written) Torah.In India with the ofthe too,a periodof "harmonization" begins promulgation Dharmaliterature, whichin thiscase meansthecollapsingofthedistinctive of Vediclineagesintoan eclecticbut opinions thedifferent singleprescription. In laterperiods,thereis also an increasing forpeshat preference in biblicalinterpretation." In theBrahmanical (literalinterpretation) tradition ofinterpreting theVedicritual, theteachers oftheMimamsa 24.1.32ff. 9E.g.,ApastambaSrautaSUitra 10Halivni1991:39. 11Halivni (1991:34) discernsthe"periodoftheawarenessof thevalueof peshat" and the"periodoftheuncompromisability of peshat"(after (10thto 13thcenturies) the18thcentury). On theotherhand,Kabbalisticexegesisis a revivalofderash.

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also devaluedthearthavada(thediscoveryof "indirect meanings") the of on in the brahmanaliterature, insisting primacy the ritual on the The medievalcommentators understood. literally injunction, Vediccorporaalso tendedtowarda simpleglossingthatwas meant toshowthedirectmeaningofthetext. II. Basic Techniques DerashandArthavada made verysimilarassumptions The rabbi and the brahmavadin about the natureof theirtasks.In each case, theypresumedthat Torahand yajiia or Veda) was a theirobjectof study(respectively, hiddenfrom withmeanings timelessfactofheavenlyorigin,pregnant told.12The view."The gods love whatis hidden,"we are repeatedly masterexegetehas the special capacityto uncoverthistreasureof theclues providedin theouterformsof the wisdomby identifying The highestbrahma-vidyd revelation. (divinewisdom)has themeters oftheVedicversesandelementsoftheritualas itsbodies(tanti);the oral Torah(in its broadestsense,thesages' exegeses)is embedded in thewritten Torah,whichneedsonlytobe readin theproperwayto Butwhatis theproperway?Clearly, soundthevastdepthsofmeaning. it is notequallyaccessibleto all. Rabbinicand priestly Brahmanical and of an was hermeneutics enterprise developing applyingformal theTorahandtheyajiia/Veda forinterpreting effectively. techniques with the"period ofbiblicalexegesisbegins Halivni'speriodization of readingin" (up to ca. 200 CE), in whichthe"plainmeaning"of thebiblicaltextwas "displaced"bya less obviousmeaning."Reading in" is thetermHalivniuses forinstancesin whichthebase textis derashah).The secondphaseis (typicaloftannaitic actuallymodified more the"periodoftextual (3rdto6thc.); overthisperiod, implication" a basis andmorecomplexreadingswereputforward, alwaysfinding or word inthescriptural text;anysuperfluous irregularity grammatical wereinstances couldprovidetheclue.The signalsofimpliedmeaning 12 Gonda

instances. (1975:378)citesnumerous

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of form:wordsin a base of seemingverbalsuperfluity or peculiarity or textthatseemed,accordingto theirliteralsenseto be redundant were taken to indicate further some unusually point(typicalof phrased amoraic,andespeciallywhatHalivnidubs"stammaitic," derashah). Brahmanicalinterpretation with the brahmana literature, begins whichcombinestheMishnah'sfocuson ritualwiththefull-fledged so muchaggadicmaterial, exegeticalapproachof midrash, including of to speak.A secondphaseofinterpretation comesinthecodification theritualsinthesutras. A. Hermeneutic Juxtaposition i. Juxtaposing TextualPassages The mostcommonandimportant exegeticaldevicein theRabbinic tradition biblicalpassages(and other is thetechniqueofjuxtaposing outoftheiroriginalcontext as a meansofthrowing texts)utterly light on thetopicathand.Whilethesejuxtapositions oftenseemsurprising to midrash, theprinciple to thenewcomer is quitesophisticated. The adducedtextis deemedrelevantusuallyon accountof some detail thatrisesto importance Thusthe onlyin thenew,exegeticalcontext. adducedverseas a wholeis notnecessarily a glossof thetopic-idea; oftenit is simplya scriptural vehicleforthatportionthatis made the interpretive relevantto the topic,and is used to carryforward The Pesikta a de-Rab collectionof Kahana, fifth-century argument. Sabbathand festivalhomilies,represents a particularly elegantand elaborateuse ofthistechnique. Rabbinicauthorities themselves thisas thedefinitive apregarded of and a of identified number different proach midrash, principles governingtheuse of one passageto illumineanother:a listof sevenis to Hillel(ca. 1st c. BCE); R. Ishmael'sauthoritative attributed listhas andR. Eliezer,sonofYose theGalileanidentifies thirteen; thirty-two different rules.Thus,forinstance, adducedtextsweredeemedrelevant to thetextin questionbecausetheyallowedan a fortiori an inference, inference a byanalogy(gezerahshawah,'equal decision'), specificationof a generalidea,or theprovision of a broaderscriptural context forthetextinquestion.An example:

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ThentheLORD said to Moses, Whydo youcryoutto me? TelltheIsraelitesto theRed Sea]) ... R. Meirsays,"[Said theHoly goforward(Ex. 14:15 [through 'If I for createddryland thesakeofprimalAdam,whowas onlyoneman, One,] as itis said"God said,Letthewaterbelowtheskybe gathered intoonearea,that thedrylandmayappear"[Gen.1:9],willI notmakethesea intodrylandforthe " (Mekhilta sakeofthisholycongregation?!' Beshallah4, I 216)

The adducingof passagesfromotherpartsof thecanonis much less commonin theearlierbrahmana-literature, or at leastin thatpart individualrites.In thelatterworks, directlydevotedto expounding themantrasof theritein questionare explainedwithout connecting themwithothers.In theAranyakas andearlyUpanisads,whicharea laterdevelopment ofthebrahmana genre,andwhichaddressesoteric in thisfashion, themes,Vedicversesbeginto be introduced although less than in much midrash.AitareyaAranyaka,for systematically In a discussion doesthisfrequently. ofthemysterious instance, powers intheMahaduktha ofthemeters thebrahmavadin states: litany, This [Mahaduktha SomerecogbrhatT-verses. litany]is producedas a thousand nize a thousandof variousmeters..., some say a thousandtristubhs, some a a A thousand some thousand in their wisjagatfs, anustubhs. Sage says,Sages domdiscovered Indradancingto an anustubh Veda That means 10.124.9). (Rg in speechthebreathofIndra. thattheydiscovered .... A Sage says(RV 8.76.12): A speechofeight meter has]eightfeetoffoursyllablesfeet-for[theanustubh the nine meter becomes nine-cornered corners-for brhatt of [byaddinga ninth the truth-for united with verse is truth-Ihavemadeas foot]-touching speech a body,outoflndra,forfromthesethousand which madeintoanustubhs, brhatts is Indra'sbreath,he makesspeech... as a body.(Aitareya Aranyaka2.3.5-6; adaptedfromKeith'stranslation)

The adducedverses,drawnfromdisparatepartsof the canon,are incertain toshowhowIndra'svitalenergy is present meters, employed to makea bodyof divine and how theseare used by theworshiper speechforhimself.I shall give anotherexcellentexampleof this below(Advaldyana GrhyaSatra1.1.4-5). technique

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ii. Juxtaposing RitualandCosmicElementstoIdentify 'Linkages' (bandhu) Thereis another thatis distinctypeof hermeneutic juxtaposition hiddenlinkages(bandhu). tiveoftheBrahmanical tradition: declaring focus GiventheRabbinictradition's unwavering onthetextofthewritthatTorahis a mapof theuniverse,13 tenTorah,andthepresumption shouldinvolvetext-places it is naturalthathermeneutic juxtaposition thecriss-crossing on thatmap.Midrashidentifies (andback highways formofexegesis,theVedictexts roads)betweenthem.Inthebrahmana is it thediverseloci of ritual are onlyoccasionally juxtaposed; rather itisjustified toconsider universe itselfthataretobe associated.I think I thisa formofinterpretation, as out theritbecause, pointed earlier, thewords,which ual itselfis theprimary textforthebrahmavadins; a of the idealworshipwe considerthetext,aresimply verbalshadow weaves-at first ritual.The web of associationsthatthebrahmavadin butwhenviewedas a gestaltremarkably glancechaoticandarbitrary, as mappedin the consistent-reflects thedivineorderoftheuniverse, ritualsystem.14 In form, ofonething thesejuxtapositions aresimplyidentifications (the subjectof discussion)withanother(its mysticalequivalenton another usuallytaketheform"Y val X" ("X plane).Thesestatements or"X indeedis Y") inwhichX is thesubjectandY is thepredicate,15 [hi]Y" ("[For]X is Y"): Thesacrificial theearth, thegrass-seat theplants, the sun,thealtar postisyonder the the the the sticks wood trees, aspersing-waters water, enclosing the kindling [four]directions. (Aitareya Brahmana5.28)

But thecorrelations can be extendeduntiltheybecomean extended Thus,theubiquitousobservation, "Prajapatiis theyear," metaphor. 13RecallGenesisRabbah1.1, quotedabove. 14BrianK. Smith1994presents a thorough discussionofthesepatterns. 15Notetheinverted the order; emphatic particlevai insuchnominalsentences genfollows This the fronted has notbeennoted,andtranslators erally predicate. pattern haveoftenmisrepresented suchsentences as thesubject. bytakingthepredicate

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diseventually maybe seen to assertthatPrajapati'sworld-creating memberment gaveriseto thedivisionsoftheyear,andthatthereguround of the"jointsof theyear,"and lar worshipritesknitstogether thusputsHumpty-Dumpty again.Likewise,thevesselofthe together is the"headoftheworship-rite," whichcan be expravargyaoffering to mean: "When one the on thefire, panded places pravargya-vessel oneputsbacktheheadoftheworship-rite" (ydtpravargyarm pravrndakti I yajiidsyaivd tdcchirahprdtidadhati,TaittirTya Aranyaka5.1.7). in thelanguageof analogy. Theselinkagesmayalso be presented sitson twoantelopeskinsthathavebeen Thus,whentheworshiper stitchedtogether back to back aroundthe edges,he presidesover heavenandearth,for"thesetwoworldsarejoinedat theedges,so to themtogether, heavenandeartharemadeto speak(iva)."By stitching if it thewholeuniverse: couple.Even thereis onlyone skin, represents thewhitehairsare heaven,theblackare earth(or vice versa!),and thebrownare themidspace(SathapathaBrahmana3.2.1.1-4).The identifications exclusive.16 mayoverlap,buttheyarenotmutually It shouldbe notedthata similarassertion oflinkagescan be found in in theRabbinictradition, later texts: especially mystical The commandments of thewholeTorahare jointsand limbsin the celestial And whentheyare all joinedtogether themystery mystery. theyall ... reflect ofman,maleandfemale.(Zohar2.162b;cf.Leviticus Rabbah1.8,?D below)

B. Non-literal Gloss I describebelowmustbe includedas forms Mostofthetechniques of paraphrase. In itssimplestform,a topic-whethera piece of text, in different an act,or an idea-is restated termsso as to bringouta initsoriginal form. thatwasnotevident Thisrestatement meaning may a involvechanging one word,or simplyaddingwords,or introducing different statement thatis equatedwiththeoriginalone. completely Andhe shallthenremainhisslaveforlife(Ex. 21:6). [Thatis,]UntiltheJubilee whichhasthepowertoacquireanything, canacquirea slave year..... [If]money, forno morethansix years,thenpiercing,whichacquiresnothingbutslaves, 16On bandhu,see 1983= 1998. Oldenberg1919,Gonda1965,Oguib6nine

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shouldnothavethepowerto acquiretheslaveformorethansix years!What thenis themeaningofforlife?UntiltheJubileeyear.(Mekhilta Nizikin2, III 17; Hammer1995:404)

This techniqueoccursalso in brahmana. Duringtheconsecration forworship, thesacrificer squatsbehindtheskins,andtouchesthem themwithmantras, wherethewhiteandblackhairsmeet,addressing whichthe brahmanahereexplains(the mantrasthemselvesare in italics): is a counterpart, so he really You[theskins]are ornaments (iflpa).An ornament of You the the and the samans. are rcs (prdtiruipa) says: counterparts .... When he says:I graspyou,he reallysays:I enterintoyou [sincethedfksita entersas to outcome an embryointothesacrifice]. He says:May they me the of protect up thisworship, by whichhe reallysays:Let themcareof me (gopdya-)up to the endofthisworship.(SatapathaBrdhmana3.2.1.5,7)17

Here we see one of theSatapatha'scharacteristic exegeticaltechof "obscure"mantras intounambiguous, plain niques:thetranslation as to the actual intentions oftheparticipants. reveal language,so C. LexicalAffinity andbrahmana, theinterpreter In bothmidrash explainsa frequently outa "lexicalaffinity," thatis,a significant datumbypointing similarity betweena wordin thedatumand someothertermor phrasedrawn different context. oftenfroma completely In theJudaiccontext, follows Kugel(1986) describeshowmidrash ofa joke initsform. Therabbisassumedthatscripture conthepattern hiddenmeantains,besidestheplainsenseofthewords,innumerable ingsthataretruein thesenseofbeingsetthereintentionally by God of and thatmustbe "soughtout"or "discovered" means by particulartechniques. Thesetechniques includeword-plays, and etymologies, variant and the of anecdotes and The force readings, adducing legends. 17 iflpesthaftiyddvatprdtirapam tdcchflpam ca sdmndm stha ca prdtirape rcram ... sd ev vdm ev aha arabhaititdvamprdvisamity tdd ity tdddha yddaha td tdmd [ti evetdd asya yajiiadsya pdtamdsyd ity samsthayd tdmi gopdyatam dha. yajihdsyod.ca

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ofthemidrash "punchline."FortheJewish dependson theexplicative the"joke is thedissonancebetweenthereligionof theRabauthors, bis and theBook fromwhichit is supposedto be derived-and... moreprecisely thedissonancebetweenthatbook'ssupposedly unitary andharmonious andinconsistent messageanditsactuallyfragmentary In responseto thetroubling of scriptural particularity components.""18 to passages,themidrashaddressesthesingleversewithno reference thecontextof thepassageor book. This "principle of insularity" is to uncoverobscarcelyeverviolated,foritprovidestheopportunity withotherpiecesof scripture farrescuremeaningand connections movedfromtheoneathand.Forexample: R. Hoshaiahopened:ThenI was besideHimas an 'amon[nursling], and I was His delightdayafterday [Prov.8:30]. .... [An]'dmonis an artisan('amon).The Torahdeclares,I was theworking instrument (kelU)oftheHolyOne,blessedbe He. In thenormalcourseofaffairs, whena mortalkingbuildsa palacehe does notbuildit by his ownskillbutby theskillof an architect. he does Moreover, notbuildit outof his ownhead butmakesuse of plansandtabletsin orderto knowhowtomaketheroomsandthedoors.Thus,theHolyOne,blessedbe He, lookedintotheTorahand createdtheworld.19(GenesisRabbah 1.1; cf.Zohar 2.161a)

A similarprincipleappearsin brahmana:a keywordin thedatum is simplyjuxtaposedwithanotherword.Thus, duringthe riteof a soma-sacrificer, theworshiper consecrating placeshisrightkneeon a me thedeerskin, "You are TheSatapatha refuge, saying, give refuge." of theblack deer-thatis its human explains:"The hide (cdnrman) it a the is (3.2.1.8).Hereagain refuge(dnrman)" (aspect);among gods betweenthedivineand thehumanresultsin a hidden thedichotomy nature toa seemingly ordinary object.A skinbecomes beingattributed once itsdivinesignificance a meansof protection is recognized.The is tobringaboutthisrecognition. purposeofthebrahmana

18Kugel 1986:80. As quotedin Holdrege1996:164.

19

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a verbalaffinity (in thiscase, betweenetymologically Similarly, forfastingbeforeoffering relatedwords)providesthejustification to the worship gods: Now thenofeatingandnoteating. Savayasawas oftheopinionthatthe consistsinnoteating.Forthe themindofa man; As.dha godsseerightthrough regimen "hewillsacrifice tous inthe theyknowthathe enterson thisregimen. Thinking, all thegodscometohishouse.Theyvisit(upa-vas-)inhishouse;this morning," is thefasting-day (upavasathd).(SatapathaBrahmana1.1.1.7-8)

The technical termupa-vas-('to fast')literally means'to dwellwith; to visit'.Whenthegodsperceivethesacrificer's vratti-the intention to in the he to come manifest rule undertakes worship, follow-they staywithhimin his home,knowingtheywill be fedas guests.On to eat beforehisdivine accountofthis,thesacrificer shouldforebear theirmeal,lesthe violatethecode of ritual guestshavebeenoffered the Here hospitality. play is simplyon two meaningsof the same verbalroot,whereasin thepreviousexample,thejuxtaposed prefixed butunrelated wordswerephonologically similar, linguistically. D. Hermeneutic Etymology These examplessuggestthattheexegetessee an implicitconnectionbetweensimilarwordsthatindicatesthesignificant relationship betweentheideas or thingsdenotedby thewords.This can takea moreexplicitformthatmaybe called"hermeneutic etymology,"20 by whichtheorigin(andnotjustthedeepermeaning) ofthewordinquesinmidrash, tionis explained. Thistechnique is pervasive andbeginsto appearevenin theBible.ThusGen.25.26: "Andhis handhad taken holdofEsau's heel('aqev); so theynamedhimJacob(Ya'aqov)"; and have been the subjectof considerablediscussionamong 20These etymologies in discussiongroup,whereJanHouben(citing the participants Indologyinternet P. Verhagenand TeunGoudriaan)has employedthisaptlabel,distinguishing them itself from"linguistic and that the Sanskrit tradition distinguishes etymologies" noting betweenthem(i.e., Yaska's Niruktavs. Pdniniananalysis);see Houbenin theIndo21 May 1996.For logylistarchives(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/-ucgadkw/indology.html), morediscussion:Deeg 1995,Houben1997.Patton1996:137-144,surveysscholarly in theIndiccontext. viewsofnirukti (etymology)

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Gen.27.36: "Is he notrightly namedJacob?Forhe has supplanted me thesetwotimes." (wayyaeqeveni) In theBrahmanical literature too thistechniqueis used quitefrequently: thegodswonthisconquestwhichis theconquestthey By meansofthesacrifice, tomen?"Theysuckedthe possess.Theysaid,"Nowhowmaythisbe inaccessible of the as bees would suck out sacrifice, sap honey.Havingdrainedthesacrifice and effacedit withthesacrificial stake,theydisappeared.Then,becausethey effaced(yup-)withit,itis calledyapa (sacrificial stake).(SatapathaBrahmana 3.1.4.3)

In an earlierera, such explanations were dismissedas "folkety"false on the assumption that mologies"(or simply etymologies") the exegeteswere linguistically naive,or anywaywere citinglinnaivepopularetymologies. In fact,theBrahmanical tradiguistically tionproduced,notverylongaftertheage of brahmana-composition, the mostsophisticated linguisticscienceof the ancientworld,one whichexcelledin accurately derivingwordsfromverbalroots.The brahmavadins themselves wereverysophisticated (indeed,theyhave tendedto be faultedratherforsophistry). Rather,theseetymologies on the that derivation is nottheonly operate assumption grammatical basisforsemantic is no accident, relationship. Phonological similarity butrevealsa "deep structure" ofheavenlyorigin,in accordancewith whichinvisibly relatedfactsin theuniverse resonatewithone literally In thissense,theaudibleformofthewordsprovidea keyto another. "reading"theworlditself. E. Numerical Affinity Justas lexicalaffinities maybe takenas indicesof a linkagethat access to so toonumerical affinities: provides deepermeanings, inthesectionoftheTaberEighteentimesis [As theLorddid] commandwritten to theeighteenvertebrae of the spinalcolumn.Likewise nacle,corresponding theSages instituted of thePrayer,corresponding to the EighteenBenedictions mentions the divine in the of the and also of shema, [of Name] Eighteen reading Rabbah [Psalm29]. (Leviticus 1.8)

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of the arrangement This correlation of the humanbody withthe oftextsinliturgy arrangement appearsalso in a brahmana: He offersthis one withan anustubhverse,[which]consistsof thirty-one tentoes,ten"breaths," and thethirty-first syllables.Now thereare tenfingers, is thebodywhichcontainsthosebreaths. Forthisconstitutes a man,and a man is worship;so theworshipserviceis ofthesameproportion as a man.(Satapatha Brahmana3.1.4.23)

Thevariousmeters, whicharecalledthe"bodies"oftheVedicmantras, serveas themeasurebothof elementsin theritualand frequently of the world. aspects He ... fetches theutensils, twoata time,viz.thewinnowing basketandthe taking thewedgeand theblack ladle,thewoodenswordand thepotsherds, Agnihotra andthepestle,thelargeandthesmallmill-stones. These antelopeskin,themortar are tenin number;forthevirajmeterhas tensyllablesand worshipis radiant (virdj).The reasonwhyhe takestwoat a timeis becausea pairmeansstrength; forwhentwopeopleundertake in it.Moreover, thereis strength a pair anything, a copulation, so thata copulation[i.e.,a productive represents joiningof those is thereby effected. pairedelements] (SatapathaBrahmana1.1.1.22)

F. AppealtoConvention orNaturalPatterns "The way thingsare"-in boththe naturaland social realmsevidencesupporting an interpretation. This maybe citedas probative includesreferences tocommonactivities, commonverbalexpressions, andeventhenatural orderofthings. ThusGenesisRabbah1.1 (quoted above in sectionC) explainsProv.8.30 firstby meansof a lexical and thenan appeal to humanconvention, to interpret it as affinity of theuniverse: meaningthattheTorahwas bothplan and architect "In thenormalcourseof affairs, whena mortalkingbuildsa palace he does notbuildit by his own skillbutby theskillof an architect. he does notbuildit outof his ownheadbutmakesuse of Moreover, plansand tabletsin orderto knowhow to makestheroomsand the doors.Thus,theHolyOne,blessedbe He, lookedintotheTorahand createdtheworld." Thisapproach-herecombining orderandto appealstothenatural also in a brahmana convention-appears explaining whythesacrificer theriteofself-consecration forworship: putson a newgarment during

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Thatskinwhichthecow has was originally on man.The gods said,"The cow bearsall this(world).Come,let us puton thecow thatskinwhichis on man. Withthatshewillbe abletoenduretherain,thecold,andtheheat."Havingflayed man,theyputthisskinon thecow..... Formanis indeedflayed.Consequently, wherever a bladeofgrassorsomething cutshim,bloodspurtsout.So theyputon himthisskin-thegarment, thatis. Therefore, no one butmanwearsa garment. (SatapathaBrahmana3.1.2.13-16)

On thistopic we findan extendedset of ritualpracticesthatare inthenatural mirrored world: The priestsmakehimwhomtheyconsecratean embryoagain .... Theylead himto thehutoftheconsecrated. The hutoftheconsecrated is thewombofthe so theyleadhimto hisownwomb.Therefore he sitsandwalksin a consecrated, securewomb.Therefore aresetin andarebornin a securewomb[lest embryos him withthegarment. is theamnion cover The garment theymiscarry]....They of theconsecrated, so theycoverhimwiththeamnion.The black-antelope hide over it. The chorion is over the so cover him with the chorion. amnion, they goes He makesfists.The embryolies insidemakingfists;thechildis bornmaking fists. Takingofftheblack-antelope hide,he goes downto thefinalbath. .... Therefore arebornfreeofthechorion.He goesdownwiththegarment embryos a childis bornwiththecaul. (Aitareya on. Therefore Brahmana1.3)

In all thesecases theimplication is thatthingshappentodayin the worldon accountofhowit was "in thebeginning" or howitis in the timelessritesof worship.Whatpeoplewitnessaroundthemare the tracesofthoseprimordial facts. enduring Anothertypicalvariantof thisapproachis to referto some supas evidenceto support an posedlycommonidiomwhichis presented usedin worship: exegesisofa mantra May we rejoice in increaseof wealthand in nectar!(VS 4.1). Increaseof wealthmeansabundance, and abundancemeansprosperity; he thereby invokes a blessing.May we rejoicein nectar(is)-for people say of one who attains and highdistinction: "He enjoysthenectar!"Thatis whyhe says, prosperity we in nectar! May rejoice (SatapathaBrahmana3.1.1.12)

In otherwords,the words"increaseof wealth"and "nectar"both andthemeaningofis is further clarified signify prosperity, bynoting itsroleinconventional speech.

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G. Rhetorical Narrative consideredso farare conceptualdevicesthatmay The techniques Thereare also exegetical be appliedin a varietyof textualsettings. narratives, apartfromanyuseofgloss,paraphrase, waysofusingentire The narratives. remarks: we maycall theserhetorical or explanatory about has been somewhatmore self-conscious Rabbinictradition but the later stories can be used the different exegetically, ways also madesomebasicdistinctions. Brahmanical tradition Below,I have withexamples,andshownhow Judaiccategories, adoptedtheprimary literature exhibitsquite similartypesof story,for the Brahmanical similarpurposes.In thisI am relying heavilyoftheanalysisof Stern (1991). i. Parable(mashal) of theGreekainos definition David SternquotesW.J.Verdenius's toldforan ulterior as "an allusivenarrative purpose"(1991:24). The parableis morepreciselyan accounttold to elicitin the audience thatthecase at handis parallelin multiplerespects. a recognition in thestoryitself.The parablemaybe The narrator's viewis implicit oritsimpliedmessage,themoralofthe withlittlecomment, presented Rabbinic mashalsusuallycomewithan be stated fable,may explicitly. (thenimshal),whichshowshowto applythestoryto the explanation occasion." subjectathand,the"exegetical A songofAsaph.0 God,heathenshaveenteredYourdomain[Ps. It is written: A 79:1]. song!It shouldhave said,"A weeping"!R. Eleazar [benPedat]said: and decoratedit. One timehis It is like a kingwho made a bridal-chamber, the bridal-chamber. The pedagoguesat sonangeredhim,andthekingdestroyed his son's downandbeganto sing.[People]said to him:The kinghas destroyed andyousitandsing!He saidtothem:ForthisreasonI sing:For bridal-chamber, andnot I said,Betterthathe pouredouthisangeruponhisson'sbridal-chamber, uponhis son.(EikhahRabbah4.11A; Stern1991:24)

The nimshalthatfollowsthismashalproperpointsout: "Similarly, His peoplesaidtoAsaph:TheHolyOne,blessedbe He, hasdestroyed I this reason sit and said to them: For and He sing: sing! temple, you

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For I said: BetterthattheHoly One,blessedbe He, pouredoutHis angeruponwood,stones,anddirtandnotuponIsrael[itself]." in thepasttense,butthe Rabbinicmeshalimare usuallynarrated thatis analogousin some sense.The pointis to proposea situation inan introductory of is language comparison usuallypresent phraseof thetype"Itis like.. ." Something similaroccursinBrahmanic texts: "Breathis brahman[spiritual essence],"so Kausitakiusedto say.... . Andto this all thesedeities[thefaculties ofthought, breath, brahman, sight, hearing, speech] itshavingto ask.All beingslikewisebringofferings without toa bringofferings manwhoknowsthis,without hiseverhavingtoask.Thatis hissecret(upanisad): He shouldnotask.It is like(tadyatha)a manwhobegsina villageandreceives He shouldsitdown,vowing:"I'll nevereat anything givenfromhere." nothing. theverysamepeoplewho mayhavepreviously Thereupon, spurnedhimoffer himinvitations. (Kausftaki Upanisad2.1; adaptedfromOlivelle1996:206)

In thiscase,themashal-like narrative is verybrief,andis notfollowed in thiscase, it precedes:The like a or nimshal, rather, by anything ofonewhoknowsthemystical ofthebreathamongthe insight divinity humansensefaculties confersspecialpowerandcompelsrecognition fromothers manwhohasbeendenied justas doestheoathofa virtuous alms. ii. Paradeigma (ma'aseh,purakalpa) While Aristotle(Rhetoric2.20) would regardthe parableas a of paradeigma(i.e., one invented by thespeaker),thetypical variety as something thatoncehappenedthat paradeigma perse is presented it is introduced. a under discussion when While situation exemplifies stillservinga rhetorical purpose,theparadeigmais moredirect.Its thatwhatwas the case in the forcedependsupon the assumption as well.A well-known pastwillholdtruein future examplerecounts who omitteda postprandial theconductof two students prayer;one to thespotto reciteit; the followstheruleof Shammaiand returns who omitted the invokesthe other, knowingly prayer, hypocritically ruleofHillelthatoneneednotiftheomissionwas unintentional: Once thereweretwostudents. One forgot [tosaygrace]andactedinaccordance of when he wentback...] he founda purseof withtheHouse Shammai,[and to say grace],actedin accordance [neglected gold.The otherdisciplewillfully

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theresultsoftheirconduct, The purposeofthema'asehis toillustrate ofwhatwouldresultfromthesameactionstoday. as an indication similargenrethatis almost thereis a somewhat In theBrahmanas, practice.The alwaysused to providean etiologyfora particular or before are either "the justafterthey gods"(devas)just protagonists and overcametheiropponentstheAsuras,to win theirimmortality theirplace in heaven;or else thestorytellsof varioussages of old. aremeantto indicatethecourseof actionto be The eventsrecounted based on theconsequencesof similaractionson or followed avoided, theearlieroccasion.Thus: wasoncebesetbyvarious wasBharadvaja, whosechief priest [King]Divodasa, mea refuge." enemies. He wentto[hispriest], [Bharadvaja] saying: "Sage,find forhimbymeansofthissaman(theAdarasrt founda refuge chant)... "By Henceit intoa pit"(ddrenasrnma)!" wehavenotfallen meansofthis[chant], a wayout theAdarasrt finds Hewhoinpraising hasitsname:Addrasrt. practices anddoesnotrunintoa pit.(Paficavimrna ofhisdifficulties 25.3.7) Brdhmana

assertsthat a hermeneutic Here,theparadeigma, etymology, applying Divodasa fortunes of chant saved the as the Adarasrt (and King just all whouse it.A longerparadeigma acquireditsname),so itbenefits how a banishedkingand a banishedpriest (SB 12.9.3) illustrates the Sautramani teamedup to regaintheirpositionsby performing confronts the Another in an fashion. rite king priest,Cakra ingenious insolubledilemma:"SthapatiCakra,they witha seemingly Sthapati, mustnot be offeredin the Offering Fire,nor say thatsurd-liquor Fire.. ." In spiteofthis,Cakramanages elsebuttheOffering anywhere he poursthelibationsinto the offerings: to finda way to perform Fire,so thatone can saythatthe specialfirestakenfromtheOffering intheOffering orina firethat Fire(directly), libations aremadeneither is thusadvancedto Fire.Thisprecedent theOffering is not(indirectly) explaintheacceptedpracticeinthisrite.

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iii. Allegory Allegoryas a narrativedevice may be foundin parablesand narrative has butthereareoccasionson whichtheentire paradeigmata, In thisrespect,I am using an extendedallegoryas itsbasic structure. not in of narrative term the broad sense elementsto refer the using senseofpersonifying to something beyonditself,butin thenarrower in orderto make a or reifying abstractideas in unifiednarrative aboutthoseideas. Allegoryof thissortis so commonand statement inmidrash thatI neednotsupplyan example;itis less wellrecognized TheSatapatha so inbrahmana, so I willprovidea coupleofinstances. and Brdhmana(11.6.1) tellshowBhrgutravelsin thefourdirections and and of dismemberment witnesses cannibalism, a sights horrifying betweentwobeautiful blackmanwithyelloweyes standing women. His fatherexplainsthatthesightsrepresent trees,cattle,plants,and in worship; water,whichmaybe appeasedby usingthemproperly with and Belief thethreefigures Unbelief,who are depictedWrath, duringworship.SB 3.2.1.18-28explains appeasedwithan offering Soma-offerer wearsa deer'shornon hisbeltby whytheconsecrated to seduce howthegods sendYajfia(Worshippersonified) recounting Vac (Speech),so thattheycould usurphergod-begetting capacity. into the of the out womb and it tear her horn, compress shape They so thattheconsecrated mayuse itto securenewbirthin thewombof Speech. The Exegeteas Virtuoso is notsimplythepersuaWhatmakessuchinterpretation persuasive sivenessofthetechniques perse butthespecialqualitiesoftheexegete himself. The rabbinicor brahmanic sage mightwell be considereda inhisdomain,bothinthearchaicsenseof"a learnedoringevirtuoso niousperson,oronethatis wellqualified"on accountofhisinvestigationsinhisfield,21 andinthemodemsenseofsomeoneextraordinarily is assumed skilledin thetechniques of his art.Midrashor brahmana of thesubject,an abilityto encompass to demonstrate totalmastery 21ThomasBlount, (1656), s.v. Glossographia

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in thesatheentirescopeof all divineknowledgeas it is manifested that credcanon(or in theritualof worship),and a creativecuriosity oftheprinciwithnovelapplications leadstheexegeteto experiment Thereis even ples of exegesis,and evento developnewtechniques. a in flair of the oratorical of the performer Rav Kahanaora something are ofthesageis suchthathisexplanations Theauthority Yajfiavalkya. endowedwiththestatusofdivinewisdom(OralTorahas an extension as Sruti).Itis suggestive ofWritten Torah;brahmana alongsidemantra in both the that traditions, interpretive enterprise beginsby codifying in whichthebasic context this is the correct andexplaining practice; on the startto be applied.Onlygraduallydoes reflection techniques becomedetached of thesacredtextsthemselves deepersignificance in itsownright(as concernsas a genreto be treated fromceremonial andUpanisad,to someextent, MidrashRabbah,etc.,andas Aranyaka andmuchlateras commentary). kind of religiousauthority The virtuosicexegeteis a different in Indiaat least,thecategoriesoverlapped thanthepriest,although, therewas a move away from to a largeextent.In bothtraditions cult(albeitfordifferent theclassicalpriestly reasons):whereasthe in theprimacy interest has a natural maintaining priest professional forthecult,liststoward ofthecult,theexegete,despitehisreverence an elevationof thetools and materialsof his craft:thewords,the of theprocessof study.In India, ideas,and themysticaldimensions hascontinued never tradition wherethepriestly ceased,theritualoffice and usuallyon a verymodestscale) fortwo(if onlyfragmentarily, werecomposed,butmost millenniasincethebrahmanas and-a-half of the are precisemeaningsof thetexts ignorant priests completely are of theexegeticaltradition theyrecite,whilethosefewinheritors rather than scholars, panditas, priests.

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III. Interpretive Agendas Letmyprayer as incense becounted before thee, andthelifting sacrifice! upofmyhandsas anevening Psalm141.2

FromPriestly CulttoPersonalPiety The declineinimportance oftheTemplecultamongtheJewsreally ofthefirst exile, beganwiththedestruction TempleandtheBabylonian of sectsin thesecondTemple and continuedwiththeproliferation theRabbinicliterature doesnottakeshapeuntilafter period,although thedestruction But thebiblicalcentrality of thesecondTemple.22 of the Templepersistsas a ideal locus of powerand divinemystery, and in theabsenceof theTempleandthepriestly a compact routine, oftheTemplecult(comprising codification abouthalfoftheMishnah) comestobe deemednecessary. On theotherhand,we knowlittleaboutthecircumstances thatled of similartreatments to theproduction of theVedic priestly ritual, thefrautasatras.These works,just like theMishnah,are concise, codifications of thepriestly cult-so conciseas to require aphoristic oral expansion.23 likewise include littleor no explanationof They thereasonsforor significance of thewordsand actionsin therites, some ones of the earlier (e.g., BaudhayanaSrautaSatra) although ofthemorerefined lacktheradicalcompression ofthis representatives and of true bits brahmana here too. Unlike the Mishnah, genre, appear thesrautasatrasdependon and referto an earliercanonizedbody of exegesisof theVedic liturgy. The cultno doubtwas stillbeing butits complexrules,so lovinglyramified practiced, by thevarious lineagesofpriestsin an earlierera,nowhadcometo seemunwieldy in its scope and variety. The production of thesutrasfilledtheneed of thecult, foran easilymemorized conspectusand systematization andone thatwas morecompletethanthedescription embeddedin the 22Nickelsburg and Stone (1983) offera collectionof post-Exilicsourcesthat thispoint. illustrate 23See Halivni'sremarks oftheMishnah. (1986:93-94)on thebrevity

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in thosetexsritualinjunctions brahmanas-for (vidhi)wereincluded to introduce an explanation. The satrasmaintain thehabit primarily ofpreserving these not debated. but are divergent opinions, opinions At most,thesatramaypass finaljudgment one ofthe by supporting views. Concomitant withthepromulgation ofauthoritative ritualcodes in eachtradition was thebeginning ofa processoftransferring ritualrefromthepriesthood tothelearnedindividual. The ancient sponsibility rabbissawthemselves as carrying theprojectofthePharisees: forward "theextension ofholinessfromthelimitsoftheJerusalem Templeto a widerrangeofeveryday It is to note that theprotolife."24 important Rabbiniccirclesweresharplydistinct fromthepriestly community, and theRabbinicgenredoes notcomeintoitsownuntiltheTemple periodhadended. These Judaicdevelopments are well knownand havebeen thorwhile the Brahmanical case is less clear.The most discussed, oughly fromtheJudaiccase are thefactthattheBrahdifferences important manicalexegetesweredrawndirectly fromthepriestly castes,andthe facttherewas no suddeninterruption of theVediccult,whichwas nottiedto anyparticular siteandwas thusnotas vulnerable to politior destruction, cal interference norwas itgeographically inaccessible to a largepartof itsclientele.But thereare otherfactorsthatlikely posed a challengeto theVedicpriestly system.The timewhenthe ritualsatraliterature was beingcomposed(ca. 7th-5thc. BCE) appearsto havecoincidedwiththesuddengrowthof urbancentersin theGanges-Yamuna on the valley,whichno doubthad repercussions in clan-dominated which caste the Vedic village-based society religion wasrooted.Withthisurbanization camea newformofpoliticalpower: theold tribaloligarchies begantobe replacedbyhereditary kingswho presidednotovera social unitbutovera region(janapada),leading to an evergreater consolidation ofpowerin dominant and kingdoms, in thecreationof theMauryanempirein 321 BCE, just culminating inthenorthwest. sixyearsafterAlexander ofMacedon'svictories 24 1984:130. Goldenberg

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Wehavenodirectevidenceoftheeffects ofthesesocialandpolitical butone likelyeffect was theloss of changeson theVedicpriesthood, muchofthetraditional of the chieftains as powerand patronage Arya wealthaccumulated inthenewcities.Ithasbeenobservedmanytimes thatthewordnagara, 'city,'makesa verylate and rareappearance in theVedic literature; the Vedic idea of civilizationis thegrama, thevillageor "settlement." Thereis also thewelterof newreligious some anti-Vedic and anti-brahmin movements, (theearlyJainsand Buddhistsamongthem)and othersBrahmanical, thatseem to have in and about the new cities. The earliest Buddhiststexts sprungup in the formin whichwe have them) (althoughnot contemporary containan evidentpolemicalstreakin theirreferences to brahmins, andareoriented tothepubliclifeofthenewstates. Besidesthispresumable threat tothesocio-economic Jain-Buddhist basis of the Vedic cult,anotherexplanation(perhapsadequatein cultoutsideits itself)is themerefactof thespreadof Brahmanical core area (wheretheSrautasystemacquireditsfullestform),which entaileda moreself-conscious and eventually called standardization, forsimplified versionsof thetradition thatcouldbe recognizedand appliedbya widerrangeofpeopleovera widerarea. On thebasis of thisadmittedly circumstantial evidenceI propose thatthebrahmin to consolidate andextenditssuppriesthood sought the portamongthe middlerungsof ruralsocietyby encouraging of Vedic texts a wider of and study by range classes, by remodeling and standardizing householdritualin imitation of the srautapriestly cultthrough thepromulgation ofcodesofhouseholdritual,thegrhya satras.The grhyasatraswereintended to applya standard ofconsistencysimilartothatachievedin thefrautasatrasto theotherspheres of Vedicritual,a diverseamalgamof servicesforthegods,life-cycle rites(samskdras), and hospitality rites,ritesforpractical agricultural and exorcisms.25 Household rites akintothosein the ends,expiations

25The classicsurveyofthese topicsis Gonda1980.

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thattheywere butitis noteworthy grhyasatrasappeartobe ancient,26 notdeemedworthy ofpriestly textual treatment untilthesatra-making well under For the most was enterprise way. part,thegrhyasatras makeexplicitreference to theircorresponding drautasatras of the of them.27 same Veda,and are oftenseen as continuations Although froma muchlaterperiod(in theircore,at theyare notnecessarily theSrautasatrasin least),thegrhyasatrasas a class clearlyimitate thewaystheyorganizeandpresent theirmaterial. in formally The apparent intention canonizingthedomesticritual was fourfold: on theanalogyofthesfrauta system of practicewithina school;or a. to providegreaterconsistency itselfbyitdistinctive which theschooldefined rather, practices, weresetoutin a standardized fashion; b. to presentthe domesticritesas equivalentto the prestigious drautaritesby increasingthe parallelismbetweenthem,and moresrauta mantrasfor use in the (perhaps)by importing domesticrites; c. tomakethehouseholder-ritualist conform todrautapriestly stantheparticipation of dardsofperformance (whilestillencouraging actualpriestsin thehouseholdrites); d. to encourageVeda-study as prerequisite to by non-brahmins and, thus,to expandthe dutiesof properritualperformance as teachers. brahmins The attempt to encouragethestudyof Veda appealedto theidea thatevensimpleritesperformed withthecorrectknowledgewereas effective as theelaboratemulti-fire ritesoffered withlavishoblations the warrior-chiefs of assisted old, by prosperous by teamsof up to 26Allusionstoweddingandfuneral ritesaremadein somelateadditions totheRg Vedacorpusintheformofhymns(10.85 and 10.12-18)thatwereprobably eventhen usedliturgically. 27The onlyexceptionto thisruleis the KaudikaSatraoftheAtharvaVeda,which frommanualsoftheotherVedas).It dealswithgrhyarites(in a manner different very has longbeenrecognized thattheVaitana[i.e.,drauta]Satraofthistradition is a later the Atharva has no in the ?rauta ritual. since Veda creation-hardly surprising, place

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ritesdid continueto be seventeen well-paidpriests.Such spectacular Vedicworld puton by kingswhowishedto appealto thetraditional was much this now to the monastic but of view, patronage going oftheasceticsects.Butthetheory hadbeenputforward in institutions themoremystical worksofthebrahmana genre-thosethathavebeen transmitted underthetitleof "dranyaka," "rahasya,"or "upanisad" "esotericdoctrine")-thatall thepowerof the Veda (all signifying in could reside themereact of layinga piece of wood on thefire, or of feedinga brahmin, or simplyof eating,or,mostimportantly, of reciting Vedictexts.Indeed,suchformsof worshipwereactually but superior, theyonlyworkedforthoseinitiatedintothe highest of theVeda; theesotericbrahmanasalwaysend withthe mysteries will surelyaccrueto "himwhoknowsthis" promisethatthebenefits forbrahmins, Moreover, (ya evamveda,evamrvid). privaterecitation purgesone ofthetaintof having"milkedthemetersdry"by serving as a paidpriestin someoneelse's worship rite(TaittirTya Aranyaka2). couldbecome Thevirtueofthisidealwas thatthelearnedhouseholder the his own Vedic priest.Yet he could notdo so withoutstudying have for Veda.Thus,thebrahmin community may compensated any ritesby extending its influence loss of patronageforthe high-cult in the low-cult,and by simultaneously wider demand generating This development forinstruction. also ensuredthatmantra-recitation formofpersonalpiety, becamea central alongwiththespecialrulesof Recitation ritualized behaviormeantto accompanyprivaterecitation. formof expiatory rite.The specialvirtue also becomesan important the ofrecitation was usuallyexplainedbydeclaring thatit constitutes essenceofworship.The basisforthisclaimlies in theexegesisofthe brahmavadins. Studyas Sacrificial Offering thatthemantras The idea is established earlyon in thebrahmanas recitedduringthe worshipserviceare an "invisible"or "cryptic" "visible" to theconcrete, (paroksa)formof worship,corresponding in "For these form embodied the ritual (formulas) (pratyaksa) gestures:

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Themuttering ofa formula28 andthelibationis worship. arelibations, is (worship)invisibly(done), while the libationis worship(done) visibly"(ahutayohy ahutirhiyajiidhpar6 'ksamvai ydjurjapaty etda SB 3.1.4.1).Thisgaverisetothe ydddhutis, pratydksam dthaisd yajihic without recourse to (otherforms ideathatworship couldbe performed in studycouldcountas ofmantras of)ritualaction;themererecitation of a rite offering. doctrine of therecitaThe connection betweenthebrahmavadin's illustrated and thedomesticritualcodes is perfectly by tion-offering with of brahmana which a begins passage AdvaliyanaGrhyaSitra, and(atthe oftextual thatusesthetechniques juxtaposition, paraphrase, to that the recitation the of a end) "linkage" prove declaring mystical whileplacinga stickof woodon the of theVedicword(themantra), oblation counts as even the finest fire, dulyoffered. withan Furthermore, theyquotetheRg Veda:Themortalwho,witha fuel-stick, oblation,withknowledge (vida), worshipsthefire,/ whomakesgood sacrifices withobeisance... [RV 8.19.5].29Whenone who has faith(sraddadhanah)30 places even just a stickof firewoodon (the fire),he should think:I am here;obeisanceto that(god). "Who,withan oblation..., who,with sacrificing knowledge..."meansthat(thegods) are satisfiedwithknowledgealone. So seeingthis,thesage said: Tohimwhodoesnotshunthecows,whoseeksthecows,whodwellsinthesky, /speaka wonderful word,sweeterthangheeand honey 8.24.20).31By this he means:Thiswordofmine,sweeterthangheeandhoney, (.RV (to givessatisfaction thegod); mayitbe sweeter.

28Yajus-formulae aremuttered (KSS 1.3.10; (jap-) quietly(upamsu)inthesacrifice ofa priest, a part unless are meant as an address,a reply, a selection ApYPS9-10), they of a dialogue,or a command;rc andsamantextsarerecitedaloud(uccaih)(ApYPS 8). 29ydhsamidhaydaJhutity videnadadadamdrto agndye/y6ndmasdsvadhvardh // 30Thatis,a sincerewilltoworship, inthepowerofbrahman, Vedic andconfidence speech. 31agorudhayagavise dyuksaya / ghrtatsvaddyomddhuna?ca ddsmyamvadcam vocata//

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Witha Rg-verse,we bringto you, 0 Agni,an oblationfashionedby the heart./ May theybe oxen,bulls,and cowsfor you (RV 6.16.47).32By this (he means):These (verses)becomemyoxen,bulls,and cows-(I) who recite And "who makes good sacrificeswith the privaterecitation(svadhydya).33 ofobeisance means: evenwiththeexclamation obeisance"(in theearlierverse) "The vai khalvapi).34Fora Brahmanastates, alone(namaskdrena godsarenot ofobeisance(namaskaram ati). Obeisanceis worship." beyondtheexclamation (Asdvalaiyana GrhyaSutra1.1.4-5)

conwithsacrifices of actual,materialsacrifices Thisreplacement in the its Juformulas has verses and of recited parallels sistingonly The idea is alreadyavailableas a poeticor rhetorical daic literature. in biblical passagessuchas Psalm141.2(quotedas theepimetaphor authors useveryBrahmanicalgraphtopartIII, above).Later,rabbinic thestudyof therules to showhow,forinstance, soundingarguments oftherituals ofTempleritualcan effectively replacetheperformance themselves: of the verse,This is the law for Resh Lakish said, Whatis the significance andfor theguiltthe the theburnt-offering, sin-offering, meal-offering, for for withthestudy himself whosoever It teaches that [Lev.7:37]? occupies offering a a sina were as he the Torah is of meal-offering, offeringburnt-offering, though it that whosoever means Raba [said,] anda guilt-offering. occupieshimoffering, nor selfwiththestudyof theTorahneedsneither burnt-offering,meal-offering, ofthe R. Isaac said,Whatis thesignificance norguilt-offering. norsin-offering, [Lev.6:18]; and Thisis thelaw ofthe verses,Thisis thelaw ofthesin-offering [Lev.7:1]? Theyteachthatwhosoeveroccupieshimselfwiththe guilt-offering a sin-offering, is as thoughhe wereoffering studyofthelawsofthesin-offering andwhosoever occupieshimselfwiththestudyofthelaws oftheguilt-offering a guilt-offering. is as thoughhe wereoffering (BabylonianTalmud,Menahoth 110a)

32

a teagna rca havirhrddtastdm bharamasi/tdtebhavantiiksdna vasa rsabha-so utd// 33Thatis, "maytheybe myofferings toyou." 34Namaskdraindicatestheword"namas"itself,used as an exclamation ofhonor of theword is thatthemereutterance directedtowardthe deity.The implication a sacrifice. "obeisance!"constitutes

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All thesesurmisesare based on thecircumstance thatthepassages citedannouncethelaws of theofferings, rather thanjustannouncing means thatstudying thelaw theofferings themselves. This,theyargue, is equivalent tomakingtheactualofferings themselves. These two examplescould be supplemented withmanyothersif It mightbe arguedthatequatingrecitation of liturgy spacepermitted. withritualperformance is notquitethesameas equatingstudyofthe rulesof liturgy withactualperformance. But thisseemingdifference is thepreeminent formof is minimal.Privaterecitation (svddhydya) studyinVedism,andtherecitations mayincludebothritualutterances and What (mantra) brahmana-analysis. is basictobothcasesis theidea of thepriestly can be accruedby anylearned thatbenefits offerings in is not ofprieststhemselves. In India, and left the hands individual, thismeantthatmembersof otherAryacastes,as well as brahmins inthehighest form without couldparticipate priestly training, directly thisstudy-qua-sacrifice is presented of worship.Moreover, as a duty, The pious an obligation foreverycapablemember ofthecommunity. individual thusis providedwiththemeans,and theresponsibility, to himself thesignalactsofpietyofthetradition. perform Conclusion I havetriedto showthatthemarkedsimilarities in thehermeneutical principles developedintheRabbinicandBrahmanical interpretive In factthey traditions themselves. go beyondtherhetorical techniques are partof largelyparalleltrajectory of exegesisdevotedto explainculttothecommunities thatdefinethemselves ingan elitepriestly by reference to thatcult,andthetextsthatenshrine it.In bothcases the tradition viewsthecentral ofinfinite divinerevelation as therepository aim is and the of traditional (in knowledge, scholarship part)toestablishtheperfect formofritualpractice, andto engagein an exegetical on the method to uncover hidden designed meaningwithout infringing of thedivineword.In thecourseof events,thesevirtuoso authority endowed withtheauthority ofrevelation, exegetes, providea basisfor thesanctity andpowerofthepriestly office-whenchangtransferring circumstances the or continuance ofthatoffice-to affect ing support

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as wellas thewidercommunity bymakingtextualstudyorrecitation, otherformsof householdceremonial, equivalentto thepriestly high ofreligiousformsthusis notdivorcedfromthe cult.The comparison theemergence andchangeofthoseforms. contextual factors governing I havetriedto makea comparison of historical than processes,rather In of structural so difa simplematching forms. up doing,important ferenceshave also cometo light:theriseof rabbinicscreatedan alternative sourceofauthority to thatofthehereditary families. priestly more work needs to be done the dimensions of on social Although vs. scholarlyworkamongVedicbrahmins, thereis no clear priestly a of in the Brahmanical of such redistribution case; the authority sign cameverymuchfromwithin thepriestly commuexegeticinnovations nity,andseemedaimedatitsownpreservation. 23 NewcombHall TIMOTHYLUBIN andLee University Washington VA Lexington, 24450,USA [email protected] /http://home.wlu.edu/-lubint BIBLIOGRAPHY Cohen,ShayeJ.D. 1987 FromtheMaccabeestotheMishnah.Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Deeg, Max Ydska's und seiner 1995 Die altindischeEtymologienach dem Verstaindnis R11. Dettelbach: Vorgainger Erdosy,George inEarlyHistoricIndia.Oxford:B.A.R. 1988 Urbanisation 1995a"ThePreludetoUrbanization: andtheRiseofLateVedicChiefEthnicity doms."In TheArchaeology ofEarlyHistoricSouthAsia: TheEmergence of CitiesandStates,ed. FR. Allchin,Cambridge: Press, University Cambridge 75-98. Fishbane,Michael inAncient 1985BiblicalInterpretation Israel.Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press. 1989 The Garments of Torah:Essays in BiblicalHermeneutics. Bloomington, Press. Indiana:IndianaUniversity

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Robert Goldenberg, 1984"Talmud."Ch. 2 inBacktotheSources,ed. B.W.Holtz,NewYork:Summit Books,129-175. Gonda,Jan 1965"BandhuintheBrSihmanas." AdyarLibraryBulletin29:1-29. 1975 VedicLiterature. Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz. 1980 VedicRitual:TheNon-Solemn Rites.Leiden:E.J.Brill. Goodman,Hananya 1994(ed.) BetweenJerusalem andBenares:Comparative StudiesinJudaism and Hinduism. ofNewYorkPress. Albany,NY: StateUniversity Halivni,DavidWeiss 1986Midrash,Mishnah,and Gemara:TheJewish Predeliction Law. forJustified Mass.: Harvard Press. Cambridge, University 1991PeshatandDerash:PlainandAppliedMeaninginRabbinicExegesis.New York:OxfordUniversity Press. Reuven Hammer, 1995 The ClassicMidrash:TannaiticCommentaries on theBible.(Classicsof Western New York:PaulistPress. Spirituality.) Holdrege,Barbara 1996 Vedaand Torah:Transcending theTextuality of Scripture. Albany,N.Y.: ofNew YorkPress. StateUniversity Houben,Jan 1997"TheSanskrit In TheEmergence inFourLinguistic Tradition." ofSemantics Traditions: Greek,Arabic,ed. WoutvanBekkumet al., Hebrew,Sanskrit, Amsterdam: JohnBenjamins, 49-145. Louis Jacobs, A StudyinTalmudic 1998TheTalmudic Argument: ReasoningandMethodology. Press. Cambridge: Cambridge University Kugel,JamesL. 1986"TwoIntroductions InMidrashandLiterature, toMidrash." ed. Geoffrey H. Hartman andSanfordBudick,New Haven:Yale University Press,77-103. 3 (1983) 131-155.] [Rpt.fromProoftexts Nickelsburg, GeorgeW.E. andMichaelE. Stone 1983 Faithand Pietyin EarlyJudaism:Textsand Documents.Philadelphia: Fortress Press. Boris Oguib6nine, 1983 "Bandhuet Daksind:Deux termesvediquesillustrant le rapport entrele et le "The Journal 271:263-275 (= asiatique Signifiant signifiant signifid."

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in VedicSacrifice." In Essayson Vedicand Indo-European andtheSignifi" Motilal Banarsidass Delhi: 1998,153-166). Culture, Hermann Oldenberg, Die Weltanschauung der Brahmana1919 Vorwissenschaftliche Wissenschaft: texte.Gbttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Olivelle,Patrick 1996 (trans.)Upanisads.New York:OxfordUniversity Press. Laurie L. Patton, The Brhaddevatias CanonicalCommentary. 1996 Mythas Argument: (ReliundVorarbeiten Versuche 41.) Berlin:de Gruyter. gionsgeschichtliche Robinson,JamesM. andHelmutKoester Fortress 1971 Trajectories Press. Through EarlyChristianity. Philadelphia: Smith,BrianK. theUniverse:TheAncient IndianVarnaSystem and theOrigins 1994Classifying Press. ofCaste.New York:OxfordUniversity Z. Smith,Jonathan 1978Map Is NotTerritory. Leiden:E.J.Brill. Stem,David 1991 Parables in Midrash:Narrativeand Exegesis in RabbinicLiterature. Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press. Cambridge,

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Introduction or art,that It is an important maxim,in religionas in literature is receivedis receivedaccordingto themannerand in"Whatever cherishes instancesof YetEinflussforschung of the tention recipient." textand itsinexactequivalencebetweentheallegedly"influenced" source.Whilethecontroversy persists(now 150 yearsold), fluencing influenced the Buddhist whether scriptures gospelsorviceversa,1one treasures architectural, sculptural, literary, everyscrapofinformation, models were that Greco-Roman or numismatic, adopted suggesting "India"forthispurposeincludesmodem intotheIndianKulturbesitz. SinceIndiantextsseldomare securelydated,a Western Afghanistan. it parallelis ofvaluewhichcan be dated(withinlimits).By contrast, in the of Homer date the use be to imagining mayalways impossible oftheSaddharmapundarTka birthoftheBuddha;2or,byan author (the of Phoenix.3 the tradition LotusStitra),of an Ovid-style widespread Wherever a datableparallelcan be provedone is well-placedto ask: or attraction; how was themodelobtained;whatwas its suitability was it intended to have;and whywererelateditems4not whateffect adoptedatthesametime? 1 J.D.M.Derrett, TheBibleand theBuddhists, Bornatoin Franciacorta: Sardini, 2000. 2 J.D.M.Derrett, "Homerin India:theBirthoftheBuddha,"JournaloftheRoyal AsiaticSociety,3rdser.,2, 1992,161-176. 3J.D.M. Derrett, Journalof the "EarlyBuddhistuse of two Westernthemes," ser. 2002. Asiatic 3rd. 12,pt.3, Royal Society, 4 Whywerecyclopses,etc.,omitted (n. 60 below)?

BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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byBuddhists upontheChristian scriptures Objectorsto "influence" demandthatparallelsshouldbe scrupulously preciseandinescapable. One striking candidate,also fromthe Lotus Stitra,is themotifof enablingsaintsto risefromcaves or tombs.5A distinct earthquakes echo of Greeceexistsin theBXkttreug(alias BkXt;eg,Blemmyae, twiceinthePali Tipitaka. The learnedtranslators Blemmyes)figuring oftherelevant did notdrawattention to it, portion6 Samyutta-nikaya in not through literature see below),but ignorance(forBlemmyae possiblyafraidthatit wouldfuelsuspicionthatBuddhistscripture, believedto have been in existence(as late as) in thethirdcentury Greeceor Rome,or B.C.,7could havebeenindebtedto first-century to Egypta littleearlier;forif thatwereso theNew Testament itself a proposition wouldhave been availableto earlyBuddhists, by no ThattheOld meansagreeableto nineteenth-century philo-Buddhists. Testament was usedby Buddhistsof thatearlyperiodcan neither be norregretted.8 doubted, TheVision In the Vinaya-pitaka and Samyutta-nikaya of theSutta-pitaka9 a celebrated pupilofGotamaBuddha,MoggallanatheGreat,notorious

5 Derrett, citedat n. 1 above,no. 37 at p. 74. Add SaddharmapundarFka XXVII, trans.H. Kern(SBE 21), Oxford:ClarendonPress,1884, repr.New York:Dover Publications, 1963,442. 6 CarolineA.E RhysDavids (d. 1942, see Who Was Who?),The Book of the KindredSayings.PartII. TheNidanaBook,assistedbyF.H. Woodward, London1982 publishedin 1922),173. (originally 7 AMoka'sBhabraedict:Derrett, n. 1 above,36 n. 33. "Diffusion: Korahand Devadatta," Orientdln( 8J.D.M.Derrett, Archvy 63, 1995, Saeculum7 (1956), 330-333; W. Kirfel,"IndischeParallelenzumAltenTestament," 369-354 atpp. 378-379. 1 Kings3:16-27 atJitaka546. 9 Vinayaiii (ed. H. Oldenberg, London1883),IV.9.3,pp. 104-108atp. 107andS London sec. see n. * L. II (ed. Feer, XIX, pp. 254-262. (Fortheabbreviations, 1888) atp. 473 below.)

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to for his magical powersio and for his visions," is delighted12 all creatures theair,a seriesof twenty-one observe,passingthrough of and birds birds dismembered and prey, by scavenger beingpecked ornottheyhadmouthswith whether criesofdistress,13 whileuttering formanyof thecreatures, whichto cryout. This listis important, havingviolatedtheBuddhistruleof nottakinglife,herejoin other to be identified offenders, by the Buddha himselfas delinquents theirpunishments releasedfromhell and completing priorto being rebornin some evil condition.14A commonprincipleof manyof at M iii. 203, trans.,iii. 249-250). is talio (illustrated thesufferings As theydid in life so theysuffernow,sometimesmore so. One is a mereskeleton,anothera lumpof flesh,anothera quantityof as comparatively is flayed.Some are identified flesh,whilea fourth a a sheep-butcher, two recentmalefactors viz. fowler, cattle-butchers, a mockingBrahmin(who a sycophant,15 an adulterer, a pig-butcher,

10A i.23, trans.,16. He causedhousesto quake: S LI, vii, 2(4), trans.,v.241-2; London1884, ch. 17 at S. Beal, Si-yu-ki, M i.253,trans.,i.309. Fa-Hian,Fo-kwo-ki, HiuenTsiang,Ta-t'ang.Si-yu-ki, ibid.,ii, 188-235, repr.NewYork1968,i, xxxix-xli; ForC.A.E RhysDavids' suspicionsee herOld CreedsandNewNeeds,London1963, 80-81. 1 He visitedgods: M i.252,trans.,i.307; S XL ?10, trans.,iv.185-189;LV xi,2 X.7, iii.65-71,trans., (viii-ix),trans.,v.319; and hell: DhammapadaCommentary Harvard HOS Buddhist Press,1921,repr. 29, University Legends,pt.2, Burlingame, Pali TextSoc., 1979,ii.304-307;andreceivedmessagesfromdevas;A iii.122-123. Buddhismin Translations, MA, Harvard trans.,iii.95-96.H.C. Warren, Cambridge, E.J. to 522: v.125-126. Introduction Jataka Press,1896,221-224, 225; University London: & as and Buddha The Thomas, History, Routledge Kegan Legend Lifeof Paul,1975,141-142.The Buddhasaysthemonksshouldaimtohavesuchvisionswhichhe himselfhadhad earlierbutdidnotrevealforfearofnotbeingbelieved:S ii.174. XIX, ii.261,trans., 12S XIX 1,5-6,8,ii.254-255.Smilingallowed:A i.261,trans., i.239. 13S XIX.19,ii.255,trans., ii.170ff. 14Ibid. XIX.1,13;21,ii.255-256,trans.,ii.170-174(end). Continually takinglife iv.169. as a ghost:A iv.247,trans., leadstorebirth 15gimakfito. s.v. See Pali-English Dictionary,

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a fortune-teller or confidencegivesmonksdirtto eat),an adulteress, a jealous chiefqueen,and (nos. 17-21) evil-living trickster, monks, male and female novices of the remote of a former and nuns, period Buddha. No. 16 in thislistis exotic,beinga grotesque. He has no head (he is a headlesstrunk)16withhiseyesandmouthon hischest(tassa ure ceva hontimukhaiica). akkhTni hisidiosyncracy twocategories Terselydescribed, vaguelysuggests knownto theBuddha.If he were"ofbad colour,""ugly,""dwarfish" he wouldresemblethosewho,rebornas human or "hunchbacked", deformed, beings,appearin a lowcaste,needy,ofinsecurelivelihood, and destitute.17 are to darkness and fare to darkness."18 They "joined A (hereditary) casteofhunchbacks wouldfitthiscategory. Secondly, he reminds us ofthecondition, after releasefromhell,ofthosegreedy personswho engagedin asceticpracticesforlow or meanmotives: releasefromhellbecome suchpeoplearedespisedinthislife,andafter "greatghosts(lookinglike monks)of thecravingtype"wandering over the earth,withlimbs emaciated ... head swollen ... horriblein appearance, ears torn,eyes blinking... stomach a mass of fire...

withoutrefuge,lamenting withcriesforcompassion."19 Withsuch theBuddhaproceedsto identify ideascurrent, thepeculiarindividual espiedbyMoggallana. him(aloneoftheseries)byname-Hairika, He identifies suggesting ofthe "Snatcher" (hdrinmeans"taking").The translators20 inthis itthus:"Thisbeingwas a banditnamedHairika Sam.yutta passagetranslate 16asisakamkavandham. Theheadingof16(6),sisachinnois ofno knownauthority. 17M iii.169-170,trans.,iii.215;S i.94,trans.,i.118-119;A ii.85,trans.,ii.94-95. For 'ofill colour'see A i.246,trans., i.225. 18S i.94 as translated on rebirth see byMrsRhysDavids.Forsuchlow conditions A i.100,trans., M iii.203,204,trans., i.92. Illnessanda shortlife-span: iii.250. 19Milindapaiiho, London1880,repr.London1962,357; trans. ed. V. Trenckner, I.B. Homer,Milinda'sQuestions,London1969,vol. 2, 217-218. Miss Homerhad beforehertheversionof E. Conze,BuddhistScriptures, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 95. 1959,repr.1971, 20C.A.E RhysDavidsandEH. Woodward as at n. 6 above.

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Thetexthasthedescriptive nouncoraghataka, very(city)Rajagaha."21 A yearlater thetechnicaltermfor"executioner."22 thief-slaughterer, Thetalioprinciple shows theword"cut-throat."23 E.M. Harerendered thievesby is headlessbecausehe regularly thatourfriend decapitated the most of their last torture.24 I.B. Homer,perhaps experienced way attheVinayaparallel.25 renders theword"executioner" translator, on the trunk(kavanda)which Moggallana'svisionconcentrated havea brainbetweenthe bearseyesand mouthand can conceivably whichan editorhas thewordsTsa-chinno shoulders;butadmittedly insertedas theheadingof thisnumber(withoutauthority) suggests He maynotbe thattheheadhad beencutoff,whichis inconsistent. cutbutsomething controls hiscries. capableofhavinghisthroat Blemmyae Now whatMoggallanadescribedis obviouslyan acephaliteofthe since To findone in an Indiantextis startling, speciesBlemmya.26 of Blemmyaein India,thoughtheymaybe deducedfrom rumours Blemmyaedo notappearin our Pliny(a slip?),cannotbe verified. Ctesiasnor in Megasthenesnor in Straboon India. Dogheads are withthem.Herewe havea butwe arenotconcerned another matter, infront-rank Buddhist textsofveryrespectable Blemmya(an African)

21TheBookofKindred Sayings(as atn. 6 above),173. 22Pali-EnglishDictionary,pt. 4, 105 (manyJatakacitations).D ii.321, trans., ii.352. 23 A iii.273 rendering coraghdtakaat text,iii.383,lines 23-24 as 'cut-throats.' at A Woodward'sversionis ii.219. 24 S A i.48; ii.123,241-243. ii.128;D i.276; M iii.16,171,181,209; 25TheBookoftheDiscipline,I, London:Luzac fortheP.T.S.,1949,187. 26A. Littleton, London61735;Forcellini-Bailey, Totiuslatinitatis LatinDictionary, Oxford1879,1933; lexicon,London1828;C.T. Lewis& C. Short,LatinDictionary, Oxford21989, II, 278 (Blemya)examplesgivenwith OxfordEnglishDictionary, references (Norwich,Ripon).E.G. Brewer, DictionaryofPhraseand Fable. London 1870,1952,1970,s.v. 'Blemmyes.'

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age.27To selecthim as the Buddhadoes as a typicalexecutioner seemstoimplythatBuddhists'information aboutBlemmyae neglected usbacktoa periodwhenthey rational socialorpoliticalroles,throwing we shouldbear weresimplymonsters: aboutthatlater.Butmeanwhile in mindthatIndiancontactswithEgyptby landand sea wentbackto thethirdcentury information B.C. atthelatest,so thatoralandwritten aboutitwouldnotbe scarce. of Blemmyaehavea specialplace in Europeanart,in thehistory in Englishliterature, and notoriously folklore, exploration, sculpture, monand engraving. This is important, sinceit atteststhisparticular Jehande Mandeville(pseud. ster'spowerof attracting speculation. Jeand'Outremeuse [1371]) says(ch.XXIII) And in anotheryle towardthesouthduellenfolkof foulstature& of cursed Andheremouth kynde,thathannonehedes& hereeyenbeninhereschouldres. is crokedas an horseshoo& thatis in themyddesofherebrest,Andin another ylealso benfolkthathannonhedes& hereeyen& heremouthbenbehyndein hereschuldres.28

ofBeauvais Heretheauthor leansontheSpeculum NaturaleofVincent (c. 1260) (Bk. 31, ch. 127, col. 2393 of the editionof 1524). On 27TheVinaya-pitaka is regarded as veryold,partsgoingbacktothefourth century Part2 of S, whichincludesour S passage is B.C., but subjectto interpolation. ofPali scriptures. H. Nakamura, chronologically placedinclass2c oftheearlyportion IndianBuddhism. A Survey..., Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass1987,27, cf.37-38, 57. A datebeforeA.D. 200 wouldbe an acceptableguesson thepartofthosenottiedto traditions 'dates'. respecting 28P. Hamelius,ed., Mandeville'sTravelstranslated fromthe Frenchof Jean d'Outremeuse editedfromMS CottonTitusC. XVI in theBritishMuseum,I, text, E.E.T.S. 153, London1919, 133-134; II, Notes.E.E.T.S. 154,London1923, 109110, cf. 13: Leucaniin Lybiatheybelieveto be bornas trunkswithouthead,and necks,havingeyes havingmouthandeye on/inthebreast;otherstobe bornwithout on theirshoulders of Vincent J.W. "The woodcut illustrations Bennett, Beauvais). (so in theEnglisheditionofMandeville'sTravels," the Papersof Bibliographical Society of America,47, 1953. In the modernizedversionpublishedby M.C. Seymour, Mandeville'sTravels,World'sClassics 617, OxfordUniversity Press, 1968, the in above ch. 156. 22, passagereproduced appears p.

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orboth,Shakespeare orconceivably SirWalter "Mandeville" Ralegh,29 relieswhenhe makesOthellobeguileDesdemonawithtalesof men and enricheshis "whose heads do growneaththeirshoulders";30 Lewis Carroll(pseud.Charles fantasieswiththemin The Tempest.31 as children's satires whose social and masquerade religious Dodgson), modelsa Blemmya,theuncouth,ill-natured sciolist, entertainment, nude at the The edge of the Blemmyafiguring HumptyDumpty.32 Hereford Mappa Mundi(c. 1285)33has a waist;and so had Carroll's Numbers13:22,31-33 and the model, right-hand giant(illustrating 1:28, 1:10, 21; 9:2)34 which,withhis club-bearing Deuteronomy on the left,appearson a misericord (1489-94) in Ripon colleague was a Canon1852-68.35TheRipon whereDodgson'sfather Cathedral 29TheDiscoveryeoftheLarge,Rich& Bewtiful EmpyreofGuiana,London1596 (two editions);L. Hulsius,Breviset admirandadescriptioregniguianae... 1594, seem to have been entirely fabulous.J. 1595, 1596. The Ewaipanoma,illustrated, Sir Walter Winton, Ralegh,London1975,171-172. 30Othello(1604-1605),ActI, sceneiii,lines144-145(G.B. Evans,ed. Riverside Boston1974, 1208). An illustration (woodcut)of a clothedBlemmya Shakespeare, appearsatp. 1202,claimingtobe takenfroman editionoftheEnglishMandevilleof ab inicio cumfiguriset ymaginibus 1582. (Hartmann Schedel)Liberchronicarum mundi,Augsburg1493, 1497 (under"India"-'India' and 'Ethiopia' were often confusedin theMiddleAges). 31Tempest (?1611-12),ActIII, sceneiii,lines46-47. 32Through London1896,ch.6. and whatAlicefoundthere, theLooking-glass 33P.D. Harvey, World Hereford & London1991: Mundi: the Hereford Map, Mappa MedievalGeography-anEssay in Illustration W.L. Bevan & H.W. Phillott, of the with M. A.L. Moir Hereford London & Letts,The 1873; Hereford Mappa Mundi, The WorldMap in Hereford Cathedral,Hereford1979; ScottD. Westrem, Hereford 2001,382-383. Map,Turnhoot 34L. Ginzberg, Jewish Publication Soc., 1968,I, LegendsoftheJews,Philadelphia: 151;III 268-270,273. 35J.S.Purvis,"The use ofcontinental woodcutsandprints bytheRiponschoolof intheearlysixteenth woodcarvers Archaeologia85, 1936,107-128,esp.pl. century," XXX, fig.2. ChristaGrdssinger, RiponCathedralMisericords, RiponCathedral1989 flowers norleavesnorfruits as hasneither (see no. 17).Thereasonwhythismisercord wouldreducetheBlemmyaeandobscure is thatsuchembellishment its"supporters" thefactthatthebiblicalgiantswereindeedgiganticas shownin manyillustrations

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Blemmyae,now unique,36may derivefroma continentalmanuscript,

andthe sincetheyareabsentin thisformfromtheBibliapauperum37 Chronicle.38 variouseditionsoftheNuremberg theirname)in Herodotus(c. 560(without Blemmyaeappearfirst in 420), whoplacesthem(correctly) Africa.

IV.191,3: The easternside of Libya,wherethenomadslive,is low and sandy, Butwestward ofthatland,thelandofthehusbandmen, as faras theriverTriton. is veryhilly,well-woodedand aboundingin wildbeasts. Here too are the .... as the Libyans Dogheads,andtheHeadlesswhohavetheireyesin theirbreasts, of and wild men and wild women other beastswhichare and many report them; notfabulous.

centuryB.C. Blemmyaewere famous,otherwise By the mid-third Theocritus' "curse"atVII, 113-114wouldfallflat: Mayestthouwanderby the remotestEthiopansand feed thyflockby the Blemyes'rockfromwhenceNileis notyetvisible!

but not the Strabogives the location,the name,and character, 21 he had about B.C., personalknowledge strangeshape. Dying his acquaintancewithC. of Egyptand regionssouthwards through CorneliusGallus,prefectof EgyptunderOctaviusin 30 B.C. and explorerof Arabia.39He will have learnedof the Blemmyae-not inAlexandria, ofall myths andlegends. therefore, unheard-of, entrepOt

of Blemmyae.The carvers'choiceof Blemmyaemayhave been dictatedby their ofIsraelitehumansas grasshoppers (howweretheirheadstobe accounted description Isaiah 40:22). for?)(Numbers13:33; 36Purvis,'Use', 121 (the'Nobodies'). 37ForMSS see Enc. Brit.,11thedn.,vol. 27, 511a; blockbooksc. 1460ibid.,512a, editions, ibid., including1471(HansSpoerer),512d(no.20); andmanyNetherlandish 513a. 38Hartmannus Schedel,Registrum (see n. 30 above). hujusoperislibrichronicarum has no cluband is seatedGermanversions1495, 1500.The Blemmyaillustrated notthemodeloftheRiponBlemmya. evidently 39Pauly-Wissowa 164;Der KleinePaulyI, 1964,1316-1317(Cornelius20); OCD 3 394-395. 1996,

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J.DuncanM. Derrett StraboXVII.1, 2:40 In themoresoutherly partson each side of Meroe,along theNile,towardstheRed Sea, livetheMegabariand Blemmyes, subjectto the with a border Ethiopians, sharing Egypt.

towardstheSouth(is occupiedby) Troglodytes XVII.1, 53:41The remainder and Blemmyesand Nubiansand Megabari,Ethiopiansabove Syene. These are nomadic,neithernumerousnorwarlike,butfearedby people in thepast in a piratical becauseoftheiroftenfallinguponunguarded manner (settlements) (k-fTpKI;g).

A desert-dwelling semi-civilized nomadicEthiopian tribeorpeople well be famous for might attacking "piratically" (combining robbery of the Nile Valley; and murder)the richand peacefulinhabitants "theBlemmyesremainedtheterror of Egyptformanycenturies to come."42As forthe etymology of theirname,the alleged Coptic or Blemy,an Ethiopianking,as suggestedby thehighly"blind";43 are less interesting thanBochart's45 derivation Nonnus;44 qualified froma hypothetical Ethiopianequivalentof theHebrewbell mbah The ("without brain")! derogatory mayor maynotderive description fromtheirornamenting theirshieldswithfaces;46butevidencethat in conclavesquattedbehindtheirshieldswiththeir Somalitribesmen Suchconjectures are eyesjustabovetherimsmaynotbe irrelevant.47 futile:similarly a guessthattheyreminded of the dyedpillar people 40Strabonis ed. A. Meineke,Leipzig1877,1097.C.786. geographica, 41Ibid.,1142-1143.C.819. 42Enc. Brit.,11thedn.,vol. 89. Rostovzeff-Frazer59 9, (n. below),737. 43H.W.HelckatKl. PaulyI, 913. 44Nonnus,DionysiacaXVII, 385-397 (Loeb edn.,DionysiacaII, 61). Nonnus Greekwriter of Panopolison theNile (Akhmim31?46'E was a fourth/fifth century who on to 26 30'N), went embassy Ethiopiaamongst the'Saracens'andothereastern peoples. 45S. Bochardius(1599-1667),Geographiasacra I. Phaleg(Caen 1646),Bk 4, ch. was knownforhis 'chimerical 29, p. 317. Bochardius etymologies.' 46J.Friedman, MA TheMonstrous RacesInMedievalArtand Thought, Cambridge 1982,12, 15,25, 146,178-179. 47(Sir) RichardF Burton, FirstFootstepsinEast Africa,London:Longmans1856 edns.,1910,1966,2000),ch.6. (further

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erectedin EgypttohonourOsiris,whichhas a faceon itstrunk.48 But sufferers see theirtormentors as monsters. Mela (A.D. 43-4) speaksoftheBlemmyaethus: Pomponius fromtheEast of theGaramantes, afterwards Chorogr.1.4 (23):49We hearfirst theWesttheAtlastribe.Between, (sic),andlasttowards AugilesandTrogodytes if one likes to believe it, Goat-Pans,Blemyes,Gamphasantes, and Satyrs, withoutroofsor homes,havingtheland,as scarcelyhuman,ratherhalf-wild, rather thanowningit.Ibid. 1.8 (57-58):50Gamphasantes arenaked theywander, and ignorant of all weapons... so theyfleefromthosetheymeet,and do not allow othersto meetor talkwiththemunlesstheyare of thesame mentality. human Blemyaehaveno heads,theirfaceis in theirbreast.Satyrshavenothing their So much for Africa. except appearance. ....

It is Mela who made theconnection betweentheBlemmyaeand theirdeformity. Theirwayof lifeis indicatedby "halfwild."Pliny's NaturalisHistoriawas compiledbyA.D. 79. He followsMela.

N.H.V.8,44 (Africa):In themiddleofthedesertsomeplace theAtlastribe,and nextto themthehalf-animal Goat-Pansand theBlemmyaeand Gamphasantes andSatyrsandStrapfoots. Ibid.46: TheBlemmyaearereported tohavenoheads, theirmouthandeyesbeingattached totheirchests.Ibid.VII (thehumanrace)2, 23: ... andthattheyarenotfarfromtheTrogodytes; andagainwestward from therethereare somepeoplewithout necks,havingtheireyesin theirshoulders. Ibid. 2, 32: These and similarvarietiesof thehumanrace havebeen madeby theingenuity of Natureas toysforherselfandmarvelsforus. Andindeedwho couldpossiblyrecountthevariousthingsshe does everydayand almostevery hour?Let itsuffice forthedisclosureofherpowertohaveincludedwholeraces ofmankind marvelsin amonghermarvels.Fromthesewe turnto a fewadmitted thecase oftheindividual humanbeing(trans., Loeb edn.,vol.2).

48W. Budge, Osirisand the I, London 1911; B. Van de EgyptianResurrection Walle,'L'6rectiondu pilierdjed', La NouvelleClio 6, 1954,283-287; L.V. Zabkar, 1975, index,s.v. Blemmye(s).Referencesowed to V.A. Apedemak,Warminster Donohue. 49EditedbyK. Frick,Leipzig1880,repr.1935,624-29 Artists welcomed'face' as allowingBlemmyaewithnosesalso. 50Ibid. 1127_123. Noselessmonsters wereknown,afterall (Strabo).

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AfterPlinycomea rowofreferences and allusionsto Blemmyae, are of no interest.5" which,beingderivative, AmongstmediaevalremainstheMappa Mundi(above)is instructive, wherethereis a male and femalepair,themale havingbotheyes and mouthon his chest (Westrem, p. 383, item971) and thefemalehavingbotheyes and mouthin hershoulders(to makeroomforthemammae?)(Westrem, believed ibid.,973). So theMappa's author(RichardofHaldingham) boththosedefinitions correct.On the Hereford Mappa Mundiand in severalearlyillustrations, as well as at Ripon,theBlemmyaeare ofBlemmyaearenumerous,53 equippedwithclubs.52Illustrations inthat some take "Mandeville" oftenenquired cluding literally. Explorers of nativesand travellers whatmonsters wereto be foundin foreign even withthatperhapsgreatand the often, Blemmyaefigure parts;54 estofexplorers, SirRichardBurton.55 The suggestion thattheBlema for Indian was punishment sinis an idea,notfound myae'sdeformity inthesecular-minded West. fromStrabo ThewitofEdwardGibbon(1776) blendedinformation andPlinywhiledealingwiththeBlemmyae's and political,strategical, in thethirdcentury andafter.56 Romanemperors relations diplomatic 51Solinus(c. 260) 13,4-5; Vopiscus(305), Aur 33,4; Prob. 17,19;Memertinus (362), geneth.Maxim.17; Claudian(400), carm.de Nilo, v.19 per Meroen,BleMeroe,thesavageBlemyae,and black myasqueferas,atramqueSyenem,'through libriXX, 11.3,17.For Originum Syene.'Isidoreof Seville(622-633),Etymologiae, Solinussee Moir-Letts (above,n. 33), 12. 52See nn.37-38 above. 53For Schedel see above, n. 38. F. Odle, PictureStoryof WorldExploration, clubs. London1966,whereone findsgiantexamplescarrying 54Fortheancientworldsee Philostratus, V.Apoll.3. 45-47, andDamascius(5thed. Bekker,Berlin1825,ii, 340, 6thcent.),LifeofIsidorusat Photius,Bibliotheca, col. 2, lines7-10. Forthemodernworldnoticethecuriosity SirWalterRaleghhadto of Ewaipanoma(n. 29 above).I havenotcheckedrumours satisfywiththemythical Blemmyaelocatedin (?) MexicobytheSpaniards. 55See n. 47 above. 56F.W.WallbankandA.E. Astonetal., edd.Cambridge Ancient 2nd.edn., History, vol.7, pt.1,TheHellenisticWorld, 1984),map3,p. 121.Blemmyae appear Cambridge inNubiatotheEast,WestoftheTrogodytes.

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musttakethefieldagainstthemandevenconciliate them,whichwould life"(parasitism) reported byStrabo. hardlyfitthe"piratical Decline & Fall, ch. 13: (in A.D. 296-7) eventheBlemmyesrenewed,or rather intotheUpperEgypt.... Since theusurpation of theirincursions continued, of into had the Firmus, province UpperEgypt,incessantly relapsing rebellion, beThe number oftheBlemmyes, scattered embroiled thesavagesofAethiopia. theirdispotweentheIslandofMeroeandtheRed Sea, wasveryinconsiderable, sitionwas unwarlike, theirweaponsrudeandinoffensive. Yetinpublicdisorders had whomantiquity, shockedbythedeformity oftheirfigure,57 thesebarbarians, to rankthemselves almostexcludedfromthehumanspecies,presumed among and alliesof theEgyptians; theenemiesof Rome.Such hadbeentheunworthy ofthestatewas engagedinmoreseriouswars,theirvexatious whiletheattention Witha viewtoopposingto inroadsmightagainharassthereposeoftheprovince. theBlemmyesa suitableadversary, DiocletianpersuadedtheNobatae,orpeople to thedesertsof Libya,and of Nubia,to removefromtheirancienthabitations andunprofitable abovetheSyeneandthe territory resignedtotheman extensive oftheNile,withthestipulation thattheyshouldoverrespectandguard cataracts thefrontier oftheEmpire.Thetreaty longsubsisted.. .58

Buddhist Appropriation ofa Blemmya of headlessness, Since Mela firstcouplesthedeformity etc.,with thatinformer timesBlemthename'Blemyae'andStrabofirst reports and other tribes attacked Ethiopian unprotected peoples(Egypmyes as theexetheacephaliteidentified the Buddha tians)'piratically,' by inthefirst in torment be dated ofRajagaha post-mortem cutioner may B.C. True,detailsoftheBlemmyae'sconflicts halfofthefirst century imandallianceswiththeRomanempireprovethattheysubsequently this not down the on their but does periodof notoriety;59 bring proved 57GibbonreadsMela's andPlinyaccountsintothelatersourceshe uses. 58Nevertheless Prima,etc.,yieldedtothem. 59S.A. Cooketal., edd.,Cambridge Ancient vol. 12 (A.D. 193-324),173History, of 174.L. MussiusAemilianus, 257, prefect Egypt,emperor drovebackaninvasionof frontiers ofEgypt.TheyinvadedEgyptinthe3rdcent, theBlemmyaeon thesouthern FirmusunderAurelian(p. 305). Theysupported and later(p. 277). Theysupported Ptolemaisin revolt(p. 316). ProbusdrovethemoutofKoptosin Ptolemaisin 280. It Britannica thePersians.On Diocletiansee NewEncyclopedia seemstheyinterested

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Harika:robbery Moggallana'sexchangewiththeBuddhaconcerning and theheadlessvisionwithan 'executioner'; withviolenceconnected on theBuddha'spartwouldnotbe stimulated thementalconnection so wellwhileBlemmyaewerea well-organized politicalforce. whichtheexchangesuggestsmay The Buddhisttrainof thought have been as follows:amongstthemanyracesof peoplerumoured to existthereare monsters and reported (notleastin India).60 Few the conditionof all are of distinctparaeneticvalue; nevertheless in their moral reflects history previousbirths(India being people The parasitizedconditionof theNile Valleyis an no exception).61 inflicted example:theirlivesmusthaveearnedthistalio:punishment and degradedBlemmyae,whose own ancestors by the monstrous others.The Blemmyae had been thievesand cut-throats, tormenting foranywhoare of torment a themselves supply pattern post-mortem The CriminalTribe(now "ScheduledTribe") cut-throats. hereditary of India,and no Indianwouldbe surprised is an ancientinstitution to findone in Africa(he would not need to mounta camel to verifyits existence).Evidentlynoneof theBlemmyaehad received killermustcome of 'freedom.'A professional theBuddha'sdoctrine wouldbe a minor fromjust sucha stock.His personalruthlessness consideration, seeingthatin Indiaall degradedcasteswerehereditary whoarethe whoarecandailas, theexecutioners (notoriously including vol. 20, 1990, 331 col. 2. MaximinusdefeatsNobataeand Blemmyaein 451. M. TheSocial and EconomicHistoryoftheRomanEmpire,2nd.edn.,P.M. Rostovzeff, Frazer,Oxford:ClarendonPress 1957,repr.1988,vol. i, 301, 305, 307, 464, 480, "TheBlemmyesI..." inA.N.R.W II. 10,1,pp.44-97. 486-487.R.T.Updegraff, 60For examplecyclopes(Homer,Od 9. 112-115),cynacephali, scienotocoetai, Aves 1553; Ctesias),hippopodes,monoscelides, anthropophagi. apodes (Aristoph., Cf. Strabo15.1,57.Whereasthesciapodesderivefroman Indianasceticpractice, fromSiva ekapaddsvara, enotocoetai fromIndianideasofBeauty,andmonoscelides derivefromfoetalmalformations (Enc. Brit.,11thedn.,vol. 18, manymostrosities Notetheridicule monsters. 742-743).Butunexplored regionspullulatewithdramatic & CleopatraActII, scenevii,lines34-50. at Shakespeare, Anthony 61M i.22-23,trans.,i.28-29; cf.M i.286,trans.,i.344; A i.122-123,trans., i.105; trans., iii.59,137,274. i.227-230;ii.202-205;iii.73,186,385; i.249-253,trans.,

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witheyes and mouthon their lowestcaste).Now headlesscreatures breastswerereputedly testified tobymanyovercenturies! Suchbooks in headlessness was a fact even the West!The that proved punitive oflifewerenotfarshortofhellish, Blemmyae'sconditions conforming to the Buddhistconceptionof delinquentsreleasedfromhell but AndweretheBlemmyaenoton thevergeof escapinganimal-rebirth. animal-rebirth anyhow? All suchcreatures, withinhumanimagination, whatone exemplify fear when one's have should sins notbeenpurgedthrough thetortures of veritablehells.62Greeceand Rome can nowbe called to witness by such mastersof insightas Moggallanathe Great.Greece and Rome substantiate his highlyimaginative portionofBuddhistethical Justas theadoptingof Greekmotifs, liketheSymplegades doctrine. in theDevadattastory,63 madeBuddhistlegendmoreaccessibleto the tothefabulous West,so thesevisionsaddplausibility magicalpowers64 to an adeptof the calibreof thatMoggallana.Therefore attributed theBlemmyaeandMoggalldnato theRajagahaexecutioner permitted authenticate eachother.** *Thesectionsof theSutta-pitaka ofthePali Tipitakaareindicated = = D A M = Majjhima-nikaya; thus: Aliguttara-nikaya; Digha-nikdya; ThePali TextSociety'seditionsandtranslations S = Samyutta-nikaya. 62For examplesof thesesee M iii.166-167,trans.,iii.212-213;A i.141, trans., i.270-271. i.137; i.292-293,trans., 63Rocks spontaneously clashed and destroyedall but a splinterof the rock DevadattarolleddownontotheBuddha:S i.22-29,110,trans.,i.38-40, 138-139; 29, S. Beal, Si-yu-ki(n. 10 CullavaggaVII.3,9 (SBE 20, 245), Fa-Hian,Fo-kwo-ki above),pp. lix-lx. (n. 19 64See n. 10 above.On Iddhissee A i.255,trans.,i.233; Conze,Scriptures above),121-133. **For valuablereferences and materialsI am obligedto Mr Neil Spencerand Dr SimonLawson(IndianInstitute MrsRosalindCaird(bothof Hereford), Library, Mr. Roger Norris(ChapterLibrary, Oxford),Mr V.A. Donohue (Egyptologist), Mr Peter and philo-math, Durham)and especiallyto thatoutstanding philo-myth ofShipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. Drinkwater

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are used. Fromthe particulars of the textthe Germanand Italian andothersmayeasilybe located. translations, HalfWayHouse,HighStreet MoretoninMarsh Blockley, GL56 9EX Glos., UK

J.DUNCANM. DERRETT

BOOK REVIEWS PETERG. RIDDELL,Islamand theMalay-Indonesian World:Transmission of Hawai'i Press 2001 (xvii + and Responses-Honolulu:University 349 p.) ISBN 0-8248-2473-3(hb.)$42.00. Politicalchangesin Indonesiaduringthe last fewyears,theupcoming in Malaysiaor plansto establishan independent Islamicstate islamization in theSouthern East Asia of the South to thenews' bring parts Philippines headlinesand to the generalstudyof the Islamic worldalike. Therefore worldis highly a studyof the historyof Islam in the Malay-Indonesian to the factthatIslam in these welcome.The authorcalls our attention areasof SouthEast Asia can be dividedintotwoperiods,theone fromthe onwards, earlyyearsof Islam in theMalay worldfromthe 13rdcentury whenIslamicthinkers-inspired theothersincethe20thcentury by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, MuhammadAbduh or MuhammadIqbal-developed withdifferences betweentheologians theirthoughts comingeitherfromthe or Indonesia. Malayanpeninsula The firstchaptersof the studyprovidethe background by givingthe of the Qur'an,revelation, law and outlinesof Islamic thought--exegesis world there were no Islamic centres the Arab as 13-98), (pp. mysticism-in in theMalayandIndonesianworldforlong.Islamin SouthEast oflearning law then(p. 54 f.),butalso legends Asia was mainlydominated by shafaitic oftheprophet's lifehavebeenveryimportant forthespreadofIslaminthese areas (p. 63 f.). LinksbetweenSouthEast Asia and Gujaratat thewestern to theMalay coast of India (p. 71) also broughtIbn al-Arabi'smysticism world. One of thefirstwell knownIslamicscholarsis HamzahFanzuriwho in thelate 16thcentury travelled widelyfromthewesterncoastof Sumatrato Siam and Arabia;he becameacquaintedwithvariousmysticalschoolsand he andhis intotheQadiriyya order.Afterreturning to Sumatra, was initiated man" laterpupilsdid notonlypromoteSufism,buttheidea of the"perfect also hadan impacton theMalayidea ofkingship (cf.p. 115).Thepreference formysticalIslamin theMalayworldmayalso havebeendue to thelegacy of Hindumysticalelements,and thecourtepic in theMalay era fromthe BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke

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Book reviews

14thto the17thand 18thcenturies showssomeinfluence fromthe therefore HinduandBuddhist of of South East Asia before the advent Islam (cf.p. past 144f.).Whilethefirst intheMalayworldowned centuries ofIslamicthought a lottomysticism, a changetookplaceinthe19thcentury whencontactsand social linksbetweentheMalay worldand theMiddleEast weredeepened, fromSouthArabia,mainlyfrom partlyalso becauseof risingimmigration Hadhramaut to SouthEast Asia. This led to a challengeto and a declineof Sufithinking (cf. p. 192 f.). Besides thisshift,Europeancolonialismalso made a strongimpression on the whole area, raisingmodernising voices as amongIslamicauthors,someof themgainingheavypoliticalinfluence, it was thecase withAnwarIbrahimin Malaysiaor Abdurrahman Wahidin Indonesiaduringthelasttwodecades(cf.pp.241 f.).ThoughIslamin South acrossthearea,the20thcentury East Asia is closelyinterconnected brought differences betweentheMalayworld(Malayanpeninsula, Southern Thailand, becamemorecloselyconnectedto Philippines)and Indonesia.The former theMiddleEast, whichis also expressedin contemporary culturethrough ortelevision (cf.pp. 309 f.). newspapers programmes As a conclusionone has to saythatthisbookgivesan excellentoverview of themainIslamicthinkers in theMalay-Indonesian worldduringthelast centuries on theirowncontributions andtheirdebtto otherpartsof focusing theMuslimworld.SouthEastAsianIslamtherefore deservestobe studiedas world a substantive of the Islamic within eventhe part comparative religions, moreas Indonesiais notonlythelargestpoliticalunitworld-wide withthe highestnumberof Muslimpeoplelivingtherebutalso becauseSouthEast Asia is an areawithrapidlygrowing Muslimpopulations. Seminar Religionswissenschaftliches Adenauerallee 4-6 D-53113Bonn,Germany

MANFREDHUTTER

ROBERT KISALA, Prophetsof Peace: Pacifismand CulturalIdentityin Japan's New Religions-Honolulu: Universityof Hawai'i Press 1999

(242 p.) ISBN 0-8248-2267-6,$21.00.

Peacetalk(or,indeference tocurrent is "in"these jargon,peace-discourse) as thedesirablegoal seemsto be receddays,all themoreenthusiastically BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke Also availableonline- www.brill.nl

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and theirofficials, away.Religions(i.e. religiousorganizations ing farther and spokesmen-often to as 'religiousleaders'-as bureaucracies referred witha particular rewell as concernedandarticulate individuals identifying are in their efforts to the of further cause peace, ligioustradition) competing notleastby meansof international conferences, "religioussummit"meetand andphotogenic) ings(whichoftenshowreligionsattheirmostcolourful the of Sometimes these efforts take form less jointprayergatherings. glamoto underdeveloped or disaster-stricken areas.Two asrousaid programmes are underlying theseefforts. The first is thatreligions, at leastat sumptions to peace butshould, whatis heldto be theirbest,are notonlycommitted and indeedcould,significantly to thisideal statesincereligion contribute stillhas a decisiverole to play in humanaffairs.The secondassumption is thatsincepeace,whichin thefirstplace means"peace between"pastor actualorpotential, concernsall "religionists," concerted contenders, present, collaboration and ("interfaith") religiouspeace efforts implyinterreligious and of World on various levels to various The Religions" degrees. "Dialogue forpeace in Assisiinitiated annualprayergatherings by Pope JohnPaul II in 1986,or theMuseumof WorldReligionsin Taipei,a Buddhistinitiative "worldpeaceandreligiousharmony," arerandomexamdesignedtopromote ples. of official"repMentionhas been madeof themandatory participation resentatives" at such events.Special interest attachesto cases whenthese are theactualfounders of "newreligions"or theirsecondrepresentatives third-fourth and morebureaucratic (oftenless charismatic generation type) a successors.New religiousmovements, foundations etc. are unirevivals, versalphenomenon, yet19thand 20thcentury Japanmaywellbe calledthe or landofrisingnewreligions.Not all of themanyhundreds havesurvived Andofthetwoorthreedozenthatdo, meritcloseranalysisanddescription. notall relevantones can be adequatelydiscussedin a volumefocusingon one particular albeitcentraltheme:theirideologicaland practicalcommitmenttopeace or,moreprecisely, topacifism. MostJapanese"newreligions" are involvedin a varietyof peace activitiesas participants at conferences of suchconferences andmeetings (Assisi,Milan),as initiators (suchas e.g. theMountHiei gathering), as sponsorsof majorinterfaith-and-peace organizations(e.g. RisshoKoseikaiandthe"WorldConference on Religionand Peace" [WCRP]),oras speakersatsuchinternationally forums as recognized toohasits U.N. Assemblies(e.g. Soka Gakkai'sPresident Ikeda).Konkokyo

478

Book reviews

"PeaceActivity Centre." suchpublicandespeciallyinternational Incidentally, is also for new "sects"thatusuallydo notatfirst enactivity status-enhancing joy, to putit mildly,highprestige.Manynewreligionsalso demandmore inward-directed anddiscipline: andaboveall "pol"spiritual" activity prayer, and soul and immediate surroundishing" purifying your "pacifying" your andmothers-in-law, wives,children ingswhichincludesnotonlyhusbands, anddiversenegativespirits. butalso ancestral Peace mustspreadoutward in concentric circlesfromindividual tofamily, it related etc. until group, spirits thewholeworld.Thisaspectofthematter is centralespeciallyto permeates "newreligions"thatdo notengagein spectacular publicrelationsactivities their fervour are rather closedin on thembut, missionary notwithstanding, selves.The PrayeroftheTensho-Kotai-Jingu-Kyo (f. 1945;thegroupis not mentioned in thebookunderreview)beginswith"Peace intheWorld,Peace in theWorld"(tenkataihei,tenkataihei)andtheprayerinstructions specify "do notprayforfavoursandblessings.Worldpeace is theultimate goal."In 1964a "TempleofPeace" was dedicatedat themainsanctuary. The interreis nicelybrought lationofthevariouselements outina sermonofthepresent forworldpeace, ourmissionis to prayin toleaderof thesect:"Aspiring talearnestness forpeace andtheredemption ofnegativespirits." Evenmore was the Foundress in her sermon of 13th 1952: explicit September "People will fightand countries will wage warbecauseof theinfluence of negative This statement is undoubtedly meantto be takenliterally. Believspirits." ers "sacrificing themselves their earnest for the sake [in religiouspractice] of worldpeace" are reminded that"negativespiritsare [thecause of] your It needs outthattheidea ofcleansingour thoughts."hardly negative pointing in and our souls current so is simspirits polishing manyofthenewreligions ofthetraditional Confuciannotionof "selfplythereligioustransformation cultivation" as well as Japanese basic to Chinese (ch. hsiu-shen, shuishin) j. ethics. The book underreviewcoversmuchfamiliargroundforreadershaving someacquaintance withtheJapaneseshinshukyo andthephenomenological andchronological them problemssurrounding (e.g. to whatextentareterms suchas new,newnew,neo-newetc.useful).Forthenewcomer itcan serveas an informative andhelpfulgeneralintroduction, a wealthofdetail providing notgenerallyaccessible.The chiefmeritof thebook,however, lies in its It in and veryspecificfocus. is his close analysis,supported by interviews of thevarietiesof pacifismstrictosensuadvocatedby these questionnaires,

Book reviews

479

fromtheirmoregeneralconcernfortheadvancement of groupsas distinct peace thattheauthorwantsto breaknewground.Strictpacifismis equated withabsoluteanduncompromising Gandhi-like commitment tonon-violence andwe thusgeta simpleandrather mechanical scaleformeasuring pacifisms. to assassinateHitlerveryclearly The Germanplotters unsuccessfully trying The politicalimplications are clear.Whatattitude should wereno pacifists. alliances, Japanadopton such questionsas DefenceForces,international withU.N. military collaboration interventions? But the author'sprobings If the"Wordof God" (i.e. thegospelof peace and other go muchfurther. "universal"messagesof worldsalvation)does notgo forthfromZion and norfromMecca or Samathforthatmatter, butfromJapanwhere Jerusalem, itis revealedintheJapaneselanguagebyJapanesemouthpieces ofthedivine, thenthematter raisesquestionsas to Japan'srolein theheilsgeschichtliche schemeof things.The subtitleof RobertKisala's study"CulturalIdentity in Japan'sNew Religions"could well have servedas its maintitle.(The connectionof the problemof particular"identity"and universalpeaceby MichaelPye in thetitleof his messagewas alreadyclearlyformulated in a JapaneseReligion"-to 1985paper"NationalandInternational Identity wittheByakkoShinkokai discussedatlengthalso byKisala). ideas haveneverbeentheforteofJapanesediscourse. Clear and distinct RichardStorryeven spokeof theJapanese"cultof the inarticulate." But thereis a vast difference betweenculturally canonizedand meaningful, The debate one mightevensay 'articulate,' vaguenessand sheerconfusion. about pacifismin Japangenerally(and not only in the New Religions) is characterized, as the authorrightlypointsout, by misunderstandings and confusiongalore.No doubt"muchharmhas been done in thename of justice"-as also muchinjusticehas been done in thename of peace. A writer himselfas a Catholicpriestshouldhavebeenawareof identifying theextentto whichtheworkof thePontifical CommissionIUSTITIA ET PAX has been bedevilledbetweenthehornsof thisdilemma.At anyrate whenmakingcomparisons withtheWest,instancesof moresophisticated anddialecticalmodemdiscourseon pacifism= non-violence (e.g. Reinhold ratherthantheantiquated andby now Niebuhr)couldhavebeenpresented In anachronistic notion of of some irrelevant "just war." spite quaintly at leastin theeyes of one reader(e.g. theauthor'sConfessionesmaterial, ofhowhe cametobe personally involvedwith,andcommitted account style

480

Book reviews

bookshouldbe foundhelpfulalso by to,his subject),thishighlyinstructive readers desirous of de-confusion. Japanese The HebrewUniversity ofJerusalem Dept.ofComparative Religion GivatRam Jerusalem 91904,Israel

R.J.ZwI WERBLOWSKY

PAULR. KATZ,Imagesof theImmortal:The Cultof Lii Dongbinat the Palace of Immortal of Hawai'i Press 1999 Joy-Honolulu:University (xvi + 309 p.) ISBN 0-8248-2170-X,$54.00. Thisis a bookwritten forsinologists andthereis no need by a sinologist it to them.It is, however, also a book thatoughtto be read to recommend is a because it model of whata certaintypeof research by non-sinologists is necessarily in theChinese can and shoulddo. Not everybody interested notionof "immortals" (xian)-a sortof Daoist analogueto whatelsewhere wouldbe called "saints"-or in the ante-mortem as well as post-mortem of the most biography Lii Dongbin,perhaps complexandpicturesque figure in theclassicalgroupof the"EightImmortals." willbe Andnoteverybody interested in thatoutstanding and exampleofChinesereligiousconstruction the or rather "cult known as the "Palace of Eternal art, temple, site," Joy" (YongleGong),dedicatedto thecult of the aforementioned Lii Dongbin. The entiretemplecomplexwithitsbuildings, inscribed stelaeand,aboveall, is it as was moved in toto frescoes, fortunately (around1960)from preserved itsoriginalsiteto itspresentlocationto makeplace fora damconstruction thisdeplacement was carried project.(UnliketheanalogousLuxoroperation, outnotbyUNESCO butbytheChinesegovernment Katz's bookis itself!). so farthemostthorough studyof its subjectand fewdetailshaveescaped the author'sattention. One examplemay sufficehere.The indexof the 415 p. folio-sizeDaoismcataloguepublished in connection with magnificent theexhibition heldin2000-2001attheArtInstitute ofChicagoandtheAsian ArtMuseumin San Franciscohas overa dozenreferences to Lii and even moretotheHuizongemperor fervent Daoist a (a though verydubiousone,at leastfromthe"Perfect Realization"pointofview),butno mention is madeof The storyandthemuralsillustrating theirencounter. itarediscussedbyKatz. BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke

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But beyondchinoiseriesthe subjectof cult-sitesas such,theirorigins and the factors and history, theirconnectionwithparticular cult-figures, commandtheattention ofstudents of shapingtheseconnections increasingly and how is a site sacralized more When religion. specifically byappropriating a saint and, on the otherhand,what makes a cult figurepopularand cult-site? Whoexactly significant enoughtobecomeattachedto a particular and whatinterest-groups literati,local elites,merchant classes, (officials, often and devotion folk-identities) popular representing implicitly defining do thisappropriating and attaching, and whatinducesthemto do so? Are thereserialappropriations (e.g., whenthe YongleGongand thecultof Lii Realization"schoolorsectofDaoism)?And weretakenoverbythe"Perfect does a shrine(or,forthatmatter, thesaintworshipped there)haveidentical meaningsforall its sponsors,patronsand devotees?Much as thesame or similarlegendsaretoldofdifferent heroes(saints,immortals, deifiedbeings), thesame personality can be surrounded a of different and even by variety different and interests. These incompatible legends,possiblyserving purposes arequestionsofverygeneralapplication buttheyarebesttackledbycareful examination of particular instances.This is exactlywhatthistwo-in-one on a DaoistImmortal (Lii Dongbin)andhiscultsite(theYongle monograph Gong)is doing.Andthatis whyit shouldbe foundalso on non-sinological bookshelves. The HebrewUniversity ofJerusalem Dept.ofComparative Religion GivatRam Jerusalem 91904,Israel

R.J.ZwI WERBLOWSKY

PUBLICATIONSRECEIVED Periodicals HISTORY OF RELIGIONS, 41 (2001), 2

MarcelDetienne,Back totheVillage:A TropismofHellenists? TM. Luhrmann, The UglyGoddess:Reflections on theRole ofViolent in Images ReligiousExperience TamarC. Reich,Sacrificial Violenceand TextualBattles:InnerTextual intheSanskrit Mahabharata Interpretation Book Reviews

Books (Listingin thissectiondoes notprecludesubsequent reviewing) ThomasA. and BrianC. Wilson(Eds.), Reappraising Durkheim Idinopulis, fortheStudyand Teachingof ReligionToday.NUMEN Book Series, ofReligions,92-Leiden, Boston,Kiln, E.J.Brill, StudiesintheHistory 2002, 192p.,US$ 72.00,ISBN 90-04-12339-3(hb.). Scienceof Ilkka,How ReligionWorks.Towarda NewCognitive Pyysidiinen, Religion.CognitionandCultureBook Series,I-Leiden, Boston,K6ln, E.J.Brill,2001,272 p.,US$ 56.00,ISBN 90-04-12319-9(hb.). inIndianand Ellen,TheLordWhoIs HalfWoman.Ardhanar-ivara Goldberg, ofNew YorkPress, Feminist NY, StateUniversity Perspective-Albany, 193 ISBN 0-7914-5326-X US$ 21.95, 2002, (pbk.); US$ 65.50, p., ISBN 0-7914-5325-1(hc.). Anneand RobertL. Brown(Eds.), The Rootsof Tantra. Harper,Katherine of New SUNY Seriesin TantricStudies-Albany,NY, StateUniversity YorkPress,2002,270 p.,US$ 23.95,ISBN 0-7914-5306-5(pbk.);US$ 71.50,ISBN 0-7914-5305-7(hc.). Sterckx, Roel,The AnimalandtheDaemonin EarlyChina.SUNY Seriesin andCulture-Albany, ofNew ChinesePhilosophy NY, StateUniversity BrillNV,Leiden(2002) ? Koninklijke

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483

YorkPress,2002,375 p.,US$ 34.95,ISBN 0-7914-5270-0(pbk.);US$ 92.50,ISBN 0-7914-5269-7(hc.). Faubion,JamesD., TheShadowsandLightsofWaco.Millennialism TodayPrinceton and Oxford,Princeton Press,2001,242 p., ?15.95, University ISBN 0-691-08998-1(pbk.). McDannell,Colleen(Ed.),ReligionsoftheUnitedStatesinPractice.2 Vol.Princeton and Oxford,Princeton Press,2001, Vol. 1: 512 p., University ?15.95, ISBN 0-691-00999-6 (paper);?52.00, ISBN 0-691-00998-8 (cased). Vol. 2: 472 p., ?15.95, ISBN 0-691-01001-3 (paper);?52.00, ISBN 0-691-01000-5(cased). DemonLovers.Witchcraft, Walter, Sex, andtheCrisisofBeliefStephens, ofChicagoPress,2002,451 p.,$35.00, Chicago,London,TheUniversity ISBN 0-226-77261-6(cloth). J., Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom.Eroticismand Kripal,Jeffrey intheStudyofMysticism-Chicago, London,TheUniversity Reflexivity ofChicagoPress,2002,412 p., $21.00,ISBN 0-226-45379-0(pbk.). Shaw,Rosalind,MemoriesoftheSlaveTrade.RitualandtheHistorical Imagof Chicago inationin SierraLeone-Chicago, London,The University Press,2002,312 p., $21.00,ISBN 0-226-75132-5(pbk.);$52.00,ISBN 0-226-75131-7(cloth). Gibbs,Robertand Elliot R. Wolfson(Eds.), Suffering Religion-London and New York,Routledge,2002, 192 p., ?19.99, ISBN 0-415-266122 (pbk.). Kohn,LiviaandHaroldD. Roth(Eds.),DaoistIdentity. Lineage,and History, ofHawai'i Press,2002,333 p.,US$ 27.95, Ritual-Honolulu,University ISBN 0-8248-2504-7 (pbk.). andInterpretation in Indian Kapstein,MatthewT., Reason'sTraces.Identity and TibetanBuddhistThought-Boston,WisdomPublications, 2001, 473 p.,US$ 34.95,ISBN 0-866171-239-0(pbk.). and Theology-Oxford,New York,Berg Davies, Douglas, Anthropology 236 2002, Publishers, p., ?14.99,ISBN 1-85973-537-1(pbk.);?42.99, ISBN 1-85973-532-0(cloth). A Social History oftheCloister. Rapley,Elizabeth, DailyLifeintheTeaching Monasteriesof theOld Regime-Montreal,Kingston,London,Ithaca,

484

Publicationsreceived

Press,2001,379 p., ?37.95, ISBN 0-7735McGill-Queen'sUniversity 2222-0 (cloth). Donald B. (Ed.), The AncientGods Speak. A Guideto Egyptian Redford, Press,2002,405 p.,$30.00,ISBN Religion-Oxford,OxfordUniversity 0-19-515401-1(cloth). of Karmain Theravada Egge,JamesR., ReligiousGivingandtheInvention Curzon Press,2002, 193 p., ?45.00, Buddhism-Richmond, Surrey, ISBN 0-7007-1506-1(hb.);?14.99,ISBN 0-7007-1357-3(pbk.). The Two Cities.A Chronicleof UniversalHistoryto theYear 1146 A.D., withan introduction and notes by Otto,Bishopof Freising.Translated C. Mierow. With a and Charles foreword by by updatedbibliography KarlE Morrison-NewYork,ColumbiaUniversity Press,2002,523 p., US$ 52.50, ISBN 0-231-12600-X (cloth);US$ 16.50,ISBN 0-23112601-8(pbk.). oftheArchbishops ofHamburg-Bremen. AdamvonBremen.TransHistory and notesby FrancisJ.Tschan.Witha new latedwithan introduction introduction and selectedbibliography Reuter-NewYork, by Timothy ColumbiaUniversity Press,New York,2002, 257 p., US$ 49.50,ISBN 0-231-12574-7(cloth);US$ 18.50,ISBN 0-231-12575-5(pbk.). bestimmbar". Marcus,"Wederals seiendnochals nichtseiend Schmticker, Vimuktdtmans Lehrevonder"Realitdt" derWelt.Series:Publications of theDe NobiliResearchLibrary, vol. 29-Wien, SammlungDe Nobili, InstitutfuirStildasien-,Tibet-und Buddhismuskunde der Universitat 187 ISBN 3-900-271-34-8(pbk.). Wien,2001, p., derGottinAffengestalt. undErscheinKeul,Istvwin, Hanuman, Entwicklung seiner Versuche undVoungsformen Verehrung. Religionsgeschichtliche 2002,334 p. + 16 rarbeiten, 47-Berlin, New York,Walterde Gruyter, col. plates,E98.00, ISBN 3-11-017187-2(cloth). derReligionenvon 1893.StrukDorothea,Das Weltparlament Ltiddeckens, im 19. Jahrhundert. tureninterreligi6ser Begegnung Religionsgeschicht-

Publications received

485

liche Versucheund Vorarbeiten, 48-Berlin, New York,Walterde 349 ISBN 3-11-017256-9(cloth). 2002, Gruyter, p.,g98.00, Michael,Die ReligionZarathushtras. Stausberg, Geschichte-GegenwartRituale.Vol. 1-Stuttgart, Berlin,K61n,VerlagW. Kohlhammer, 2002, 482 p.,g50.00, ISBN 3-17-017118-6(cloth). in die Religionswissenschaft-Darmstadt, WisHock, Klaus, Einftihrung senschaftliche 211 3-534ISBN 2002, Buchgesellschaft, p.,919.90, 15081-3(pbk.). Waardenburg, Jacques,Islam. Historical,Social and PoliticalPerspectives. Series:ReligionandReason,40-Berlin, New York,Walterde Gruyter, 2002,436 p.,g88.00, ISBN 3-11-017178-3(cloth). WVANagel,Tilman,Das islamischeRecht.Eine Einftihrung-Westhofen, 388 ISBN 3-936136-00-9 Skulima, 2001, (cloth). Verlag p.,g37.50, des KoransundihreKonsequenzen Nagel,Tilman,Islam.Die Heilsbotschaft -Westhofen,WVA-VerlagSkulima,2001, 166 p.,912.00, ISBN 3936136-01-7(pbk.). im RiickR6sing,Ina, Die heidnischenKatholikenund das Vaterunser Zum von und SeChristentum Andenreligion. wirtsgang. Verhiltnis ries: Schriften der Philosophisch-historischen Klasse der Heidelberger Akademieder Wissenschaften, C. 21-Heidelberg,Universititsverlag Winter, 2001,95 p.,g13.30, ISBN 3-8253-1196-1(pbk.). Rising,Ina,Religion,RitualundAlltagindenAnden.Die zehnGeschlechter derKalvonAmarete, Bolivien.ZweiterAnkari-Zyklus: Kollektivrituale lawaya-Regionin den AndenBoliviens.Series: Mundo Ankari,6Berlin,DietrichReimerVerlag,2001, 835 p.,935.00, ISBN 3-49602706-1 (cloth). in Briick,Michaelvon,Wie kdnnenwirleben?Religionund Spiritualitat einerWelt ohne MaB-Miinchen,VerlagC. H. Beck, 2002, 204 p., E17.90, ISBN 3-406-49334-3(cloth). Keller,Mary,The HammerandtheFlute.Women,Power,andSpiritPossession-Baltimore,London,The JohnHopkinsUniversity Press,2002, 289 p., $38.50,ISBN 0-8018-6787-8(hc.). Shulman,David and GuyG. Stroumsa(Eds.), SelfandSelf-Transformation intheHistory ofReligions-Oxford, OxfordUniversity Press,2002,268

486

Publicationsreceived

p.,?45.00,ISBN 0-19-514450-3(cloth);?20.00,ISBN 0-19-514816-9 (pbk.). Lovegrove,DeryckW. (Ed.), The Rise of theLaityin EvangelicalProtestantism-London andNewYork,Routledge, 2002,273 p.,ISBN 0-41527193-2 (pbk.). Hans G., DiscoveringReligiousHistoryin theModem Age. Kippenberg, Translated fromGermanby BarbaraHarshaw-Princeton and Oxford, Princeton 264 ISBN 0-691-00909-0 Press,2002, University p., ?13.95, (paper);?37.95,ISBN 0-691-009908-2(cloth). Olson,Carl(Ed.), TheoryandMethodin theStudyofReligion.A Selection ofCriticalReadings-Belmont, CA, Wadsworth, 2003,602 p., Thomson, ISBN 0-534-53474-0(pbk.). Burris,JohnP., Exhibiting Religion.Colonialismand Spectacleat Internaand London,University tionalExpositions1851-1893-Charlottesville PressofVirginia, 2001,211 p., ISBN 0-8139-2083-3(cloth). ItsEvolutionandSpiritualTeachingsVahle,Neal, The UnityMovement. Foundation London,Templeton Press,2002,485 p.,$44.95, Philadelphia, ISBN 1-890151-92-0(hb.);$29.95,ISBN 1-890151-96-3(pbk.). Edwardsand theBible-Bloomington& IndiBrown,RobertE., Jonathan Indiana Press,2002, 292 p., US$ 35.00, ISBN 0anapolis, University 253-34093-4(cloth). Diehl, Keila, Echoes fromDharamsala.Music in the Life of a Tibetan Los Angeles,London,University of RefugeeCommunity-Berkeley, California Press,2002,312 p.,$19.95,ISBN 0-520-230044-2(cloth). ritualsof Greekhero-cults in theArchaic Eckroth, Gunnel,The sacrificial Kernos to theearlyHellenistic periods. Supplements, 12-Liege, Centre International 2002,429 p.,ISSN d'Etudede la ReligionGrecqueAntique, 0776-3824(pbk.). andCharles-Marie Temes(Eds.),Symbolisme etexp6rience de la Ries,Julien ' lumieredansles grandesreligions. ActesduColloquetenu Luxembourg du 29 au 31 mars1996-Turnhout, 950.00, ISBN Brepols,2002,275 p., 2-503-51221-6(pbk.). andFlorenceJullien, Christelle ProcessusmisJullien, Ap6tresdes confins. sionaireschr6tiens dans l'empireiranien.Series:Res orientales,15-

Publications received

487

Bures-sur-Yvette, Groupepour l'Etude de la Civilisationdu Moyen318 Orient, 2002, p., ISBN 2-9508266-9-5(cloth). Gasparo,Giulia Sfameni,Oracoli ProfetiSibille. Rivelazionee salvezza nel mondoantico.Series:Bibliotecadi ScienzeReligiose,171-Roma, LibreriaAteneoSalesiano,2002,489 p., 931.00, ISBN 88-213-0482-5 (pbk.). La danza negliscritti di Filone,ClementeAlessandrino Bermond,Cristina, e Origene:storiae simbologia-Frankfurt, Main,Domus EditoriaEu163 ISBN 83-927884-56-1 p., (pbk.). ropaea,2001, Norden,Eduard,Agnostostheos.Dio ignoto.Ricerchesulla storiadella formadel discorsoreligioso,a curadi ChiaraOmbretta TommasiMoreschini-Brescia,Morcelliana,2002, 529 p., 935.00, ISBN 88-3721880-X (pbk.).

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NETHERLANDS,

THE ROLEOF DIVINEGRACEINTHE SOTERIOLOGYOF SAMKARACARYA BRADLEY J.MALKOVSKY 2001

(XVIII,436 pp.)

ISBN90 04 12044o0 Cloth LIST PRICE EUR 122.- /US$ 143.NUMEN BOOK SERIES, 91

This volumeexaminestheroleofdivinegracein thenon-dualist of Samkara. soteriology The authorarguesthatgraceis an essentialbutgenerally in Samkara's overlooked feature enlightenment spirituality. in Samkararesearch, recentdevelopments Introductory chapterssummarize Samkara's and ontology, ancientVeddnticteachingson grace,and modernscholarly epistemology aboutgracein Samkara'sAdvaitasystem.The heartofthebookconsistsoftwo disagreement lengthyexegeticalchaptersexamining Samkara'skeypassageson gracefromhisdozengenuine works.The finalchapterpresents forthefirsttimea systematic of Samkara's summary oftheoperationand necessity ofdivinegrace.This bookprovidesa useful understanding ofSamkara'ssystemas a wholebesidesoffering a radicalrevisionofthestandard summary ofSamkara'ssoteriology. It also revealsthatSamkarawas muchmoreindebted understanding in histhinkingto hisVedanticpredecessors thanhad hitherto beenthought.

REAPPRAISING DURKHEIM FORTHESTUDYAND TEACHINGOF RELIGION TODAY EDITED BY THOMAS A. IDINOPULOS 2001 (XX, 192 PP.)

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Durkheim Reappraising fortheStudyand Teaching ofReligion Todayis an occasionto critically to signalthe analyzeand reassesstheworkofthisintellectual pioneer.It is also an effort ofDurkheimfortoday'sgraduateand advancedundergraduate continuing importance Durkheim tennewcriticalessaysin whichnoted classrooms. Reappraising bringstogether and historians ofreligiongrapple sociologists, psychologists, phenomenologists, philosophers, the withthequestionsDurkheimraisedand thesolutionshe proposed.Takentogether, and multi-disciplinary volumeis a carefulhistorical studyofDurkheimthatwill lead students to a betterunderstanding ofhowto studyreligion.

SACRIFICEIN RELIGIOUSEXPERIENCE ALBERT I. BAUMGARTEN 2002

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This bookpresents revisedpapersdeliveredat the 1998 and 1999 TaubesMinervaCenterfor conferences. The papersfromthe 1998 conference discusstheroleof ReligiousAnthropology in religiousexperience sacrifice froma comparative Thosefromthesecond perspective. conference examinealternatives to sacrifice. The firstthemehasbeenmuchelaboratedin recentscholarship, and theessayshereparticipate in thaton-goinginquiry.The secondthemehasbeenlessexplored,and thegoal ofthisvolume ofthetopicbyoffering a setoftestcases.In bothsectionsofthe is to stimulateexamination volumea widevariety ofreligioustraditions areconsidered. The essaysshowthatin spiteoftheinclination we maysometimes haveto considersacrifice it remainsa persistent and meaningful partoftheidolatrous past,longovercome, partof religiousexperience.

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FRIEDRICHMAXMULLER A LifeDevotedtotheHumanities LOURENS PETER VAN DEN BOSCH FriedrichMax Miller was one ofthegreatscholars ofthe nineteenthcentury.His studieson the history and natureofreligionwereofgreatinterestto both scholarlyand morepopularcircles,and he was fora long timean influentialfigurein theculturallifeof a new studyofhis life VictorianBritain.Therefore, and especiallyofhis worksneedsno apology. The book givesa surveyofMiiller'slifeand his main ideas on language,mythology, religion,Christianity and the missions,as well as his philosophyof religion.The last chapterdeals withthe legacyof Miiller'sideas in the twentiethcentury. usefulforhistoriansof The book is particularly religioninterestedin theoriginofthe scienceof religionand forhistoriansspecializedin the historyof ideas.

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L.P. van den Bosch, studiedTheologyand ScienceofReligion (Universityof and wrotea thesis Groningen)and Indology(UniversityofGroningen/Utrecht) on Atharvavedaparisishta (Utrecht,1978).He is a SeniorLecturerforthe History ofReligionsat the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen,The Netherlands.He has writtenvariousarticleson Vedic subjects,on thepracticeofwidow burningand on FriedrichMax Miller.

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CONTENTS Articles Jonathan A. SILK, What,ifAnything, is MahaydnaBuddhism? ProblemsofDefinitions and Classifications ......................... Paolo XELLA,Aspectsdu "Sacerdoce"enSyriedncienne:Remarques etexamend'un cas particulier................ methodologiques and the LUBIN,The Virtuosic ExegesisoftheBrahmavadin Timothy Rabbi ................................................ J.DuncanM. DERRETT,A Blemmya inIndia ...................

355 406 427 460

BookReviews PeterG. Riddell,Islam and theMalay-Indonesian World.Transmission and Responses (ManfredHUTTER) .......................

475

Japan's New Religions (R.J. Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

476

Palace ofImmortalJoy(R.J. Zwi WERBLOWSKY) ..............

480

RobertKisala, ProphetsofPeace: Pacifismand CulturalIdentity in Paul R. Katz,ImagesoftheImmortal:TheCultofLii Dongbinat the Publicationsreceived....................................

482