Holy Ground: Where Art and Text Meet

Hans T. Bakker

The 31 selected and revised articles in the volume Holy Ground: Where Art and Text Meet, written by Hans Bakker between 1986 and 2016, vary from theoretical subjects to historical essays on the classical culture of India. They combine two mainstreams: the Sanskrit textual tradition, including epigraphy, and the material culture as expressed in works of religious art and iconography. The study of text and art in close combination in the actual field where they meet provides a great potential for understanding. The history of holy places is therefore one of the leitmotivs that binds these studies together. One article, "The Ramtek Inscriptions II", was co-authored by Harunaga Isaacson, two articles, on "Moksadharma 187 and 239–241" and "The Quest for the Pasupata Weapon," by Peter C. Bisschop. Brill Leiden 2019. Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-41206-4 E-book ISBN: 978-90-04-41207-1

Holy Ground – Where Art and Text Meet Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Gonda Indological Studies PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE J. GONDA FOUNDATION ROYAL NETHERLANDS ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Edited by Peter C. Bisschop (Leiden) Editorial Board Hans T. Bakker (London) Dominic D.S. Goodall (Paris/Pondicherry) Hans Harder (Heidelberg) Stephanie Jamison (Los Angeles) Ellen M. Raven (Leiden) Jonathan A. Silk (Leiden) VOLUME 20 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/gis Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans Teye Bakker Holy Ground Where Art and Text Meet Studies in the Cultural History of India LEIDEN | BOSTON Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC . License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Research and production of this book have been made possible by financial support from: the European Research Council (ERC Project no. ) J. Gonda Foundation, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Typesetting and layout: H. T. Bakker. The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/ ISSN 1382-3442 ISBN 978-90-04-41206-4 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-41207-1 (e-book) Copyright  by Hans T. Bakker. Published by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. Koninklijke Brill NV reserves the right to protect the publication against unauthorized use and to authorize dissemination by means of offprints, legitimate photocopies, microform editions, reprints, translations, and secondary information sources, such as abstracting and indexing services including databases. Requests for commercial re-use, use of parts of the publication, and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Table of Contents part i Early Studies 1986–2000 1 An Indian Image of Man An Inquiry into a change of perspective in the Hindu world-view . . . 3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Indian understanding of perfect man . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The The The The The ‘Raw Material’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sufis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Yogis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Bhaktas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2 Die Indische Herausforderung Hegels Beitrag zu einer europäischen kulturhistorischen Diskussion . . 23 Einleitung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Die Jahre 1820–1825 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 24 Neue Einsichten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Die Jahre 1826–1831 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Die Rezeption der Bhagavadgı̄tā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Von Humboldts Bhagavadgı̄tā Vorträge und Hegels Kritik . 34 Schlussbetrachtung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Schlussmoral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 3 Ayodhyā: le nom et le lieu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Ayodhyā conçue : le nom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Ayodhyā retrouvée : le lieu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Illiers–Combray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 v Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents vi 4 Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem An investigation of ‘Holy War’ as a religious idea in the light of communal unrest in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 55 Holy war as a religious idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Five conditions of ‘holy war’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 The Hindu religion and the social reality of war . . . . . . . . 60 The advent of Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 The segregation of the Hindu and Muslim communities . . . . . 64 The idea of the Rāma rājya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The Kingdom of Avadh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The emerging conflict around the Babri Masjid in Ayodhyā . 68 Ayodhyā: a Hindu Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The fight for the Rāmajanmabhūmi/Babri Masjid 71 . . . . . 73 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 5 The Ramtek Inscriptions I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 The graffiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 The two short Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple inscriptions . . . . . 83 Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 . . . . 83 Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 2 . . . . 86 The Ramtek Stone Inscription of the time of Rāmacandra . . . 88 Synopsis of the contents Editorial principles . . Edition . . . . . . . . Translation . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 . . 94 . . 95 . 105 The Ramtek Inscriptions II The Vākāt.aka inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple (Together with Harunaga Isaacson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Palaeography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Note on the edition and translation . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Divergent readings of Jamkhedkar’s edition . . . . . . . . 125 Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents vii Analysis and interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Vākāt.aka Gupta relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 7 Throne and Temple Political power and religious prestige in Vidarbha . . . . . . . . . 149 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 The Vākāt.aka period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 The Vākāt.aka inscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Policy of the Vākāt.aka kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 The Yādava period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Ramtek Hill: Theatre of Plenipotentiaries . . . . . . . . . . . 163 8 Little Kr.s.n.a’s Play with the Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 The literary evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Baby Kr.s.n.a’s play with the moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 The archaeological evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 9 Some Methodological Considerations with Respect to the Critical Edition of Puranic Literature . . . . . . 175 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 The theory of ‘oral composition’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Composition-in-transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 The critical edition of epic and puranic literature . . . . . . . 178 The critical edition of the Ayodhyāmāhātmya . . . . . . . . . 182 10 Pārvatı̄’s Svayam . vara Studies in the Skandapurān.a I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 The wedding of Śiva and Pārvatı̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Śiva’s exclusion from the sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Śiva as the cosmic child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Pārvatı̄’s Svayam . vara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 The synoptic edition of the Svayam . vara myth . . . . . . . . . 193 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Pārvatı̄’s Svayam . vara. A Textual Reconstruction . . . . . . . 201 11 Moks.adharma 187 and 239–241 Reconsidered (Together with Peter Bisschop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents viii Three themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The five elements . . . . The intellectual apparatus Sattva and ks.etrajña . . . The ‘evolution theory’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Moks.adharma: a plurality of views . . . . . Appendix Some parallels of Moks.adharma 187 and 239–241 12 Observations on the History and Culture of Daks.in.a Kosala (5th to 7th centuries ad) . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 225 225 228 229 . . . . . . . 230 . . . . . . . 232 . . . . . . . 235 . . . . . . . 235 The Pān.d.avas of Mekalā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 The family descending from Amara in Kosala . . . . . . . . . 240 The rulers of Śarabhapur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 The Pān.d.uvam . śa of Śrı̄pura . . The date of the Pān.d.uvam . śa Tı̄varadeva . . . . . . . . Mahāśivagupta Bālārjuna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 dynasty of Śrı̄pura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 253 254 Tālā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 The Jit.hānı̄ Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 13 Somaśarman, Somavam . śa and Somasiddhānta A Pāśupata tradition in seventh-century Daks.in.a Kosala Studies in the Skandapurān.a III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Harāya Namah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Śaiva cosmology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 The Pāśupata movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 The epigraphical evidence from Malhar . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Malhar (Junvānı̄) Copperplates of Mahāśivagupta, Year 57: ll. 8–23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Somaśarman and the Somasiddhānta . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 The evidence of the Skandapurān.a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Somaśarman, Somavam . śa and Somasiddhānta . . . . . . . . . 296 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents ix part ii Studies in the Early History and Culture of North India 14 A Theatre of Broken Dreams Vidiśā in the days of Gupta hegemony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Act 1: Rāmagupta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 The story of the Devı̄candragupta . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 Candragupta’s matrimonial policy and the triangle of power 305 Act 2 Govindagupta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 The testimony of Prabhākara Act 3 Ghat.otkacagupta . . . . . Kālidāsa’s Mālavikāgnimitra . The Vākāt.aka–Gupta conflict Finale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 15 Royal Patronage and Religious Tolerance The formative period of Gupta–Vākāt.aka culture . . . . . . . . . 319 Udayagiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 Royal patronage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 Mandhal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Padmapura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Mun.d.asvāmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 Rāmagiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Mansar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 16 Rāma’s Hill Transgression and atonement on a Hill in the South and the inadequacy of substitutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 The Śaivala Mountain of the Rāmāyan.a . . . . . . . . . . . 336 The Rāmagiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 The epigraphical evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 Vis.n.upada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Narasim . ha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 The Pilgrim’s Satchel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents x 17 A New Interpretation of Rāmagiri Evidence . . . . . . . . 351 1 Trivikrama: Word and Statue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maṅgalavāda: Kevala Narasim . ha Temple (KNT) Inscription verse 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The KNT Inscription verse 21 . . . . . . . . . The discovery of the KNT Inscription . . . . . . . . . . 351 . . . . . 352 . . . . . 354 . . . . . 355 2 The Gupta–Vākāt.aka Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Praśasti. KNT Inscription verses 2–19 . . . . . . . . Conjectured narrative structure of the KNT Inscription . . The Daughter named Mun.d.ā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Gupta–Vākāt.aka relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . The narration of the KNT Inscription . . . . . . . . . . 357 357 360 361 362 362 3 The Trivikrama Temple 365 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Trivikrama Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The iconography of the Trivikrama image . . . . . . . . . The pious works of Atibhāvatı̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 365 365 368 371 371 18 A Note on Skandagupta’s Bhitarı̄ Stone Pillar Inscription, verses 8–12 Commemorating the dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 Ajay Mitra Shastri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 Skandagupta’s Bhitarı̄ Inscription vv. 8–12 . . . . . . . . . . 374 Concluding remarks on the inscription and the site of Bhitarı̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 Skandagupta’s Bhitarı̄ Stone Pillar Inscription vv. 8–12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 19 The So-called ‘Jaunpur Stone Inscription of Īśvaravarman’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 The Jaunpur Stone Inscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 Translation and annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents xi 20 The Temple of Man.d.aleśvarasvāmin The Mun.d.eśvarı̄ Inscription of the time of Udayasena reconsidered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 The temple on Mun.d.eśvarı̄ Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 The date of the Mun.d.eśvarı̄ Inscription . . . . . . . . . . 394 The Mun.d.eśvarı̄ Inscription, Year 30 Transliteration . . . . . . . . . Emended, orthographic edition . Translation . . . . . . . . . . Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 397 398 399 Man.d.aleśvara and the Skandapurān.a . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 21 Monuments to the Dead in Ancient North India . . . . . . 405 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 The funerary monument in Sanskrit literature . . . . . . . . . 405 The aid.ūka of the Vis.n.udharmottarapurān.a . . . . . . . . 406 The ed.ūka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 The archaeology of the funerary monument . . . . . . . . . . 411 Memorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pratimāgr.has . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Memorial Stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aid.ūkas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ahichhatra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mansar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funerary monuments with mortuary deposits . . . . . . . Sui Vihar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 415 417 419 419 421 424 426 The archaeology of the śmaśāna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 The Kumhāra T.ekd.ı̄ in Ujjain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 The ed.ūka at Mansar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432 A funerary monument to Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā? . . . . . 438 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 Aid.ūkarūpanirmān.a Vis.n.udharmottara 3.84.1–15 (emended) . . . . . . . . . . 441 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access xii Contents 22 Purus.amedha, Manasarapurus.a, Vāstupurus.a The image of man in the sacrificial context . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 The image of man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 Human sacrifice in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 Installation of the house or Vāstupratis.t.ha . . . . . . . . 446 Excursus upon the construction of the Agnicayana altar . . . . 448 Preliminary conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 Archaeological evidence for the construction sacrifice . . . . . 453 Kauśāmbı̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 Mansar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 The Vāstupurus.a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 Kandhar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Curdi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 Final remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 23 Rāma Devotion in a Śaiva Holy Place The case of Vārān.ası̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Tulsı̄dās, Śiva, and the Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 The Agastyasam . hitā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 The Tradition of the saving mantra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 The Kāśı̄khan.d.a . . . . The Skandapurān.a . . . Textual criticism . . The saving mantra in the Avimukta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Skandapurān.a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 469 470 470 471 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 24 The Hindu Religion and War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Aśoka and ancient warfare in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 The Arthaśāstra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 The principle of ahim . sā and the rules of war . . Ahim . sā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Bhagavadgı̄tā . . . . . . . . . . . . . The rules of war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The reports of Megasthenes and Ibn Bat.t.ūt.a The idea of a ‘just war’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 477 479 479 481 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents The battle and the sacrifice xiii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 Hinduism and Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 The conquest of northern India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 The case of Vārān.ası̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 part iii Studies in Early Saivism 25 Sources for Reconstructing Ancient Forms of Śiva Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Śiva Caturmukha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 The myth of Tilottamā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Images of Śiva in his quadruple form . . . . . . . . . . . 490 Epigraphic sources attesting the worship of Śiva . . . . . 493 Early Sanskrit sources of liṅga worship . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 The Pāśupatasūtra and its commentary The Mahābhārata . . . . . . . . . . . The Rāmāyan.a . . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 . . . . . . . . . 496 . . . . . . . . . 498 . . . . . . . . . 498 The evidence of the Skandapurān.a . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 Textual sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 26 At the Right Side of the Teacher Imagination, imagery, and image in Vedic and Śaiva initiation . . . . 505 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 The sitting position of teacher and pupil in the Vedic Upanayana ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 The Śatapathabrāhman.a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 The Gr.hyasūtras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 The sitting position of the preceptor and his audience . . . 511 The sitting position of guru and novice in early Śaiva initiation ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512 Initiation in the Pāśupata tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access xiv Contents The Daks.in.āmūrti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 The definition of god’s figure of grace . . . . . . . . . . . 518 The Daks.in.āmūrti and iconography . . . . . . . . . . . . The development of a cult concept into an iconic image A Daks.in.āmūrti on a crossbar found in Nagarı̄ . . . . Daks.a’s sacrifice and his instruction in the Pāśupata vrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 . . 521 . . 522 . . 524 27 Thanesar, the Pāśupata Order and the Skandapurān.a Studies in the Skandapurān.a IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 The tradition of the four pupils of Lāgud.i . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Lāgud.i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 The Kuru lineage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 Rāśi ascetics and ‘His own doctrine’ . . . . . . . . . . . 532 The Skandapurāna and the Pāśupata movement Vārān.ası̄ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Māhātmya of Sthāneśvara . . . Bān.a’s relationship with Dadhı̄ca, the of Sthāneśvara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 . . . . . . . . . . . 533 . . . . . . . . . . . 534 founder . . . . . . . . . . . 535 The Skandapurān.a reaches Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 Matrimonial alliances and the spread of culture . . . . . . 539 28 The Gospel of Kaun.d.inya The descent of God in Gujarat and the practice of imitating God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 Kaun.d.inya’s Pañcārthabhās.ya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 Kuśika and the divine revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 The power of the word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543 The Pāśupata praxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 The imitatio dei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 The seeking of dishonour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 Fools through the ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546 Kaun.d.inya’s eschatology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549 Modern forms of Hindu devotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Contents xv 29 Origin and Spread of the Pāśupata Movement About Heracles, Lakulı̄śa and symbols of masculinity . . . . . . . . 553 Lāgud.i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Early images of a club bearing ascetic or teacher . . . . . 554 The lagud.a or club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 The origin of the Pāśupata movement . . . . . . . . . . 558 The four disciples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 Spread and ramification of the Pāśupata movement . . . . 561 The route along which the Pāśupata religion moved north . 563 The Origin of a pan-Indian religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 30 The Quest for the Pāśupata Weapon The gateway of the Mahādeva Temple at Madhyamikā (Nagarı̄) (Together with Peter Bisschop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 The History of the Nagarı̄ site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569 Inscriptions and coins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569 Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571 The Toran.a of the Mahādeva Temple . . . . . . . The eastern face (E) of the gateway architrave The western face(W)of the gateway architrave The Pāśupata weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 . . . . . . 575 . . . . . . 587 . . . . . . 594 Concluding observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 31 Composition and Spread of the Skandapurān.a An artist’s impression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 References and Index List of figures List of plates . Bibliography . Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 613 618 669 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Preface I descended to the field of classical indology from the lofty heights of western philosophy. As a graduate student I had spent four years studying two giants of European thought, Aristotle and Hegel, whose respectful student I still consider myself to be. But circumstances not defined by philosophy led me to the discovery of the world outside Europe. Indian philosophy was for me an obvious anchor as was the comparative study of religions. As my knowledge of Sanskrit increased and my understanding of the depth and beauty of Indian culture widened, I jumped on the opportunity offered to me to study the history of one of India’s most sacred places, Ayodhyā, which became the subject of my PhD research. I had landed on holy ground. The studies presented here take their start from 1986, the year that my Ayodhyā book was published. Thirty-one articles are collected in the present volume; they span a period of thirty years, during which I worked mainly at the Institute of Indian Studies of the University of Groningen. They are the backbone of my research and naturally follow the intellectual development that informed my academic career. The reader may notice a gradual shift away from theoretical, say philosophical subjects to a historical, cultural orientation in which two mainstreams come together, strands that I found entwined in the holy ground that was my first object of research: the Sanskrit textual tradition, including epigraphy, and the material culture as expressed in works of religious art and iconography. It was only while working on this volume that I gradually discovered that the history of holy places has been a leitmotiv throughout my scholarly endeavours. And this has been so because I have been and still am fascinated by the potential for understanding, if text and art are studied in close combination in the actual field where they meet: two types of sources that release their maximal informative power when they are bound to one and the same locality. After Ayodhyā my attention focused on the culture of Vidarbha, in particular during the two centuries of Vākāt.aka rule. My second monograph, The Vākāt.akas, which appeared in 1997, thus carried the subtitle: An essay in Hindu Iconology. Hegel’s place was taken by Panofsky. Apart from this general intellectual direction, there have been two major challenges which, more than anything, have enriched my research and left their imprints on this volume. One is the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Inscription found on the Rāmagiri (Ramtek), the other the discovery of the ‘original’ Skandapurān.a, found in ancient Nepalese manuscripts in the National Archives (Kathmandu). xvii Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access xviii Preface Our edition of the first, the KNT inscription, has gone through two subsequent revisions. The first edition (Bakker & Isaacson 1993) is given here as study No. 6, in which later revisions and conjectures are added to the apparatus and footnotes, including conjectures published here for the first time. The second revised edition is contained in Bakker 1997, and the third, partial edition (Bakker 2010c), is our study No. 17.1. The importance of this inscription for the history of the Gupta–Vākāt.aka age cannot easily be overrated. Evaluation of its content has informed studies Nos. 7, 14, 15, and 17.2–3 of this volume. The second discovery has resulted in the critical edition of the Skandapurān.a, of which so far five volumes have appeared (SP I, II A, II B, III, IV), and at which a varying team of scholars has been working since the 1990s of the last century. This work has prompted a series of articles by several authors with the common subtitle Studies in the Skandapurān.a. Of these, three have been selected for the present volume, studies Nos. 10, 13, and 27. The SP project has also resulted in a third monograph, The World of the Skandapurān.a (Bakker 2014). In selecting these thirty-one studies out of a total of eighty-five articles I applied—in addition to considerations of quality—the general, though flexible rule not to include those articles that may be considered preparatory studies, that is studies whose final form has been integrated in a (later) monograph, edited volume, or introduction to our edition of the Skandapurān.a. This entails that some subjects that have occupied me a great deal may appear underexposed in the present volume, such as, for instance, the critical edition of Sanskrit texts, 1 the history of Vārān.ası̄, 2 or the archaeology of the Vākāt.aka sites, Ramtek and Mansar. 3 With one exception, No. 30 (Bakker & Bisschop 2016), I have selected articles that were written during my work at the University of Groningen, that is until 2013. Study No. 17 combines and integrates three articles that were published separately. 4 Two essays are published for the first time in the present volume: No. 16, an English translation of an article originally published in Italian (2010), and No. 31, my valedictory lecture (2013), which concludes this book. The articles selected for this volume are marked by an * in the reference list; the latter contains only works referred to in this volume and does not comprise a complete bibliography. The critical reader may ask what aim is served by another edition of articles that have already been published. The question contains the answer. The present volume not only collects and reproduces articles that have been published, but it edits them again. I have taken the liberty of revising the original publications, in some cases rather thoroughly, and I have brought their contents in agreement with my other writings. In so doing I have tried, to the best of 1 2 3 4 See e.g. the Prolegomena to our Skandapurān.a edition, Volume 1 (SP I). See e.g. the Introduction of Skandapurān.a Volume 2 (SP II A). Dealt with in e.g. Bakker 1997; Bakker 2004d; Bakker 2008. Bakker 2010c, 2012, 2013b. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Preface xix my ability, to put them in accordance with the latest insights. In brief, the aim has been to make my published work more consistent and up-to-date as far as possible. This does not imply that I have rewritten earlier work. My intention has been to strike a balance between leaving the original article intact wherever possible and reformulating and emending the existing publication when needed. When my views have changed in such a way that rewriting would affect the original too much, I have presented my changed position in footnotes. The revision described above has a few important consequences. All articles have been typeset anew. Preliminary Abstracts, Acknowledgements, and Keywords have been left out. The separate bibliographies have been assembled in one list of references at the end of the book. The text of the studies has been newly divided according to headings and subheadings which appear in the Table of Contents. In order to serve the aim of welding a collection of studies into a real unity, I have added hundreds of cross-references. Illustrations have been inserted whenever I found them useful and the volume is concluded by an Index. The book is divided into three parts: I Early Studies (1986–2000). II Studies in the Early History and Culture of North India. III Studies in Early Saivism. As most divisons, this arrangement is relatively arbitrary. It precludes a strict chronological order of the original publications and allows a thematic ordering only to some extent. This compromise between chronology and themes means to facilitate a ready access of the reader to the subject of his/her interest, whereas the sequence of studies opens the possibility to continue the development of a theme as it has evolved in my thinking. Where a thematic sequence was not possible it is hoped that cross-references may guide the reader further. Despite selection and revision, a certain amount of redundancy could not be avoided. This volume has been composed as part of my work as curator at the British Museum (2014–2019) for the project: Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State (ERC Project no. 609823). I am grateful for all the help I have received from my colleagues in this project and the museum staff. Special thanks are due to Dr Michael Willis who as ‘Principal Investigator’ has initiated and guided this project. I am grateful to Dr Dory Heilijgers for proofreading and making the Index. I also thank Prof Harunaga Isaacson (Hamburg) and Prof Peter Bisschop (Leiden) for permitting the inclusion and reissue of articles that we wrote together (Nos. 6, 11, and 30). Hans Bakker British Museum, 1 May 2019 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access part i Early Studies 1986–2000 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access An Indian Image of Man ∗ An Inquiry into a Change of Perspective in the Hindu World-view Introduction In his Einleitung in die Geschichte der Philosophie the renowned German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel made the following observation. Dieses Hervortreten des Geistes hängt nach der geschichtlichen Seite damit zusammen, daß die politische Freiheit aufblüht; und die politische Freiheit, die Freiheit im Staate, hat da ihren Beginn, wo das Individuum sich als Individuum fühlt, wo das Subjekt sich als solches in der Allgemeinheit weiß, oder wo das Bewußtsein der Persönlichkeit, das Bewußtsein, in sich einen unendlichen Wert zu haben, zum Vorschein kommt,—indem ich mich für mich setze und slechtin für mich gelte. [. . . ] Da fällt uns zuerst der Orient auf; [. . . ] denn [. . . ] der Geist geht wohl im Orient auf, aber das Verhältnis ist so, daß das Subjekt, die Individualität nicht Person ist, sondern als untergehend im Objektiven bestimmt ist. Das substantielle Verhältnis ist da das Herrschende. Die Substanz ist da teils als Übersinnliches, als Gedanke, teils auch mehr materiell vorgestellt. Das Verhältnis des lndividuums, des Besonderen ist dann, daß er nur ein Negatives ist gegen das Substantielle. Das Höchste, wozu ein solches Individuum kommen kann, ist die ewige Seligkeit, welche nur ein Versinken in dieser Substanz, ein Vergehen des Bewußtseins, also Vernichtung des Subjekts und somit des Unterschieds zwischen Substanz und Subjekt ist. Das höchste Verhältnis ist so die Bewußtlosigkeit. Insofern nun die Individuen diese Seligkeit nicht erlangt haben, sondern noch irdisch existieren, so sind sie aus dieser Einheit des Substantiellen und lndividuellen heraus; sie sind im Verhältnis, in der Bestimmung des Geistlosen, sie sind Substanzlose und—in Beziehung auf politische Freiheit—Rechtlose. Der Wille ist hier kein substantieller, sondern ein durch Willkür und Zufälligkeit der Natur (z.B. durch Kasten) bestimmter, – ein Wesen der innerlichen Bewußtlosigkeit. 1 ∗ The first version of this article was published in: Kippenberg, H.G., Yme B. Kuiper and Andy F. Sanders (eds.), Concepts of Persons in Religion and Thought. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 1990. pp. 279–307. Religion and Reason 37 1 Hegel 1940, Einleitung in die Geschichte der Philosophie (Vorlesungen 1825/26), 225 ff. In later lectures Hegel considerably modified his views, though he stuck to his own conviction that the determinism entailed by the birth within a distinct caste precludes true morality (Sittlichkeit). See Bakker 1994a, Die indische Herausforderung, below, pp. 28 f., pp. 40 f. 3 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 Hans Bakker Though, admittedly, long as a quotation, this passage from Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy presents in a nutshell a central idea in modern European understanding of man: the concept of person or individuality and how it may account for the Western ethos as being apparently fundamentally different from the Indian. And when it is objected that the view quoted is an early nineteenth century one, and worse, one of Hegel, let me draw your attention to Marcel Mauss’s treatment of the history of the notion of ‘the person’, in which he needs only one paragraph to explain that our notion of person, though it would not seem to have been completely absent from the ancient Indian mind, ‘was dissolved (again) almost irrevocably’: the ‘self’ (i.e. the ego) is according to one school of Indian thought (‘Brahmanists’) an ‘illusory thing’, to another, the Buddhists, a ‘separable compound of skandha’, the annihilation of which is to be sought. 2 What a sad world we must be prepared to arrive in when we pass through the customs at Delhi Airport! M. Mauss’s student, Louis Dumont, fully envisaged the intricacies and limitations of comparing the experience of existence (‘Existenzerfahrung’) in two entirely different socio-cultural contexts. At the outset of his Homo Hierarchicus Dumont warns the reader never to lose sight of an ambiguity in our notion of ‘the individual’: (1) ‘l’agent empirique’, (2) ‘l’être de raison, le sujet normatif des institutions’ (Dumont 1966, 22). Whereas the individual in the first sense is virtually co-existent with the human race, the second seems more peculiar to our society ‘comme en font foi les valeurs d’égalité et de liberté, c’est une représentation idéelle et idéale que nous avons’ (Dumont 1966, 22). To designate this second category we should employ, unlike Dumont, the word ‘person’ and use it as an operational definition of an individual who somehow conceives, or is supposed to conceive of himself, rightly or wrongly, as an (ethical) value sui generis, ‘la mesure de toutes choses’, and end in itself. 3 As Dumont has argued, the idea of an individual as ‘person’ is an ideal and sociologically speaking an impossible one, since hierarchy appears to be ‘une nécessité universelle’. 4 It is not our intention to give an assessment of 2 Mauss 1980, 75 f. Cf. Sanderson 1985, 190 f. 3 Dumont 1966, 23. By taking this definition as our point of reference we align ourselves with the concept of person as current in post-Kantian Western philosophy, a tradition that is understood in Hubbeling’s concept of ‘personc ’ and ‘personc0 ’ (Hubbeling 1990, 17 ff.). On the other hand, we refer to ‘man’ by the term ‘individual’, conceiving of him as characterised by selfconsciousness and/or will—that is without any implication of moral and aesthetic categories. To avoid misunderstanding, it may again be stated explicitly, that we consider these definitions ‘operational’, hence neither propositions concerning the ‘real’ nature of human beings can be derived from them, nor value judgements. 4 Dumont 1966, 300. For a critical evaluation see i.a. Burghart 1983, in particular with respect to Dumont’s concept of the ‘renouncer’, which appears sociologically and religiously to be a more complex phenomenon. Though, undeniably, the ethos of the renouncer and the householder differ in several important aspects, I agree with Richard Burghart’s view, developed in reaction to Dumont’s simplifications, saying householders and renouncers operate through ‘two different conceptual universes’, that the latter is too much a theoretical construction. Burghart 1983, 650. Cf. Van der Veer 1986, 61–67. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 5 Dumont’s work, nor to focus on the caste system and its counterpart, ‘renunciation’ (sam . nyāsa), social institutions that, despite some modifications, seem to be giving way but slowly (cf. Dumont 1966, 289 f.). In view of the overall religious setting which encompasses Indian society, we intend to give an appraisal of the traditional Hindu understanding of individual man by focusing on some religious currents that made their appearance in northern India from the 12th century onwards. From it we may gain an impression of whether Indian thought approximates and appraises our ideal of ‘personhood’ or develops its own categories. 5 The Indian understanding of perfect man To speak of Indian society and culture without unwarranted generalisations inevitably means limiting the scope of investigation to a particular milieu. Of the four main social and religious groups in North India—Muslims, Sikhs, Jainas, and Hindus—we shall chiefly be concerned with the last, though the Muslim impact cannot be ignored. Another complication lies in the fact that European influence since the 18th century has significantly altered the traditional world-view, which has led to new departures in Indian philosophy. We shall leave them aside as far as possible. Yet, we shall begin by presenting a contemporaneous instance of the ‘empirical agent’ in virtue of his being the ‘raw material’ or ‘matière première principale de toute sociologie’ (Dumont 1966, 22). In order to minimalize distortion caused by modern influences it is taken from a traditional, orthodox, and conservative Hindu milieu. The ‘Raw Material’ On one of my tours around the holy places of Ayodhyā accompanied by my aged host, a learned and devout brahmin who was held in high esteem by the local priesthood and monks, the city magistrates, and the populace alike, I spoke to him: Pandit ji! One of the essential differences between us Europeans and you Indians is, it seems to me, that, suppose that we would believe that we were to be reborn on earth, we would be happy and rejoice at this good prospect, whereas you take quite the opposite stance, considering it a punishment from which one has to liberate oneself as soon as possible by subduing one’s individuality or karma. My guide fully disagreed with the view. He, convinced that he will come back on this earth, explained to me that the idea of being born again as a human being was attractive to him just as to me, since it would enable him to live 5 It cannot and should not be the aim of this paper to assess the Indian image of man in terms of ‘true’ and ‘false’, or ‘inferior’ of ’superior’ with regard to our own notions. What we do aim is to point out some significant differences between the Hindu and our own cultural traditions in respect to the conception of the world and hence of man. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 Hans Bakker in and experience the proximity and love of god. For the ordinary Hindu of today god is experienced through his presence in certain landscapes, the temple and the heart. To this I may add what everyone knows who has visited Hindu temples, viz. that the atmosphere there is usually one of great joy and exuberance, which strengthens the individual and makes it worthwhile to be present in the flesh and in the company of fellow devotees. There can be little doubt that many a Hindu experiences a great measure of liberty and solidarity, though perhaps not equality, in the daily routine of his religion. To understand this ethos in its genesis we should consider the religious currents that informed it. The Sufis The extent to which Islam and the spread of Sufism influenced the patterns of religiosity in northern India is a matter of much debate and appears to be difficult of define. That this influence has been considerable, especially on the level of popular religion, cannot be denied but is too easily underestimated due to one-sided attention to the higher written expressions of Indian culture. 6 Although the notion of ‘direct influence’ itself is opaque and mostly not explicitly defined we would subscribe to the view expressed by Charlotte Vaudeville who notes: Even when the influence of Islam does not appear to have been direct, it certainly acted as a catalyst, helping to release and bring to the fore deep undercurrents which were already present in the lower strata of Indian society, as they reflected the culture of the masses and their own religious aspirations. 7 We are even inclined to go one step further and maintain that the impact of Islam/Sufism, whether ‘directly’ or not, has been one of the main factors in effecting a significant change in the image of man in North India. The central notion of Sufism, viz. that of fanā- or ‘passing away’ (i.e. evanescence of all awareness of an empirical ego and hence of that ego itself) as propounded by Abū Yazı̄d of Bist.ām (better known as Bāyazı̄d), although not entirely unknown to earlier Sufis, 8 may or may not have been developed in the middle of the ninth century under the influence of Indian thought which had reached Bāyazı̄d via his teacher Abū ,Alı̄ al-Sindı̄, 9 yet when it was imported into India again by the Sufi holy men of the 13th and 14th centuries it bore the mark of Islamic monotheism. Mystic enrapture (sukr) of the kind that led Bāyazı̄d to exclaim: ‘Glory be to me, how great my glory!’ or ‘I sloughed off my self 6 Gonda 1960–63 II, 102: ‘Der direkte Einfluß des Islam auf den Hinduismus ist—von den nachher zu erwähnenden Erscheinungen abgesehen—sehr gering gewesen, jedenfalls beträchtlich geringer als die Veränderungen, die er selbst erfuhr.’ 7 Vaudeville 1974, 118. Cf. Schimmel 1980, 38. 8 The Koran commentary ascribed to Dja ,far al-Sādik (d. ad 765) describes the phenomenon of fanā- with reference to the passage of Moses in the burning bush. ‘Next to [God] is no room for Moses.’ Gramlich 1965–81 II, 330. Cf. Crollius 1978, 28 f. 9 Zaehner 1960, 93 ff. Cf. Gramlich 1965–81 II, 317. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 7 as a snake sloughs off its skin: then I looked into my essence (or self) and lo! I was He!’, or al-Husayn b. Mans.ūr al-H . allādj’s renowned heresy ‘ana ,l-h.ak.k.’ (‘I am the Truth (or God)’), though by no means completely alien to Sufism, appears, nevertheless, to have been an exception rather than the rule; it should, probably, not be interpreted in terms of complete identity of god and human soul. 10 If, at all, a comparison with Indian mystic illumination is apposite, the Sufi experience should be compared with theistic schools within Hinduism rather than with monistic ones such as that of, e.g. Śam . kara (cf. Crollius 1978, 89 f.). The theory of fanā- was supplemented by the characteristic concept of bak.āor ‘continuance in god’. Admittedly, all individual features of the human soul are believed to be lost in the process of fanā-, but the soul as such, as unconditioned receptacle in which and through which god reveals his own true nature remains essentially different from the divinity itself. In other words, it would be better to think of an inward transformation of the human individual when he enters into a supra-natural mode of subsistence which, however, is not fully detached from the ordinary conditioned (empirical) state, since the mystic falls back to it whenever his ecstasy ends (often thought necessary in order to fulfil the injunctions of the Koran). Hence there is no question of merger or total absorption in god or the absolute once and for all, 11 and theoretically it remains even possible that the mystic would be damned on the Day of Resurrection. In this respect Islamic/Sufi eschatology differs fundamentally from the classical Hindu concept of moks.a which designates an irreversible permanent state. Accordingly, for the Muslim the individual retains a value per se, as a means by which god steers the created world and a medium through which he sees or loves himself. The relationship of soul and god is mostly expressed in terms of love (,ishk.)—renunciation of the empirical ego (nafs), and turning towards god is conceived of as an act of love—and the human being appears as a vital element in the divine plan when Sufis answer the question as to the meaning of creation by referring to the words: ‘I was a hidden treasure and I desired to 10 Nicholson 1963, 152 ff.; Rizvi 1978 I, 58; Gramlich 1965–1981 II, 321 ff.: Aber es bleibt immer ein Letztes und Höchstes, für das man immer noch dableibt, dem man sich nicht entziehen kann, weil es niemals tiefer steht als der Entwerdende. Mag man auch für sonst nichts mehr da sein, für Gott ist man immer noch da. Ein radikales Zunichtewerden, das einem selbst vor Gott zu einem puren Nichts werden lässt—ein fanā- u ,ani llāh, ist für den Sufi undenkbar. 11 Cf. the doctrine of Abu -l-K . āsim al-Djunayd of Baghdad summarized by Zaehner 1960 152: The relationship between God and the rūh, or higher soul, is an eternal one in which God is mustaulı̄, ‘absolutely predominant’ and musta-thir—he appropriates each elected soul to himself in a manner that is peculiar and individual to each and every soul so elected. In mystical experience this relationship will be revealed to the soul in a flash of intuition in which it not only realizes that it has its being outside time, but that it has forever a unique relationship with God. When the vision passes the soul suffers bitter anguish. . . Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 8 Hans Bakker be known; therefore I created the creation in order that I might be known.’ 12 It is necessary to distinguish explicitly the spirit expressed in this Tradition from the idea underlying the conception of the world as illusion (māyā) or play (lı̄lā) of god as taught by Śam . kara or Rāmānuja respectively. Though in neither conception the individual is an end in itself, the Muslim’s view attaches a greater significance to the individual human being by accrediting him with a certain measure of responsibility for the course of history, which is conceived of as linear, heading towards the Last Judgment, 13 thus opposing the predominantly anti-historical Hindu view which conceives of time as a cyclic process which conforms to an immutable law and tends to render all idiosyncratic effort as futile and transient. It is evident that the Muslim world-view fosters a more dynamic attitude towards the environment (Entwistle 1985, 6, 10). The doctrine of divine love (,ishk.), on the other hand, referring to an emotional experience that enables the mystic to approach god personally, with or without his help (and this question has divided the Viśis.t.ādvaita of Rāmānuja into two schools), though sometimes believed to be of Christian origin (Nicholson 1963, 10 f.), is one of the central ideas of Sufism that concurs so much with the Hindu conception of (emotional) bhakti that it may account partly for the successful accommodation of Sufism in India. Notwithstanding that it shared, besides some ritualistic practices that we shall note below, asceticism, mysticism, and several religious ideas with theistic currents in medieval Hinduism, the entry of Islam in India, even when mediated by its main vehicle, i.e. Sufi holy men, meant the introduction of another system of belief, that is to say another image of man, which was sui generis in spite of the fact that it had imbibed many elements from neighbouring religions. Its specificity finds expression in the relationship that is thought to exist between man and god, and it may be best illustrated by the way the figure of the prophet as the perfect man, the archetype, came to be considered in Sufism. In discussing the theological differences between the figure of Christ and of Muh.ammad with regard to the concept of personality, Nicholson observed: Allah is the Creator, and though the metaphor of ‘creation’, which implies His transcendence, is often exchanged for ‘emanation’, which implies His immanence, yet all beings, including Mohammed himself are on one side of their nature His 12 Nicholson 1963, 80: H . adı̄th k.udsı̄. ¯¯ 13 Cf. Böwering 1980, 165 f., describing the tradition of Sahl Al-Tustarı̄: Tustarı̄’s range of mystical ideas depicts man as being driven in his inner dynamics to his ultimate destiny, described by the events of the Day of Resurrection. This post-existential Day, beyond the phenomenal existence of man in the world of creation, introduces man to his final and lasting state in the eternal presence of the Transcendent, and opens up for him the life of paradise, gratified by the bliss of theophanic encounter. [. . . ] The theophany, as the perpetual self-manifestation of the divine Reality, thus transfigures man through its irradiation, transforms him through its illumination, and brings his life of ultimate destiny and final glory to fulfilment. Cf. op. cit. 264 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 9 creatures, His slaves, absolutely inferior to Him. And Allah in His essence is One. In His essence there can be no interplay of personality. The Islamic conception of plurality in the Divine Unity signifies not the relation of persons within that Unity, but the relations existing between the Unity and the manifold aspects in which it reveals itself. All these aspects are reflected in the Perfect Man, who may therefore be considered as the personified Idea in and through whom the Divine nature makes itself known. While the Christian doctrine expresses ‘the realisation of human personality as characterised by and consummated in the indwelling reality of the Spirit of Christ, which is God’, in Mohammedan theology the main stress falls on Revelation. 14 We may add that in Hindu theology as reflected in Sanskrit literature up to the time of the introduction of Islam in India the main emphasis fell on merging into god. 15 The expansion of Sufism in India was largely due to the order of the Čishtı̄s. Although there had been earlier contacts, the actual history of Sufism in South Asia started with the arrival in ad 1161 of Khwādja Mu,ı̄n al-Dı̄n Čishtı̄ (d. 1236) in Lahore and the subsequent foundation of his khānk.āh (monastery) in Ajmer (1194). The khānk.āhs became the centres through which Sufism diffused. It was probably the most organised form of religion extant in northern India in the 13th century and as such may have had an impact on the evolution of monasticism within rival Hindu sects (see below p. 12). The Čishtı̄ order obtained its expansive character as a result of the policy of Shaykh Niz.ām alDı̄n Awliyā (d. 1325), the third in (spiritual) descent of Mu,ı̄n al-Dı̄n, whose khānk.āh was in Delhi and who ordained that the apprentices (murı̄ds) of a shaykh, or head of the khānk.āh, as soon as they were given the status of khalı̄fa (spiritual successor), had to move together with their own disciples to another city, generally their native place, in order to found a new centre. 16 As a matter of course the Sufi orders did not meet with the same impediments from the government as their Hindu counterparts, but the individualistic attitude of the Sufis on the one hand, and their continuous suspiciousness in the eyes of the ,ulamā- on the other, largely prevented the majority of them from engaging in politics. Up to the time of Muh.ammad b. Tughluk., the middle of the 14th century, they remained generally aloof from political power and of- 14 Nicholson 1964, 95. 15 This may be illustrated by examples taken from two texts, the Bhagavadgı̄tā (14.27; 6.20–27; 12.9–10; 11.54; 6.31) and the Agastyasam . hitā (23.46; 20.24; 20.29–32; 5.38– 39; 19.23–24). Both teach primarily the doctrine of devotion to a personal god (Kr.s.n.a/Rāma), yet acknowledge two methods (yoga) of reaching him: worship of a god who loves his devotees for whose sake he has descended to earth, and meditation on the absolute divinity. Though both texts declare that the method of devotional service and activity (bhakti) is to be preferred in the present circumstances, the ultimate state attained by both methods is more or less the same, viz. union, that is submersion into the divine. The Bhagavadgı̄tā stands at the beginning of devotional Hinduism, the Agastyasam . hitā concludes, as it were, the pre-Muslim era of North India. 16 Mujeeb 1967, 138; Schimmel 1980, 26f; cf. En.Is. II, 51. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 10 Hans Bakker ten criticised officials or even the sultan, 17 whereas the egalitarianism of Islam made the Sufi movement the first one to defy the caste system, on principle. In order that the Sufi shaykh could sustain his authority, against the ,ulamāon the one hand and the people on the other, the possession of karāma, supernatural power, became essential (Mujeeb 1967, 118). It appears that by the second half of the 14th century Sufism was firmly established. By that time succession to the shaykh was becoming hereditary and the khānk.āh evolved into an institution of vested interests (Mujeeb 1967, 162). A debate with Hinduism ensued. As far as metaphysics was concerned, Indian Sufism accepted on the whole the doctrine of the immanence of god, or ‘unity of phenomena’ (wah.dat al-shuhūd). 18 The austerity tended to slacken and the status of the shaykh was increasingly seen in terms of divine grace or favour rather than of self-discipline. The esteem in which he was held gradually began to assume enormous proportions like that of his Hindu counterpart, the guru. In sum, Sufism became integrated in the course of development of North Indian society and religion as a whole in which it remained a dynamic factor. 19 This is not the place to deal with the forms of popular syncretistic religion that ensued on the periphery of Islam among the lower strata of society where large groups had nominally embraced the new faith and that made, for instance, the cult of saints (pı̄r/shaykh) and tombs ubiquitous. 20 There are two Sufi practices of great consequence that deserve to be noted: dhikr and samā,. Among the traditional orders that were established in India the Čishtı̄ order was the only one that accepted samā, (‘audition’), i.e. listening to song and music, as a legitimate (not contrary to the sharı̄,a) means to pursue spiritual aims. Music seems to have been able to bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims more than anything else, and its acceptance by the Čishtı̄s greatly contributed to their success. 21 Early Indian Sufi literature (14th century) provides ample evidence of the ecstasies evoked by Hindi songs and refrains, and the tradition mentioned by Vaudeville that Shaykh Niz.ām al-Dı̄n ‘is supposed to have said that God himself had spoken to him in the purbı̄ (‘Eastern’, i.e. Avadhı̄?) language!’ is to be seen in this light. 22 The prestige attached to samā, was no Indian innovation but goes back to the early days of Sufism as it was often seen as homologous with fanā- itself (Nicholson 1963, 59 ff.). Of all the observances the Sufis brought with them into India none found such fertile soil as dhikr (‘recollection’), which involves the practice of repeating the Mujeeb 1967, 139 ff.; cf. En.Is. II, 51. Mujeeb 1967, 289; McGregor 1984, 23; Schimmel 1980, 23, 4l f. Mujeeb 1967, 290. See Crooke 1926 I, 201 ff.; Ahmad 1964, 155 ff.; Herklots 1975, passim. Mujeeb 1967, 167: ‘By the time of Shaikh Gēsū-darāz (d. 1422) Indian music had been studied and Hindi devotional songs had¯ ¯come to occupy a very significant position in the samā,.’ Cf. McGregor 1984, 23 f.; Schimmel 1980,14, 24. 22 Vaudeville 1974, 90; cf. McGregor 1984, 26 f.; Lawrence 1978, 31 f.; Mujeeb 1967, 167 f. 17 18 19 20 21 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 11 name of god or some religious formula like, e.g. lā ilāha illā ,llāh (’there is no god but Allah’). Like the concept of ,ishk., the practice of dhikr is sometimes thought to derive from Christian origins, 23 but in Sufism it became the main means of concentrating. Communion with god (or interiorization of god) evolves from uninterrupted (mechanical) repetition of the syllables that constitute his Name, which is gradually spiritualized. 24 The practice resembles the one known in Hinduism as nāmajapa or nāmakı̄rtana. It can hardly be a coincidence that the cult of the Name, as inter alios promulgated by the Sants (see below), was so fervently adopted in that part of India and in that very period that witnessed the introduction and establishment of Sufism. From all that has been said it ensues that the greatest impact was felt on the popular level. Sufism largely contributed to the (religious) emancipation of the lower strata of society and it was there that it found its most competent rivals. Already the first Sufis to settle in India are reported to have been forced to measure their karāma against the siddhi (occult power) of the Yogis. 25 Both parties frequently claim to have won over the champions of the other to their own creed (Vaudeville 1974, 94). The appearance of ‘Warrior Sufis’, on the other hand, may shed a more grim light on their relationship with the Yogis. 26 It does not seem improbable that the Sufi fak.ı̄rs imparted a stiff dose of Islamic self-assertiveness and militantism to their Hindu counterparts. The Yogis The frequent mention of Yogis in medieval Indian texts refers to a rather illdefined group of practitioners of yoga which may range from itinerant charlatans, conjurers, and wonder-workers of all sorts to sincere ascetics who through rigorous self-discipline endeavoured to transcend the human condition, to attain a state of complete autonomy by defying the laws of nature. In many cases they would not have belonged to any particular school or organisation, and attempts to unite the various and often legendary traditions of individual adepts into one framework, like that of the 84 siddhas or of the 9 nāths, were certainly made in retrospect. The Yogis of the 13th and 14th centuries were the heirs of a rich and long tradition of uncompromising experiments with human physiological and psychological processes. Physiological exploration of the human body had led to a system of discipline that is usually designated as Hat.hayoga. 23 Nicholson 1963, 10; En.Is. II, 223 f. 24 Gramlich 1976 II, 379: ‘Der Dikr kann eine rein äusserliche und mechanische Repetition eines Namens Gottes sein. In¯ dieser Form ist er kein mystisches Phänomen. Aber er ist seinem Wesen nach dazu angelegt, in mystische Sphären überzugreifen.’ For a description of this process see op. cit. 378 ff. 25 Shaykh Safı̄ al-Dı̄n of Uch (Bahawalpur dstr. Pakistan), middle of the 11th century, is said to have defeated a Yogi in a super-natural contest (Rizvi 1978 I, lll f.), and similar stories are told of later Sufi shaykhs, as for instance Khwādja Mu,ı̄n al-Dı̄n (Rizvi op. cit. 117; cf. Vaudeville 1974, 94) and many others (Mujeeb 1967, 165). 26 Eaton 1978, 19 ff.; cf. Farquhar 1925, 440 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 12 Hans Bakker ln addition to the movement that sought complete control over mind and body by means of self-restraint, there had evolved a school of alchemy (rasāyana) which developed proto-chemical theories with respect to the effect of chemical compounds (in particular of mercury, rasa) on the human body. Its aim was to immunize the body, to prevent its decay and to facilitate yogic techniques. In the centuries under discussion a group of wandering Yogis appeared on the scene who cultivated the ‘sciences’ of Hat.hayoga and Rasāyana, and considered themselves to be the descendants of the semi-mythological preceptors Macchendranāth and Gorakhnāth. These so-called Nāth Yogis or Gorakhnāthı̄s stood outside the pale of orthodoxy and must have enjoyed great popularity. Nothing is known about the earliest form of their organisation, but the oldest centres or monasteries (mat.has) may date from the 14th century. 27 They were not the first sect within Saivism to be organized into monastic orders, 28 yet their organising may have found a stimulus in their Sufi antagonists, as has been suggested above. 29 Reason why attention is paid to the Nāth Yogis in the present context is that they represent an influential and significant popular phenomenon that contributed largely to the image of the perfect man in the eyes of the common people. The Nāth Yogis embody the belief that the individual human being, irrespective of caste, can attain perfection in this body, here and now. As inheritors of the alchemic tradition, the Yogis tend to identify the supra-natural or ‘divine body’ (divyadeha), which is attained in the highest state of perfection (i.e. when identity with Śiva is realised), and the natural body that is transmuted to perfection by yoga (siddhadeha). In this connexion they subscribe to the position expressed in the alchemic text Rasārn.ava (1.8–9): Release during life-time (jı̄vanmukti), i.e. realisation of one’s identity with Śiva, is attained by him whose body is no longer subject to decay and death, O Great Goddess. Even for gods this is a precious thing (durlabha). But release (moks.a) that is accompanied by the break-up of the body, that kind of release is useless, for, O Goddess, even a donkey is liberated when his body falls apart. 27 Briggs 1938, 86; Unbescheid 1980, 197; cf. White 1996. 28 Cf. the Pāśupata (Bakker 2007; below, pp. 527 ff.), the Dasnāmı̄ (Sarkar 1958) and Kālā- mukha orders (Lorenzen 1972, 103 f.). 29 The abbots (mahant) of the Gorakhnāth monasteries, for instance, are frequently called pı̄rs (Briggs 1938, 8; Vaudeville 1974, 95). Ghurye 1953, 157 makes some interesting remarks: First, the most important centres of the Nāthapanthı̄s are situated in predominantly Muslim localities. [. . . ] Second, the partiality of the Nāthapanthı̄s for the goddess Hingalaj on the Makran Coast (see Bakker & Entwistle 1983, 73–85) must have brought them in close contact with Muslim population. Third, we know it from history that the Nāthapanthı̄s had repeated trouble with the Muslims. The temple of Gorakhnātha at Gorakhpur is known to have been destroyed by the Muslims twice or thrice, the Nāthapanthı̄s having rebuilt it every time. The daily course of life that is lived at Nāthapanthı̄ centres, typically in the past, approximates the life of the Muslim Pir. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 13 Accordingly, the Nāth Yogis claim, by means of iatro-chemical methods and yogic techniques, i.e. through a course of bodily perfection (kāyasādhanā), to be able to rejuvenate the body, to make it immutable, and consequently to postpone death ad libitum. If he wishes, the Yogi may, at a certain point, decide to dematerialize his body and to assume a divine body. The divine body (divyadeha), which can be obtained within the material frame, although it is considered to be nothing else than Śiva’s own nature (śivatādātmya), is paradoxically, accredited with some individuality of the empirical Yogi. 30 Thus the (divine) bodies of the great preceptors, as e.g. Gorakhnāth, are ‘believed to be eternally present in order to assist the yoga aspirants in their pursuit, which, again, recalls the notion of the Bodhisattva and may testify to a Buddhistic background (notably the Sahajiyā school of Vajrayāna) of the Nāth cult. 31 Unlike the Buddhists, however, the Yogis believe in the immortality of the body (kāyasiddhi) and, consequently, are concerned with physiological and psychochemical processes rather than with the psychological intricacies of meditation (Das Gupta 1969, 247 f.). The Yogi adepts consider themselves, and are considered, as individuals who have succeeded in transmuting their bodies, and thus to have won over time and death. They have gained perfect control over their nervous system, including the autonomic nervous system, and by so doing have attained the status of perfect man as well as of ‘perfect instructor’ (sadguru); in other words, they are conceived of as true gods on earth. The sturdy and austere character of the Yogis accounts for the many (occult) powers ascribed to them. Like their modern congeners, the adepts of body-culture, they inspired awe and veneration in the general public, and often would not have desisted from using their bodily prowess to lend force to their cause. The Nāth Yogis were the first Hindu sect that took to arms, possibly in imitation of their Sufi brethren. 32 The Sants The cultural forces, exemplified by Yogis and Sufis, which manifested themselves in northern India during the 13th and following centuries, the tendency to reassess the position of the individual in the socio-religious context and to make a stand against orthodoxy in favour of the religious sentiments of the masses, 30 The paradox between the retained individuality in the state of jı̄vanmukti and the simul- taneous realisation of Śiva-hood may be and is explained away by postulating a second ultimate state of release (parāmukti). This state is described as sahaja, i.e. ‘natural’, in which the all-encompassing form of the Yogi manifests itself. See Das Gupta 1969, 169, 220 f. 31 Cf. Das Gupta 1969, 220, 253; McGregor 1984, 21. 32 Lorenzen 1978, 68. There is a spurious verse in the Kabı̄r Bı̄jak in which a Yogi carrying arms is criticised (Lorenzen op. cit. 61). The earliest hard testimony to Yogis behaving as warrior ascetics seems to be the armed clash between Yogis and Nāgas of the Dasnāmı̄ order that was witnessed by the emperor Akbar in ad 1567 (Lorenzen 1978, 68 f.; Pinch 2006, 28 ff.; below, p. 63). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 14 Hans Bakker the spirit that fostered egalitarianism in defiance of the caste system—this crucial shift in the Indian cultural pattern reached its acme in the movement of the Sants. The Sants, i.e. the saints, are the pivot of cultural developments in northern India during the period under consideration (the 14th to 16th centuries). For the first time the lower classes, cotton-printers, weavers, cobblers, barbers, and butchers raised their voices, and soon the country resounded with their devotional vernacular poetry, which rapidly attained to an astonishingly sophisticated level. We may conceive of the Sant movement as the first successful reaction of the indigenous genius against the foreign domination to which it had become exposed. As a matter of fact, the Sant movement was deeply influenced by Islamic attitudes. Its uncompromising monotheism and devotion towards one transcendent god, its rejection of idol worship, and its refusal to attach much significance to caste distinctions are not conceivable without the incitement of Islam. These concessions went so far that the Sant movement can hardly be considered as pertaining to Hinduism in the traditional sense. In fact its exponents were individualists who rejected the traditional precepts and practices of Islam and Hinduism alike and who created a cultural synthesis that stood on its own. They were zealots, hankering for God, and they harnessed their lives in order to contact Him. Socially they were neither wandering ascetics nor settled monks or householders. The orthodox division of the four stages of life did not concern them. They were unorganized and exalted laymen, who renounced as much of their social and religious duties as possible in order to devote themselves to singing the Name of god. Their world-view was basically puritanical and in several respects they resembled the protestant movement of the 16th century Europe. Their enthusiasm may have inspired the masses, but the following they attracted became organized only after their death. This was the case, for instance, with Kabı̄r who, more than any of his contemporaries, embodied the Sant movement. Kabı̄r, a weaver of Islamized stock (julāhā), active in the mid 15th century, promulgated devotion to an unqualified (nirgun.a) ultimate being that reveals itself graciously to the devotee through its Name. The Name of god, mostly rāma, 33 is the mystical scheme that connects the ineffable being with those who love him (it?). By repeating the Name of god the devotee becomes imbued with it, unites with god. 34 Though the god of the Sants can hardly be called personal, the relationship between god and soul is, paradoxically, described in terms of love (prema-bhakti). It may be clear how much this movement owed to Sufism. Not only the doctrine of love and grace as the medium between this and 33 See below, p. 466. 34 Kabı̄r, quoted in Tulpule 1984, 143: Repeating ‘Thou, Thou’, I became Thou; in me, no ‘I’ remained. Offering myself unto Thy Name, wherever I look, Thou art. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 15 the transcendent realm, but especially the only ritual acknowledged to celebrate god, the repetition (japa) and singing (bhajan) of his Name, in solitude or in communal sessions (sam . kı̄rtana), are in harmony with Sufi conceptions. We would be mistaken, however, if we attributed the spread of this type of devotion exclusively to Sufism. Its success is as much, or probably more, due to ideas that had already emanated within Hinduism itself. 35 The foundations of emotional devotionalism (bhakti) were laid in South India in the second half of the first millennium of our era, and northern India was on the verge of embracing this new form of religion, when the course of history took a new turn with the Muslim invasions. The belief in the efficacy of sound in the process of religious emancipation is an old all-Indian phenomenon (see below, p. 543), which had its theoretical basis in the ‘Platonic’ theory of the eternity of phonic archetypes constituting, as it were, a realm of ‘phonic ideas’ which underlies the phenomenal reality (śabdabrahman). This conception was common property of Yogis, Sants, and Bhaktas alike. I have shown elsewhere (Bakker 1986 I, 72, 78) that this doctrine of sound was reformulated in a devotional framework in North India during the 12th century and that the repetition (japa) of god’s Name (rāma) was already recognized as a means of release a century before the Sants declared it to be the only one. 36 The rise of the cult of the Name appears to be characteristic of religious developments in northern India where, initially, Muslim authority had prevented the growing stream of devotionalism from taking shape in the sensuous ‘materiality’ of idol worship and temple cult. Here, as contrasted with southern India, the resources of popular religiosity, explored by the emancipating forces at work, were primarily led into individualistic and non-visual aesthetic channels. Gatherings where the ordinary devotee could participate in recitation and singing the praise of god, where he could indulge himself in music and songs in his mother tongue, and where the gap between god and votary was bridged, not only by the enrapture provoked by these performances, but also by the proximity of god-men who were not separated by hieratic distance—these experiences were new departures which would inform Hinduism in the following centuries and would put the Name of god on the tongue of the masses (cf. Vaudeville 1974, 54). All authors who have dealt with the Sants, and especially Vaudeville (1974, 120), have pointed out how much this movement was indebted to the Yogis. 35 Cf. Ahmad 1964, 142: Thus, most of the ideas underlying all varieties of the Bhakti movement such as religion of love, monotheism, revolt against the formalism of orthodoxy and the basic principles of egalitarianism are of Hindu origin. They were brought into relief by Muslim example, stimulus, and challenge. 36 This theoretical background explains the schematic function attributed to the Name of god by the Sants. The Name is a sort of cosmic force or mantra that can be appropriated by the devotee rather than a sign that conveys god’s personality. It embodies the quintessence of his being, but this quintessence is devoid of personality (nirgun . a). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 16 Hans Bakker Although Vaudeville exaggerates the Yogis’ contribution, since much that she ascribes to Nāth influences may actually be attributed to the common stock of esoteric occultism developed in Vais.n.ava Sam . hitās, Śaiva Āgamas, and Śākta Tantras, the important point to note is that the Sants shared with the Yogis this anti-brahmanical individualistic self-asserting ethos. Unquestionably, the verses of the Sant poets generally contain a stronger moral and social emphasis than those of the Yogis, yet also in the teachings of the former one would look in vain for a philosophy that establishes the ethical value of the individual per se. Kabı̄r’s god, despite being conceived of as the ‘perfect instructor’ (sadguru), a concept borrowed from the Yogis, is no person and hence no ethical substance. The greatness of Kabı̄r lies in his waywardness, in his courage to break with conventional codes, in the superb manner in which he interprets the deepest religious sentiments of the ordinary people. As the greatest of the Sant poets, the personality of Kabı̄r epitomizes the self-esteem of the lower castes whose exalted voice he was. The Bhaktas However, there was a more down to earth, pedestrian strand in this outburst of devotion. It seems, a priori, very unlikely that the majority of devotees, who since time immemorial had approached god through an idol, i.e. who had worshipped his visual manifestations (sagun.a), would give up the habits under the influence of such ecstatics like Kabı̄r. The Sant owed his popularity to his charisma, to the fact that he was recognized as the embodiment of perfect man, but this does not imply that his followers shared his view of the absolute. Moreover, it could well be that many of the Sants themselves were in reality more closely affiliated to Vais.n.ava bhakti as the doctrine of nirgun.a would suggest. There seems to be sufficient evidence for the view expressed by me earlier (Bakker 1986 I, 123) that, from their inception, the Sant movement and the cult of the Name were in constant touch with Vais.n.ava religion from which they partly derived and into which sections of them would eventually be reabsorbed. This view receives support from Friedhelm Hardy’s observations, which led him to infer: ‘that a simplistic usage of terms like nirgun.a, sant, advaita etc. creates lines of demarcation which, by using a different type of conceptual framework, reveal themselves as artificial’ (Hardy 1983b, 149). The soil on which an emotional type of bhakti directed either to Kr.s.n.a or to Rāma could grow was prepared before the Muslim conquest. The germs of devotion towards Rāma were still couched in an intellectual and ritualistic framework peculiar to the Pāñcarātra tradition, but remarkable concessions to popular demand were already made. The Agastyasam . hitā (12th century), for instance, acknowledged the singing of god’s Name, rāma, and the ‘remembering’ (smaran.a) of his exploits as suitable methods, open to everyone, for realizing god (Bakker 1986 I, 67 ff.). Somehow the pedantic and hieratic ‘higher’ Hinduism of the North interacted with the more personal, emotional forms of Visnuism of the South, but exactly how this process operated remains Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 17 largly unsolved. The growth of the bhakti movement during the 13th to 15th centuries is eclipsed by that of the Sants. This is not the place to dwell at length on the early forms of Vais.n.ava bhakti that evolved in South India. A most significant contribution to its understanding was made by Friedhelm Hardy (Hardy 1983a). From it we learn that the earliest Vais.n.ava mystics, the Ālvārs, started from anthropocentric premises. A positive world-view rooted in¯the self-awareness of the individual as a psychosomatic being combined with aesthetic sensibility. From it arose the aestheticizing attitude towards the natural environment which was employed ‘to visualize and savour’ human emotions (Hardy 1983a, 444). Mystic experiences were expressed by means of symbols derived from sensuous experiences and sexual imagery was used to express and evoke intensity of emotions. The awareness of the limitations of the human condition turned god into a distant beloved, which made feelings of separation (viraha) the emotional cornerstone of this type of bhakti. The relationship between god and Bhakta was basically an interpersonal one. But though god as another, as ‘you’, is fundamentally different from the ego, he, being as Kr.s.n.a the personification of beauty and love, allows a meeting halfway through his incarnations ‘in a variety of concrete forms available to the I’s senses and emotions: in the temple vigrahas (i.e. images), and similarly in poetry and in the heart.’ (Hardy 1983a, 443; cf. below, p. 551). The main vehicle in which the emotional and sensuous bhakti of the Ālvārs was exported to the North was the Bhāgavatapurān.a (9th century/early ¯10th century). It conveyed a religious attitude that was basically anthropocentric, maintaining ‘the validity of the whole person (body, senses, emotions, mind)’ (Hardy 1983a, 553). Intrinsically related to this self-awareness is the conception of an absolute being that is avowedly personal, endowed with qualities such as love, grace, beauty, and compassion. In later centuries poems deriving themes and inspiration from the Bhāgavatapurān.a began to circulate in northern India. It would seem that in particular Bengal, where a Vais.n.ava-sahajiyā cult developed by integrating elements of Kr.s.n.a bhakti and ‘tantric’ sādhana (the latter we already encountered while discussing the Nāth Yogis), 37 played an important role in the transmission of the spirit of southern devotion into the northern realm. Another, indirect, channel through which the bhakti movement was infused into upper India was the Viśis.t.ādvaita and kindred schools. From the 10th century onwards learned brahmins of the South, trained in Vedantic philosophy, were engaged in coming to grips with popular devotion which tended to undermine their position. By far the greatest figure that emerged from this encounter was Rāmānuja (late 11th century). Rāmānuja succeeded better than anyone before or after him in coming to terms with bhakti—on the one hand by transforming the abstract absolute of Advaita into a personal god 37 For reasons of space this interesting cult should presently be passed over. The reader is referred to Dimock 1966; Das Gupta 1969; S.K. De 1961. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 18 Hans Bakker endowed with (ethical) qualities who contains the world and the souls within him (advaita), yet remains distinct from them (viśis..ta), thus leaving scope for a personal relationship between god and man, the latter’s liberation being ultimately dependent on the former’s grace (prasāda)—on the other hand by reformulating bhakti in intellectual terms, thus providing it with a theological basis that made it eventually acceptable for the brahmins of the North. The order in which Rāmānuja’s followers were organized, the Śrı̄sam . pradāya, seems only to have slowly penetrated into the North, but other southern Ācāryas, founders of orders (sam . pradāyas), like Nimbārka (12th century?) and Madhva (13th century) also contributed to the (organized) spread of bhakti all over India. 38 In this context an idea propounded by Hardy seems to me to have a particular relevance. He points out that inherent in the bhakti experience of separation (viraha) is the urge to overcome the spatial and temporal distance from god: ‘a bhakti that defined itself by reference to space and time began to use space and time to “materialize” itself’ (Hardy 1983b, 144). The spatial interval was crossed when the southern Bhaktas moved northwards and recovered the putative sites where Kr.s.n.a’s amorous adventures had taken place according to the texts. In this way the mythical spatial realm elaborated in the Bhāgavatapurān.a was reified in Vr.ndāvana and its surroundings, Vraja, and one of India’s most important pilgrimage centres sprang into existence. But something more happened. As we have seen, the North with its growing individualism was well prepared to receive the subjective emotionalism of the South and so the ecstatic cult of the Name was easily harmonized with the sensuality of southern devotion as soon as the political situation had stabilized and the socio-religious atmosphere became less tense. 39 But the northern attitude of not being satisfied with halfway solutions, the unquestioned belief that the individual could ultimately transcend his limitations and unite with god—be it in his own immortalized body as aspired to by the Yogis, or in a spiritual state of total merger as aimed at by the Sants and, to some extent, by the Sufis—this disposition contrived a means of crossing the ‘temporal’ separation as well. The tendency of the Ālvārs to substitute aesthetic experience for spiritual illumination was brought ¯to its logical conclusion. A trend to identify bhukti (enjoying the world of the senses) and mukti (release from the pangs of the human condition) could already be indicated in the Agastyasam . hitā (Bakker 1986 I, 74), and a similar thought was expressed in the Rasārn.ava quoted above (p. 12). The social and religious condition that had evolved in northern India in the 15th and 16th centuries was ripe for a theory which proclaimed that, although Vis.n.u’s avatāra as Kr.s.n.a in Vraja had happened a long time ago, his subtle presence in the places of dalliance (lı̄lā) had not vanished at all. To experience 38 Apart from the Vais.n . ava orders the Śaiva Dasnāmı̄ order seems also to have contributed to diffusion of Vis.n.u bhakti in the North. See Hardy 1974; cf. De 1961, 23 ff. 39 Outstanding exponents of the blending are e.g. Caitanya and Tulsı̄ Dās. Cf. Bakker 1986 I, 124. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 19 his presence and to participate in his eternal sports only required the special eye and disposition of the Bhakta. The state of auto-suggestion pursued by the devotees allows them to perceive in the impoverished copses, pointed out to them by local pandits, the luxuriant forests in which Kr.s.n.a sported. The holy sites were no longer seen as ‘souvenirs’ of a far past, but as actually imbued with divine presence. The whole sacred complex of Vr.ndāvana, like the city of Ayodhyā for the Rāma Bhakta (Bakker 1986 I, 139 ff.), turned by the end of the 16th century into a ‘mega-avatāra’ of the realm of myth. Sacred sites became conceived of as true replicas of paradise and god’s eternal lı̄lās as being enacted simultaneously on two planes, unmanifest (aprakat.a), i.e. in heaven, and manifest (prakat.a), i.e. cognizable in the phenomenal world. The Bhakta needed only to cultivate this hyper-sensitivity, this faculty to envisage, through the profane, the underlying divine aesthetic quality in order to realize communion with god. In order to explain this possibility of transcendental rapture, poetic aesthetical theory was reformulated in a theological context of bhaktirasa (De 1961, 166 ff.). God himself and his divine retinue are the containers of sublime emotions (rasa) that are pursued by the Bhaktas. The soteriological effect of the earthly holy places is due to their underlying divine beauty which, when perceived by the eye of the Bhakta, evokes in him the very emotions that identify him with the archetypal divine actors. In his phantasy the devotee plays the role of one of god’s intimates. In this way something of a revolution was accomplished in the Indian worldview as represented in more literate forms of so-called higher Hinduism. Instead of seeking release from this world the Bhakta plunges into it. Instead of hoping to reach heaven and not to be born again the Bhakta intensifies his earthly experience and hopes to prolong it in a subsequent life. The ideal Bhakta transcends the limitations of the human condition, which are invigorated by the laws and rules of caste and society. Hence the bhakti movement contributed largely to the ideal that emerged in the first half of the second millennium, according to which each individual, irrespective of caste, could attain to and participate in the divine, not in a nebulous hereafter, but here and now. At the same time it led the masses safely back into the fold of Hinduism. In this respect the bhakti movement that manifested itself throughout northern India in the 16th and 17th centuries may be seen as a successful restoration. But the background from which this movement emanated, the religious compound of Sufis, Yogis, Sants, and popular religion had effected a lasting change of perspective. Moks.a, release, became something that should preferably be experienced in this world. As we have seen, this new ethos was anticipated by the Ālvārs (cf. Hardy 1983a, 484, 430, 448 ff.), and in several Sanskrit texts ¯ before the Muslim period, but its full growth only took place in 16th datable century North India. It is here, where the vernacular tended to fuse with the Great Sanskrit Tradition, that in an outburst of devotional poetry lyrics such as the following could be produced. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 20 Hans Bakker What shall I do, once I have arrived in Vaikun.t.ha (Paradise), where there is no banyan where Kr.s.n.a plays the flute, no Yamunā river, no moutain Govardhan, [or] cow of Nanda? Where there are none of those bowers, creepers, and trees, and no gentle fragant wind blows, no cuckoo, peacock, or swan sings; what is the joy of living there? Where Kr.s.n.a does not place the flute on his lip and fill it with sound; no thought, word, or deed gives rise to the thrill and rapture of love, my friend! Where there is no earthly Vr.ndāvana, father Nanda, [or] mother Yaśodā, Govinda says: ‘abandonning the Lord and the joy of Nanda’s homestead (i.e. Braj): living there (i.e. Vaikun.t.ha) [would be] a misfortune!’ 40 This brings us back to the pandit of Ayodhyā, i.e. the ‘raw material’. It has become evident that the attitude towards life assumed by this devout brahmin adheres to the Hindu tradition that culminated in the 16th century. For him, as a sincere Bhakta, experiencing the proximity of god consists in cultivating the emotions that are evoked in the practice of worship and in participating in god’s divine play as enacted every day in his temples and the landscape of his holy sites. Epilogue Let us return to our initial question with respect to the concept of ‘person’ in the traditional Indian context. Despite the value attached to each individual soul, to the concrete human being of flesh and blood as the ultimate medium through which the divine play (lı̄lā) is enacted, we are reluctant to designate the selfperception of the ideal Bhakta in terms of ‘personhood’ in the Western sense as defined at the outset. In fact, North-Indian bhakti has removed itself from the ‘humanist’ or anthropocentric world-view of the Ālvārs in inverse proportion to its ambition to attain union with god. In this ¯respect it is indifferent as to whether union is pursued by means of aesthetics or yoga. What makes an 40 A poem (Pada 574) ascribed to Govindasvāmı̄ and datable in the 16th century. Another version of the same poem is found in Paramānanda-Sāgara (Pada 1371). Cf. the famous poem of Raskhān quoted in Entwistle 1987, 71: Should I be a man, then let me, Raskhān, mingle there with the herdsmen of Gokul. If as a beast, then how should I live but ever grazing among the cows of Nanda? If a stone, then one of the very hill that he made an umbrella for Braj against the torrents of Indra. If as a bird, then let me dwell for ever in the boughs of a kadamba on the banks of the Yamunā. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 1 / An Indian Image of Man 21 individual in traditional Hindu culture a ‘person’ is not so much his supposed intrinsic human capacity to act as a morally autonomous being within social ramifications, 41 as his realisation of an inner autonomy, i.e. of his potential capacity to transcend his natural as well as social definiteness by appropriating a system of religious symbols; in other words, his acknowledgement as a person in the Hindu context rather depends on the measure in which he succeeds in manifesting himself as enacting or personifying these symbols, or, to formulate it differently, his personhood, rather than something given, is something that can be acquired by degrees. To give an example, the Bhakta, for instance, aspires to emancipation by evoking an emotional state (bhāva) that is traditionally ascribed to one of the archetypes affiliated with god. Thus he may identify himself with the milkmaids (gopı̄s) who develop their erotic feelings for Kr.s.n.a (mādhurya-rasa), or, he may assimilate to Hanumat, the servant of Rāma, in order to experience god’s proximity through sentiments of service and submission (dāsya-rasa). By integrating his religious and social life as much as possible his endeavour and zeal may be translated into social esteem and prestige. A central category in this process is the notion of an eternal self or soul essential to each human being, which forms part of the divine and which only awaits emancipation. Partly, the degree of this emancipation is thought to be represented by caste. However, the institution of renunciation (sam . nyāsa) as well as the context of popular devotional religion offer alternative symbolsystems, which may lead man up the rungs of Jacob’s ladder within this life. All this amounts to what is already almost an intellectual cliché, viz. that, rather than promoting the ideal of Homo Aequalis, traditional Hindu culture fosters man as a Homo Hierarchicus. 41 For the development of ethical thought in Neo-hinduism under Western influence see especially Hacker 1978. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Die indische Herausforderung ∗ Hegels Beitrag zu einer europäischen kulturhistorischen Diskussion Einleitung In den Jahren 1979, 1980 und 1981 erschienen drei Bücher, die sich jeweils mit Hegels Indien-Konzeption als zentralem Thema befassen. Der Tatsache ihres kurz aufeinanderfolgenden Erscheinens ist es wahrscheinlich zuzuschreiben, daß die Autoren dieser drei Arbeiten wenig Gelegenheit hatten, um die Beiträge jeweils der beiden anderen zur Kenntnis zu nehmen. Und dementsprechend lassen sich diese drei Monographien als relativ unabhängige Forschungsbeiträge der Orient-Rezeption Hegels betrachten. Umso bemerkenswerter ist es, obwohl die drei Bücher in Aufbau und Umfang sehr unterschiedlich sind, daß die drei Autoren darin übereinstimmen, gegen die weitverbreitete Auffassung Stellung zu beziehen, daß sich Hegels Interpretation der indischen Kultur hauptsächlich auf sekundäre und dubiose Informationen stützte, die ihm ausschließlich dazu dienten, seine Vorurteile über den Wert nichteuropäischer kultureller Leistungen zu bestärken. Vorurteile, die mit einem absoluten, rigiden Interpretationsschema verbunden wären, mit dem Hegel versuchte die Diversität der Weltgeschichte zu einer Einheit zusammenzuschmieden, und die eine unbefangenen Kenttnisnahme und wissenschaflichen Urteilsfindung im Wege gestanden hätten. Im Jahr 1979 erschien in Paris Michel Hulins Buch Hegel et l’Orient; 1980 erschien in Rom Ignatius Viyagappas G.W.F. Hegel’s Concept of Indian Philosophy und 1981 in Basel/Stuttgart Wilhelm Halbfass’ lndien und Europa, das im ersten Teil unter anderem Hegel behandelt. Es ist nicht meine Absicht, diese drei Arbeiten hier miteinander zu vergleichen oder zu besprechen, noch ihre soeben dargelegte Position zu bestreiten. 1 Im Gegenteil, ich denke, daß Hegel mit seinen Kenntnissen und Einsichten in bezug auf die indische ∗ The first version of this article was published in: Bakker, H., J. Schickel und B. Nagel, Indische Philosophie und europäische Rezeption. Dinter Verlag, Köln [1994]. pp. 33–56. Dialectica Minora 5 1 Vgl. Walter Jaeschke zu Hegels Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Religion, Teil 2, p. xi: Nichts ist Hegels Vorgehen weniger angemessen als das gängige Bild des Kathederphilosophen, der den bunten Reichtum der geschichtlichen Wirklichkeit durch ein vorfabriziertes Netz abstrakter Bestimmungen zur fahlen Räson bringen will. 23 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 24 Hans Bakker Kultur die überwiegende Zahl seiner Zeitgenossen weit übertroffen hat. Vielmehr ist es mein Ziel, diese Position anhand einer historischen Analyse der Entwicklung, die sein Denken über Indien und insbesondere die indische Philosophie durchlaufen hat, näher zu illustrieren. Diese Möglichkeit bietet uns die kritische Ausgabe der Einleitung, die den ersten Teil von Hegels Vorlesungen zur Geschichte der Philosophie bildet und von Johannes Hoffmeister 1940 herausgegeben wurde. Der Text von vier zweijährlich gehaltenen Vorlesungszyklen dokumentiert den Entwicklungsgang eines Denkers auf eine, verglichen mit den meisten Philosophien der Geschichte, ungewöhnlich detaillierte Weise. Desto auffälliger ist es, daß keiner der drei genannten Autoren, wie es mir scheint, von den philosophisch-historischen Möglichkeiten dieses ‘document humain’ ausführlich Gebrauch gemacht hat. 2 Die Jahre 1820–1825 Erst in den letzten zehn Jahren seines Lebens, während seiner Zeit als Philosophieprofessor an der Universität von Berlin, einer Periode, die den glänzenden Höhepunkt seiner Karriere bildete, hat sich Hegel intensiv mit Indien beschäftigt. In seine Vorlesungen über die Ästhetik 1820/21 integriert er zum ersten Mal ein Kapitel über Die symbolische Kunstform, das er u.a. der indischen Kunst gewidmet hat. 3 Im Jahre 1821 erscheinen ebenfalls die Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts, worin er im § 355 ein Bild der orientalischen Rechtsordnung gibt, das hauptsächlich auf Stuhrs Vom Untergange der Naturstaaten basiert und mit der Auffassung seiner Zeit von einem Orientalischen Despotismus übereinstimmt. 4 2 Eine detailliertere Erforschung der Entwicklung von Hegels Konzeption der indischen Philosophie im allgemeinen (einschließlich des Buddhismus), die jetzt auf der Basis der von Walter Jaeschke herausgegebenen kritischen Ausgabe der Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Religion (Phil. d. Rel. I, II, III), möglich wäre, kann erst im Rahmen weiterer Forschungen vollständig zu ihrem Recht kommen. 3 Hegel stützt sich hauptsächlich auf den zweiten Druck der Arbeit von Creuzer, Symbolik und Mythologie der alten Völker, besonders der Griechen, der ihm 1819 vom Autor persönlich zugesandt wurde. Hegel Briefe II, 217 f. In bezug auf seine Definition von Symbol und das indische Material siehe auch Gaeffke 1984, 85 f. 4 Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts § 355: Dieses erste Reich ist die vom patriachalischen Naturganzen ausgehende, in sich ungetrennte, substantielle Weltanschauung, in der die weltliche Regierung Theokratie, der Herrscher auch Hoherpriester oder Gott, Staatsverfassung und Gesetzgebung zugleich Religion, so wie die religiösen und moralischen Gebote oder vielmehr Gebräuche ebenso Staats- und Rechtsgesetze sind. In der Pracht dieses Ganzen geht die individuelle Persönlichkeit rechtlos unter, die äußere Natur ist unmittelbar göttlich oder ein Schmuck des Gottes, und die Geschichte der Wirklichkeit Poesie. Die nach den verschiedenen Seiten der Sitten, Regierung und des Staats hin sich entwickelnden Unterschiede werden, an der Stelle der Gesetze, bei einfacher Sitte, schwerfällige, weitläufige, abergläubische Ceremonien, – Zufälligkeiten persönlicher Gewalt und willkürlichen Herrschens, und die Gliederung in Stände eine natürliche Festigkeit von Kasten. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 25 In den darauffolgenden Jahren stürzt Hegel sich, sofern wir seinem Biographen Rosenkranz Glauben schenken mögen, ‘mit wahrer Begeisterung und gewohnter Nachhaltigkeit’ in die Studien der morgenländischen Kulturen. 5 Ein erster Niederschlag dieser Studien findet sich in den Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Weltgeschichte, die Hegel erstmals im Winter 1822/23 hält, 6 und in denen der Abschnitt über Indien selbst siebzig gedruckte Seiten umfaßt. 7 Im Grunde geht es hier um die Widerlegung der (von ihm bestrittenen) Geschichtsauffassung, die, in Deutschland durch Herder initiiert, um Zeitalter der Romantik einen großen Anhang erworben hatte und derzufolge Indien als Wiege und Urbrunnen aller Reinheit und Weisheit betrachet wurde. Vor allem Friedrich Schlegel konstruierte in seinem Werk Über die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier einen Entwicklungsgang der Menschheit, der diametral demjenigen von Hegel gegenüberstand. Schlegel sah im Verlauf der Geschichte nur einen Verfall, demgemäß die ursprüngliche reine göttliche Emanation durch den Verstand allmählich korrumpiert und verdunkelt wird. Ohne die stets erneuerte Anregung dieses belebenden Prinzips (d.h. ‘das immer von Zeit zu Zeit geschehene Eingreifen der orientalischen Philosophie’) würde der europäische Geist sich wohl nie so hoch erhoben haben, oder doch frühe (sic) wieder gesunken sein. Auch die höchste Philosophie der Europäer, der Idealismus der Vernunft, so wie ihm griechische Selbstdenker aufstellten, würde wohl, an die Fülle der Kraft und des Lichts in dem orientalischen Idealismus der Religion gehalten, nur als ein schwacher prometheischer Funke gegen die volle himmlische Glut der Sonne erscheinen, nur geraubt und immer wieder zu erlöschen drohend. 8 Schon bald fühlte sich Hegel diesem ersten deutschen ‘Indologen’ aufgrund seiner eigenen Studien überlegen und bemerkt über ihm, daß ‘er zwar einer der ersten Deutschen sei, die sich mit indischer Philosophie beschäftigt haben; aber er ist noch nicht weit damit gekommen; es zeigt sich gelegentlich, daß er weiter nichts als die Inhaltsangabe des Ramayana gelesen hat.’ 9 5 Rosenkranz 1844, 378. 6 Der Handschrift nach zu urteilen, die Hegel selbst für seinen ersten Vorlesungszyklus über die Philosophie der Religion 1821 verfertigte (alle Nachschriften dieser Vorlesungen sind verlorengegangen), hat er hierin die indische Religion als solche noch nicht behandelt (siehe Phil. d. Rel. II, 4–29). Hingegen behandelt er in den Vorlesungen 1824 ausführlich die indische Religion unter dem Titel Die Religion der Phantasie. 7 Wir verweisen auf die Edition von G. Lasson von 1923. Ob die Vorlesungen 1822/23 tatsächlich so umfangreich gewesen sind, läßt sich momentan nicht exakt feststellen, da diese Vorlesungen noch nicht in der kritischen Ausgabe vorliegen. Zur Illustration dient allerdings eine Bemerkung Hegels, die er anläßlich seiner Vorbereitungen zu diesen Vorlesungen in einem Brief an Ed. Duboc am 22. Dezember 1822 niederschrieb. Meine Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Weltgeschichte machen mir sehr viel zu tun. Ich bin in Quartanten und Octavbänden zunächst noch von indischem und chinesischem Wesen beschäftigt. Es ist mir aber ein sehr interessantes und vergnügliches Geschäfte, die Völker der Welt Revue passieren zu lassen. Aber ich weiß noch nicht recht, wie ich sie bis auf diese unsere letzte Zeit auf Ostern durchkriegen soll. (Hegel, Briefe II, 366 f.) 8 Fr. Schlegel, Kritische Ausgabe VIII, 305. 9 Einleitung, 294. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 26 Hans Bakker Trotzdem ist es wichtig zu bemerken, daß die Struktur von Hegels Geschichtsauffassung die von Schlegel in vielerlei Hinsicht reflektiert. 10 Beide haben eine idealistische und evolutionäre Geschichtsauffassung und beide sind sich darin einig, daß Indien am Anfang dieser Evolution steht. Nur was für Schlegel die höchste Stufe bedeutet, ist für Hegel die niedrigste. Ist für Schlegel der natürliche Staat ein paradiesischer, in dem die göttliche Emanation noch in ihrer vollen Reinheit erfahren wird, so ist für Hegel ‘die erste Existenz des menschen . . . die tierische Existenz. Die natürliche unmittelbare Einheit ist so nicht die wahrhafte Existenz der Idee, vielmehr ihre niedrigste, unwahrste Stufe.’ 11 Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt charakterisiert Hegel in seiner Philosophie der Weltgeschichte die Inder als ein ‘an geistiger Substantialität leeres Volk’ (op. cit. II, 391). Und um der romantischen Schwärmerei ein für allemal ein Ende zu setzen, scheut er, aus den ‘Annalen englischer Offiziere’ schöpfend, selbst nicht vor Bemerkungen von äußerst zweifelhaftem Gehalt zurück: ‘List und Verschlagenheit ist der Grundcharakter des Inders; Betrügen, Stehlen, Rauben, Morden liegt in seinen Sitten; demütig kriechend und niederträchtig zeigt er sich dem Sieger und Herrn, vollkommen rücksichtslos und grausam dem Überwundenen und Untergebenen’ (op. cit. II, 391). Es ist daher nicht verwunderlich, daß wir im ersten Vorlesungszyklus, in dem Hegel die Geschichte der Philosophie vorträgt, im Wintersemester 1823/24, noch nicht Kapitel E der Einleitung, das den Titel Die orientalische Philosophie trägt, antreffen. Deshalb nicht, weil im Orient von Philosophie überhaupt nicht die Rede sein kann. Dementsprechend lehrt Hegel im Kapitel Der Anfang der Geschichte der Philosophie: Es irren so alle diejenigen, welche die Einheit des Geistes mit der Natur für die vortrefflichste Weise des Bewußtseins annehmen. Diese Stufe ist vielmehr die niederste, unwahrste; sie ist nicht durch den Geist selbst hervorgebracht. Sie ist das orientalische Wesen überhaupt. Hingegen die erste Gestalt des freien, geistigen Selbstbewußtseins und damit der Anfang der Philosophie ist in dem griechischen Volke zu finden. 12 Dieses Urteil des berühmten Philosophieprofessors der von W. von Humboldt ausdrücklich als ‘philosophische’ gestifteten Universität von Berlin, die außerdem als Mittelpunkt des wiederauferstandenen preußischen Staates betrachtet werden sollte, 13 sozusagen ex cathedra, stieß Indien von seinem Sokkel, was zu weitreichenden Folgen für die Rezeption Indiens führte. Es bedeutete den Todesstoß für den schwärmerischen Enthusiasmus für alles ‘Östliche’, wie er besonders die deutsche Romantik dominierte, oder—wie Peter Gaeffke bemerkt: ‘He came to the most negative conclusions, his judgement guided the official academic world (Karl Marx included), drove Schopenhauer into isolation and 10 11 12 13 Hulin 1979, 53. Phil. d. Rel. II, 152 (1824). Vgl. II, 424, 427 (1827). Einleitung, 227. Hegel in Berlin, 18. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 27 killed the hopes for a new Renaissance based on the writings of the classical Indians.’ 14 Doch scheint die Frage berechtigt, ob Hegels Folgerung wirklich so negativ war. Kann das Bild Indiens, so wie es in der Philosophie des Rechts, der Philosophie der Weltgeschichte und den Vorlesungen der Jahre 1820–1824 skizziert wurde, tatsächlich als repräsentativ für Hegels Konzeption des Orients betrachtet werden? Sicherlich wurde und wird es von vielen als die für Hegel repräsentative Vorstellung betrachtet, worin man zugleich die Ursache sehen kann, warum diese Vorstellung im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert von so großen Einfluß gewesen ist. Seit Hegel ist die indische Philosophie von der allgemeinen Geschichtsschreibung der Philosophie ausgeschlossen. 15 Der weitaus überwiegende Teil der Philosophiestudenten, die die philosophischen Fakultäten der Universitäten heutzutage verlassen, wissen von der Tradition der indischen Philosophie nicht mehr, als daß sie besteht, daß Kenntnisse darüber für eine gute Einsicht in die Philosophiegeschichte allerdings nicht unentbehrlich sind und daß ihre Ausübung in den Händen einer äußerst selekten Gruppe Sanskritisten oder anderer Liebhaber von Exotischem liegt, die aus Mangel an philosophischer Schulung nicht in der Lage sind, auf verantwortete Weise den wahren philosophischen Gehalt dieser Tradition zu konzipieren. Aber ich schweife ab. Wir stellen uns die Frage, ob Hegels Schlußfolgerungen in bezug auf die indische Kultur tatsächlich so negativ waren. Sie waren es sicherlich in den Jahren 1820–1824, aber eine nähere Betrachtung der in der Periode zwischen 1820 und 1830 verfassten Schriften läßt sehen, daß hier ein wichtiger Umschlag stattgefunden hat, der die indische Kultur in einem anderen Licht erscheinen läßt. Um diese Entwicklung gebührend beurteilen zu können, ist es notwendig, daß wir uns bewußt sind, daß vor 1824 in Europa so gut wie nichts über die philosophische Tradition Indiens als solche bekannt war. Zwei Sanskrit-Werke, die Upanis.ad-Kollektion, aus dem Persischen übersetzt von Anquetil-Duperron (1801/02) und die Manusmr.ti, übersetzt von William Jones (1796) waren Hegel zwar bekannt, doch schienen sie ihn eher in der Auffassung bestärkt zu haben, die er auch noch in den Vorlesungen von 1825/26 wiederholt, nämlich daß das, was allgemein unter indischer Philosophie verstanden wird, eigentlich zu den Religionen gerechnet werden müßte. Dem Mangel an Individualität zufolge, der die indischen Gottesgestalten kennzeichnet, was damit zusammenhängt, daß das Moment der subjektiven Freiheit unvollständig entwickelt ist, erscheinen 14 Gaeffke 1982, 550. 15 Halbfass 1981, 166. Es ist bezeichnent, daß in der Neuauflage von Hoffmeisters kritischer Edition der Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Philosophie von 1940, die 1959 von Friedhelm Nicolin herausgegeben wurde, das Kapitel über die orientalische Philosophie weggelassen wurde und wir daher noch stets auf entweder die unzuverlässige Rezension von Michelet oder die ziemlich seltene Kriegsedition von Hoffmeister angewiesen sind. Die von Klaus Grotsch seit 2016 herausgegebene Edition der Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Philosophie (Meiner Verlag, Hamburg) muß hier ausser Betracht bleiben. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 28 Hans Bakker die religiösen Vorstellungen der Inder mehr als allgemeine Vorstellungen und wecken damit den Eindruck philosophische Gedanken zu sein. 16 Neue Einsichten Die Vorlesungen, die Henry Colebrooke ab 1823 vor der Royal Asiatic Society in London hält, On the Philosophy of the Hindus, sorgen für eine Veränderung. Zwei Essays, der erste über das Sām . khya und der zweite über die Nyāya– Vaiśes.ika erscheinen 1824 in den Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland vol. I. Es ist bezeichnend für Hegels Arbeitsweise und seine wissenschaftliche Einstellung, daß er aufgrund dieser Publikation bereits 1825 seine Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Philosophie um ein Kapitel beträchtlich erweitert, dem er den Titel gibt: Die orientalische Philosophie, in dem er außerdem eine kurze Abhandlung über Konfuzius und das Orakelbuch I Ching aufnimmt (op. cit. 272 ff.). Die bereits oben zitierte Passage aus den Vorlesungen 1823/24, in der die Einheit von Geist und Natur als ‘das orientalische Wesen überhaupt’ bezeichnet wird, kommt nicht mehr vor. Wie gründlich Hegel seine Meinung geändert hat, ist ebenfalls aus der Passage zu ersehen, worin er mit Bezug auf den Sām . khyistischen Evolutionsprozesses bemerkt: ‘Dies hat viel mehr Tiefe, als das Gerede von der unmittelbaren Einheit des Geistes mit der Natur. Wenn man sagt: die Alten, die Orientalen und auch die Griechen, haben gelebt in Einigkeit mit der Natur, sind nicht herausgetreten aus dem Stand der Natur, so sind dies Ausdrücke, mit denen entweder gar nichts oder etwas sehr Schiefes, Oberflächliches gesagt ist’ (op. cit. 307). Der Akzent verlegt sich nunmehr auf das Prinzip der Freiheit, das die Anerkennung des menschlichen Individuums als Person einschließt, womit ein Fehlen desselben in der östlichen Philosophie als Grund dafür gesehen wird, daß sie sich noch nicht vollständig von der Theologie gelöst hat. 17 Infolgedessen lehrt Hegel im Wintersemester 1825/26: In der Geschichte tritt die Philosophie also da auf, wo freie Verfassungen existieren [. . . ] In der orientalischen Welt kann aber von eigentlicher Philosophie nicht die Rede sein; denn um ihren Charakter kurz anzugeben, der Geist geht wohl im Orient 16 ‘Ihre religiösen Vorstellungen sind ihre Philosophie, so daß die Interessen der Religion dieselben sind, die wir in der Philosophie finden’ (Einleitung, 289), und: ‘Im Ganzen sind die Vedas der Inhalt der indischen Philosophie’. (op. cit. 289 f.). 17 Einleitung, 266: [. . . ] daß das Prinzip der Freiheit und Individualität in allen anderen Religionen, besonders im griechischen und mehr noch im germanischen Prinzip, mehr hervortritt. Die religiösen Vorstellungen erscheinen daher sogleich mehr individuell, mehr in Gestalt von Personen. In der orientalischen Religion ist aber das Moment der Subjektivität, der subjektiven Freiheit noch nicht genug ausgebildet, sondern sie hat mehr den Charakter der Allgemeinheit; und so sind auch die religiösen Vorstellungen mehr allgemeine Vorstellungen und erscheinen so leicht als philosophische Vorstellungen oder Gedanken. Siehe oben, p. 3. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 29 auf, aber das Verhältnis ist so, daß das Subjekt, die Individualität nicht Person ist, sondern als untergehend im Objektiven bestimmt ist.’ (op. cit. 227) Diese Präambel, die einen zentralen Gedanken der Hegelschen Philosophie zum Ausdruck bringt, muß in diesem Kontext wohl in erster Linie als eine Grundsatzerklärung betrachtet werden, deren Zielsetzung darin besteht, das dialektische Gebäude des philosophischen Systems als Ganzes, wie es vor allem in der Philosophie der Weltgeschichte entwickelt wurde, nicht anzutasten. Das hält Hegel allerdings nicht davon zurück, einige Vorlesungen später zu erklären, daß man neuerdings, dank des Engländers Colebrooke, wirklich philosophische Systeme der Inder kennengelernt hat (op. cit. 294). Außerdem präsentiert Hegel eine kommentierte Wiedergabe von Colebrookes Essay über das Sām . khya mit vielen wörtlichen übersetzten Zitaten, gefolgt von einer knappen, nicht ausgearbeiteten Wiedergabe des Essays über die Nyāya– Vaiśes.ika. Daß diese erste Bekanntschaft mit der Indischen Schule der Philosophie Hegel nicht direkt von ihrer Tiefe und der Systematik ihres Gedankenganges überzeugen kann—Hegel vermißt vorläufig noch die logische Ordnung und sieht in den 25 tattvas (Prinzipien) des Sām . khya nur eine oberflächliche, trockene, ideenlose Aufzählung (op. cit. 302)—kann ihm kaum zur Last gelegt werden, da Colebrookes Essay, um die Wahrheit zu sagen, zwar als grundlegend angesehen werden kann, sich aber darum noch keineswegs als eine beispielhafte philosophische Studie erweist. Colebrooke beschränkt sich hauptsächlich auf eine deskriptive Wiedergabe dessen, was in einer viel zu kurzen Fassung in den 18 Sām . khyakārikās steht. Ein weiteres Problem besteht darin, daß Colebrooke technische Ausdrücke aus dem Sanskrit mechanisch übersetzt, mit leider nicht immer gelungenen englischen Äquivalenten, die, sofern der traditionelle Kontext nicht streng im Auge behalten wird, unvermeidlich zu Fehlinterpretationen führen müssen. So wird purus.a mit ‘soul’ übersetzt, buddhi mit ‘intelligence’ und, eine Quelle der Verwirrung, aham . kāra mit ‘consciousness.’ Michel Hulin, der Hegels Sām khya-Interpretation analysiert hat, bemerkt zurecht, daß: ‘il n’y a donc . rien d’étonnant à ce que, sur de nombreux points de détail, Hegel soit victime de certaines confusions. L’étonnant est plutôt que ses erreurs caractérisées ne soient pas plus nombreuses et plus graves.’ 19 Sowohl diese Umstände als auch die Tatsache, daß Colebrooke sein Exposé der Kārikās mit einigen Doktrinen aus den Kapila zugeschriebenen 18 Was Hegel im indischen Denken, d.h. im Sām . khya, im besonderen vermißt, ist der lo- gische Zusammenhang von Begriffen bzw. Bestimmungen, die das Denken (dialektisch) strukturieren. Dieser Mangel ist, unserer Ansicht nach, eher der Übersetzung Colebrookes als dem Sām . khya selbst zu zuschreiben, und wir werden noch sehen, daß Hegel später selbst diese Auflassung korrigiert. Vorläufig glaubt er allerdings, diesen Mangel der Struktur des indischen Denkens im allgemeinen zuschreiben zu können, die alle Subjektivität des Ichs, und somit alles Besondere im Allgemeinen, Abstrakten auflöst, d.h. in ihre formlose intellektuelle Substantialität (op. cit. 335). 19 Hulin 1979, 119. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 30 Hans Bakker Sām . khyasūtras vervollständigte, dessen apokrypher, post-Vedānta Charakter selbstverständlich noch nicht zu Buche stand, erklärt, wie es möglich war, daß der Kern des Sām . khya, nämlich sein radikaler Dualismus, Hegel letztendlich größtenteils entgangen ist. So erwähnt er in einer Passage, die laut Hoffmeister, speziell zu den Vorlesungen von 1825/26 gehört, und die, wie Hulin scharfsinnig feststellt (op. cit. 119 f.), auf eine falsche Interpretation Hegels von Colebrookes Übersetzung der Sām . khyakārikā 21 zurückzuführen ist: ‘Die Idee bei den Indern ist also, daß die Einheit der Natur und der Seele, die an sich vorhanden ist, aufgehoben wird durch die Schöpfung und erst zur wahrhaften Einigkeit wird, indem sich die Seele durch Erkenntnis (d.i. Abstraktion von der Natur) von dem Geschaffenen befreit.’ 20 Hegel, der seine vorgefaßten Ideen, daß das brahman als absolute Substantialität für alles indische Denken ein fundamentales Dogma bedeutet, niemals gänzlich überwunden hat, kann in seiner monistischen Umdeutung des Sām . khya-Systems außerdem durch eine weitere kryptische Passage in Colebrookes Essay bestärkt sein, worin dieser sich auf die Sām . khyasūtras (SS) stützt, die tatsächlich, im Gegensatz zu den Kārikās, eine undifferenzierte, kosmische buddhi (liṅga) lehren, die sich am Anfang jeder Schöpfung manifestiert und sich dann in Individuen differenziert (SS 3.9–10), welche beliebig als ‘Gott’ (ı̄śvara) bezeichnet werden kann, angesichts der Tatsache, daß sich alle Akte, einschließlich der Erkenntnisakte, aus ihr entwickeln (sarvavit, sarvakr.t, SS 3.56–57)—eine Entwicklung die im Prinzip der aham . kāra hypostasiert ist (SS 6.64–65). 21 Hiermit beschließen wir die erste Auseinandersetzung Hegels mit der indischen Philosophie, wie er sie in seinen Vorlesungen 1825/26 zum Ausdruck brachte. Die Jahre 1826–1831 Eine dritte Phase seines Studiums der indischen Kultur setzt in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres 1826 ein, 22 als sich sein Interesse auf den allerorts Be20 Einleitung, 307. 21 Colebrooke 1824, 37 paraphrasiert: He (i.e. Kapila) acknowledges indeed a being issuing from nature (i.e. prakr.ti), who is intelligence absolute (sarvavit?); source of all individual intelligences; and origin of other existences successively evolved and developed. He expressly affirms ‘that the truth of such an Īśwara is demonstrated’, the creator of the world, in such sense of creation: for ‘the existence of effects’, he says, ‘is dependent upon consciousness [N.B. d.h. aham . kāra], not upon Īśwara’; and ‘all else is from the great principle, intellect’. Wer kann es Hegel verübeln, daß er aus dieser Passage nicht mehr herausholt als (Einleitung, 317 f.): Capilas Gott ist also die Schöpfung der absoluten Substanz, der Natur; diese Schöpfung läßt er gelten; . . . Capila sagt, daß, ‘die Existenz von Wirkungen von dem Bewußtsein abhängt, nicht von Īśwara’ . . . und daß ‘alles Andere von dem großen Prinzip, der Intelligenz’, herkommt und dann der individuellen Seele, die es bestätigt. 22 Hegel, Brief an Daub (19-12-1826) (Briefe III, 149 ff.). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 31 wunderung hervorrufenden Text richtet, den man ‘avec une révérance presque réligieuse,’ 23 in aller Munde führte, die Bhagavadgı̄tā. Die direkte Anleitung zu deren Studium boten zwei Vorträge, die der Ex-Innenminister von Preußen Wilhelm von Humboldt, im Juni 1825 und 1826 an der Berliner Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften mit dem Titel Über die unter dem Namen BhagavadGita bekannte Episode des Maha-Bharata gehalten hatte, und zu deren Rezension Hegel von der Sozietät für wissenschaftliche Kritik, die er selbst kurz zuvor (im Juli 1826) mit gegründet hatte, eingeladen wurde. 24 Die Rezension wurde in der Form zweier Artikel in den Jahrbüchern dieser Sozietät 1827 publiziert. Die Rezeption der Bhagavadgı̄tā Die Geschichte der Bhagavadgı̄tā–Rezeption im Westen bietet sich als Leitfaden an, um die Entwicklung der Indologie und des ‘Orientalismus’ der letzten 200 Jahre zu untersuchen. 25 Ich werde diese Geschichte hier nur kurz bis zu dem Punkt ins Gedächtnis rufen, wo Hegel seinen kritischen Stempel auf die weitere Entwicklung drückt. Auf Anraten des ersten englischen Generalgouveneurs Warren Hastings widmet sich Charles Wilkins, ein leitender britischer Beamter in Bengalen, der direkten Übersetzung eines Textes aus dem Sanskrit in eine europäische Sprache. Seine The Bhâgvât-Geetâ, or Dialogues of Krêêshna and Ârjôôn erscheint 1785 in London. 26 Das Suchen nach dem mysteriösen Osten im Zeitalter der Aufklärung erreicht damit seinen abschließenden Höhepunkt, und ein neues Zeitalter, das der wissenschaftlichen Indologie, wird damit eingeläutet. Zwei Jahre später übersetzt Parraud diese englische Ausgabe ins Französische und 1802 erscheint die deutsche Übersetzung von Friedrich Majer (Asiatisches Magazin von Klaproth). Innerhalb eines Jahres nach seiner Ankunft in Indien gründet der ‘Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Fort William,’ der enthusiastische und geniale William Jones die ‘Asiatic Society of Bengal.’ 1808 erscheint in Kalkutta, wo inzwischen einige Druckereien tätig waren, in indischer Schrift, die editio princeps der Bhagavadgı̄tā, 27 allerdings in solch kleiner Auflage, daß diese Edition innerhalb von zehn Jahren derart selten wird, daß August Wilhelm Schlegel, für seine eigene Ausgabe das Exemplar seines Freundes C. Fauriel benutzen muß, 28 der, wie auch August Wilhelms Bruder Friedrich, der ersten 23 Langlois 1824, 106. 24 Hegel in Berlin, 106 ff. 25 Eine gute Grundlage für ein solches Studium bieten Callewaert und Hemraj in ihrem Bhagavadgı̄tānuvāda. A study in transcultura1 translation. 26 Die erste Sanskrit-Druckerei in Calcutta stiftete Charles Wilkins 1778. Hier wurden anfänglich Sanskrittexte in Bengalischen Schriftzeichen gesetzt (Kirfel 1915, 275; vgl. Priolkar 1958, 55). Schon früher war in Calcutta 1792 Jones’ Edition vom Kālidāsas R . tusam . hāra (The Seasons. A descriptive poem by Cálidás in the original Sanskrit) erschienen (Windisch 1917–20, 24). 27 Diese lithographische Ausgabe wurde in der Bābūrām Press in Khidarpoor–Calcutta gedruckt. Einem noch früheren Datum entstammt eine Blockdruck-Ausgabe in Devanāgarı̄Schrift, die in Miraj 1805 gedruckt wurde (Priolkar 1958, 33 f., 346). 28 Schlegel BhG, viii. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 32 Hans Bakker Generation der Sanskritisten in Europa angehörte. Wie das Schicksal so spielt, wurde Paris zu Napoleons Zeiten zum Zentrum des Sanskrit-Studiums, als Alexander Hamilton, ein englischer Marineoffizier, der während seines Aufenthalts in Indien im Dienste der Ostindischen Kompanie Sanskrit gelernt hatte, im Jahre 1803 die Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris aufsuchte, um die Handschriften der Hitopadeśa zu kollationieren und schließlich, durch den Bruch des Friedens von Amiens, von der französischen Regierung in Paris zurückgehalten wurde, wo er allerdings die Freiheit erhielt, seine orientalischen Kenntnisse zu nützen, und mit dem Katalogisieren der Sanskrithandschriften in der Bibliothek betraut wurde. 29 Es ist vor allem dem Einfluß seines Schülers der ersten Stunde, Friedrich Schlegel, der 1808 seine Arbeit Über die Sprache und Weisheit der Inder veröffentlicht, zuzuschreiben, daß aus ganz Europa, aber vor allem aus Deutschland, Studenten nach Paris ziehen, um die Ursprache, das Sanskrit, zu lernen. 1808 kommt Othmar Frank, 1812 Franz Bopp nach Paris, gefolgt von seinem zukünftigen collega proximus, August Wilhelm Schlegel, im Jahre 1815. Dieser, wie auch sein späterer Kritiker Langlois, studierte Sanskrit bei unter anderem Léonard de Chézy, der ab 1815 den ersten Lehrstuhl für Sanskrit am Collège de France innehatte. Eine zweite Generation Sanskritisten verbreitet sich über das postnapoleonische Europa. Von nationalistischen, anti-französischen Sentimenten geleitet, entwickelt sich in Deutschland im zweiten und dritten Jahrzehnt des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts ein kulturelles Klima, in dem die gerade entdeckte Erkenntnis der indo-europäischen Sprachverwandtschaft und deren ältester bekannter Repräsentant, das Sanskrit, in den Dienst einer reaktionären, chauvinistischen Geschichtsauffassung gestellt wurde, die den germanischen Stamm zum direkten Erben dieser ‘Urquelle’ von Sprache und Weisheit ernannte. Trotz des Einspruchs von Gelehrten wie Bopp wird das Indo-Europäische zum Indo-Germanischen. So sagt auch Hegel, obwohl völlig frei von romantischer Sehnsucht nach dem Urvolk, der Ursprache und der Urreligion, als er die Geschichte der Philosophie periodisiert: ‘Die europäischen Völker, insofern sie der Welt der Gedanken (der Wissenschaft) angehören, sind germanisch zu nennen; denn sie haben in ihrer Gesamtheit germanische Bildung.’ 30 Es ist dasselbe Klima, das A.W. Schlegel zum unversöhnlichen Kritiker der klassischen französischen Literatur machte, was ihm den beißenden Hohn Heines eintrug: ‘Wir sahen mit stolzer Freude, wie unser kampflustiger Landsmann den Franzosen zeigte, daß ihre ganze klassische Literatur nichts wert sei. [. . . ] Sein Refrain war immer, daß die Franzosen das prosaischste Volk der Welt seien und daß es in Frankreich gar keine Poesie gäbe.’ 31 Obwohl nüchterner, wissenschaftlicher und mit größerer Sachkenntnis als sein Bruder, stimmen viele Gesichtspunkte August Wilhelms mit denen von 29 Schwab 1950, 741. 30 Einleitung, 237 (1823/24). 31 Die romantische Schule (Heine, Sämtliche Schriften V, 4141). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 33 Friedrich überein, wenn er zum Beispiel, anonym gegen Hegel polemisierend, in bezug auf Indien bemerkt (Ind. Bibl. II, 425), Daß hier kein Fortschritt vom Sinnlichen zum Geistigen statt gefunden hat, was die meisten neueren Theoristen der Religionsgeschichte als den allgemeinen Gang haben vorstellen wollen, sondern vielmehr das umgekehrte; daß nicht nur Vielgötterei und Mythologie, sondern auch Anthropomorphismus spätere Zutaten gewesen sind; und daß in einer unbekannten Vorzeit die Brahmanen [. . . ] die reinste Verehrung des göttlichen Wesens gelehrt haben, wovon sie den Namen führten. Nicht nur seine erste Kenntnis des Sanskrit erwirbt August Wilhelm in der prosaischen Hauptstadt Frankreichs, sondern auch vier Handschriften der Bhagavadgı̄tā, und, dem Vorbild einiger der elegantesten Pariser Handschriften folgend, entwirft er voller Stolz eine devanāgarı̄ Letter, die mit Unterstützung der preußischen Regierung gegossen wird, zum Nutzen der neu gegründeten Preußischen Rhein-Universität zu Bonn, an der A.W. Schlegel 1818 zum ersten deutschen Professor für Sanskrit berufen wurde. 32 Schlegels kritische Ausgabe und Übersetzung der Bhagavadgı̄tā, die 1823 in Bonn erscheint, schuldet Paris somit einiges, aber die wachsende Rivalität zwischen beiden Ländern infolge eines stark aufkommenden Nationalchauvinismus—das neue deutsche Selbstbewußtsein, das in der Idee des germanischen ‘Volkstums’ resultierte, ein Selbstbewußtsein das, ideologische Auswüchse, wie sie z.B. die von Klaproth darstellen, 33 außer Betracht gelassen, in der Tat auf hervorragende wissenschaftliche Resultate verweisen konnte, welche im Ausland nicht immer ohne Neid registriert wurden —, 34 diese wachsende Animosität kann ebenfalls dazu geführt haben, daß Schlegels Kommilitone Alexandre Langlois seine Bhagavadgı̄tā-Ausgabe in vier aufeinanderfolgenden Artikeln im Journal Asiatique, mit allmählich abnehmender Höflichkeit einer detaillierten, ja selbst pedantischen Kritik unterwirft. Daß der politische Kontext in dieser wissenschaftlichen Debatte eine Rolle spielt, wird bereits auf der ersten Seite der Rezension Langlois’ deutlich, als dieser sein Bedauern darüber beteuert, daß obwohl das Material und das Wissen in Frankreich anwesend sind, die Ehre, diesen Sanskrittext als erste in nāgarı̄ mit einer Übersetzung herausgegeben zu haben (Langlois spricht hier von einer ‘trophée élevée à la gloire littéraire d’une nation’), 35 Deutschland gebührt. Aber etwas der nationalen Ehre meint Langlois retten zu 32 Schlegel BhG, vii; Kirfel 1915, 276 f.; Kirfel 1944. 33 Schwab 1950, 198 ff. 34 Vgl. auch Colebrookes Schreiben an H.H. Wilson (24-12-1827): Careless and indifferent as our countrymen are, I think, nevertheless, that you and I may derive some complacent feelings from the reflextion that, following the footsteps of Sir W. Jones, we have with so little aid of collaborators, and so little encouragement, opened nearly every avenue, and left it to foreigners, who are taking up the clue we have furnished, to complete the outline of what we have sketched. Zitiert in: Windisch 1917–20, 36. Vgl. Kirfel 1944, 14 ff. 35 Langlois 1824, 105. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 34 Hans Bakker können, indem er darauf weist, daß Schlegels Arbeit von noch vorzüglicherer Qualität gewesen wäre, wenn er alle Hilfsmittel hätte benutzen können, die ihm in Paris zur Verfügung gestanden hätten, nämlich die Kenntnis ihres gemeinsamen Lehrmeister Chézy und, noch wichtiger, der Kommentar von Śrı̄dhara, 36 der in einem Manuskript der Nationalbibliothek verfügbar gewesen wäre. Den größten Teil seiner kritischen Bemerkungen, die er zurecht äußern konnte, hat Langlois diesem Kommentar entnehmen könnnen. Schlegel muß sich in steigendem Maße an dieser Rezension gestört haben, und konnte es in seiner gekränkten Eitelkeit daher nicht lassen, einer Replik von Humboldts, mit dem Titel, Mit Bezug auf die Beurtheilung der Schlegelschen Ausgabe im Pariser Asiatischen Journal, die er in seiner eigenen Indischen Bibliothek veröffentlichte, die folgenden begleitenden Worte voranzustellen: ‘Herr Langlois hat seitdem mit seinen Kritiken fortgefahren, und zwar auf eine Weise, welche mich bewogen hat, seine Befugnisse zum Richteramt etwas näher zu prüfen, und für so viele Bereitwilligkeit im Zurechtweisen ihm den Gegendienst einer gründlichen Zurechtweisung zu leisten.’ 37 Langlois’ angekündigter abschließender fünfter Rezentionsartikel ist daraufhin nicht mehr erschienen. Von Humboldts Replik auf Langlois’ Kritik, in Briefform an Schlegel gesandt (1825) und von diesem zusammen mit seinen eigenen Anmerkungen gedruckt, 38 folgen zwei Vortäge an der Berliner Akademie, in denen von Humboldt als erster Europäer beabsichtigt, eine inhaltliche Beurteilung und philosophische Betrachtung der Gı̄tā vorzunehmen. Von Humboldts Bhagavadgı̄tā Vorträge und Hegels Kritik Wilkins Übersetzung, A.W. Schlegels Ausgabe und Übersetzung, Langlois’ Rezension und die drei Essays von von Humboldt hat Hegel allesamt studiert und für seine eigenen zwei Gı̄tā-Artikel benutzt, wobei noch hinzugefügt werden muß, daß er in seinem ‘gelehrten Freund und Kollegen Herrn Bopp’ (Hegel 36 Es handelt sich hier um die Subodhinı̄ von Śrı̄dhara Svāmin (ad 1350–1450). 37 Ind. Bibl. II, 219. 38 In der Indischen Bibliothek II, 218–258, 328–372. Die Leser des Journal Asiatique (JA) wurden durch folgende Lesermitteilung aus Berlin auf diese Replik aufmerksam gemacht (JA VII (1825), 192): ‘On nous (d.h. Société Asiatique) annonce en même temps que l’on ne tardera pas à lire dans le nouveau cahier de la Bibliothèque indienne de M. G. de Schlegel, la réponse à quelques-unes des attaques et des critiques dont le bel ouvrage de ce dernier, le Bhagavad-Gı̄tā, a été l’objet.’ 1826 erscheint schließlich ebenfalls im JA eine Replik von A.W. Schlegel auf Langlois’ Rezension (JA IX (1826), 3–27): ”Je n’en ai choisi que quelques-unes des plus frappantes (méprises), et j’ai ecrit ces observations en français, afin que M. Langlois eût toute facilité pour me réfuter, s’il le juge à propos.’ (op. cit. 27), woraufhin Langlois reagiert (und offenbar nicht als einziger, siehe Note de la Commission, JA IX (1826), 185 f.), indem er ebenfalls einen Brief an die Redaktion des JA sendet, der im JA IX (1826), 186–189 erscheint. Hierin teilt er mit, da es sich herausstellte, daß Herr Schlegel wissenschaftliche Kritik persönlich nicht vertragen kann, daß er von weiteren Rezensionen absehen werde: ‘je sacrifie volontiers de dangereux honneur d’annoncer encore que je ne suis pas toujours de l’avis de M. Schlegel.’ (op. cit. 189). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 35 BhG, 170) eine zuverlässige Informationsquelle (besonders in bezug auf die epische Literatur) und Autorität in allem, was Indien und das Sanskrit betrifft, direkt zur Hand hatte. Im Gegensatz zu von Humboldt, der die Gı̄tā als Werk an sich ‘abgesondert für sich, als ein Ganzes’ (Humboldt BhG, 190) behandelt, ohne andere Quellen der indischen Philosophie und Literatur in Anspruch zu nehmen, nimmt Hegel sich die Mühe, die Einsichten, die er aus seinem Studium Indiens und vor allem aus Colebrookes Essay gewonnen hat, in seiner Betrachtung der Bhagavadgı̄tā zu verarbeiten. Und darin unterscheidet sich seine Beurteilung wesentlich von der von Humboldts. An Stelle einer philosophia perennis à la von Humboldt weist Hegel der Gı̄tā ihren Platz im historischen Kontext zu. Kann sich von Humboldt nach Hegels erstem Artikel, der mit den höflichsten Worten formuliert ist und der, oberflächlich betrachtet, keine all zu schwere Kritik befaßt, noch geschmeichelt fühlen, 39 so reagiert er auf das Erscheinen des zweiten Artikels nicht mehr direkt, schreibt aber in einem Brief an Friedrich von Gentz (1. März 1828): ‘Hegels lange Rezension über mich kann ich am wenigsten billigen. [. . . ] Die ganze Rezension ist aber auch gegen mich, wenngleich versteckt, gerichtet und geht deutlich aus der Überzeugung hervor, daß ich eher alles als ein Philosoph bin.’ 40 Hegels zweiter Artikel über die Bhagavadgı̄tā richtet sich auf eine Passage aus der Gı̄tā, worin eine Hierarchie von ‘Methoden’ und ‘Wegen’ gelehrt wird, die alle auf das höchste Ziel hinführen. Das Herausnehmen dieser Passage als Kernpunkt der Analyse ist an sich wissenschaftlich legitim und gibt Hegel die Gelegenheit, auf natürliche Weise all seine Kenntnisse und Einsichten von der indischen Kultur systematisch auszuarbeiten, hat allerdings zur ungewünschten Folge, daß er den Hauptakzent auf einen für die integrale Gı̄tā sekundären Aspekt legt und dadurch eine verzerrte Vorstellung vom Text im Ganzen hervorruft. 41 Die betreffende Passage, BhG 12.8–11, lautet folgendermaßen: Richte deine Gedanken ausschließlich auf Mich, dringe mit deinem Geist in Mich ein, dann letztendlich wirst du, ohne Zweifel, wahrlich in Mir wohnen. (8) Aber bist du nicht imstande, deinen Geist ohne zu wankeln in Mich zu versenken (samādhātum), dann mußt du, 0 Dhanamjaya, versuchen, Mich mit Hilfe methodischer Übungen (abhyāsayoga) zu erreichen. (9) Und solltest du auch zu diesen Übungen nicht imstande sein, mußt du dich gänzlich den Werken weihen, die auf Mich gerichtet sind (matkarmaparamo); auch wenn du deine Taten um Meinetwillen verrichtest, wirst du dein eigentliches Ziel erreichen. (10) Bist du aber ebenfalls nicht imstande, dies zu tun, nimm dann deine Zuflucht zu 39 Hegel, Briefe III, 152. 40 Zitiert aus Hegel, Werke, Edition Moldenbauer und Michel (1970), Anmerkungen der Redaktion zu Band 11, 579 f. 41 Vgl. Hulin 1979, 213. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 36 Hans Bakker Meiner Disziplin (madyoga): verzichte auf die Früchte all deiner Werke, selbstbeherrscht. (11) 42 Von Humboldt zählt diese Passage ‘zu den schwierigsten der Gı̄tā’ (op. cit. 171) und zurecht bemerkt Hegel, daß zwischen den ersten beiden ślokas, 8 und 9, und den letzten beiden, 10 und 11, sich ein Widerspruch befindet. In den ersten beiden Methoden tritt ein ‘rein negative Verhalten des Geistes’ auf, das für die indische Religion im Ganzen typisch ist und ‘im Widerspruche mit dem Handeln steht, zu welchem Krischna früher den Ardschuna aufgefordert hat.’ (Hegel BhG, 157). Und wer würde es Hegel bestreiten, wenn er infolgedessen bemerkt: ‘Es macht eine der tädiösen Seiten des Gedichtes aus, diesen Widerspruch der Aufforderung zum Handeln und der Aufforderung zu der handlungslosen, ja ganz bewegungslosen, alleinigen Versenkung in Krischna immerfort hervorkommen zu sehen und keine Auflösung dieses Widerspruchs zu finden’ (op. cit. 157 f.). Hegel stellt fest, daß dieser Widerspruch schon den Vedas zugrundeliegt, in denen einerseits zum sakralen Handeln gerufen wird, andererseits zum Versenken in die absolute Substantialität (op. cit. 180). Aus dieser Antinomie, die wir tatsächlich durch die gesamte indische Kulturgeschichte verfolgen können, leitet Hegel seine zentralste These in Beziehung auf die indische Zivilisation ab, die wir, angesichts ihrer Wichtigkeit für die Indien-Rezeption, in ihrer Vollständigkeit zitieren möchten. Hegel BhG, 158: Unmöglich aber ist diese Auflösung, weil das Höchste des indischen Bewußtseins, das abstrakte Wesen, Brahman, in ihm selbst ohne Bestimmung ist, welche daher nur außer der Einheit und nur äußerliche, natürliche Bestimmung sein kann. In diesem Zerfallen des Allgemeinen und des Konkreten sind beide geistlos, – jenes die leere Einheit, dieses die unfreie Mannigfaltigkeit; der Mensch, an diese verfallen, ist nur an ein Naturgesetz des Lebens gebunden; zu jenem Extrem sich erhebend, ist er auf der Flucht und in der Negation aller konkreten, geistigen Lebendigkeit. Mit genialer Intuition bemerkt Hegel, was keiner seiner indologischen Wegbereiter in dieser Deutlichkeit gesehen hat, daß der Ausdruck abhyāsayoga in śloka 9 (‘methodische Übungen’) auf die Yoga-Techniken verweist, wie sie in den Yogasūtras gelehrt werden, und nichts mit den Methoden des bhaktiyoga und den karmayoga zu tun hat, worauf in den letzten beiden ślokas verwiesen wird. A.W. Schlegel übersetzte diesen Ausdruck mit assiduitatis devotio (Schlegel BhG, 179), laut von Humboldt ein ‘sehr dunkler Ausdruck’ (op. cit. 170), den auch dieser nicht erhellen kann. Hegel aber, auf Colebrookes Darlegung der Yogasūtras bezugnehmend, 43 bemerkt, daß dieser Ausdruck auf ‘die dem Höchsten, der Erreichung der Seligkeit vorhergehende Stufe’ (op. cit. 159) verweist, nämlich die ‘Ausübung gewaltsamer Zurückziehung und das Aushalten in der Einförmigkeit eines taten- und gedankenlosen Zustandes’ (op. cit. 42 MBh 6.34.8–11 (= BhG 12.8–11). Übersetzung von mir. 43 Colebrooke 1824, 36. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 37 158), und mit dieser Auslegung des Ausdrucks ist er in Übereinstimmung mit 44 Śam . karas Erläuterung. Wie gut er sie getroffen hat (wenn wir eben von dem Wort ‘gedankenlos’ absehen), macht auch der uns inzwischen zur Verfügung stehenden Yogasūtra Text (YS) mit Vyāsas Kommentar deutlich, der in Oberhammers Analyse folgendmaßen lautet: ‘Übung (i.e. abhyāsa) ist hier die Bemühung um Beständigkeit (sthitau)’ sagt er YS 1.13 und meint damit, wenn wir Vyāsa glauben dürfen, die Bemühung, den Bewußtseinsstrom durch Ausschaltung des Wechsel der Gegenstände zu einem ruhigen Strömen zu bringen, um so die ‘Beständigkeit der Rezeptivität’ (sthitih.) des psychischen Organs voll herbeizuführen. 45 Diese ‘Übung’ ist, laut Oberhammer, Teil des ‘Unterdrückungsyoga’, der in einem Zustand gipfelt, in dem ‘die Rezeptivität des psychischen Organs frei von jeder Eigentätigkeit des psychischen Organs’ (vgl. Hegels ‘gedankenlosen Zustand’), ‘nur mehr Rezeptivität für das in ihr erscheinende eigenwesen der transzendenten Geistesseele’ ist, d.h. daß diese Erfahrung ‘grundsätzlich nicht mehr Erfahrung von etwas ist, und zwar weder im Sinne eines Gegenstandes noch im Sinne eines kategorialen Subjekts,’ 46 welches Hegel, gemäß seiner These, daß Bewußtsein ohne Inhalt kein Bewußtsein ist, mit den Worten zum Ausdruck bringt: Diese Vollendung bestimmt sich als dauernden Zustand der Abstraktion— perennierende Einsamkeit des Selbstbewußtseins, die alle Sensationen, alle Bedürfnisse und Vorstellungen von äußeren Dingen aufgegeben hat, somit nicht mehr Bewußtsein ist, — auch nicht ein erfülltes Selbstbewußtsein, welches den Geist zum Inhalte hätte und insofern auch noch Bewußtsein wäre; ein Anschauen, das nichts anschaut, von nichts weiß, — die reine Leerheit seiner in sich selbst. (Hegel BhG, 181) Diese Einheit mit dem brahman bestimmt somit ebenfalls die Natur des brahman selbst, und zwar als ‘reine Allgemeinheit’ oder ‘reine Substanz,’ die von aller Besonderheit, ‘somit auch von der Besonderheit eines Objektes gegen ein Subjekt abstrahiert ist’ (op. cit. 185). Diese Abstraktion läßt, wie wir gesehen haben, eine Versöhnung mit dem Besonderen (Partikulären) nicht zu. 47 Dies ist die unüberwindbare Dichotomie, die Hegel zufolge allem indischen Denken 44 Śam . kara ad Bhagavadgı̄tā 12.9: [. . . ] cittasyaikasminn ālambane sarvatah. samāhr.tya punah. punah. sthāpanam abhyāsas tatpūrvako yogah. samādhānalaks.anah. [. . . ] Methodische Übung bedeutet, den Geist stets erneut auf einen (Bewußtseins-)Inhalt richten, nachdem man ihn von allem anderen entledigt hat; dies geht der höchsten Yoga(-stufe) voraus, die sich kennzeichnet durch die Versenkung. 45 Oberhammer 1977, 139. 46 Op. cit. 161 f. 47 Zurecht bemerkt Hegel, daß dieses leere abstrahierende Denken auch in der europäischen Geistesgeschichte anzutreffen ist: Wenn wir Europäer sagen, Gott ist das höchste Wesen, so ist diese Bestimmung ebenso Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 38 Hans Bakker zugrundliegt, das dementsprechend nur von einem Extrem, der ‘Substanz ohne Subjektivität,’ ins andere, die Mannigfaltigkeit der natürlichen Wirklichkeit, übergehen kann, ein Übergang, den Hegel des öfteren als einen ‘haltungslosen Taumel’ bezeichnet. 48 Nun kann diese ‘Übung’ außer in dem ‘Unterdrückungsyoga’ genausogut in der theistischen Form der Meditation angewandt werden, eine Meditation, worin Gott, unter anderem durch das Wiederholen des om . -Klangs, zum Bewußtseinsinhalt gemacht wird. 49 Zweifellos hat diese Art der Meditation mehr Verwandtschaft mit dem von Kr.s.n.a gelehrten Weg in der Bhagavadgı̄tā, wenn er sagt: ‘Richte deine Gedanken ausschließlich auf Mich, durchdringe Mich mit deinem Geist.’ Und hiermit stoßen wir an einen zweiten Punkt, an dem Hegel der Gı̄tā nicht gerecht wird, da er aus Kr.s.n.as Aussprachen, in denen dieser Sich selbst mit der Silbe om . , mit den Vedas, oder mit allem, ‘was ist und nicht ist,’ gleichstellt (BhG 9.17, 19), folgert, daß Kr.s.n.a eigentlich nichts anderes als eine Personifikation des brahman, d.h. Brahmā darstellt. Diese Äquivalenz konstatierend, illustriert er anhand der verschiedenen Mythen, daß Brahmā nur eine oberflächliche Personifikation des brahman ist, eine leere Form, kein individuelles Subjekt, und deshalb kein Gott im Sinne der christlichen Tradition. 50 Hiermit verschwindet aber auch Kr.s.n.a als persönliche Gottheit, zu der hin alle Wege der Gı̄tā führen, als sinnvolles Ziel und als liebevoller Helfer, vollständig aus Hegels Blick. Was mit dieser Betrachtung der zwei bereits genannten ‘Methoden’ gewonnen ist, ist eine gründliche Analyse des Begriffs brahman und damit eine Untermauerung seiner Beurteilung des indischen Denkens. Außerdem bietet sich ihm die Gelegenheit, einige sogenannte ‘Versuche’ zu analysieren, in denen beabsichtigt ist, die Pluriformität der natürlichen Empirie mit der abstrakten allgemeinen Substanz zu verbinden; und in diesem Verband führt Hegel einige Kosmogonien an, die er Colebrookes Essay On the Vedas entnimmt. 51 Der wichtigste dieser ‘Versöhnungsversuche’ ist die indische Vorstellung, die in der Kaste der Brahmanen den eigentlichen Repräsentanten von Brahmā und damit vom brahman in der Welt sieht: ‘Brahmā existiert in den Brahmanen; [. . . ] er selbst wird verehrt, indem sie verehret werden, sie sind seine Existenz; er ist sie als selbstbewußte Existenz; sie sind seine ununterbrochene Inkarnati- 48 49 50 51 abstrakt und dürftig, und die Verstandesmetaphysik, welche das Erkennen Gottes, d.h. Bestimmungen von ihm zu wissen leugnet, fordert, daß die Vorstellung von Gott sich auf dieselbe Abstraktion beschränke, von Gott nichts weiter wissen soll, als was Brahman ist. (Hegel BhG, 188. Vgl. Phil. d. Rel. II, 243). Hegel BhG, 183. Vgl. Phil. d. Rel. II, 226 f. (1824). Siehe Oberhammer 1977, 171. Vgl. BhG 8.8–14. In diesem Zusammenhang macht Hegel eine bemerkenswerte Aussage (Hegel BhG, 186): Es ist in der Betrachtung der Religionen von unbedingter Wichtigkeit, die bloße Personifikation des Gottes oder eines Gottes, die man in allen Mythologien finden kann, von der Persönlichkeit, die er dem Gehalte nach ist, zu unterscheiden. Colebrooke 1806; Hegel BhG, 196 ff. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 39 on. [. . . ] Der Inder hat an dem Brahmanen den gegenwärtigen Gott vor sich’ (op. cit. 210 f.). Die Brahmanen stehen somit, dank ihrer Geburt (und dieser entscheidende Faktor macht für Hegel diesen ‘Versöhnungsversuch’ letztendlich wertlos), auf einem Niveau, auf dem das Denken und die Vertiefung in das brahman natürlich sind, im Gegensatz zu den anderen Ständen, die sich nur durch Askese und Yoga–Techniken oder religiöse Kulte diesem Ziel nähern können (op. cit. 201). In diesem Zusammenhang erzählt Hegel ausführlich die Geschichte von Viśvāmitra aus dem Rāmāyan.a. 52 Diese besondere Stellung der Brahmanen scheint Konsequenzen für das Paradigma zu haben, dementsprechend die Interpretation der Weltgeschichte zu erfolgen hat, wie wir sogleich sehen werden. Hegels Analyse der zwei erstgenannten Methoden, die den umfassenden letzten Teil seines zweiten Gı̄tā–Artikels einnimmt (op. cit. 157–204), erläutert eine Anzahl von Gedanken und Einsichten, die seiner Beurteilung der zwei letztgenannten ‘Wege’, die sich auf das Handeln beziehen, implizit zugrundeliegen. Sie werden im ersten Artikel und in der ersten Hälfte des zweiten Artikels behandelt. Daher überrascht es uns nicht, wenn die devotionelle Variante des karmayogas, auch bhaktiyoga genannt, in Hegels Analyse ein wenig verkümmert, gemäß seiner formalen Interpretation der Figur des Kr.s.n.a. 53 Der bereits konstatierte Bruch zwischen einerseits dem transzendenten, völlig unbestimmten ens realissimum und andererseits der Pluriformität der bestimmten natürlichen Wirklichkeit, führt Hegel zu der Annahme, daß die vorgeschriebenen ‘Werke’ (karma), selbstlos im Dienste Gottes ausgeführt (madartham api karmān.i kurvan), nicht in dem christlichen Sinne aufgefaßt werden dürfen, ‘daß in jedem Stande, wer Gott fürchtet und Recht tut, ihm angenehm ist; denn dort gibt es keinen affirmativen Zusammenhang zwischen einem geistigen Gott und den Pflichten und somit kein innerliches Recht und Gewissen, denn der Inhalt der Pflichten ist nicht geistig, sondern natürlich bestimmt’ (op. cit. 155). Es ist offensichtlich, daß Hegel die Seite der Gı̄tā völlig ignoriert, wie sie so schön im achtzehnten Vers des sechzehnten Gesanges ausgedrückt wird: Sie, die Egoismus, Macht, Eitelkeit, Begierde und Wut zugetan sind, sind abgünstige Leute, die Mir sowohl in ihrem eigenen als auch im Körper des anderen schlecht gesinnt sind. Auf der anderen Seite korrigiert Hegel hiermit die hyperbolische Idealisierung von von Humboldt, der in der Lehre des karmayoga ‘unläugbar philosophisch eine an das Erhabene grenzende Seelenstimmung’ sieht (von Humboldt BhG, 195). Und hiermit sind wir bei Hegels eigener Beurteilung des karmayoga angekommen. 52 Rāmāyan . a 1.52–57; Hegel BhG, 167 ff. Vgl. Phil. d. Rel. II, 492–494 (1831). 53 Zurecht bemerkt Hulin: ‘La participation d’amour à Krishna et à ses oeuvres, thème majeur de la Bhagavad-Gı̄tā, est donc assimilée par lui à l’ascèse purement physique qui mène à l’hébétude.’ (Hulin 1979, 214). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 40 Hans Bakker Hierin zentral steht seine gerechtfertigte Annahme, mit der er sich wesentlich von von Humboldt unterscheidet, daß, wenn die Gı̄tā vom karma, von den Werken, spricht, hiermit die Summe von Handlungen gemeint ist, die sich direkt aus der Sammlung der traditionellen Vorschriften ergeben (die mehr oder weniger als religiöse eingestuft werden können) und von der jeweiligen Kaste oder Klasse abhängig sind. In Arjunas Zweifel geht es nicht, wie von Humboldt es gerne sehen würde, um eine Familienethik. Es ist nicht die Liebe zu den Verwandten, die Arjuna treibt, sondern die Furcht, vor der Zerstörung der natürlichen Ordnung als indirekte Folge seines Handelns, dadurch nämlich, daß den Witwen keine geeigneten Ehemänner mehr zur Verfügung stehen, und sich deshalb die Kasten vermengen müssen, so daß die geforderten Ahnenopfer nicht mehr in der erforderlichen Weise erbracht werden können usw. In der Kr.s.n.as Ratschlägen kann Hegel ebensowenig eine ‘moralische Bestimmung’ finden, doch legt er großen Wert darauf, daß der Schwerpunkt mehr auf die Intention als auf die Handlungen selbst gelegt wird. Das Handlen in Übereinstimmung mit den Vorschriften, die der Ordnung der Kasten entstammen, ungeachtet dessen, ob hierbei von den Früchten derselben Abstand genommen wird oder nicht—und die insofern nicht auf einer vernünftigen Vereinbarung basieren, in der jedes Individuum als prinzipiell gleichgestelltes Wesen, d.h. als Person, Anerkennung findet—kann in Hegels Betrachtungsweise, die letztendlich eine kantianische ist, niemals einem sittlichen Handeln entsprechen. Hegel führt verschiedene Stellen der Gı̄tā an, in denen gelehrt wird, daß die kasten-gebundenen Werke durch natürliche Qualitäten (gun.a) bestimmt werden, d.h. biologisch durch die Geburt in eine spezifische Kaste (svabhāva, BhG 18.42 ff.) determiniert sind. Es ist eher für wichtig anzusehen, es bemerklich zu machen, daß auch in diesem Gedichte, welches dies große Ansehen indischer Weisheit und Moral genießt, die bekannten Kastenunterschiede ohne die Spur einer Erhebung zur moralischen Freiheit zugrunde liegen. (op. cit. 154) Das Handeln gemäß der Kastenvorschriften mit dem Verzicht auf die Früchte, sollte allerdings nicht mit dem Handeln aus Pflicht verwechselt werden: Die Pflicht ist etwas anderes als jene bloß negative Gleichgültigkeit gegen den Erfolg. Je sinnloser und stumpfer ein opus operatum vollbracht wird, eine desto größere Gleichgültigkeit gegen den Erfolg ist darin vorhanden. (op. cit. 152) Im Sinne Hegels kann eine Handlung nur dann als moralisch gelten, wenn ihr eine freie Willensentscheidung zugrunde liegt. Jedoch ist dies bereits durch die Determination ausgeschlossen, die die Geburt in eine bestimmte Kaste zu implizieren scheint, ‘diese Institution welche Sittlichkeit und wahre Bildung ewig unter den Indern unmöglich gemacht hat und macht’ (op. cit. 154). Es ist zweifelhaft, ob diese Darstellung der indischen Zivilisation zurecht besteht. Hegel läßt hier nämlich außer acht, daß diese natürliche Determination selbst wiederum eine Folge einer immateriellen ‘Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung’, der karma-Doktrin, ist, und daß eben dadurch der dharma (Ordnung) die ma- Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 41 terielle Realität transzendiert. Überhaupt spielt bei Hegel die Lehre von der Wiedergeburt und damit die Lehre von der überindividuellen Vergeltung von guten und schlechten Taten keine bedeutende Rolle. In einer endgültigen Beurteilung würde auch viel davon abhängen, wie man selbst Sittlichkeit zu definieren gedenkt. Daß Hegel hiermit ebenfalls eine philosophische Fundierung seiner Ansichten angegeben hat, wie wir sie noch in einer kulturgeschichtlich unnuancierten Form in der Philosophie des Rechts und der Philosophie der Weltgeschichte angetroffen haben, wird wohl niemand bestreiten wollen. Schlussbetrachtung Betrachten wir abschließend noch einmal, ob diese tiefere Einsicht Hegel veranlaßte, seine Vorlesungen, da, wo sie Indien betreffen, zu ändern. Da wir uns speziell auf seine Rezeption der indischen Philosophie richten, kann ich in diesem Kontext nur kurz auf die Änderungen eingehen, die in den nicht-philosophiehistorischen Vorlesungen vorgenommen worden sind. 54 Von den Vorlesungen sind bis heute nur die Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Religion vollständig, differenziert nach Vorlesungsjahren herausgegeben. Diese Ausgabe allerdings macht einmal mehr deutlich, daß Hegel ständig das Material seiner Vorlesungen entsprechend dem neuesten Stand von Einsichten ergänzte und änderte, und dies scheint vor allem der Fall gewesen zu sein, wo er den Begriff brahman/Brahmā behandelte. Verglichen mit dem Vorlesungszyklus von 1824 ist Hegels Analyse der indischen Religion 1827 bereits systematischer und dadurch prägnanter. Die von Jaeschke als ‘Sondergut’ vermerkten Beilagen der Zykli von 1824 und 1827, von denen ein wesentlicher Teil wahrscheinlich auf die verlorenen Nachschriften des Vorlesungszyklus von 1831 zurückzuführen ist, lassen allerdings vermuten, daß er vor allem für diesen letzten Zyklus die Zeit gefunden hat, seinen Vorlesungsstoff gründlich umzuarbeiten. 55 Inhaltlich scheinen viele dieser Veränderungen mit dem übereinzustimmen, was wir in den Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Philosophie antreffen, die Hegel in den Wintersemestern 1827/28 und 1829/30 vor einem stets wachsenden Auditorium gehalten hat, 56 und worauf wir uns jetzt beschränken wollen. 54 Siehe oben, n. 2 on p. 24. 55 Siebe Phil. d. Rel. II, 222–228, 237–239, 245–246, 475–478, 485–486, 492–494. Vgl. den Kommentar des Herausgebers der Phil. d. Rel. II, xi. 56 Dies für sich genommen ist eine textinhaltliche Bestätigung einer von Jaeschke aufgrund seiner textkritischen Analyse gewonnenen Vermutung, daß die betreffenden SondergutPassagen zum Vorlesungszyklus von 1831 gehören. Auch bei einigen, von Jaeschke nicht näher bestimmten Sondergut-Passagen (Phil. d. Rel. II, 237 f.) scheint aus textimmanenten Gründen die Zugehörigkeit zum letzten Vorlesungszyklus sehr wahrscheinlich, obwohl nicht völlig auszuschließen ist, daß die früheren Herausgeber (Marheineke und Bauer) dem Text eigene Formulierungen, dann aber im Geiste des letzten Vorlesungszyklus, hinzufügten (vgl. Jaeschke op. cit. I, lxxxiii sq.). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 42 Hans Bakker Zuerst fällt auf, daß das Kapitel aus der Einleitung mit dem Titel Der Anfang der Geschichte der Philosophie, das in den Vorlesungen von 1825/26 bereits signifikanten Änderungen unterzogen wurde, 1827/28 und 1829/30 nahezu völlig verschwand. Die vorausgesetzte Einheit von Geist und Natur als ‘das orientalische Wesen überhaupt’, sowie auch das ‘Prinzip der Freiheit’ als conditio sine qua non der philosophischen Reflexion sind gestrichen. An deren Stelle geht Hegel schlichtweg davon aus, daß die Geschichte der Philosophie dort anfängt, ‘wo der Gedanke rein hervortritt, wo er allgemein ist, und wo dieses Reine, dieses Allgemeine das Wesentliche, Wahrhafte, Absolute ist, das Wesen von Allem’ (Einleitung 224), was den Osten, obwohl die griechische Welt explizit genannt wird, nicht mehr prinzipiell ausschließt. Hingegen beginnt er seine Vorlesung über Indien 1827/28 mit der Bemerkung: ‘Im allgemeinen ist es gleich zu bemerken, daß wir auch bei ihnen abstrakte Philosophien und die Ausbildung einer sehr formellen Logik antreffen’ (op. cit. 288). Es kann nicht geleugnet werden, daß wir es hier mit einer radikalen Standpunktveränderung zu tun haben. Die Frage, die sich uns in diesem Verband stellt, eine Frage, deren Hegel sich bewußt gewesen sein muß, ist, wie diese neue Sichtweise in Übereinstimmung zu bringen ist mit den Gesetzmäßigkeiten der Selbstentfaltung des Geistes in der Weltgeschichte, oder mit anderen Worten, wie sie sich zum Ganzen des Hegelschen Systems verhält. Vorerst sei darauf verwiesen, daß Hegel mit diesem Problem nicht mehr ganz ins Reine gekommen ist. 57 Jedoch ist er in keiner Weise dieser indischen Herausforderung aus dem Wege gegangen. Eine Lösung, für die wir glauben Andeutungen in seinen späteren Vorlesungen zu finden, hat er vielleicht durch die Differenzierung der indischen Kulturträger zu erreichen versucht. So wie auch in Griechenland nicht jeder in der Lage war, sich zum Philosophen zu entwickeln (schließlich wurde der Großteil der Bevölkerung unfrei geboren), ist in Indien einem jeden diese Position versagt. Vor allem die Klasse der Brahmanen muß als Vertretung eines geistigen Niveaus betrachtet werden, auf dem sich das philosophische Denken entfalten konnte. Wie wir gesehen haben, verkörpern die Brahmanen nach Hegels Ansicht das Denken des und die Vereinigung mit dem brahman (op. cit. 292). Das, was durch andere Klassen nur, entweder durch Riten, d.h. durch religiösen Kultus, oder durch asketische Gewalt, d.h. mittels eines Yoga-Kurses, zu erreichen ist, nämlich die Erhebung zum brahman, ist für die Brahmanen auf eine dritte Art und Weise erreichbar, und zwar dem Weg folgend, der die eigentliche Philosophie ausmacht, ‘das Gehen durch den entwickelten, durch den bestimmten Gedanken’, und Hegel fügt, einer Entschuldigung gleich, hinzu: ‘Von dieser war uns bisher wenig bekannt’ (op. cit. 293). 57 Hegels Zweifel in Bezug hierauf kommt in seiner achten Vorlesung im Wintersemester 1829/30 in der Aussage zum Ausdruck: Die orientalische Philosophie begegnet uns also zuerst. Wir können sie als den ersten Teil, also als wirkliche Philosphie ansehen, können sie aber auch als vorausgeschickt, als Voraussetzung der Philosophie ansehen, und machen den Anfang erst mit der griechischen Philosophie. (op. cit. 373) Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 43 Nach diesen Feststellungen werden wir uns nun dem Problem widmen, bis zu welcher Stufe Hegel zufolge sich der Geist in Indien entwickelte. Selbstverständlich bleibt bestehen, daß diese außereuropäische Entwicklung im Ganzen in der Geistesgeschichte Europas aufgehoben ist. Gerade der Verlust der Vermittlung, des begrifflichen Denkens, das das abstrakte Allgemeine mit dem Besonderen, Bestimmten, verbindet und somit konkret macht, macht das indische Denken ‘abstrakt’ und deshalb zu einer Vorstufe der europäischen Entwicklung (op. cit. 373). Aber das ändert nichts an der Tatsache, daß das indische Denken trozdem eine gewisse Relevanz sogar in Beziehung auf die rezentesten Entwicklungen des europäischen Denkens besitzt. In seinen späteren Vorlesungen sieht Hegel diese Relevanz insbesondere in der Form eines Gegensatzes zwischen dem europäischen Denken einerseits und dem indischen andererseits; beide extrem in ihrer Einseitigkeit, beide aber auch, und dies ist in gewisser Weise revolutionär, in diesem Sinne mehr oder weniger gleichwertig. Einen ersten Ansatz dieser Auffassung trifft man bereits in den Vorlesungen von 1825/26 an (op. cit. 333), jedoch verleiht die tiefere Einsicht in die Natur des brahman, die Hegel in seiner Untersuchung der Bhagavadgı̄tā erworben hat, der Indien–Europa–Dialektik erst seine wirkliche Bedeutung und Schärfe. In seinen Vorlesungen 1829/30 wird diese Dialektik folgendermaßen entwickelt. Das neuere europäische Vorstellen und Denken hat das Insichsein des Subjekts, die subjektive Freiheit zur Grundlage. Ich weiß, bin überzeugt, meine Meinung, meine (sic) Wille gilt mir. Diese Bestimmungen, die mit der subjektiven Freiheit zusammenhängen, machen im Europäischen den Gegensatz gegen die substantielle Einheit aus. Das Extrem, das Einseitige des europäischen Denkens enthält alle Zufälligkeit des Wollens, Vorstellens und Denkens. Es ist insofern das Extrem der Eitelkeit. Gegen dieser (sic) Extrem, diese einseitige Subjektivität ist im Orientalischen die gediegene Einheit vorherrschend. In dieser ist keine Eitelkeit; sie ist der Boden, worin sich alle Eitelkeit aufzehrt. Das Orientalische hat deswegen [. . . ] Interesse für uns; es ist dies, den Geist zu baden in dieser Einheit, die ewig und ruhig ist, damit er sich reinige von aller Eitelkeit, Zufälligkeit usf. Die Stärke des Geistes erwirbt sich nur durch das Zurückgehen in die absolute Einheit. Das Schwache ist das bloße Bestehen für sich, das bloße Verharren in sich, d.i. eben das Sichverlieren in die Eitelkeit. Diese Bestimmung haben wir also festzuhalten. ( op. cit. 287 f.) 58 Hegels Dialektik liegt mit Sicherheit auch eine Polemik zugrunde, eine Diatribe, die er mit seinen Zeitgenossen, insbesondere den sogenannten Romantikern, führt, und die von Otto Pöggeler als kulturelle Kontroverse folgendermaßen beschrieben wird. Schlegel und seine Freunde [. . . ] nahmen—das ist Hegels Kritik—das Ich nicht als Prinzip der Selbstgewißheit, das den einzelnen bindet, sondern als 58 Eine offenbare Vorstufe dieser Eitelkeitsdialektik, derzufolge die indische Auflösung im brahman noch als ‘Eitelkeit’ betrachtet und verglichen wird mit europäischen (deistischen) Strömungen, begegnet uns in einer Sondergut-Passage (Phil. d. Rel. II, 240ff, vgl. 463), die Jaeschke einem (undatierbaren) ‘Convolut’ (Sammlung von Notizen Hegels) zuschreibt. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 44 Hans Bakker die Willkürfreiheit des einzelnen selbst, vor allem als den Künstler, der im ästhetischen Spiel mit allem und jedem über die substantiellen Bedingungen hinaus ist. Als dieses ästhetische Verhalten seine eigene Leere erfuhr, habe man in unklarer Irrationalität, z.B. in der Religion, eine neue Erfüllung gesucht (wobei an Novalis und Schleiermacher zu denken ist, aber auch an die vielen Konversionen romantischer Künstler). 59 Schlussmoral A.W. Schlegel, dessen frühere Werke, man denke an seine Shakespeare-Studien und die Bhagavadgı̄tā-Edition, von Hegel sehr geschätzt wurden, gibt 1827 nach einer Periode der Abwesenheit wieder eine Reihe von Vorlesungen an der Universität von Berlin, die auch von Hegel besucht und desweiteren von ihm mit den Worten kommentiert werden: ‘Tief kann er freilich nicht gehen, aber für sein Publikum ist seine deutliche und beredte Art sehr passend.’ 60 Unter diesem Publikum befand sich auch Heinrich Heine und sein Bericht legt nahe, Hegels Schilderung vom Extrem der Eitelkeit konkret der Person August Wilhelm Schlegels zuzuschreiben, dessen Abgetakeltheit von Heine wie folgt beschrieben wird: Aber er hatte unterdessen nichts Neues gelernt, und er sprach jetzt zu einem Publikum, welches von Hegel eine Philosophie der Kunst, eine Wissenschaft der Ästhetik, erhalten hatte. Man spottete und zuckte die Achsel. Es ging ihm wie einer alten Komödiantin, die nach zwanzigjähriger Abwesenheit den Schauplatz ihres ehemaligen Succes wieder betritt, und nicht begreift, warum die Leute lachen statt zu applaudieren. Der Mann hatte sich entsetzlich verändert und er ergötzte Berlin vier Wochen lang durch die Etalage seiner Lächerlichkeiten. Er war ein alter eitler Geck geworden, der sich überall zum Narren halten ließ. Man erzählt darüber die unglaublichsten Dinge. 61 Es wird nicht ohne Ironie gewesen sein, aber desto kennzeichnender für seine virtuose Dialektik, daß Hegel dem ersten deutschen Professor in der Indologie zur Genesung von seinem Unglück ein Bad im indischem brahman empfohlen haben soll. Was die inhaltliche Auseinandersetzung mit der indischen Philosophie in seinen Vorlesungen von 1827/28 und 1829/30 betrifft, werde ich mich kurz fassen. Hegel bringt eine nicht wesentlich von seiner ‘Bhagavadgı̄tā-Version’ abweichende Betrachtung über den Begriff brahman ein (op. cit. 286 f. u. 291 ff.). Außerdem revidiert er im positiven Sinne seine Meinung über das Sām . khya. Sah er in den Vorlesungen von 1825/26 in den tattvas des Sām . khya-Systems nur eine trockene, ideenlose Aufzählung, beurteilt er sie jetzt doch als ‘einen sinnigen Zusammenhang, eine sinnige Form darin’ (op. cit. 304). 59 Hegel in Berlin, 115. Vgl. Halbfass 1981, 115 f. 60 Hegel Briefe III, 165. 61 Die romantische Schule (Heine, Sämtliche Schriften V, 419 f.). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 2 / Die indische Herausforderung 45 Hiermit müssen wir unsere Betrachtung zu Hegels Bemühungen, um mit der Herausforderung ins Reine zu kommen, die die Entdeckung der indischen philosophischen Tradition ihm bietet, abschließen. Es möge deutlich geworden sein, daß seine Ansichten nicht unabhängig von dem Stand des Wissens und der Haltung in bezug auf die indische Zivilisation zu seiner Zeit gesehen werden können. Während Hegel einerseits in diese Zivilisation tiefer eindringt, als die meisten seiner Zeitgenossen, entlehnt er andererseits hieraus eine Einsicht, die seiner Stellungnahme gegen die herrschende romantische Orientrezeption eine gewisse Autorität und Treffsicherheit verleiht. Seine philosophische Analyse ist eine andauernde Polemik gegen alle diejenigen, die in der indischen Kultur eine Alternative sahen, ein Vorbild, nach dem sich auch der westliche Mensch richten sollte. Es ist dieser Mythos, den Hegel gnadenlos abbricht. Obwohl er nicht leugnet, daß das indische Denken in gewisser Weise auch für uns von Bedeutung sein kann, weist er damit zugleich auf dessen Begrenztheit, auf sein historisches Niveau in der Geistesgeschichte der Menschheit, wohin kein Weg zurückführt. Und damit kommt der romantische Traum zu einem Ende. Wie beeindruckend die Bhagavadgı̄tā auch jetzt noch ist, sie ist es als historisch-literarisches Dokument. Für den entwickelten europäischen Menschen des neunzehnten oder zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts kann sie niemals ein Evangelium sein. Dies ist die Einsicht, die wir bzw. ich an erster Stelle Hegel verdanke. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Ayodhyā : le nom et le lieu ∗ Ayodhyā conçue : le nom Mais si ces noms absorbèrent à tout jamais l’image que j’avais de ces villes, ce ne fut qu’en la transformant, qu’en soumettant sa réapparition en moi à leurs lois propres; ils eurent ainsi pour conséquence de la rendre plus belle, mais aussi plus différente de ce que les villes de Normandie ou de Toscane pouvaient être en réalité, et, en accroissant les joies arbitraires de mon imagination, d’aggraver la déception future de mes voyages. 1 C’est ainsi que Marcel Proust décrit les lois spécifiques qui régissent le processus de l’imagination littéraire. Cette imagination peut prendre son essor à partir d’une réalité géographique à peine esquissée. S’appuyant sur la mystique des noms, on transforme et redéfinit cette réalité en lui attribuant des traits particuliers variés—et la transposant ainsi dans le domaine de la fiction où elle trouve son existence idéale; ‘ils exaltèrent l’idée que je me faisais de certains lieux de la terre, en les faisant plus particuliers, par conséquent plus réels’ (ibid.). D’une façon analogue le nom ‘Ayodhyā’, évocateur de la gloire héroı̈que d’un âge révolu, a dû se confondre avec la réalité historique de la vie quotidienne de l’Inde du Nord dans l’imagination créatrice des auteurs de l’Epopée indienne. Nous connaissons le résultat de cette fusion créatrice : ce fut le monde romanesque du Rāmāyan.a dont le foyer était la ville d’Ayodhyā, bâtie jadis par Manu, le progéniteur de la race humaine. La ville s’étendait sur douze lieues et possédait des rues et des forums larges au tracé magnifique; elle était embellie par des portes massives, des hôtels sublimes et des palais dorés. 2 On trouve déjà le mot ayodhyā (‘imprenable’) dans l’Atharvaveda 10.2.39 et dans le Taittirı̄ya Āran.yaka 1.27.2–3, comme épithète de la forteresse (pur) des dieux. Dans toute la partie narrative du Mahābhārata, qui constituait probablement la partie la plus ancienne de l’Epopée, et dans les parties analogues de la littérature purânique (désignée par Purān.apañcalaks.an.a), Ayodhyā figure comme la capitale ancienne de la dynastie des Iks.vāku qui régnait dans le ∗ Cet article a été publié dans la Revue de l’Histoire des Religions, CCIII–1 (1986), pp. 53 à 66, et réédité dans Bakker, Hans (ed.), Een Tuil Orchideeën. Anthologie uit de Tuin der Geesteswetenschappen te Groningen. Groningen 2005. pp. 233–241. 1 Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, I, 387. 2 Rām. 1.5.6 sqq. 47 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 48 Hans Bakker lointain âge de Tretā. Bien que la ville soit reliée au pays des Kosala, 3 elle n’est nulle part mentionnée comme étant située au bord de la rivière Sarayū. Pareillement, dans les parties anciennes du Rāmāyan.a, il est seulement suggéré que la capitale de Rāma était située près de la Sarayū, 4 et on n’y indique que très vaguement son emplacement en le désignant comme la capitale du Kosala. 5 On doit, d’ailleurs, noter que dans les parties anciennes du Rāmāyan.a l’emplacement non seulement d’Ayodhyā était imprécis mais aussi celui de la Sarayū. Il est fort probable que la rivière Sarayu, connue déjà dans la littérature védique, coulait à travers le Punjab. 6 Lorsque le peuple aryen pénétra dans le bassin du Gange il désigna peut-être une des rivières du janapada de Kosala par le nom ‘Sarayū’ en souvenir de la rivière de leur ancienne patrie : ainsi, on a probablement ici un cas de transfert toponymique. Aujourd’hui encore, trois rivières dans le bassin du Gogra sont appelées Sarjū. 7 L’imprécision de l’emplacement de la ville d’Ayodhyā dans les portions anciennes de la littérature épique, est, comme on pouvait le prévoir, en accord avec la nature en grande partie fictive de ces textes. Dans ce contexte, on peut aussi songer aux nombreuses difficultés que l’on rencontre lorsqu’on veut déterminer la route exacte d’Ayodhyā à Laṅkā qu’avait empruntée Rāma. 8 Une équipe d’archéologues indiens célèbres a essayé par une série de fouilles de retrouver les endroits cités dans le Rāmāyan.a, mais en vain, comme on aurait pu prévoir si on avait ajouté foi à la remarque de Sankalia : ‘Careful study of the descriptions of Laṅkā and Kis.kindhā shows that the poets have created imaginary cities, though this imagination was no doubt helped either by a sight or description of the cities of India in the beginning of the Christian era or later.’ 9 Comme la ville sacrée actuelle d’Ayodhyā semblait, de façon évidente, être la preuve de l’historicité de la capitale de la dynastie solaire, la remarque de Sankalia ne fut jamais considérée comme applicable à cette ville. Cependant, à l’exception des textes épiques, il n’existe aucune preuve en faveur de l’existence réelle d’une capitale ancienne de Daśaratha et de son fils; et personnellement je suis convaincu que tout effort pour retrouver la topographie du Rāmāyan.a doit être considéré comme un gaspillage d’ingéniosité. Par ex., MBh 3.75.3, où la capitale du roi R . tuparn.a s’appelle Kosalā. Rām. 2.43.13, 2.32.15, 2.32.18, 2.70.19. Cf. Bakker 1986 I, 9. Rām. 2.43.7, 3.35.23. Bhargava 1964, 96 sq. V. Bakker 1986 II, 47 sqq. Bakker 1986 I, 10; Bakker & Entwistle 1981, 110 sq.; cf. Iyer 1940; Joshi 1975–1976, 100 sqq.; Joshi 1979–1980, 107 sqq. 9 Sankalia 1973, 153 sq. 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 3 / Ayodhyā : le nom et le lieu 49 Ayodhyā retrouvée : le lieu Ailleurs j’ai démontré 10 longuement que les textes anciens qui parlent d’une part d’Ayodhyā et d’autre part d’une ville appelée Sāketa, peuvent être divisés en deux groupes distincts. A l’exception de deux passages dans le canon pāli, qu’on peut démontrer n’avoir été à l’origine qu’un seul texte, 11 qui font mention d’un lieu sans importance nommé Ayodhyā au bord du Gange, 12 et d’un autre passage dans le Sthānasūtra du canon jain, 13 qui, dans l’énumération des territoires et de leurs chefs-lieux—en grande partie mythologiques—présente Ayodhyā comme la capitale de Mahāvideha, Ayodhyā semble figurer en tant que nom de ville ancienne uniquement dans la littérature épique déjà mentionnée qui s’occupe principalement du savoir traditionnel; alors que Sāketa en tant que nom de lieu ne figure point dans ces textes. Par contre, les anciens textes qui parlent de Sāketa, d’abord, ne mentionnent jamais Ayodhyā, et, de plus, ils sont nettement d’une autre nature. On peut à peine douter qu’il s’agit de cas historiques réels dans les canons des deux traditions hétérodoxes, ainsi que dans les textes sanskrits comme le commentaire de Patañjali sur Pān.ini, 14 ou dans ceux un peu plus récents, comme le Yugapurān.a, 15 la Mahāmāyūrı̄, 16 et le Kāmasūtra de Vātsyāyana, 17 de même que dans l’oeuvre du géographe . 18 En lisant ces textes nous grec Ptolémée qui parle de la ville de avons l’impression de trouver une ville réelle qui a joué un rôle important dans l’histoire ancienne de l’Inde septentrionale, et qui, par communis opinio, est identifiée avec l’emplacement occupé actuellement par la ville d’Ayodhyā. Ce fait historique est en outre attesté par une inscription en caractères kus.ān.a sur le piédestal d’une statue du Bouddha trouvée à Śrāvastı̄ et qui raconte la donation de cette statue par un certain Sihadeva de Sāketa. 19 En bref, l’ancienne question de savoir si Sāketa et Ayodhyā étaient deux villes voisines, 20 identiques, 21 ou différentes, 22 dans la période qui s’étend jusqu’aux premiers siècles de notre ère, trouve sa réponse dans la théorie de l’existence d’une ville historique sur l’emplacement actuel d’Ayodhyā depuis au moins le vie siècle avant J.-C., 23 qui s’appelait Sāketa, et d’une autre ville, fictive, Bakker 1986 I, 4 sqq. Bareau 1979, 75. The Sam . yuttanikāya III, 140, IV, 179. Sthānasūtra (Thānasuya), 637 (II, 435v ). Patañjali ad Pān.ini, 1.3.25. Yugapurān.a 1.94–95, 1.116–119. Lévi 1915, Mahāmāyūrı̄, 1.10, 65, 68. Kāmasūtra 2.9.30. Ptolemaeus, Geographia VII, Cap. 1, § 71; Renou 1925, p. 56. Mitra 1971, p. 78. Rhys Davids 1903, p. 24. Cunningham dans Archaeological Survey of India, Reports I, 317; P.V. Kane, IV, 798; Law 1943; Petech 1976, p. 440. 22 E.B. Joshi dans Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers, Uttar Pradesh 1960, p. 31; cf. M. C. Joshi 1979–80, 108 sq. 23 Cf. IAR 1980, p. 52. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 50 Hans Bakker Ayodhyā, particulière à la tradition épique, et dont l’origine se perd, de l’aveu général, dans les temps préhistoriques et, par conséquent, se trouve au-delà des confins de la recherche historique. Si nous fixons maintenant notre attention sur la partie de la littérature épique qui a pu être ajoutée à la souche première pendant les époques kus.ān.a et gupta, nous constatons un changement significatif. Il y a une description d’Ayodhyā dans le premier livre du Rāmāyan.a, où la ville est située explicitement au bord de la rivière Sarayū. 24 Le caractère essentiellement fictif de la ville se reflète dans sa description imaginaire stéréotypée, 25 mais dans le livre VII l’endroit où Rāma s’est noyé est désigné spécifiquement par Gopratāra (Rām. 7.110.20), emplacement qui figure aussi dans la liste des lieux sacrés que donne le Tı̄rthayātrāparvan du Mahābhārata (MBh 3.82.63–65). Nous pouvons concevoir ces deux démarcations comme l’aboutissement d’une tendance à matérialiser l’emplacement de la ville légendaire. Cette matérialisation (réification), ce processus par lequel un nombre croissant de personnes est amené progressivement à envisager la ville de Sāketa comme l’emplacement de l’Ayodhyā épique, ne doit aucunement être vue comme un phénomène isolé. A la même époque—soit à partir du ier siècle jusqu’à la fin du ive —et lié, pour ainsi dire, dialectiquement à ce processus de réification, il y a la déification du héros du Rāmāyan.a. Pendant ces siècles, justement, la doctrine des réincarnations de Vis.n.u, désignées au début comme des ‘apparitions’ (prādurbhāva), 26 mais bientôt appelées ‘descentes’ (avatāra), fut universellement reconnue. 27 Ceci prit place à l’époque même où il y eut le développement rapide du culte hindouisant des temples, dans lequel les idoles furent considérées comme des divinités véritables incarnées. De ce même développement résulta le besoin d’envisager un lieu où l’unique descente de Vis.n.u en tant que roi futur d’Ayodhyā avait eu lieu : un vrai dieu descendant sur terre a besoin d’un sol ferme et réel, si tant est qu’il descende. En fait cette adoration des images et des emplacements topographiques n’était que l’inversion dialectique de l’idée de la divinité incarnée. Cette idée de la descente de dieu, une fois mise en relation avec le héros du Rāmāyan.a entraı̂nant la déification de Rāma, mena à l’attribution d’une signification nouvelle à un endroit terrestre peu exceptionnel, ce qui aboutit finalement à l’homologation de Sāketa et d’Ayodhyā, autrement dit, à la réification d’Ayodhyā. Le processus que je viens de décrire inspira de nouvelles activités littéraires et théologiques. Il produisit non seulement un développement de cette littérature qu’on appelle la Rāmakathā, 28 mais il ouvrit aussi des possibilités à de nouveaux créateurs de mythes, en particulier dans le milieu jaina. Pendant les siècles en question, Rām. 1.5.5. Cf. Ghosh 1973, 49 sq.; Schlingloff 1969, 5 sqq. Hacker 1960a, 47–70; MBh 12.326.76–81; PPL p. 514 sq. Hacker 1960a, passim; MBh 3.260.5; Rām. 1.15.3; Bhāsa, Abhis.ekanāt.aka 4.12–14, 6.27– 30. 28 Bulke 1971; Bakker 1986 I, 60 sqq. 24 25 26 27 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 3 / Ayodhyā : le nom et le lieu 51 un corpus considérable de mythologie avait été reçu et élaboré à l’intérieur du jainisme. Une grande partie de ce corpus n’était pourtant pas issue des traditions spécifiquement jainistes, mais était déjà connue sous des formes brâhmaniques. 29 Dans cette fusion, la mythologie du clan des Iks.vāku fut liée à la notion des tı̄rthaṅkara et des cakravartin. Ainsi dit-on que le premier 30 tı̄rthaṅkara, R . s.abha, était né à Ikkhāgabhūmi, ou Vin.ı̄yā (Vinı̄tā), comme cette ville est appelée dans le Jambūdvı̄paprajñapti (I, p. 112). La ville mythologique de Vin.ı̄yā ne peut être que l’Ayodhyā épique désignée sous un autre nom. Et vu que Sāketa était déjà connu dans le jainisme comme un des lieux sacrés, sanctifié par les séjours de Mahāvı̄ra, 31 les jainas n’hésitèrent pas à confondre Vin.ı̄yā, Ikkhāgabhūmi, Aojjhā et Sāketa. Ce phénomène semble avoir eu lieu à la même période où les mythes de Rāma étaient incorporés dans la mythologie jaina, c’est-à-dire pendant les premiers siècles de l’ère chrétienne, ainsi qu’il est attesté pour la première fois dans le Paümacariya. 32 La première phase de ce processus de réification du lieu légendaire fut achevée à l’époque des Gupta et aboutit à l’acceptation générale de l’identité entre Ayodhyā et Sāketa. Le fait que cette identification n’était pas universellement reconnue sous le règne des premiers Gupta semble être implicite dans quelques textes purâniques, qui attribuent aux rois Gupta la souveraineté sur la ville géographique de Sāketa plutôt que sur la ville fictive d’Ayodhyā. 33 C’est seulement à partir du moment où le nom d’Ayodhyā a été employé pour désigner une ville existante que nous pouvons espérer trouver des preuves archéologiques corroboratives. On trouve, en effet, de tels témoignages dans les inscriptions laissées par les Gupta, aux ve et vie siècles. 34 La consolidation finale fut réalisée quand la cour royale des Gupta fut transportée temporairement de Pāt.aliputra à l’ancienne ville de Sāketa, ou dans un endroit avoisinant, nouvellement aménagé, connu depuis comme Ayodhyā. Fort probablement, cet événement eut lieu pendant le règne de Kumāragupta I ou bien de Skandagupta (415–467 apr. J.-C.). 35 C’est peut-être à ceci que fait allusion Kālidāsa dans 36 le Raghuvam . śa; de plus, la théorie que nous venons d’avancer expliquerait pourquoi dans le Raghuvam . śa, pour la première fois, Sāketa et Ayodhyā sont identifiées de façon catégorique. 37 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Jha 1978. Kalpasūtra of Bhadrabāhu, § 206. Vipākasūtra (Vivāgasuya) : 14 (p. 23r ); 6 (p. 8r ); 34 (p. 95v ). Paümacariya, v. index, s.v. : ‘Aojjhā’, ‘Kosalapurı̄’, ‘Pad.hamapurı̄’, ‘Vin.ı̄yā’, ‘Sāeya’, ‘Sākeyapura.’ Pargiter 1913, p. 53. EI X (1909–1910), 70–72 (cf. Bakker 1986 I, 28); El XV (1919–1920), 143 (cf. Bakker 2014, 242, 245–47); CII III (1888), 256 : l’inscription apocryphe sur plaque de cuivre de Gayā de Samudragupta, probablement une fabrication du début du viiie siècle. Takakusu 1904, 283 sqq.; Xuanzang, Xiyuji I, 106; Frauwallner 1951, p. 30; Bakker 1986 I, 29. Raghuvam . śa 16.25–42; Ks.ı̄rasvāmin’s Ks.ı̄rataraṅgin.ı̄, 274 sq.; Frauwallner 1951, 30; Bakker 1982a, 103–126. Raghuvam . śa, 5.31, 13.79, 14.13; cf. Brahmān.d.apurān.a (Bd.P) 3.54.5, 54. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 52 Hans Bakker Une deuxième phase de ce processus de réification/déification s’accomplit quand la signification religieuse de la manifestation de Vis.n.u, comme Rāma, reçut une impulsion nouvelle. Lorsque, à partir du xiie siècle, Rāma fut reconnu non pas simplement comme une incarnation de Dieu, mais comme la manifestation de sa nature la plus véritable et la plus secrète, le prestige de sa demeure terrestre augmenta en raison directe. En même temps que la construction des premiers temples dans lesquels l’idole principale de Vis.n.u était conçue comme (l’incarnation de) Rāma, 38 Ayodhyā, ainsi que d’autres emplacements particuliers à l’intérieur d’Ayodhyā, furent reconnus comme des lieux sacrés, tı̄rtha. 39 Ces endroits et leurs contenus n’étaient plus uniquement de simples réifications d’un passé glorieux, mais furent considérés petit à petit comme des représentations d’une réalité divine. Finalement, à la fin du xvie siècle, ce processus trouva son accomplissement dans la conception de deux villes parallèles. La ville terrestre d’Ayodhyā avec son appareil de lieux sacrés fut considérée comme la réplique fidèle d’un modèle éternel et céleste, Vaikun.t.ha, le paradis de Vis.n.u. 40 Ce qui peut paraı̂tre comme une de ces ironies de l’histoire, c’est le fait que, précisément dans le milieu de la secte dite Rasika de la Rāma-bhakti, le nom archaı̈que de Sāketa fut repris pour désigner cet archétype céleste, Vaikun.t.ha, le bhogasthala (‘lieu de la jouissance’) de Rāma. 41 Les adeptes et les pèlerins qui visitaient (et visitent encore) cette réplique terrestre, la ville sacrée d’Ayodhyā, pensaient être dans le ‘champ du jeu’, lı̄lāsthala, 42 de Rāma et participer à son jeu (lı̄lā), et, quand ils prenaient le prasāda (aliment sacralisé) que les prêtres leur donnaient, ils pensaient prendre part à la jouissance éternelle et bienheureuse de Rāma. Illiers–Combray Il se pourrait bien que les flots de proustiens qui visitent le village d’Illiers, 43 à 25 km au sud-ouest de Chartres dans la France d’aujourd’hui, avec l’intention de participer au monde esthétique créé par l’auteur de A la recherche du temps perdu, entretiennent de semblables sentiments. Les pèlerinages organisés par la ‘Société des Amis de Marcel Proust’—en particulier pendant la Journée des Aubépines, cet ‘arbuste catholique et délicieux’ 44—exhalent sans aucun doute un air quasi religieux, et nous ne serons pas étonnés d’y trouver un processus actif de ‘réification.’ 45 Nous retrouvons non seulement la maison de 38 CII IV.2, 457; CII IV.1, 346–458; Führer 1891, 89; cf. Bakker 1986 I, 64 sq. 39 EI IX (1907–1908), 304; Kielhorn 1886, 7; EI XIV (1917–1918), 194; Smr.tyarthasāra (Salomon 1979, p. 106); cf. Bakker 1986 I, 49 sqq. 40 Br.hadbrahmasam . hitā 3.1.50–119; Śrı̄nivāsadāsa, Yatı̄ndramatadı̄pikā, p. 55; Ayodhyā- māhātmya (v. Bakker 1986 II, 8 sqq.); cf. De 1961, 334 sqq. 41 Sim . ha 1957, 273; Ayodhyāmāhātmya (v. Bakker 1986 III, App. 1, No. 6); Bakker 1986 42 43 44 45 I, 139 sqq.; cf. Jı̄va Gosvāmı̄ par rapport à Vr.ndāvana (v. De 1961, 334 sqq.). Sim . ha 1957, 272 sqq. V. annotation à Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, III, 1289. Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, I, 140. Bouchart 1982. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 3 / Ayodhyā : le nom et le lieu 53 Plate 1 La maison où Tante Léonie achetait ses madeleines Tante Léonie du roman (hébergeant actuellement le Musée Marcel-Proust), mais aussi, pour prendre un exemple, la maison où cette tante achetait ses madeleines, 46 ces ‘gâteaux courts et dodus. . . qui semblent avoir été moulés dans la valve rainurée d’une coquille de Saint-Jacques.’ 47 L’analogie avec Sāketa–Ayodhyā peut s’étendre plus loin, car, en 1971, Illiers fut officiellement reconnu comme Combray et fut rebaptisé ‘Illiers–Combray’, comme l’attestent les panneaux installés à la gare et à l’entrée du village, aussi bien que le nom figurant dans le Times Atlas of the World. Et de même que les pèlerins médiévaux de Saint-Jacques, à leur retour de Santiago de Compostela, visitaient l’église de Saint-Jacques d’Illiers, avec les célèbres coquilles de Saint-Jacques cousues ‘à leurs casquettes, les apportant chez eux en triomphe, à leurs propres gens’, 48 les adorateurs modernes de Marcel Proust visitent l’église de Saint-Hilaire et achètent leurs ‘petites madeleines’ comme des souvenirs, dans l’espoir qu’ils pénétreront dans le monde imaginaire de Combray aussitôt qu’ils goûteront ce gâteau trempé, et que, toutes les fleurs du . . . jardin et celles du parc de M. Swann, et les nymphéas de la Vivonne, et les bonnes gens du village et leurs petits logis, et l’église, et tout Combray et ses environs, tout cela qui prend forme et solidité. . . , ville et jardins, sortiront de leur tasse de thé. 49 46 47 48 49 Ruyter 1984, p. 14. Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, I, 45. Liber Sancti Jacobi, Codex Calixtinus, Vol. I : Texto, 153. Cf. Sumption 1975, 174. Adaptation libre de Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu, I, 47 sq. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem ∗ An Investigation of ‘Holy War’ as a Religious Idea in the Light of Communal Unrest in India Introduction Since the cultural discovery of India in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Indian culture and society have been widely regarded as more than ordinarily pacifistic and moral. Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), for example, speaks of the brahmins as a ‘gentle race of men’, ‘happy lambs’ whose idea of God is ‘great and beautiful’ and whose ‘morals are pure and lofty’ (Bakker 1988, 99). This idealized image was enhanced in the twentieth century by the manner in which India freed itself from colonial rule; the non-violent resistance that Mahatma Gandhi both preached and practised. On the other hand, as every student of India knows, there have been few periods, even up to the present century, during which the South-Asian subcontinent has been free of war. And this fact seems to have been accepted by the Indians themselves as more or less in the natural order of things. Until the establishment and enforcement of the Pax Britannica, the waging of wars against rival rulers was generally regarded as one of the natural political tasks of kings and the aristocracy. 1 How is this contradiction to be explained, and how has the image of a peaceful and peace-loving India managed to remain prevalent in the face of the historical facts? The answers to these questions should probably be sought in the first place in the ambivalent attitude towards violence and the use of force found in India’s own culture and world-view. This ambivalence may be seen as an inevitable product of the tension between conflicting traditional values, 2 which on the one hand sanctioned countless armed conflicts yet on the other ∗ The first version of this article was published in: Numen XXXVIII, Fasc. I (1991), 80–109. 1 In the famous Indian handbook on policy, the Arthaśāstra, the king is regularly referred to as vijigı̄s.u, ‘he who wishes to conquer’, an epithet which is not given a religious justification. The duty of the nobility (ks.atriya) is defined as: ‘Studying (the Vedas), performing sacrifices (with the help of brahmin priests), dotation, living by arms (śastrājı̄vana), and protection of beings’ (AS 1.3.6). 2 Heesterman 1985 has traced the origin of this conflict in the Indian tradition to the opposition between the Hindu ideal of world-renunciation and the reality of social conditions. 55 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 56 Hans Bakker hand never seems to have directly involved Hinduism in the start of a war. 3 Not surprisingly then, several scholars have excluded India from the scope of their investigations into ‘holy war’. These scholars regard the pluriformity of polytheism as the main reason that Hinduism appears to differ fundamentally from the monotheistic (Abrahamic) religions as to the legitimization of the use of force for religious aims. 4 We shall refer to this theory as the ‘polytheism thesis’. Holy war as a religious idea On the eve of the deadline of the UN’s ultimatum to Irak (15 January 1991) the British prime minister John Major declared in the House of Commons that the now inevitable war is a ‘just’ one. At the same time Saddam Hussein calls on all Muslims to fight under Irak’s banner, as it leads them on to a holy war, jihād, to be fought by ‘believers’ against ‘infidels’. It cannot but be noted that both speeches make use of concepts developed during the early Middle Ages in the two great monotheistic traditions, which apparently still retain some currency, and indeed evocative force. In the predominantly secular society of late twentieth century England a summons to a ‘holy war’ would hardly have an effect, except to provoke ridicule and suspicion. Instead, we find an appeal to a concept first developed by St. Augustine, namely that of a bellum justum (‘just war’), which can be shown to be the source of the idea of a crusade. 5 Saddam Hussein’s proclamation of a jihād has almost equally venerable precedents. The aim of summoning ‘believers’ to a holy war against ‘infidels’ is to mobilize the strength and motivation of the faithful in a military enterprise, to suppress fear of physical danger, and to encourage actions which frequently are opposed to the direct personal interests of the individual. Such declarations and exhortations on both sides are clearly primarily intended to raise morale among both soldiers and civilians. In other words, their value is chiefly propagandistic, and this is certainly an important aspect of the phenomenon of holy war. It would however be a serious mistake to imagine that this alone could provide a full or adequate explanation of the phenomenon. 3 Cf. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (ERE) s.v. ‘War’ (XII, 677): ‘While the Vedas are sufficiently war-like, and Brahmanism gives a consecration to the military caste, the mild spirit of Hindu religion tended to view war under the repugnant aspect of murder.’ 4 Burkert 1986, 81 ff.; Colpe 1984; Kippenberg 1991a. Cf. also Bruce Lawrence’s (1990, 107) restriction of the fundamentalist world-view to monotheistic traditions (cf. Kippenberg 1991b). 5 ERE s.v. ‘War’ (XII, 682): ‘[Augustine] had no difficulty in deciding that there are unjust and just wars [. . . ] Just wars are those which are waged to inflict punishment, or to secure reparation for injury or (as in OT) by express commandment of God’ (ref. to Quæstiones in Josue III2 , 584 f.). For a study of the development of the idea of a crusade from this concept cf. Vanderjagt 1991. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 57 It is necessary to ask a more fundamental question: why is it that the call to a holy war has any stimulating or propaganda effect in the first place? To answer this we will have to investigate problems in the field of religious studies: what are the religious ideas and beliefs of the ‘believer’ to whom such a call is directed, and what framework of action is directly associated with them? When a modern researcher of war and peace, the polemologist Hylke Tromp, concludes that we should forget about ‘the faith, ideology and sacred fire’ of soldiers on the field of battle because they only go forward because they have no alternative, if they do not want to lose the respect of others and their own selfrespect’ (Tromp 1991), this may seem to suggest that cultural anthropological questions and questions such as posed in the previous paragraph are irrelevant. However, the self-image which determines the content and force of this ‘respect of others and self-respect’ is in fact the product of the individualization of the cultural and religious values of the society which the soldier is called upon to fight for. 6 It is this self-image that war-propaganda aims at building up and strengthening, in order to break down any innate repugnance against killing fellow men. 7 To understand what ultimately motivates the individual soldier to place his duty as soldier above personal safety it is necessary to focus on the social, cultural and—in the case of holy wars—particularly the religious values and symbols which constitute this self-image. Fear and violence are universal basic experiences and thus important constituents of all religions (von Stietencron 1979). But this has not always resulted in them giving rise to collective violence sanctioned by religion. What then specifically distinguishes holy wars from war in general? As has been noted above, some scholars have seen the answer to this question in some common element of the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Significantly, Colpe does not consider Hinduism at all in his two articles Zur Bezeichnung und Bezeugung des Heiligen Krieges (1984), while as to the polytheism thesis he remarks with reference to ancient Greek history that: Da, wo innerhalb eines polytheistischen Systems Götter Kriege führen, [. . . ], da verbleibt der Heiligkeitscharakter ausschließlich ihnen und teilt sich dem Kriege nicht mit; wo dies nicht der Fall ist, kann der Krieg heilig genannt werden. (Colpe 1984, 199) Similarly, in his Krieg, Sieg und die olympischen Götter der Griechen, Burkert has stated with regard to the polytheistic structure of Greek religion: 6 Cf. Mead 1964, 244 f.: The individual enters as such into his own experience only as an object, not as a subject. [. . . ] Existence of private or ‘subjective’ contents of experience does not alter the fact that self-consciousness involves the individual’s becoming an object to himself by taking the attitudes of other individuals toward himself within an organized setting of social relationships, and that unless the individual had thus become an object to himself he would not be self-conscious or have a self at all. 7 Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1975, 146; Gladigow 1986, 151 ff.; Kippenberg 1991a. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 58 Hans Bakker Auch wenn die Städte je ihre Stadtgottheit haben, so sind diese Götter doch ‘vielverehrt’, haben an vielen Orten ihre Heiligtümer; keine Stadt kann sich auch auf die Götter ganz verlassen; ein Gott behält es sich vor, für welche Seite im Krieg er Stellung nimmt [. . . ] man sieht nicht sich selbst als die allein Bestätigten, Bevorzugten, die Auserwählten eines ‘heiligen Kriegs’. 8 Although the term ‘holy war’ ( ) seems to have been used first by the Greeks, they appear to have meant something quite different from the phenomena we are concerned with here (Brodersen 1991). As is clear from a glance at the literature on this subject, especially Colpe’s work, the definition of ‘holy war’ itself is considerably problematic. Agreement may be reached easily enough on the meaning of the word ‘war’ but ‘holy’ and the idea of ‘holiness’ have been understood in very different ways by various scholars. Kippenberg (1991a) has pointed out that ‘the word “holy” should be freed from its connotations of irrationality, with which especially R. Otto has associated it, and should rather be connected with “the uncommon” (“nicht-alltägliche”) in contrast with “the common” (“alltägliche”) (M. Weber), and with “collective” in contrast with “individual” (E. Durkheim)’. By such a definition all wars are ‘holy’, and in view of the large number of wars which have taken place on the South-Asian subcontinent, the polytheism thesis would have to be considered to be directly refuted. On the other hand, the historical material definitely suggests that holy wars form a separate category, and for heuristic reasons too it seems desirable to narrow the scope of our definition in some way. The narrowest definition of a ‘holy war’ would be a war waged in the name of God by people who believe that by doing so they fulfil His will and carry out His plan. Some of the Christian crusades may be taken as examples of such wars. The deus vult of Pope Urban II’s address in Clermont in ad 1095, and the consequence of this ‘will’ are well known. However, it seems questionable whether the Islamic jihād can in all circumstances be comprised within this definition. 9 A compromise, which comes close to the ordinary usage of the 8 Burkert 1986, 82 f. See also Brodersen 1991. 9 Noth remarks in his Heiliger Krieg und Heiliger Kampf in Christentum und Islam (1966, 21 f.): Fassen wir als ‘heilige Kriege’ bewaffnete Unternehmungen auf, bei denen die Religion allein das Gesetz des Handelns bestimmte und nicht zugleich Volkswohl, Landesverteidigung, Staatsinteresse oder nationale Ehre mit im Spiel waren, dann hat es ‘heilige Kriege’ im Islam auf staatlicher Ebene nie gegeben. Missionskriege, die als heilige Kriege angesprochen werden können, waren die Kämpfe der Muslims noch nicht einmal zu Lebzeiten des Propheten. In der Folgezeit wurde der Missionskrieg zwar theoretisch konzipiert, aber nicht in die Tat umgesetzt. Cf. also Weippert 1972, 490: Der ‘Heilige Krieg’ als eine von ‘profanen’ Kriegen unterschiedene Institution ist weder im Alten Testament noch in außer-biblischen altorientalischen Texten nachweisbar. Es empfiehlt sich, den—auch sonst problematischen—Terminus zu vermeiden, wenn auf den von G. v. Rad und seinen Vorgängern und Nachfolgern damit bezeichneten Themenkreis Bezug genommen wird. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 59 term and seems at least to provide a working definition with some heuristic value, is to define those wars as ‘holy’ in which religious or pseudo-religious concepts play a dominant role; i.e. armed conflicts in which a major appeal is made to the religious convictions of the combatants, in which (at least) one side claims possession of absolute theological truth and which is fought with the conviction that this truth must be victorious, for the greater glory of God and for the weal of mankind. Five conditions of ‘holy war’ In this connection five conditions for religiously motivated violence formulated by H. von Stietencron (1974, 334) appear to be relevant. The first of these is the belief of the side that knows God to be with it in its own superiority—frequently this may apply to both parties. An extreme case of such a conviction is the idea of a ‘chosen people’ as found for instance in the school of the Deuteronomium (7:1-5, 20:16). Research carried out since von Rad’s Der heilige Krieg im alten Israel (1952) has, however, demonstrated that the kinds of warfare, including the ‘ban-practice’ preached in the Laws of War (Deut. 20), were also known in Assyria, and in fact were common practices of war in ancient times. 10 The notion of being ‘the Lord’s chosen people’ too is found not only in Judaism; it was used, for instance, in Calvinistic propaganda during the Dutch–Spanish Eighty Years War (Huussen 1991). One condition for holy wars thus would appear to be the notion of exclusivity which attributes absolute status to one’s own beliefs. At the same time the opponent, who is fighting against the good, is demonized, that is, seen as a threatening embodiment of evil. Religions which develop such dyadic concepts and can sanction wars as ‘holy’, are in consequence confronted with the problem of the theodicy; the vindication of the existence of evil in the world. Two of the conditions formulated by von Stietencron do not appear to be necessary conditions for a holy war: namely the belief that there is no second earthly existence (‘Einmaligkeit des Lebens’), and the ‘close connection between religion and secular violence’. The latter should probably be regarded as concomitant rather than conditional. 11 Another condition should however 10 Weippert 1972, 485 ff.: Wichtig erscheint mir jedoch die Erkenntnis, daß diese Motive in den assyrischen Königsinschriften eine legitimierende Funktion haben. Sie sollen zeigen, daß in den Kriegen des Königs und seiner Truppen der Wille des Reichsgottes Assur und der anderen großen Götter vollstreckt wird, daß der König als vicarius deorum auf die Weisung und mit dem Beistand seiner ‘Herren’ handelt. [. . . ] Die Legitimation kann auch propagandistisch verwendet werden, etwa bei öffentlich zugänglichen Siegesstelen. Auch in Israel läßt sich die legitimierende Funktion der Motive vom göttlichen Eingreifen in Kampfhandlungen mit einiger Sicherheit feststellen (op. cit. 487 f.). The ‘polytheism thesis’ should be examined further with respect to this historical material. This is, however, beyond the competence of the present author. 11 The papal proclamation of crusade can, on the contrary, not be regarded separately from attempts to bring complete power (plenitudo potestatis) into the hands of the Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 60 Hans Bakker be mentioned, which undoubtedly plays a central role; namely that of ‘community’. The importance of this factor can only be realized when we consider religions such as Hinduism which place little explicit emphasis on the ‘community of believers’ and do not have the kind of organisational structure necessary to form such a single community. The common acceptance of an exclusive truth unites believers into a community. Each member of such a community considers himself as taking part in a summum bonum that transcends the individual. In situations of crisis, such as a war, this can lead to the member of the community giving up his life for the common good. Martyrdom is always founded on such feelings of community. 12 Kippenberg has rightly emphasized that martyrdom and holy war are related themes; the concept of a ‘holy war’ would not be complete without the idea of meritorious and exemplary suffering of the just (Kippenberg 1991a). On the other hand, it must be noted that the presence of these conditions does not necessarily lead to ‘holy’ wars, as is shown for instance by the fact that the crusades were legitimized by the Roman Catholic but not by the Orthodox Church (Palmer 1991). The Hindu religion and the social reality of war To pursue our investigation into collective religious violence in the historical and contemporary reality of South Asia in relation to Hinduism, it is necessary to introduce a chronological differentiation. Early Hinduism, before Muslim dominance (c. ad 1200), unquestionably taught an absolute truth as the basis of the entire universe and the final aim of all living beings. However, as argued by Hacker (1983), this truth had a diffuse, all pervasive, inclusive (‘inklusivistisch’) nature and was thus the opposite of exclusive. God transcends the world but is simultaneously omnipresent in it. Such a world-view can have no fundamental opposition between good and evil. This characteristic of early Indian thought can be illustrated by a passage from Kaus.ı̄taki Upanis.ad 3.1. Indra said to him: Know me alone; for I hold this alone to be the most beneficial thing for a man, that he should know me. I slew the three-headed son of Tvas.t.ar. church. Cf. Noth 1966, 21 f.: ‘Der Character des islamischen Staates (oder später der islamischen Staaten) als Gemeinschaft, in der Religion und Politik untrennbar miteinander verbunden waren, [. . . ] verhinderte es, daß der Kampf gegen Ungläubige ein reiner Religionskrieg wurde.’ 12 Cf. Mead 1982, 173: ‘The individual may indeed sacrifice the physiological organism for the benefit of the group; man as an organism may go down and give his life for the group which persists. Body and mind thus have different unities.’ Though Noth (1966, 135 ff.) emphasizes the personal character of both the Islamic duty of jihād and the Christian vow to take up the cross—which both promised the individual the fruits of martyrdom in the hereafter—we should not lose sight of the fact that in both cases the individual was strongly reminded of his holy duty by a collective body, either the Church of Rome or the Islamic state, the avowed beneficiaries of the individual’s sacrifice. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 61 I gave the Arunmukha ascetics to the hyenas. After breaking many promises, in heaven I crushed the Prahlādı̄yas, in the sky the Paulomas and on earth the Kālakhañjas. Yet not one hair of mine (having done this) was destroyed. And no hair will be destroyed of him who knows me, by any deed; not because of theft, not because of infanticide, not because of matricide and not because of patricide. Even if he commits evil, the colour does not leave his face. 13 This viewpoint is connected with a concept of time different from that found in the Abrahamic religions. The infinity of time is regarded as cyclic, and the notion of a final period in which the highest divine aim shall be realized and towards which the history of mankind tends (a civitas dei) is practically absent. From a divine standpoint, sub specie æternitatis, worldly activity is a spectacle (tamāśā), a drama, the play (lı̄lā) of God. In such a view there is no place for martyrdom. Individual self-sacrifice, which is of course as common in India as elsewhere, in the first place yields benefits for the same individual in an ensuing existence. The hypocrisy of martyrdom (described by von Stietencron (1979, 330) as ‘besondere Raffinesse’), which conceals the egotistical desire for the martyr’s crown in the hereafter under altruistical motives of self-sacrifice for a common goal, the weal of all, is not found in Hinduism, at least not in the early period. Hinduism is a religion that aims at individual liberation, and only to a far lesser extent than the Abrahamic religions unites believers into a single community with a common goal. 14 This may perhaps be connected with the fact that a plurality of deities is worshipped, but this connection does not appear to me to be intrinsic. It is clear that, also in the early period, a deep con13 Cf. Bhagavadgı̄tā 10.3.6,38: I am the gambling of cheaters, the energy of the energetic ones. I am conquest, I am resolve, I am the vigour of the vigorous. [. . . ] I am the rule of the subduers, the policy of those ‘who wish to conquer’, I am the silence of things hidden, I am the knowledge of those who know. Agastyasam . hitā 5.47 (Barkhuis 1995 II, 27): ‘For those who live, having realized that the self is eternal Rāma, there is no misdeed and no misfortune arising from a misdeed.’ 14 This is not to say, of course, that community did not exist in South Asia. But communities were basically founded in the social ramifications of caste and village. Though Stein rightly attributes a significant role to religion (worship) in the formation of communities on local and regional level (see below, p. 165), the postulated ‘segmentary state’ testifies eo ipso to the limitedness of the communities involved. Stein 1991: Community must be understood according to the usual English signification of being simultaneously a people and a place, rather than in its limited and debased usage as sub-caste or religious group. [. . . ] However, in addition to the sharing of sentiments and values, community is also about shared rights or entitlements over human and material resources. Thus, in its particularities and under conditions of premodern technology, community pertains to smaller, local spatial entities. The picture becomes more complicated when we take Buddhism into consideration. Already in an early stage Buddhism tended to extend the community of monks (saṅgha) to the community of all followers of the Buddhist faith. Consequently in that community the concept of the Bodhisattva, the one who temporarily sacrifices his own salvation for the benefit of all, could arise. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 62 Hans Bakker viction of a single, all-compassing and absolute divinity underlies this outward polytheism. 15 We shall investigate whether a change has recently been taking place in regard to this last point. For it appears that a tendency can be detected among the Hindu population today to define itself as the community of Hindus, and this tendency seems to be connected with a shift in emphasis which has brought the monotheistic aspect of Hinduism to the fore and given it tangible form. The advent of Islam Such tendencies generally have a long history. As has been shown in Lorenzen’s study (1978), Warrior Ascetics in Indian History, before the Muslim conquests India did not have any holy wars, either in the sense defined above or in the sense of ‘wars fought by holy men’. But with the introduction of Muslim rule in North India, a change takes place, although this does not directly result in a holy war. Hindus are obstructed in the observance of their religious practices, and the religious interests vested in temples and monasteries are threatened with confiscation or destruction. At the same time the advent of Islam leads to conflicts between Hindu Yogis and Muslim fak.ı̄rs (see above, p. 11), and the system of traditional education, which ensured the continuity of cultural and religious values, was seriously undermined. The state of affairs may be illustrated by a description of the razzia of Mah.mūd of Ghazni, who destroyed the great temple in Somnāth (Gujarat) in ad 1024–25. In the year 414 ah Mahmúd captured several forts and cities in Hind, and he also took the idol called Somnát. The idol was the greatest of all the idols of Hind. Every night that there was an eclipse the Hindus went on pilgrimage to the temple, and there congregated to the number of a hundred thousand persons. [. . . ] One thousand Brahmans attended every day to perform the worship of the idol, and to introduce the visitors. Three hundred persons were employed in shaving the heads and beards of the pilgrims. Three hundred and fifty persons sang and danced at the gate of the temple. Every one of these received a settled allowance daily. [. . . ] He reached Somnát on a Thursday in the middle of Zı́-l Ka-da, and there he beheld a strong fortress built upon the seashore, so that it was washed by the waves. [. . . ] Next morning, early, the Muhammadans renewed the battle, and made great havoc 15 For instance expressed in the Bhagavadgı̄tā: ‘There is nothing transcending me, O Dhanam . jaya: this universe is strung on me like pearls on a string’ (BhG 7.7). ‘I know all beings, past, present and those to come, O Arjuna, but no one knows me’ (BhG 7.26). ‘But there is another, Highest Person, who is referred to as the Supreme Soul: He is the eternal Lord who pervades this universe and sustains it.’ Cf. Chaudhuri 1980, 148 f.: In the foreground stands one object of faith for all Hindus. It is a genuine, monotheistic, personal God. [. . . ] Though he is a personal God, he is never thought of or spoken about as an anthropomorphic God in a physical form. [. . . ] Nevertheless, this Bhagavan has never been worshipped, nor has he ever been an object of regular prayer. [. . . ] Below this God there was the specific world of the Hindu gods [. . . ]. Cf. below, pp. 443 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 63 among the Hindus, till they drove them from the town to the house of their idol, Somnát. 16 It is a well-authenticated fact that when Mahmúd was about to destroy the idol, a crowd of Brahmans represented (to his nobles) that if he would desist from the mutilation they would pay several crores of gold coins into the treasury. [. . . ] Mahmúd replied: ‘I know this, but I desire that on the day of resurrection I should be summoned with the words, ‘Where is that Mahmúd who broke the greatest of the heathen idols?’ rather than by these: ‘Where is that Mahmúd who sold the greatest of the idols to the infidels for gold?’ 17 A dreadful slaughter followed at the gate of the temple. Band after band of the defenders entered the temple to Somnát, and with their hands clasped round their necks, wept and passionately entreated him. Then again they issued forth to fight until they were slain, and but few were left alive. [. . . ] This temple of Somnát was built upon fifty-six pillars of teak wood covered with lead. The idol itself was in a chamber. [Mahmúd] seized it, part of it he burnt, and part of it he carried away with him to Ghaznı́, where he made it a step at the entrance of the Jámi--masjid. The worth of what was found in the temple exceeded two millions of dinars, all of which was taken. The number of slain exceeded fifty thousand. 18 It is therefore hardly surprising that in the following centuries a number of groups of Hindus formed military organizations to defend such religious interests. However, significantly enough this process only appears to have taken place among groups which already formed a religious community, namely various orders of ascetics or monastic orders. Of course these were also the groups whose direct interests were particularly threatened. Resistance was naturally also offered by the Hindu kingdoms, but the resultant conflicts did not essentially differ from early wars between Hindu rulers themselves, as may also be illustrated by the fact that many Hindus served in the armies commanded by and fighting for Muslims. It is important to note that there never was a popular Hindu uprising against the new Muslim rule. The lack of unity within the Hindu world is even more apparent from the reports that have come down to us of the actions of these militarized orders (akhār.ās). The earliest battle known to us in which armed religious ascetics took part, in Thanesar, ad 1567, was between two Hindu orders (akhār.ās), and was motivated not by a desire to protect Hindu religious values but rather to secure the interests of one order against claims of a rival group. Abu -l-Faz.l has given us an eyewitness account in his Akbar Nāma. There are two parties among the Sanyāsı̄s (i.e. Śaiva ascetics): one is called Kur, and the other Pūrı̄. A quarrel arose among these two about the place of sitting. The asceticism of most of these men arises from the world’s having turned its back on them, and not from their having become coldhearted to the world. Consequently they are continually distressed and are overcome of lust and wrath, and 16 Ibn Ası́r’s Kámilu-t Tawárı́kh, Elliot and Dowson 1867–77 II, 468 f. 17 Mulla Ahmad Tattawı́’s Tárı́kh-i Alfı́, Elliot and Dowson 1867-77 II, 471 f. 18 Kámilu-t Tawárı́kh, Elliot and Dowson 1867-77 II, 470 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 64 Hans Bakker covetousness. The cause of the quarrel was that the Pūrı̄ sect had a fixed place on the bank of the tank where they sate and spread the net of begging. The pilgrims from the various parts of India who came there to bathe in the tank used to give them alms. On that day the Kur faction had come there in a tyrannical way and taken the place of the Pūrı̄s, and the latter were unable to maintain their position against them. [. . . ] The two sides drew up in line, and first one man on each side advanced in a braggart fashion, and engaged with swords. Afterwards bows and arrows were used. After that the Pūrı̄s attacked the Kurs with stones. [. . . ] The Kurs could not withstand them and fled. The Pūrı̄s pursued them and sent a number of the wretches to annihilation. 19 It is therefore clear that the case of these militarized ascetic orders (akhār.ās) falls under the first type of movement differentiated by Lorenzen (1978, 63), namely ‘a movement concerned with the protection of specific, local economic and social interests and privileges’. A larger framework which could have mobilized the Hindus as a single community against the new Muslim rule simply did not exist. The segregation of the Hindu and Muslim communities The idea of the Rāma rājya To trace developments further we will now turn to a particular religious centre, situated centrally in northern India: the city of Ayodhyā. The sacredness of this town was (and is) founded on the belief that in the distant past the god Vis.n.u was born there as the son of King Daśaratha. This particular incarnation of Vis.n.u is named Rāma. This belief belongs to the cultural heritage of every Hindu. The story of Vis.n.u’s avatāra as Rāma is told in the ancient Sanskrit epic Rāmāyan.a, as well as in countless later, vernacular versions of that story. The figure of Rāma has developed into the archetype of the just king in Indian culture, the ruler who brings happiness and prosperity to all his subjects. He is introduced in the Rāmāyan.a 1.1.2–4 as follows. Who is there in this world today who is virtuous? Who is mighty (heroic), knows the dharma, is grateful (kr.tajña), speaks the truth and firmly keeps his vows? Who is possessed of good conduct, and who is well-disposed towards all living beings? Who is wise, who is skilful, and who alone is beautiful to behold? Who is selfcontrolled and has conquered (his) wrath; who is wise and free from envy? For whom do (even) the gods feel fear when his fury is roused in battle? The answer to all these questions is of course King Rāma. His rule, popularly called Rāma rājya, as depicted in the Rāmāyan.a and later literature, represents the ideal society, and Rāma himself personifies simultaneously the ideal king and God. The sixteenth century Rāmacaritamānasa describes his divine reign thus: 19 Abu -l-Faz.l’s Akbar Nāma (transl. Beveridge), Vol. II, 423. Cf. Lorenzen 1978, 68 f.; Pinch 2006, 28 ff.; Clark 2006, 62. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 65 When Rāma sat upon his sovereign throne, the three spheres rejoiced and there was no more sorrow. No man was any other’s enemy, and under Rāma’s royal influence all ill-feeling was laid aside. Everyone devoted himself to his duty in accordance with his caste and stage of life, and ever found happiness in treading the Vedic path. Fear and sorrow and sickness were no more. [. . . ] Sole monarch of the land engirdled by seven seas was Raghupati (i.e. Rāma) in Kosala—no great dominion for him in each of whose several hairs dwelt many a universe. [. . . ] The bliss and prosperity of Rāma’s realm neither Serpent King nor Sarasvatı̄ can describe. All who dwelt therein were generous and charitable and did humble service to the Brāhmans. Each husband was true to one wife, and each wife was loyal to her husband in thought and word and deed. 20 As I have attempted to demonstrate elsewhere, the religious cult of this incarnation of Vis.n.u only assumes significant proportions in the period that saw the forces of Islam threatening to destroy Hindu society, many centuries after the formation of the Rāmāyan.a itself (Bakker 1986; 1987). It is only in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that Ayodhyā develops into a pilgrimage centre in which the spot where Rāma was born, the Rāmajanmabhūmi, is the main attraction. A coincidence? Or is there some intrinsic connection between the Muslim invasions and the rise in importance of this god-king as a symbol for traditional Hindu values? In any case, there can be no doubt that as the time-honoured model of justice (dharma) and of regal fame and power (ks.atra), Rāma was remarkably well suited to develop into a symbol of the struggle against the forces that undermined traditional Hindu society and its values. 21 It is not possible to go further into this problem here; for our present purpose it is sufficient to remark that in the course of the second millennium Rāma, together with his birth-place Ayodhyā, came to occupy an increasingly important and central role in Hinduism. Until the end of Great Moghul rule, that is to say till the beginning of the eighteenth century, Ayodhyā was the capital of one of the provinces of the Muslim empire in northern India. In consequence, Hindu sects had few rights to defend in the city. Pilgrimage was tolerated, but the cream of the profits from it was taken by the Muslim rulers in the form of a tax on pilgrims. It was forbidden to build temples or monasteries of more than a certain dimension in the city, and the existing temples fell into decay and disappeared or were replaced by mosques. The latter happened to the temple on the alleged spot of Rāma’s birth, which dated to the early eleventh century. This small temple was replaced by a mosque, the so-called Babri Masjid, in ad 1528, during the reign of the first Moghul emperor, Bābur, 22 a deed of far-reaching consequences. 20 Tulsı̄ Dās, Rāmacaritamānasa (Uttarakhanda Cau. 18.4–Cau. 21.4), transl. W. Douglas P. Hill. 21 See also Freitag 1989, 30 f. 22 Bakker 1986 I, 44 f., 133 f., II, 146 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 66 Hans Bakker The Kingdom of Avadh After the death of Aurangzeb in ad 1707, central Muslim rule in northern India was weakened to such an extent that regional and local rulers could found small independent kingdoms. Ayodhyā became the capital of the virtually independent kingdom of Avadh, ruled by the former governor of the Moghul province, the nawāb Sa,ādat Khān, a Shiite Muslim of Persian descent. However, the power of the rulers of Avadh had been weakened so much that the execution of their authority came to lie more and more in the hands of allied Hindu leaders and landowners. Even the military power of the Islamic nawābs of Avadh was partly dependent on the services of Hindu ascetics. 23 The logical outcome of this situation was that Muslim authority lost its control over the activities in and around the Hindu holy places. The organization and management of the birth-city of Rāma came into the hands of Hindu monastic orders, who did not hesitate to use force in order to drive one another from economically lucrative spots. A Vais.n.ava source describes the situation as follows. At that time [. . . ] when the occasion of Rāma’s birth came, people went to Kosalapur (i.e. Ayodhyā) and assembled there—who can describe the enormous crowd? At that place there was an unlimited (number of) strong warriors in sam . nyāsin garb, carrying weapons, with matted hair and ashes smeared on every limb—an unlimited army of soldiers taking pleasure in battle. Fighting with the vairāgins broke out. This fight was of no avail (to the vairāgins), owing to lack of strategy. [. . . ] They made a mistake by going there towards them; the vairāgin garb became a source of misery. All people dressed in vairagin garb fled—through fear of them (scil. sam . nyāsins) Avadhpur was abandoned. Wherever they (scil. sam . nyāsins) happened to find people in vairāgin garb, there they struck great fear into them. Through fear of them everyone was frightened and wherever they could they took shelter in a secret place and hid themselves. They changed their dress and hid their sectarian markings—no one showed his proper identity. 24 Inevitably, the Vais.n.ava orders armed themselves too. The evolving military orders were organized on the model of their Śaiva counterparts, into akhār.ās, ‘wrestling-schools’, and during the eighteenth century their fort-like monasteries appeared throughout North India. One of these orders succeeded in wresting the control over some of the important holy places in Ayodhyā from their Śaiva adverseries. And as a reward for services rendered to the Nawāb of Avadh—a Shiite, as remarked above—the Vais.n.avas were even granted permission to build a fort-monastery at a mere 700 meters distance from the Babri Masjid. This so-called ‘Fort of Hanumān’, the Hanumāngar.hı̄, has remained the most important and frequently visited monastery-cum-temple in Ayodhyā until today (Bakker 1990c). 23 Sarkar 1958, 123 ff.; Barnett 1980, 56 f. 24 Śrı̄mahārājacaritra of Raghunātha Prasāda, pp. 42 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 67 Plate 2 Ayodhyā: Hanumāngar.hı̄ (before 1870) Plate 3 Ayodhyā: Monks of the Hanumāngar.hı̄ (before 1870) Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 68 Hans Bakker For our subject, it is important to keep in mind that even in this period of religious turmoil and anarchy the conflict still remained internal, and is limited to certain local centres. There still was no common Hindu attack on the strongholds of Islam, as represented for instance by the Babri Masjid at the Rāmajanmabhūmi. It is true that religious interests and emotions played a major part in these conflicts, but the fight was hardly, if at all, inspired by religious ideology. Nor was there as yet any mobilization of the Hindu masses which did not belong to any organisation of ascetics or monks. The emerging conflict around the Babri Masjid in Ayodhyā It is interesting to observe that while official Muslim authority in North India continued to weaken during the nineteenth century and became more and more dependent on the support of the Hindu aristocracy, the political contrast between Muslim rulers and Hindu subjects changed in character and focus and began to take the form of a religious conflict which both sides attempted to decide in their favour by all means, including the use of force. It should of course be remembered that by that time the Muslim segment of the population was no longer confined to the ruling classes, since large groups from lower strata of the Hindu society had converted to Islam. This new development, the religious conflict that was to take such a threatening form in the twentieth century, both under British Rule and in the post-colonial period, can be traced and illustrated with reference to the events in Ayodhyā. On the eve of Britain’s annexation of Avadh, while the ruler of Avadh, Wājid ,Alı̄ Shāh, was already no more than a puppet of the British, groups of Sunnis rose in protest against the permissive attitude of their Islamic government. They demanded to be allowed to build a mosque on the site of the Hanumāngar.hı̄. 25 Inevitably, this resulted in a direct conflict with the ascetics of the fort-monastery. Despite attempts by British troops, with the sanction of Wājid ,Alı̄ Shāh, to separate the combatants, fighting broke out between Hindus and Muslims, and the Muslims were forced to retreat into the Babri Masjid on Rāma’s Birthplace. The Hindus stormed the mosque and seventy Muslims were killed, after which Hindu wrath turned against the Muslim population of the city and led to large-scale plundering. A considerable number of Muslims, led by militant mullahs, gathered from all parts of Avadh and proclaimed jihād against the Hindus of Ayodhyā. Feelings ran high, and the situation grew ever more explosive—partly because Hindus slaughtered a number of pigs on the day of the burial of the Muslims who died in the Babri Masjid—and this resulted in the first direct confrontation between Hindu and Muslim populations as such. The Islamic campaign set out from Lucknow, the new capital of Avadh, under command of the Maulvi Amı̄r ud-Dı̄n alias Amı̄r ,Alı̄, who was hailed 25 Bhatnagar 1968, 117 ff. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 69 as the fifth imām. Despite desperate attempts on the part of Wājid ,Alı̄ Shāh, who had the jihād pronounced unlawful by both a Shiite and a Sunna court, Amı̄r ,Alı̄ continued his march, leaving a wake of destruction. But before this mob reached Ayodhyā, they were intercepted by government troops under British command. Consultations ensued with the lawful Muslim authorities in Lucknow, in the course of which the British far-sightedly pointed out that if the rebellious Muslims were permitted to build their mosque on the site of the Hanumāngar.hı̄, chaos would immediately result, with the Hindus in their turn claiming their rights to the holy places now occupied by mosques in Ayodhyā, Benares etc. But the consultations and all attempts at negotiation yielded no result, and finally the jihād of Amı̄r ,Alı̄ ended before the British cannons of Captain Barlow. Four or five hundred Muslims perished, Amı̄r ,Alı̄ among them. Two months later, in February 1857, Avadh was annexed by the English, who eventually ‘put up a railing around the Babri Masjid to prevent disputes’. 26 Plate 4 Ayodhyā: Babri Masjid (before 1870) This harrowing episode clearly shows that large-scale conflicts between Hindus and Muslims did not directly spring from the historical situation of an Islamic 26 Carnegy 1870, 21; for this episode see also Bhatnagar 1968; Bakker 1986 II, 147 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 70 Hans Bakker ruling class and an oppressed Hindu population. The religious conflict only took the form of popular movements when Muslim authority was about to topple and both segments of the population attempted to take the law into their own hands. With the restoration of government control and the emergence of the modern state, these movements subsequently became increasingly directed against public authority, which they tried to undermine, no matter whether this authority was exercised by British colonial power or the democratically chosen government of the Republic of India. 27 From a core of a small number of Sunni mullahs and trained Hindu ascetics, the awareness of being a group with common religious beliefs that differ fundamentally from those of the opposing group spreaded out among both the Hindu and Muslim population during the nineteenth and twentieth century. In other words, the feeling of ‘community’ arose also within the Hindu population, stimulated, among other things, by the regularly recurrent conflicts around the spot of Rāma’s birth, the Babri Masjid. An additional factor was that in accordance with British colonial policy the Hindus were now officially defined as a separate category from the Muslim segment of the population. In connection with the colonial census reports, the individual citizen was compelled, for the first time in the history of India, to explicitly state whether he was of the Hindu or Muslim faith. The combination of such factors meant that Hindus of all castes and sects were forced to reflect on what made them Hindus and distinguished them from their Islamic fellow citizens. 28 With the restoration of central rule by the colonial authorities, the role of the armed Hindu ascetics was greatly diminished. Some of them served as mercenaries in the colonial army, and some were of assistance to the authorities in times of crisis, such as the Rebellion of 1857, 29 but they played no further important role as a military power. Instead one could say that their militant character gradually spread over the Hindu population in general. The most gruesome consequence of this development (so far at least) took place during the period of de-colonization, when British India fell apart into two states: the secular state of India and the Islamic Pakistan. This ‘partition’ was accompanied by massacres, carried out by both sides, which are estimated to have cost half a million lives. But even after the secession of Pakistan some 40 million Muslims remained inhabitants of the state of India, a number which had already doubled in 1981. 30 Since the secession India has fought two wars with Pakistan, and the present unrest in Kashmir could be the prelude of a third. 27 On similar processes in Islam, cf. Lawrence 1990, 240. 28 In this connexion it is significant that the term (and concept) ‘Hinduism’ was first intro- duced by the missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society in Bengal at the beginning of the 19th century (Ward 1817, 348, 427), for lack of an adequate indigenous term. See van den Bosch 1990, 18. 29 Especially the descendants of Gosāı̄n Umrāvgiri (Pinch 2006, 2290; Fyz. Gaz. 163). 30 According to the 2011 Census of India Muslims comprise about 14% of the total population of India. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 71 Nonetheless such wars between states, fought over territorial disputes, should not be called ‘holy wars’, also because Hindus, Muslims and even Sikhs have fought on both sides in them. Ayodhyā: a Hindu Jerusalem For our present subject it is more fruitful to look at the current situation in India—which, it must not be forgotten, is a secular state. This situation is characterized by the disintegration of the population into several sections whose identity is chiefly based on religious beliefs. This is generally referred to as ‘communalism’. In regard to the Muslim segment, a world-wide tendency towards fundamentalism has undoubtedly played a role in India too. Numerous accusations have been made by Hindus that Islamic organizations in India are being financially supported by the Arab oil-producing nations. Another danger is of course seen in Pakistan, which is said to aim at destabilizing India via the Islamic population; particularly by fanning the flames of Sikh violence in the Panjab and, most recently, by causing the turmoil in Kashmir. These geo-political factors have no doubt strengthened the self-awareness of the Hindus as forming one community. A common ideology, which could (and increasingly does) unite the still largely fragmented Hindu population under a single banner, has been developed on the basis of the mythology of the Rāmāyan.a. In this ideology, Rāma is the deity who in the past created and ruled the ideal state here on earth. Through the inevitable process of historical decline, this state has since disappeared, but can, if all Hindus were to unite in working towards it, be recreated in the future. This new utopic reign, the Rāma rājya, which will of course encompass only the Hindu faithful, may be compared with the eschatological ideal of the civitas dei reified in the reconquered earthly Jerusalem. 31 For the Hindu believer of the present, a holy place like Ayodhyā or Braj (associated with Vis.n.u’s incarnation as Kr.s.n.a) is more than a sacred remembrance of the past; it is an actual hierophany of the paradise of Vis.n.u/Rāma/Kr.s.n.a. The holy spots in Ayodhyā represent the manifest (prakat.a) forms of transcendent (aprakat.a) archetypes in the paradise Vaikun.t.ha (see above, p. 19). The occupation of the central and most holy site by a mosque is therefore a direct encroachment on the holy or divine itself. From such a point of view, the fight for control of Rāma’s Birthplace can be seen as a divine fight. A historical, religious ideal is transformed into a political programme. 32 31 For St. Augustine the New Jerusalem was not a historical geographic reality, but the City of God situated at the end of time. In the eleventh century, however, when Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade, this idea became reified in the actual Jerusalem that only awaited emancipation from its desecration by the Gentiles (i.e. Muslims). (Robertus Monachus 1866, 729). 32 Cf. Riesebrodt 1990, 243. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 72 Hans Bakker The ideology which aims at restoring Rāma’s rule in its pure form by eliminating the profane encroachments on it has become a politic factor of increasing importance, particularly in North India, where the oppositions between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs are most deeply felt, and where, as we have seen, the historical developments took place which gave the Hindu community its cohesion. This ideology is connected with the attempts on the part of fundamentalist Hindu groups, such as the Rastriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to make India a national Hindu state (Hindū Rās..tra), just as Pakistan is an Islamic state and Khalistan a wished-for Sikh state. 33 On the religious level this ideology has led to the monotheistic aspect of Hinduism being articulated and assuming tangible, personal form, embodied by Rāma. It is in this light that the exorbitant success of the Rāmāyan.a television series should be seen. This series enthralled the Hindu population to such an extent that riots broke out when power-failures interrupted television-reception, and a television-station was stormed when the series (already stretched as far as human ingenuity could manage) finally came to an end without a sequel, ‘the later deeds of Rāma’ (a kind of Uttararāmacarita) being announced. As the re-capture of Jerusalem was the central theme in the ideology of the Christian crusades, so the re-possessing of Rāma’s Birthplace, the Rāmajanmabhūmi, gradually came to be central in this newly developed Hindu ideology. 34 As we have seen, after the annexation of Avadh the English erected a fence around the Babri Masjid to prevent Hindus and Muslims from fighting over the spot. This policy was continued by the government of independent India. Hindus and Muslims alike were prohibited from entering the mosque. It is neither possible nor necessary to discuss all the incidents that took place around this holy spot in the last hundred years. It should however be mentioned that in 1949, in the aftermath of the partition, the Hindus succeeded in installing an 33 For more information on the history and background of the RSS see Anderson and Damle 1987. Though it is not the aim of the present paper to depict the rise of Hindu fundamentalism, several tendencies indicated here are evidently at the core of the fundamentalist world-view as described by Riesebrodt 1990, 214 ff. Cf. also Freitag 1989. 34 In the early phase of Hindu fundamentalism (as embodied in the RSS) the ‘liberation’ of Rāma’s Birthplace in Ayodhyā did not yet take a special place. Gradually it was realized however, that to combine fundamentalist aims with a pilgrim’s goal like Ayodhyā had unparalleled mass-mobilizing potential. A similar process seems to have taken place in the history of the crusades: Der Einfluß des Pilgerwesens, wenn nicht auf die Entstehung, so doch auf den Character schon der ersten kriegerischen Orientfahrten der Abendländer ist bekanntlich sehr stark gewesen, und die Verbindung von Wallfahrt und Heidenkrieg kann geradezu als typisch für die gesamte Kreuzzugbewegung gelten. Den Anstoß dazu hat wiederum Urban II. gegeben, indem er das Wallfahrerziel Jerusalem zum Marschziel der geplanten Orientexpedition bestimmte. Daß Urban Jerusalem in seinen Kreuzzugplan aufnahm, ist wahrscheinlich aus Gründen der Werbung geschehen, denn—wie Erdmann überzeugend hat nachweisen können—sah Urban den Zweck der Orientexpedition nicht in der Eroberung Jerusalems, sondern allgemeiner in der Befreiung der Orientalischen Kirchen. (Noth 1966, 128) Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 73 image of Rāma and his wife Sı̄tā inside the mosque. As may be understood, this again led to serious riots between the Muslims and Hindus, and numerous legal actions were undertaken by both sides. The judge finally decreed that during the lengthy process of legal settlement the mosque should remain closed. The fight for the Rāmajanmabhūmi/Babri Masjid In this way all went relatively well until 1984. In that year the fundamentalist Hindu organization Visva Hindu Parisad (VHP), a sister organization of the RSS, starts a new campaign to ‘liberate’ the Birthplace of Rāma, that is to say, to pull down the mosque and replace it by a large Hindu temple. 35 This movement scores its first success in 1986, when a lawyer from the neighbouring city of Faizabad procures a court judgement which declares the closure of the mosque to be legally unfounded. The gate of the fence is opened, and a stream of Hindus enters the mosque to worship the idol of Rāma which has remained there all these years. As may be imagined, with the VHP growing more and more successful and winning more and more adherents, a large number of politicians seek to connect themselves with this popular movement. In particular, right-wing Hindu politicians united in the Indian People’s Party (BJP) expect—rightly, as has since emerged—to be swept to political power on the shoulders of this massmovement. On the Muslim side, a national action committee is started to protect the Babri Masjid. The ruling Congress Party of Rajiv Gandhi, which traditionally is dependent to a high degree on votes of the Islamic section of the population, desperately tries to avoid the looming Scylla and Charybdis by portraying itself as the defender of India as a secular and united state. This tight-rope feat becomes increasingly difficult, however, as the polarization of Hindus and Muslims continues. In the election-year 1989 the VHP, supported by the politicians of the BJP, make a brilliant move. In order to mobilise as large a mass of Hindus as possible for the ‘liberation’ of Rāma’s Birthplace, a new campaign to replace the mosque by a temple is launched. The model for this was Somnāth, where, after the destruction of the Hindu temple by Mah.mūd of Ghazni, and despite the razing of later rebuildings by Muslim rulers, a large Hindu temple had recently been erected. The idea behind the campaign was that action committees should be formed in all cities and villages with more than two thousand inhabitants, to consecrate a number of bricks in accordance with Vedic ritual. These bricks, consecrated in long and elaborate ceremonies (always something capable of rousing Hindu enthusiasm), should then be brought in procession to Ayodhyā, and, after much orthodox ceremony surrounding the laying of the first stone on the site of the mosque, should then be used to build the new temple. This campaign may be said to have been largely successful. 35 As described in van der Veer 1987, this campaign found little support from the monaster- ies and temples in Ayodhyā itself, which feared that the turmoil involved would endanger their own income. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 74 Hans Bakker When I visited India in the autumn of 1989, the election-campaign was in full swing, and the disputed Babri Masjid in Ayodhyā had become its central and dominant theme. The leaders of the Indian People’s Party openly backed the brick-campaign of the VHP. All over the country bricks were being consecrated with much pomp and ceremony. Plate 5 Nasik: Consecration of bricks for the Rāmajanmabhūmi Temple The processions bearing the consecrated bricks often passed through districts and villages inhabited by Muslims, and this frequently led to bloody riots. Rajiv Gandhi’s ruling Congress Party was put under so much pressure that it finally gave in and gave permission for the first stone of the planned temple to be laid on 9 November 1989, 60 meters in front of the gate of the mosque. A total of 300,000 consecrated bricks streamed into Ayodhyā, and hundreds of people died, frequently in horrific fashion, in the ensuing violence. A curfew was imposed in many places, including Benares. Hindu youths marched provocatively through the streets, chanting slogans like the following: Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 75 That Hindu whose blood does not boil has water in his veins, youth that does not serve Rāmajanmabhūmi is youth lived in vain. 36 An illustration of the clashes that resulted is provided by the occurrences in Bhagalpur, a fairly ordinary village in Bihar, as reported in the Indian press (Hitavada 19-11-1989). It was Friday, October 27: the Muslims had just said their prayers in the newly built makeshift mosque when they found themselves surrounded from all sides by fierce mobs. One pretext trotted up by them was the presence of a Rajpur imām to read the namāz. ‘Why bring an outsider’, they asked. The Muslims explained there was nobody educated enough in the village to preside over the Friday prayers, but the mob wouldn’t listen. The scared Muslims gathered in the house of Minnat Mian, the only building without a thatched roof that would not collapse when torched. Later in the afternoon, the local head of police along with some policemen made their appearance and assured them safety. Meanwhile, houses in the Muslim quarter had begun being set ablaze with both sides exchanging brickbats. ‘My hands were aching, we had hurled so many stones’, recalled Suleiman. When night fell, the stone throwing stopped but the houses continued to burn. Suleiman and a few others managed to escape to Rajpur but the rest stayed put in Minnat Mian’s house. One escapee was killed, but late in the evening an army contigent arrived. The army officer personally counted the number of people sheltering in the house and handed over charge to the local policemen, leaving word that he would return next morning to remove them elsewhere. When he did, almost all of them were dead. It was the silence of the graveyard. Fundamentalist organizations sanction the use of force on the part of the Hindus. A statement is issued saying that (Hitavada 13-11-1989): [The laying of the foundation stone] is the result of sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of Hindus over centuries to redeem Ramajanmabhumi and establish the temple. ‘The restoration of the Birthplace of Rama’ is symbolic of re-establishment of our national pride just as the reconstruction of the great Somnāth temple was. Nor are any scruples felt about annexing and misusing, not to say abusing, the spiritual legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in support of the new ideology (Hitavada): ‘When Mahatma Gandhi envisaged freedom, he dreamt of and defined the independence as “Rama rajya.” His whole life was inspired by Lord Rama.’ 37 The Times of India (7-11-1989) rightly remarks in a commentary that: 36 jis hindū kā khūn na khaule, khūn nahı̄m . vah pānı̄ hai | janmabhūmi ke kām na aye, vah bekār javānı̄ hai k (India Today October 31, 1989, 29). 37 The nature of this ‘abuse’ can be illustrated when we apply the typology of ‘religious revivalist movements’ proposed by M. Riesebrodt 1990, 18 ff. Riesebrodt reduces this type of movements to a ‘Krisenbewußtsein’ as a result of ‘rapider sozialer Wandel’, but he distinguishes two types of response. In search of authenticity both responses make an appeal to a ‘göttliches Gesetz, eine Offenbarung oder auf eine ideale Urgemeinde’ (e.g. the Rāma rājya). Doch kann dieses Anknüpfen an eine ursprungliche ideale Ordnung mythisch oder Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 76 Hans Bakker There is hardly a village where the consecration of bricks for Rama’s temple has not been held. And almost everywhere the ceremony has evoked a popular response. Lord Rama and his controversial Birthplace is fast becoming a Hindu symbol, as no previous ones, uniting co-religionists across caste barriers. In the elections of late November 1989 the Congress Party is defeated. Particularly in North India, where the new Hindu movement was most successful, the opposition inflicts a crushing defeat on Rajiv Gandhi’s party. The Indian People’s Party BJP rockets from 2 to 88 seats in the newly elected Loksabhā (parliament). This trend is continued in the state-elections in early March 1990: the BJP even acquires an absolute majority in the state-parliaments of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. A year after the first stone of the temple on Rāma’s Birthplace was laid, the question flares up again. Hundreds of thousands of ‘temple-builders’ (kār sevaks) are called upon by the VHP and other fundamentalist Hindu groups to march on Ayodhyā. The leader of the BJP, Lal Advani, places himself at the head of this procession in ‘Rāma’s Vehicle’ (Rām rāth) and is promptly arrested. Tens of thousands of soldiers seal off Ayodhyā. Photos of inflamed Hindus waving flags on the domes of the Babri Masjid make the front pages of newspapers all over the world. The whole country is in the grip of the struggle around the mosque in Ayodhyā. The secular and unitary state of India seems about to founder; the population, incited by religious emotions, seems deaf to reason, and the minority-government of the People’s Front (Janata Dal)— together with the BJP the main winners of the 1989 election—seems helpless and at a loss. The BJP withdraws its support from the minority-cabinet of V.P. Singh and precipitates yet another government crisis. Like his predecessor Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh had endeavoured to remain neutral in this conflict between members of two faiths, but he too is brought down by the new Hindu fundamentalism. In December 1990 communal disturbances and riots claim hundreds of lives. Noteworthy is the fact that the disturbances clearly are spreading to the south as well. ‘Temple-builders’ are arrested in large numbers. Ayodhyā becomes a military fortress, and new fortifications in the shape of a wire-fence and barbed wire are placed around the mosque. The new minority-government, led by utopisch ausgerichtet sein. Als Mythos hat sie die Funktion einer restaurativen Krisenbewältigung. Das ‘Goldene Zeitalter’ soll durch Rückkehr zu seinen wörtlich tradierten Ordnungsprinzipien wiederhergestellt werden. Als Utopie dagegen dient die ideale Ordnung zu einer ‘progressiven’ sozialreformerischen oder sozialrevolutionären Krisenbewältigung. Nicht den Buchstaben, sondern den ‘Geist’ der in der Vergangenheit einmal verwirklichten idealen Ordnung gilt es unter neuen Bedingungen zu realisieren. Demzufolge ist das ‘mythische’ Denken tendenziell durch eine rigide Gesetzethik, das ‘utopische’ Denken dagegen durch eine radikale Gesinnungsethik gekennzeichnet. (op. cit. 20) It is clear that Mahatma Gandhi exemplifies the ‘utopic’ type of movement, whereas the movement described here should be classified as ‘mythic’. Riesebrodt proposes to restrict the use of the term ‘fundamentalism’ to the latter type of movement. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 4 / Ayodhyā: A Hindu Jerusalem 77 prime minister Chandra Shekhar and formed out of a faction of the Janata Dal, is completely dependent on the support of the Congress Party and seems about to fall at any moment. The idealized image referred to at the beginning of this article of a country and culture in which peace-loving tendencies are stronger than elsewhere, seems more than ever to be a mirage. 38 Epilogue Our conclusions may be summarized as follows. During a process of interaction with Islam, a new Hindu self-awareness gradually emerges, particularly in North India. This self-awareness draws heavily on the mythological material of the Rāmāyan.a. The worship of Rāma as the highest, personal God becomes ever more prominent. Hindus of other sects also increasingly partake in this movement, so that a shift in emphasis appears to take place towards the more monotheistic aspects of Hinduism. Related to this, the feeling of belonging to a single (religious) community spreads during the nineteenth and twentieth century from the militant monastery orders to large sections of the population. The myth of King Rāma provides a new utopic ideal of a summum bonum here on earth: the Rāma rājya. The first step towards the realization of this ideal is seen in a very concrete action, which inspires violent emotions: the ‘liberation’ of Rāma’s Birthplace in Ayodhyā. This goal not only unites Hindus of all castes all over the country, but also provides an effective instrument to harass the Muslim population, which is regarded as the major hindrance with regard to the realization of this ideal, and as an encroachment on the holy order. The result is large-scale disturbances which result in the death of large numbers of Hindus and Muslims. By imposing strict measures the state-authorities and the central government in Delhi just manage to prevent an outright civil war. India has known countless wars, but none of them can be called ‘holy war’ in the sense defined here. The developments sketched above, however, have led to the incorporation into Hinduism of a number of elements which have been associated with the idea of a ‘holy war’. These elements are: 1 The formation of an exclusive community of Hindus who share the desire for a common good. 2 A shift in religious emphasis towards a single, personal, God, Rāma. 3 A tendency to see Islam and its adherents as agents of evil (which may be described as demonization of the enemy). 4 The regarding of Hindus who perish during conflicts with Muslims as victims for the common weal. The question may be asked whether Hinduism is developing into a monotheistic-like religion. As a rule historians rightly refrain from making 38 The Babri Masjid was eventually destroyed on December 6, 1992, provoking another round of acrimonious Muslim–Hindu antagonism. Cf. also below, p. 485. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 78 Hans Bakker predictions about the future, and I too will not attempt to answer this question. We may conclude then merely by remarking that, though Hinduism has proved in the past to be a religion not prone to holy wars, recent developments in Indian society unfortunately have made the prospect of a holy war between Hindus and Muslims seem only too real and close. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access The Ramtek Inscriptions I ∗ Introduction The hill of Ramtek (21◦ 28´ N, 79◦ 28´ E), c. 45 km NE of Nagpur (Maharashtra), merits special attention because it appears to be one of the few places in India where an uninterrupted historical development from the fourth century ad to the present day can be investigated through a series of archaeological monuments which, although partly restored or built over in later periods, seem never to have been exposed to destructive and iconoclastic forces. From at least the fifth century onwards the hill, also known as Rāmagiri, Sindūragiri, or Tapam . giri (Tapogiri), served as a regional centre of religious activity and, probably, also had a more secular function as an outstanding strategic base controlling the highway that connected, and still connects, the central and eastern part of the basin of the Ganges with the northern Deccan. This could possibly explain, at least in part, why the religious structures on top of the hill have attracted the attention and care of the rulers of the area from a very early date. Archaeological explorations in the Nagpur Plain during the last two decades have brought to light a great number of interesting sites belonging to the culture of the Vākāt.akas (fourth-fifth centuries), notably Nagardhan and adjacent Hamlapuri (7 km south of Ramtek), generally considered to be the area of the Vākāt.aka capital, Nandivardhana. In Hamlapuri, a splendid collection of Buddhist bronzes was recently found which seems to prove, in the words of Jamkhedkar, ‘that Buddhism was a living faith under the Brahmanical Vākāt.akas’. 1 Whereas other Vākāt.aka centres of culture fell into decay and were gradually obliterated, 2 Ramtek survived and to date still has four intact and one impaired Vākāt.aka temples (four of them still containing the original idol), besides a small cave-temple and a cave-reclusory, probably also dating back to this period. Moreover, at least one stone tank situated on the top of ∗ The first version of this article with the title The Ramtek Inscriptions was published in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. LII, Part 3 (1989), 467–496. 1 Jamkhedkar 1985b, 18. 2 Nagardhan: IAR 1981–82, 49 f.; IAR, 1982–83, 137; Jamkhedkar 1987a, 339. Mandal: IAR 1975–76, 36; IAR 1976–77, 39. Mansar: Nagpur Gazetteer 57, 303; Hunter 1934; Mirashi 1959, 22. Nagara: IAR 1979–80, 56; IAR 1980–81, 40; IAR 1981–82, 49. Markandi: Jamkhedkar 1974. Paunar: Mirashi in CII V, 23 ff.; Deo and Dhavalikar 1968; Jamkhedkar 1985a. 79 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 80 Hans Bakker the hill appears to preserve very old cloister constructions which could likewise go back to the Vākāt.aka period. In addition, the hill and its immediate surroundings contain at least one undamaged temple that may go back to the Cālukya period (the Kālikā Temple c. 200 m NW of the hill), and temples and tanks constructed during the Yādava period (twelfth–thirteenth centuries), the Vijayanagara period (fifteenth–sixteenth centuries), as well as the Mārāt.ha period (eighteenth century and later). In view of this astonishing richness in historical monuments, it is surprising to discover that the hill has been systematically ignored in all standard works dealing with the history of Indian art and architecture. 3 In two articles the present author has described the archaeological remains of Ramtek Hill on the basis of an inventory made during field-work in November 1986 and has evaluated the historical development of the religious structure of the Ramtek complex by making use of this inventory. 4 Among the collected data are several inscriptions which could be only referred to in the abovementioned articles, but which deserve a more detailed treatment. This is the purpose of the present paper. For an historical evaluation of the religious content of these inscriptions the reader is referred to the second of the two articles (Bakker 1990b). To the best of my knowledge there are four Sanskrit inscriptions to be found in temples on the Ramtek Hill, as well as two ancient pieces of graffiti. Three inscriptions and the graffiti are found on the walls and pillars of one of the two Narasim . ha temples, the so-called Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple; the other lengthy inscription is found in the Laks.man.a Temple. The latter has been published by Mirashi and Kulkarni in Epigraphia Indica, xxv (1939-40), 7– 20. However, that edition does not attempt to restore the original metrical composition of the text, nor is a translation given. The publication of the oldest inscription, found in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple, cannot be presented here. Its publication is envisaged by the Archaeological Survey of India, and here we can only note what has been published about it so far. In a recent article Jamkhedkar observed: During conservation (i.e. of the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple), an inscription, covered with lime plaster, was discovered on the temple wall beneath the thick layers of white wash. This 14-line record in nail-headed Gupta Brahmi characters, caused to be carved by Prabhavati Gupta herself, refers to the god as Prabhavati svamin. On the basis of the internal evidence the temple as well as the image can be dated to c. 415–425 ad [. . . ] The presence of a cluster of stone temples enshrining different avatāras of Vis.n.u (viz. Trivikrama, Varāha) at Ramtek has established beyond doubt the prevalence of a Bhāgavata cult on parallel lines with that popular in the Gupta court. On architectural, sculptural and epigraphical evidence these can be 3 I looked in vain in Cousens 1931, Brown 1976, Deglurkar 1974, Verma 1973, Deshpande 1985, Huntington 1985, Harle 1986. A short treatment of two of the Vākāt.aka temples is found in Williams 1983, 225–27. 4 Bakker 1989c and Bakker 1990b. See also Bakker 1997. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 81 firmly dated at least to the first quarter of the fifth century ad. The stylistic characteristic observed in the images of Vis.n.u found at Nagra, Nandapuri (Ramtek) and Mandhal suggest that on art historical considerations, the introduction of Vais.n.avism in the Vidarbha area can be further pushed back, at least by half a century. 5 One may add that the other Narasim . ha temple, which is referred to as the Rudra–Narasim ha Temple, and is not far from the first, seems to be older still. . It is similar to the first in construction as well as in having the huge Narasim . ha idol installed (cf. below, Plates 56 and 57). It is, however, less refined, lacking the two small windows and the ornamentation along the doorposts and on the outer walls. However, it has eight ‘firepits’ (?) (kun.d.as) along its sides, above which are small pedestals constructed against the temple wall on which, originally, dikpāla deities may have been installed. Two fragments of such images have been found and are at present stored in the Central Nagpur Museum. If the statement of Jamkhedkar quoted above proves to be correct, we should assign the earliest Narasim . ha temple to the beginning of the fifth century. However, stylistic considerations would favour a somewhat later dating, say, the middle or second half of the fifth century, a date to which the two pieces of graffiti also seem to point. 6 The graffiti The first graffito is found on a square pillar at the temple entrance. It is written in Deccani-style characters with solid triangular head-marks (Plate 6). The letter-forms, which show a tendency to roundedness, resemble the scripts of the Deccan of the fifth-century Vākāt.akas and Kadambas. 7 The inscription reads: śrı̄madanalobha, evidently the name of one of the early visitors. The other graffito is found on the left square pillar that stands in front of the cella (Plate 7). Its characters show a mixture of solid triangular and block head-marks and have notches in the horizontal bars. 8 The last quadrangular letter with a dot inside resembles the tha of the Western Cālukya script of the sixth century. 9 Hence the inscription may date from the fifth–sixth century. It reads: bharatanātha, probably also the name of a devotee. 10 5 Jamkhedkar 1987a, 340. Jamkhedkar published his edition and translation of this in- 6 7 8 9 10 scription in Kusumāñjali I (1987b), 217–23. We have presented an edition and translation of this inscription in BSOAS LVI, Part 1 (1993), 46–74 (see below, p. 115 ff.). Cf. Williams 1983, 226. Dani 1963, pl. XV; Bühler 1896, pls. VII. x-xiii. Dani 1963, 80 f. Dani 1963, 184 f. It is possible to read bharakanātha, assuming that the right horizontal bar of the ka has been obliterated. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 82 Hans Bakker Plate 6 Graffito on an entrance pillar of the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Plate 7 Graffito on a pillar inside the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 83 The two short Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple inscriptions On the same pillar on which the second graffito is found, on the side that faces the entrance, is engraved a short Sanskrit inscription. An outwardly very similar inscription is found on the parallel pillar at the right side of the cella entrance. Both pillars have recently been connected by an iron frame which screens off the entrance of that part of the temple where the image is installed. The appearance of both parallel inscriptions on the two pillars in front of the garbhagr.ha strongly suggests that they somehow belong together and were engraved at about the same time. As it happens, photographs of both inscriptions have been published in Indian Archaeology 1982–83—A Review (p. 167), but this might have been more or less accidental, since the description of these two plates (p. 137) confuses them with the reported ‘Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā inscription’ ‘on the southern wall of the man.d.apa’. Nothing is said as to the contents of the two parallel inscriptions, and they certainly do not endorse the statement made in the IAR that the temple ‘on the basis of these inscriptions could definitely be dated to the fifth to sixth century ad’. 11 In fact, both inscriptions belong to the Yādava period as will be shown below. I shall refer to these two inscriptions as Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 & No. 2. Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 (Plate 8) Text [1] trivikramapadodbhūtāvam . danı̄yāsarasvatı̄ |sarvajñasyā [2] ˘ śirasārasālam kr tiśobhanā kkāmadevasutah. . . [3] ˘ rṅgadevastārkikaśekharah. |trivikramakavervā [4] dyonautiśrı̄nr.harim . sadā ksim . han.arājyeśārva gam vaikalyatāmetirāmebhaktasya [5] ˘ vatsare |am . . [6] sarvadā | 2 |samudgayamaka ˘ kr.tı̄jānātu | Analysed text trivikramapadodbhūtā vandanı̄yā sarasvatı̄ | sarvajñasyāhpii śirasā rasālam . kr.tiśobhanā k kāmadevasutah. hśāirṅgadevas tārkikaśekharah. | trivikramakaver vādyo nauti śrı̄nr.harim . sadā k sim han arājye śārvahriivatsare | . . aṅgam . vaikalyatām eti rāme (’)bhaktasya sarvadā | 2 | samudgayamakahm . suikr.tı̄ jānātu | 11 IAR 1982–83, 137. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 84 Hans Bakker Translation Sarasvatı̄, who has sprung from the steps of Trivikrama (the speech, which arises from the words of Trivikrama), who (which) is embellished with the ornaments (figures of speech) and rasa, should be revered by the head of even the omniscient. Śārṅgadeva, son of Kāmadeva, who is the crown of the philosophers and whose praises are sung by the poet Trivikrama, praises always the illustrious Nr.hari. In the time of the reign of Sim . han.a, in the Śārvarin-year. The body of one who is devoted to Rāma will attain a state of good health / The body of one who is not devoted to Rāma will certainly attain a state of weakness. Let a wise reader resolve the Samudgayamaka. Plate 8 Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 Commentary The inscription is written in clear Nāgarı̄ script. Only a few syllables at the margins have been effaced. The type of character agrees with other Yādava inscriptions, using occasionally pr..s.thamātrā aks.aras for non-initial vowel signs. 12 12 Cf. Med. Ind. Pal., II, ‘Nagari’ (W. & S. India, Yadava, 13th century). One of the few deviations appears to be the alternative form of ra. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 85 The inscription can be dated in the Śārvarin-year (i.e. the 34th year of the Br.haspati Cycle) at the time of the reign of King Sim . han.a, which yields the date ad 1240. 13 The text is a mixture of verse (śloka) and prose (i.e. of gadya and padya). The verses appear to contain several double-entendres (śles.a), whereas the last hemistich is to be read twice (indicated by the figure 2 between dan.d.as) in a different way in order to make a complete śloka verse. This is made explicit by the prose statement that it should be understood as a samudgayamaka, i.e. that the same aks.aras can be grouped into two ways yielding different, in fact opposite meanings. 14 Thus we can read: vaikalyatām . . . ’bhaktasya or vai kalyatām . . . bhaktasya. The text testifies to the pilgrimage to Ramtek and worship of Narasim . ha (the deity of the temple in which the inscription is found) by a certain Śārṅgadeva son of Kāmadeva. The Śrı̄nr.hari who is praised may, besides the obvious Narasim . ha, also be the Yādava king Sim . han.a whose name marks him as a ‘lion among men’. Śārṅgadeva is called tārkikaśekhara, which excludes the possibility of his being identical with the musician Śārṅgadeva, author of the Sam . gı̄taratnākara, who worked at the court of the Yādava king Sim . han.a and whose father we know to have been Sod.d.hala. 15 The first śloka is an invocation of the goddess Sarasvatı̄. When we resolve the śles.a, however, we read the poet’s own praise. Moreover, it would seem that the philosopher and poet in referring to Sarasvatı̄’s (Goddess of Learning, i.e. ‘learning’) descent from Trivikrama (i.e. Vis.n.u) are making a pun on their own lineages. It is well-known that the members of the distinguished and learned family that traced its origin back to Trivikrama held important offices at the court of the Yādavas, notably Caṅgadeva, who was the astronomer 16 Śārṅgadeva could have been a member of this family. of King Sim . han.a. The ancestral Trivikrama, who belonged to the Śān.d.ilya gotra, is called kavicakravartin, ‘Prince of the Poets’, in the Patna Inscription, 17 and he is, in all likelihood, identical to the author of the Nalacampū or Damayantı̄kathā, viz. Trivikramabhat.t.a, who flourished at the beginning of the tenth century ad. 18 This excludes the possibility that the poet Trivikrama mentioned in the present inscription who is said to sing the praise of Śārṅgadeva—which might be taken to mean that Śārṅgadeva commissioned him to compose this inscription for him—is the same as the ‘Prince of the Poets’ who wrote the Nalacampū. Consequently, there were two poets Trivikrama, one living in the tenth century, the other in the middle of the thirteenth. Like the first, the second 13 14 15 16 17 18 Swamikannu Pillai 1982, table I. Lienhart 1984, 186. Sam . gı̄taratnākara 1.5 (p. 10). EI 1 ( 1892), 338–46; Pingree 1970–81 III, 39 f. EI I, 340, 343. Kielhorn in EI I, 340; Bhandarkar in EI IX (1907–08), 28; Yazdani 1960 I, 596; Lienhart 1984, 267. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 86 Hans Bakker Trivikrama apparently made use of the campū style of composition. This result agrees perfectly with the outcome of an investigation of Mirashi with respect to the author of the Madālasācampū, who earlier had been generally held to be identical with his namesake, the author of the Nalacampū. Mirashi has argued convincingly that the poet Trivikrama who wrote the Madālasācampū, and who was a devotee of Vis.n.u rather than of Śiva, as was the author of the Nalacampū, was not the same as the author of the Nalacampū, who in his introduction ‘tells us that he was born in the Śān.d.ilya gotra and was the son of Devāditya (v.l. Nemāditya) and grandson of Śrı̄dhara’. 19 According to Mirashi, the second Trivikrama, who does not give any particulars about his descent in his work of the Madālasācampū, is ‘much inferior’ as a poet and wrote ‘apparently in a much later age’. 20 If our identification of the poet Trivikrama of the inscription with the author of the Madālasācampū is correct, this ‘later age’ can now be determined as the middle of the thirteenth century; he may have been also the author of a verse quoted in Jalhan.a’s Sūktimuktāvalı̄ (p. 172, v. 13.), 21 which was composed in the court of the Yādavas in ad 1258. The possible hint at Trivikramabhat.t.a in the first śloka of the inscription makes it conceivable that the second Trivikrama was well aware of his illustrious predecessor whose style he sought to imitate. Finally, in the third verse the inscription testifies to the importance that was attached by that time to the worship of Rāma. Apart from the samudgayamaka, this verse, like the first two, may also contain a śles.a, since ‘Rāma’ was also the name of the chief general of King Sim . han.a, who had succeeded his father Kholeśvara in his military profession and who was killed in an expedition against Gujarat in the year of the present inscription or shortly before it. 22 Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 2 (Plate 9) Text [1] [2] [3] [4] 19 20 21 22 āsı̄dvainyapureśriyāmadhipatiścāmum . d.anāmādvijah. putrastasyababhūvakāsarapure śrı̄mānkavih. śrı̄dharah. |tatputrah. sukr.tı̄tri vikramakr.tı̄sāhityaratnākaraścakre Mirashi 1964b, p. 2. Mirashi 1964b, p. 6; cf. Lienhart 1984, 268. See Sternbach 1978–80, 387, s.v. ‘Trivikrama II’. The Ambâ Inscription (ad 1240) in Arch. Survey of Western India III, 85–93 (by Bühler). A similar double-entendre is found in the Ambā inscription, which records the erection of a Rāma–Nārāyan.a Temple to commemorate the death of General Rāma, who is praised by his aunt (Laks.mı̄) in the following ambiguous Sragdharā verse: phriaud.has tyāge sa rāmo nayavinayavidām agragan . yas sa rāmo, sauryasvāmı̄ sa rāmo harapadakamaladhyānadhı̄rah. sa rāmah. | laṅkhādhı̄śas sa rāmahh.i kavirutavacasām . stutya ekah. sa rāmas, tattvajñāno sa rāmo hniijakulasaraso rājaham . sah. sa rāmah. k 38 k Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 87 [5] rāghavasodaren.asahitah. śrı̄rāmasam . se [6] vanam k . Analysed text āsı̄d vainyapure śriyām adhipatiś cāmun.d.anāmā dvijah., putras tasya babhūva kāsarapure śrı̄mān kavih. śrı̄dharah. | tatputrah. sukr.tı̄ trivikramakr.tı̄ sāhityaratnākaraś, cakre rāghavasodaren.a sahitah. śrı̄rāmasam . sevanam k Translation There once was a brahmin named Cāmun.d.a, who was a treasurer in the city of Vainyapura. His son, the illustrious poet Śrı̄dhara, lived in Kāsarapura. The son of the latter, the proficient author Trivikrama, who is a ‘jewel-mine of composition’, has, together with his brother Rāghava, performed the worship of the illustrious Rāma. Plate 9 Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 2 Commentary The characters of the inscription are the same as in the previous one, the writing a little looser and less neat. Evidently less time and effort was spent on the engraving of this inscription, but on the whole, as we have already noted, the appearance of the two inscriptions gives the impression that they were made at the same occasion. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 88 Hans Bakker The present inscription contains one verse in Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita metre. Its connexion with the first inscription seems to be borne out by its contents. Its author evidently is Trivikrama, who calls himself a ‘jewel-mine of composition’, and this poet may be the same as the one who composed the inscription for Śārṅgadeva. Obviously, Trivikrama, after the completion of his assignment, used the occasion to have his own inscription engraved. This secondariness could explain why it was apparently carried out with less care. If this identification is correct, the inscription supplies us with some additional information about the author of the Madālasācampū. He was a brahmin, son of Śrı̄dhara, also a poet, and grandson of Cāmun.d.a, who is said to have been an adhipati in Vainyapura. Trivikrama came to Ramtek with his brother Rāghava to worship Rāma. His place of residence is not mentioned, but could have been the court of King Sim . han.a to which also Śārṅgadeva might have belonged. His grandfather hailed from Vainyapura, his father from Kāsarapura, two unidentifiable toponyms. The Ramtek Stone Inscription of the time of Rāmacandra We now turn to the longest inscription found at Ramtek, the so-called Ramtek Stone Inscription of the time of Rāmacandra. A technical description of it has been given by Mirashi and Kulkarni, who published a first edition in Epigraphia Indica xxv. The historical conclusions reached by Mirashi, ascribing the inscription to the Yādava king Rāmacandra (i.e. ‘last quarter of the thirteenth century ad’) against the earlier opinion of Kielhorn, who identified Sim . han.a and Rāmacandra with homonymous princes of the Raipur branch of the Haihaya dynasty, have been corroborated by later research and need no further discussion. 23 I shall give a synopsis of the contents and a metrical restoration of the text. Those verses that are sufficiently legible will be translated. For technical details of the inscription (‘which is incised on a large slab let into the wall on the right hand side of the door of the garbhagr.ha in the temple of Laks.man.a’) the reader is referred to Epigraphia Indica. 24 The numbering of the verses is mine. The first three lines of the inscription have suffered so much that only a few words are legible, too little to restore the metre. On account of the average number of verses contained in one line we conjecture that the first three lines contained five or six verses. Our numbering therefore starts with verse 6. 23 EI II, 230; cf. EI XXV, 7. 24 EI XXV, 7 ff. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 89 Synopsis of the contents Verses 1–28 describe the exploits of the Yādava dynasty (v. 8) which traces its origin back to Yadu (v. 9). Vv. 12–21 seem to be concerned with the deeds of King Bhillama and his successor Jaitrapāla (Jaitugi) ad 1191–1210 (v. 15), whose victory over Rudra (probably Rudradeva of the Kākatı̄yas) is mentioned in v. 12. 25 His victories against the Andhras and Colas appear in v. 14, against the Gurjaras in v. 15. Vv. 22–24 seem to deal with King Sim . han.a (v. 22), whose exploits on the battlefield are praised (v. 23) and who is said to have reached the ultimate peace (śāntim . paramām avāpa). Then the inscription passes on to his successor, who must be King Kr.s.n.a (ad 1247–60), who ruled the earth, was a tree of tranquility (viśrāmataru) for the petitioners who appealed to him never in vain (v. 25) and who finally, after pacifying the whole earth, made it forget its grief over the loss of King Sim . han.a (v. 27). Vv. 28–29 seem to introduce King Rāmacandra (ad 1271–1310), either with or without explicitly mentioning his immediate predecessors, viz. King Mahādeva, his uncle, and Amman.a, the latter’s son. tat◦ in tatsutah. (v. 29c) may hence refer to King Kr.s.n.a, father of Rāmacandra, whereas the epithet vāyināyaka (29a) could possibly allude to the ruse by means of which Rāmacandra wrested the throne from his cousin Amman.a. This episode is told in another inscription of Rāmacandra (EI xxv, 199–225 v. 14), where it is said that the young pretender to the throne succeeded in entering the palace of his cousin in the guise of a leader (or actor) (nāyaka) of a theatrical troupe which in reality consisted of his comrades. Maybe we should read vājināyaka (‘the impetuous hero’) instead of vāyināyaka, which does not seem to make sense. V. 30 introduces Rāghavadeva on whom King Rāmacandra devolved the responsibilities for the welfare of the empire in order that he himself could enjoy the arts of his harem-ladies (v. 31). Of this Rāghava it is said that he held the office of ‘superintendent of the guard of the royal bed-chamber’ (sayyāpālakulādhı̄śa) (vv. 32, 38). He gained this new position, as it would seem, thanks to his devotion to Vaidyanātha (Śiva?) (v. 33), and he was married to the most lovely and virtuous lady Rājāyı̄, who personified happiness and beauty (v. 34). Rāghava, invested with this honourable charge, considered his foremost duty (v. 118); what this involved seems to have been expressed in the part of the inscription that has become illegible, but Mirashi’s supposition appears plausible: ‘some repairs done to the temple of Laks.man.a where the inscription is put up. Māideva (Māyideva), who is mentioned in ll. 70 f., seems to have been a local official in charge of the work’. 26 It seems likely that this Rāghava is the same as Raghu ‘the deputy and minister of the late Ráı́ Rám Deo’ who joined the rebellion of Rāmacandra’s 25 Cf. Bombay Gaz. I, 239, 522; Bhandarkar 1928, 186; Yazdani 1960 I, 529. 26 EI XXV, 10. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 90 Hans Bakker son-in-law, Harapāladeva, against the Sultan of Delhi and whose miserable death at the hand of Khusraw Khān is described in the Nuh Sipihr by Amı̄r Khusraw. 27 There is nothing to suggest an identity with Rāghava, brother of Trivikrama, who features in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 2. The main part of the inscription is concerned with the eulogy (Māhātmya) of Rāma and his most holy abode, the Sindūra Mountain (i.e. Rāmagiri, or Ramtek) (vv. 39–116). As such, the text provides an early, and what is more, datable forerunner of the Sindūragirimāhātmya of which only a late eighteenthcentury version in 16 chapters is now available (recently edited by S.M. Ayachit and hereafter referred to by the siglum SM). 28 In order to discover a way of crossing the unfathomable ocean of existence, Rāghava addressed his guru (vv. 35–37). In response the latter recites the Sindūragirimāhātmya. The guru starts proclaiming that of all ten avatāras of Vis.n.u, Rāma is the foremost (v. 39). He lives on this mountain, also called Tapam . giri, together with Hanumat (v. 40). Before (prāg) Rāma (i.e. in the Kr.tayuga), the mountain was resorted to by Narasim . ha, who killed the ‘enemy of the gods’ (i.e. Hiran.yakaśipu) here. His blood gave the mountain its red colour (sindūra), hence the name Sindūragiri (v. 42). Thus Rāma and Narasim . ha appear to be the two principal gods of this tı̄rtha. After these introductory remarks, Rāghava’s guru seems to expose the transmission of the Māhātmya. It would seem that Agastya (‘who had protected the ocean by keeping it in his mouth’, v. 44) heard the story in Brahmā’s 27 Elliot and Dowson III, 557 f.; cf. Yazdani 1960 II, 556. 28 Ayachit 1985. It might be useful to quote here some information concerning this Māhā- tmya given in Bakker 1990b, 76. The Sindūragirimāhātmya as it is published by Dr. Ayachit appears to be a product of the second half of the eighteenth century. It contains sixteen chapters and is based on three MSS preserved in Ramtek and Nagpur. The Mairāl family, whom I visited in Ramtek village, claims that this text was written by one of their ancestors, Bābū Mairāl, who had lived at the court of the Gaikwars in Baroda in the service of the Peshwa. At the end of his life (c. ad 1770–1800) this Bābū Mairāl returned to Ramtek to write several books, all of which are said to have been destroyed by a fire apart from the Sindūragirimāhātmya in 16 chapters. This information is based on an unpublished biography written by his son, the autograph of which is kept in the Vit.t.hal Man.d.ir in Ramtek, which is owned by the Mairāl family. However, although this claim does not seem to be completely unfounded, it is very unlikely that the Māhātmya text was a new creation of Bābū Mairāl. Divergencies in the MS material speak against it, especially as presented by MS ‘U’ used by Ayachit for his edition (Nagpur University collection). Thanks to the help of Dr. Bühnemann, I have recently become acquainted with what seems to be the only MS of the Sindūragirimāhātmya preserved outside the region, viz. a MS kept in the Library at Trivandrum (No. 10197). This MS seems to be related to the deviating MS ‘U’. Moreover, there appears to have existed a local Māhātmya comprising 45 adhyāyas. A MS of it was kept in Ramtek village and has been consulted by Mirashi, but is now irretrievably lost (Mirashi in EI XXV, 8, 10, 11; cf. Hiralal 1908, 206). From all this we conclude that there may have existed a local Māhātmya tradition in Ramtek which produced a new up-to-date recension in 16 adhyāyas when the place was flourishing once again in the Marāt.hā period. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 91 palace and subsequently communicated it to Rāma, who visited his hermitage (vv. 44–46). Agastya is also responsible for Rāma’s installation on this hill (v. 110; cf. SM 16.63). Traditionally Agastya’s hermitage is located on the southern flank of the Vindhya mountains (cf. SM 9.35: vindhyasya daks.in.e pārśve samı̄pe nandivardhanam | gautamasyāgnikon.e vai nairr.tye kumbhajasya vai k 35 k), and today a tirtha on top of the hill is considered as the place where Agastya practised his tapas (in the precincts of the Rāma–Kr.s.n.a temple near the Bhairava Darwāzā). The line of transmission of the Māhātmya, Brahmā– Agastya–Rāma–other sages, etc., corresponds to the one presented in the SM 6.8–14. Vv. 47–116 contain the actual Māhātmya of Sindūragiri as revealed by Agastya. After having proclaimed the merit that accrues to one who stays on this mountain, especially after keeping a fast and vigil on a Vis.n.u-day (probably the 11th of each paks.a) (vv. 47–51), the text goes on to mention the four dvārapālas, or guardians of the ks.etra (v. 52). They are the same as described in the SM 2.1, viz. Ghan.t.eśvara, Sudheśvara (= Siddheśvara ?), Kedāreśvara and Āñjaneya (i.e. Hanumat). Next the inscription describes the ‘eight tı̄rthas’ (cf. v. 64) that, according to the SM 5.4, encircle the pond Ambatı̄rtha (v. 60) (in SM known as Ambakun.d.a and now called Ambālā Tālāb). This pond lies at the eastern end of the horseshoe-shaped Rāmagiri hill and is nowadays surrounded by many temples, most of which date from the Bhonsle period. The same eight holy places are described in SM 5.1–7: Gaṅgāsrotas (which must have been mentioned in v. 55; cf. SM 5.4), Śaṅkhatı̄rtha (v. 56), Agnitı̄rtha (v. 58), Ambikāpati (v. 60), Varun.atı̄rtha (v. 61), Śuklatı̄rtha (v. 62), Nr.sim . hatı̄rtha (v. 63), and the eighth, Kuruks.etratı̄rtha (v. 64). Then a group of ‘five tı̄rthas’ is described (tı̄rthapañcaka, vv. 65–70), of which only three are known today and mentioned, not coherently, in the SM. The first three are Laks.mı̄tı̄rtha (v. 66), Ham . satı̄rtha (v. 67), Cakratı̄rtha (v. 68; SM 7.25–29). According to Mirashi (1959, 101) this latter could be the pond today called Cākord.ā lying one mile to the south of the hill. 29 The fourth is Dhanustı̄rtha (v. 69; SM 7.29–35). Here one should offer a bow, preferably of gold (cf. SM 7.31–32). The fifth is Pitr.tı̄rtha (v. 70), where one should bathe and offer a pitr.tarpan.a. This tı̄rtha is described at length in SM 4.3–16, where it is said that its modern name is Rāmagayā (cf. v. 80, in which this name is mentioned). It could be modern Gāyakhurı̄ near Khim . d.sı̄ Lake (Mirashi 1959, 101), or the Ambālā tank (Hiralal 1908, 205). Before beginning the description of the principal holy places on the mountain itself, the text seems to make another tour around the hill, starting in the west (Vājimedhatı̄rtha v. 71; cf. SM 7.43 where an Aśvamedhatı̄rtha is located in the 29 The Cakratı̄rtha is said to have been created by Vis.n . u’s cakra called Sudarśana; the fact that this is made explicit in v. 68 may point to an awareness of the old name of the lake north of the hill, called ‘Sudarśana’ in the Vākāt.aka inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple (see below, p. 144). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 92 Hans Bakker south), along the River Kalipā and its confluence with the Suranadı̄ (vv. 72– 74), which is to be located to the north and northeast of the hill in accordance with the present situation (cf. SM 2.16–28, 3.1–31; below, n. 71 on p. 144), and Man.ikālakun.d.a (v. 75) which, contrary to what is suggested in the inscription, in the SM 2.6 is located in the west, and ending with the Moks.akun.d.a in the south (v. 76; cf. SM 2.4). The inscription continues with a description of the tı̄rthas on or by the side of the hill. The first three are tanks: Rāmatı̄rtha, Sindūravāpı̄, and Karpūravāpı̄. The two latter are among the most noteworthy constructions at Rāmagiri. The Karpūravāpı̄ lies at the foot of the northern flank of the hill (v. 82). It consists of a tank of stone with arcades on four sides (its eastern and part of its northern sides now in ruins), along with a temple complex with five cellas, three of which are crowned by śikharas situated on the western side. The compound is a good example of the thirteenth-century so-called Hemādpanti style. The Sindūravāpı̄ (v. 81) is a deep, well-constructed tank of stone with an entrance gate, which may date from the Mārāt.ha period, and cloisters on its northern side, which are probably earlier than the Yādava period. The tank is situated on top of the hill to the east of the main temple complex. In its vicinity (samı̄patas, v. 81) the Rāmatı̄rtha is said to be found. We hazzard the idea that a predecessor of the tank that is situated beside the main temple complex might have been meant, a tank which nowadays is known as the Sı̄tecı̄ Nhān.ı̄ (or Sı̄tā’s Bathing Place), since no other bathing place, let alone an old one, is found elsewhere in the close surroundings of the Sindūravāpı̄. If, on the other hand, as is assumed by Mirashi (1959, 102), this ‘Rāmatı̄rtha’ is identical with the reservoir northeast of the hill, which according to the SM was formerly called Īśāla and today Rām Sāgar or Rāmatirtha (SM 15.40: ı̄śālākhyam . purā nāmādhunā pus.karam . śubham | rāmatı̄rtham idānı̄m . tu rāma snānena te bhavet k), the fact would remain that a conspicuous tank on the Rāmagiri is not recorded in the inscription. The inscription does not make a reference to a bathing place of Sı̄tā (a Sı̄tākun.d.a or a Sı̄tātı̄rtha). 30 The tank near the entrance of the main temple-complex may have been restored and embellished on several later occasions. Thus the sculptured relief at its western wall seems to point to the Vijayanagara period. 31 The Rāmatı̄rtha is the only tank to which the inscription devotes three stanzas, and this, together 30 This, along with the fact that the inscription does not make any allusion to the Yaks.a of Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta (cf. below, pp. 349 f.), seems to imply that the thirteenth-century author was not aware of an identity of the Ramtek Hill with a Rāmagiri of which ‘the waters were hallowed by the bathing of Janaka’s daughter’ (Meghadūta 1). This, again, makes Mirashi’s identification more problematic. On the other hand, Rāma’s footprints occur in v. 83 and a ‘Nhān.i Sı̄teci’ is mentioned in the fourteenth-century Mahānubhāva text, the Sthānapothı̄ (p. 5). The lake to the north of the hill is known to the Vākāt.aka inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple as ‘Sudarśana’ (see below, p. 144), a name evidently no longer in use in the 13th century (but see above, n. 29 on p. 91). 31 Bakker 1989c, 97 ff. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 93 with its location in the neighbourhood of the Sindūravāpı̄, points to the fact that is was a prominent holy place. After these three tanks, sanctuaries of tutelary deities of Śaiva nature, which appear to have been connected with the access to the summit, are listed: Gajendravadana (v. 84), Dharmeśvara (v. 85; SM 5.9), Dhūmrāks.a, which is said to be the spot where the śūdra ascetic Śam . buka was killed by the sword ‘Candrahāsa’ which Rāma had taken from Rāvan.a (v. 86; cf. Rāmāyan.a 7.17; SM 14), but which originally might have been a yaks.a (rāks.asa) shrine, 32 and Muktı̄śvara (v. 87). Having thus reached the top again the Māhātmya concludes with the eulogy of the main deities who have their abode on the hill and who appear to have been the principal objects of worship (vv. 88–116). Six avatāras are mentioned, the first being Vis.n.u in his incarnation of Gopāla, who is the full moon (reflected) in the ocean of bliss of the gopı̄s (v. 88). Then Narasim . ha is mentioned again, the fourth descent, who out of compassion protected the earth which was tortured by a torrent of heat (v. 89). As already observed, the myth of Narasim . ha is adduced to account for the name of the mountain, and no doubt the cult of Narasim . ha has old roots here, as is testified by the two fifth-century temples dedicated to him. The third incarnation described is that of the boar, Ādikola (Varāha), who lifted the earth on his tusk out of the flood of the seven oceans (v. 90). That the worship of Varāha also goes back to early days is evident from the huge Vākāt.aka image of a boar not far from the Narasim . ha temples (see Plate 63). The eulogy of the family of Rāmacandra begins with his father, Paṅktiratha (i.e. Daśaratha; v. 91), who lives here after his abdication, and with Rāma’s two sons, Kuśa and Lava (v. 92), but is then interrupted by two heterologous deities, Mahāsiddhi and Mahābhairava (vv. 93 f.), which can only be accounted for if we assume that the inscription follows an actual topographical pattern. The shrine of Mahāsiddhi, where the eight Mātr.kās were installed, no longer exists, but I found an old relief of the eight mother-goddesses, evidently displaced, in the main cella of the Karpūravāpı̄ compound. Mahābhairava likewise has disappeared, yet a temple of his, nearby Bhogarāma, is also mentioned in the Sthānapothı̄. 33 The inscription reverts to the retinue of Rāma in verse 95, describing Hanumat (Pavanaja), partly as an incarnation of Bhairava, viz. as possessing five mouths, as moon-crested, with ten arms, three eyes, blazing ferociously like a million rising suns, and partly as Rāma’s devout servant, help and mainstay of all devotees who direct their thoughts to him. The Hanumat Temple is found in the innermost court, right next to the Laks.man.a Temple which is named in the next verse (v. 96). Laks.man.a, in whose temple the present inscription is found, is said to be Śaṅkha (the serpent/the conch), whom we suppose to be homologous with 32 See Bakker 2010a (below, p. 349). 33 Sthānapothi, 4. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 94 Hans Bakker Śes.a, though he is explicitly denied a śaṅkha nature. 34 Does the Laks.man.a Temple replace an older nāga sanctuary? In Rāma’s proximity Sı̄tā is present, the remembrance of whose name makes a mountain of sins disappear (v. 97). And then, of course, there are several images of Rāma (Vis.n.u) himself (v. 98). They appear to be described in the next four verses (vv. 99–102). The foremost (ādi) of these is referred to as Ādirāma (v. 99), in all likelihood the name of the main Rāma temple just behind the Laks.man.a Mandir. The second is Bhogarāma (v. 100), which is the name of the Vākāt.aka temple that nowadays is in the possession of the Mahānubhāva sect. The third, Guptarāma, (v. 101), refers to a small (Vākāt.aka) temple partly carved into a recess in the rock below the path that leads up to the hill. And, finally, Śaṅkharāma which, in view of Laks.man.a’s designation as Śaṅkha (v. 96), may refer to the Laks.man.a Temple, thus being an appropriate conclusion of the tour of the holy places of Ramtek as described in the inscription in question, found in this very temple. The Māhātmya ends with a stotra, an As.t.aka praising Rāmacandra in eight Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita verses. The worn state of great parts of it makes it hard to read, but from what remains it appears that Rāma is thought identical with Vis.n.u–Nārāyan.a, equated with the primordial Purus.a (v. 111), the Lord of the Advaita doctrine (v. 104), who, next to the exploits known from the Rāmāyan.a, churned the ocean of milk (v. 105), the remembrance of whose Name (rāmeti nāma, v. 108) leads his devotees to the realm of bliss, and who has been installed on the Sindūra Mountain by Agastya (v. 100). The last part of the inscription is practically illegible. What it could possibly contain has already been discussed above. Editorial principles The following edition of this inscription is based on two publications of it by Mirashi; the first one (together with Kulkarni) referred to as M(l), in Epigraphia Indica XXV (1939–40), the second one in an appendix of his book Meghadūta mem . Rāmagiri arthāt Rāmt.ek (Nagpur 1959), referred to as M(2). Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take photographs or a rubbing of the inscriptionstone and no other such material was available to me. On the whole, M(1) is to be preferred above M(2), but occasionally the reading of M(2) seems more plausible. Mirashi does not account for the discrepancies between his two editions. M(1) gives an estimate of the number of syllables erased or illegible. This made it possible to restore the metrical composition of the text. I took advantage of the metres that were suggested by 34 Hiralal 1908, 206 (n. 14). Śaṅkha is one of the main Nāgas mentioned in MBh 1.31.8, 5.101.12. But a śaṅkha nature is denied to Laks.man.a, who is generally considered to be an incarnation of Śes.a, to which also the first pāda of v. 96 seems to refer (‘carrying the world on his heads’). The usual absence of snake-hoods and other nāga characteristics in Laks.man.a’s iconography could possibly explain this denial (cf. Mirashi 1964a, 143), but aśaṅkhātmaka may play on the meaning of śaṅkha, ‘conch’, which would deny Laks.man.a a white colour. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 95 M(1) in footnotes. The numbers of the lines are given in bold face. Rejected readings are given in the apparatus. In the majority of cases this applies to readings given in M(2). I have accepted most of the emendations proposed by Mirashi (these concern mostly orthographic matters such as kha instead of .sa) and added some of my own. The actual reading of the inscription is given in the apparatus indicated by the siglum E. Homorganic nasals have been silently written wherever required by standard orthography. Conjectural readings by Mirashi and myself are, if considered plausible enough, given in the text between angular brackets h i, or else in the apparatus. Accepted alterations (emendations) are indicated by round brackets ( ). It is not clear whether the dan.d.as that appear in Mirashi’s text are his own or actually found in the inscription. Occasionally they interfere with the metre, more often they are missing at the end of a verse or hemistich. The dan.d.as given in the present edition indicate the metrical divisions and are my own without claim of authenticity. The same applies to the numbering of the verses. All emendations and conjectures by Mirashi that are metrically incorrect have been rejected and relegated to the apparatus, since, as will be proved, the author of the inscription was a skilful poet who knew his prosody. Edition ˘ , and ˘ : metrical quantity of illegible syllables ( ) : emendation h i : conjectural reading line numbers in [bold face], verse numbers between k k In the apparatus E : inscription, M : Mirashi M(l) : reading Mirashi in EI XXV (1939–40), 12–20 M(2) : reading Mirashi 1959, 92–99 1 2 3 4 5 . . . (15–18 syll.) n.u . . . (25 syll.) mavān. mu . . . (45 syll.) . . . (15–18 syll.) pūjita . . . (25 syll.) statvena . . . (45 syll.) . . . (15–18 syll.) devāsurorahgai . . . (25 syll.) vacarito . . . (45 syll.) ˘ kah. sukavisārthapathe prahvis.t.ah.i, ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , jyotsnāpra ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ k6k , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ yugmah. k 7 k tato ’bhūd yādavo vam śah , . . ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ k8k l. 3 ◦ oraga conj. M 6 Vasantatilaka 6a pravis..tah. conj. M(1): ◦ vis..ta conj. M(2) 7 Indravajra (Upajāti) 8 Śloka Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 96 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hans Bakker kim . varn.yate h’yam yaiduvam . śajah. ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , k 9 k ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ | ˘ ks.on.ipāla(h.), kālah. prodyadvairivı̄ravra , jam bhaśatruh k 10 k . . ˘ ˘ ˘ bhraśyatkalaṅkavidhumahn.d.ala i ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k11 k yasyātibhı̄s.an.aran.āṅgan.a ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | . smarati sma rudra˘ man.d.alam idam ko ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 12 k ,˘˘˘˘˘˘ | ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ lı̄vanālı̄talagabhujaga k 13 k ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ tvam andhrādhipa, ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ tvam . re cod.avimuñca dahrpai ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ dharānāthaprabodha ˘ k 14 k ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ (khi)labhūpatı̄nām | śir ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ hgurjairendrah. k 15 k parāṅmukho yasya puro ran.e ’bhūt, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ hes.u mahāmahı̄ndre, jaitra ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 16 k ryadasraprabhinna˘˘˘˘˘˘ | pratibhat.avika ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ hmauktiikaughair, k 17 k gaganam iva satāram . sam . dhyayā sa ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ hkairotkarān.ām | saundarya ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 18 k ˘ ˘ hks.oin.ipater asya, bhūmipālo ’˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 19 k ˘ hāsinihatotkat.apratibhat.ebhakumbhadvayı̄, pat.udyu ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | kamuktācchalāt, ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ amuhs.yai˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 20 k mahı̄ruhasya yaśasā canhdrai ˘ ˘ ˘ , vācaspateh | . ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ tejobhir dinakr.drucām api hat.hād āhdhiikya ˘ , drālayabhogabhūmir abhavat kāla ˘ k 21 k ˘ ◦ 9a ’yam 10ab ks.on . ya conj. M . ipālah. kālah. M(1): ks.on . ipālakālah. M(2), ks.on . ipālas.kālah. ◦ 12cd rudrakolā conj. M(2) 13d ◦ bhujagavā E 11a conieci ◦ man . d.ala : E M ma 15b khila◦ M: s.ila E 15c śirassu conj. M 15d M(2) 14b darpa◦ conj. M gurjarendrah. conj. M 17c mauktikaughair conj. M 18b karo◦ conj. M 18c ◦ 19b ’ om. M(2) 21a candra conj. M saundaryasya M(2) 19a ks.on . i conj. M 9 Indravajra (Upajāti) 10 Śālinı̄ 11 Vasantatilaka 12 Vasantatilaka 13 Mālinı̄ Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 15 Vasantatilaka 16 Upajāti 17 Mālinı̄ 18 Vasantatilaka Śloka 20 Pr.thvı̄ 21 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 14 19 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 97 hghain.adevanāmā | ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ gun.ābhi , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 22 k can d a˘ ˘ . . ˘˘ ˘ kodan.d.amuktaih. śitakān.d.adan.d.ai(h.) | vi(kha)n.d.itārakta ˘ ˘ deha(kha)n.d.air aman.d.i ks.itir āhavasya k 23 k ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | hmāisādya śāntim . paramām avāpa, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 24 k , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ jagatı̄m ˘ ˘ . ks.itı̄śah. | śaśā(s)a viśrāmatarus tato yah., phalegrahir yācakapattripaṅkteh. k 25 k dharācakram . bhrāntvā (tri)daśa ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ , | ˘ ˘˘˘˘˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ dhis.t.āya racayaty aho nr.tyatka ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 26 k apārasam . sārasamudrasārair, yaśah.sudhaughair vasudhā yadı̄yaih. | śrı̄sim . han.aks.on.ipater viyogatāpam . jahau ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 27 k a ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ hmaihı̄tale k 28 k vāyināyaka iti ks.amātale, ni ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ dyaśobharaih. | tatsutah. sakalalokaviśruto, na śrutah. kvacid apı̄ha yatsamah. k 29 k tasyāpy ayam . rāghavadevahnāmāi, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 30 k hguin.agauravapran.ayinam . śrı̄rāmacandrah. prabhur, yam . sāmrājyasamr.ddhisundararucah. pātram . vidhāya śrı̄yah. | krı̄d.odyānatale ’(khi)lojjvalakalālı̄lāgr.hastrı̄janālāpa ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 31 k , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | śrı̄rāmabhūpatvadharasya śayyāpālı̄kr.tātmānam amānasa(ttva)m k 32 k śrı̄vaidyanāthaśivapādapayojabhaktisam . pāditā(khi)lamaha(ttva)padāya tasmai | ke ke nr.pā ja ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 33 k ◦ ◦ ◦ 22b ghan 23b ◦ dan . adeva conj. M(1): sim . ghan . adeva conj. M(2) . d.aih. M(1): dan . d.air ◦ ◦ ◦ M(2) 23c vikhan d itā M: vis an d itā E 23d khan d air M: s an d air E 24c māsādya .. . .. .. . .. 26a conj. M 25c śaśāsa M: śaśāśa E, yah. M: yas. E 25d phalegrahi◦ M (unmetrical) tridaśa M: tr.daśa E 26d ◦ kabandha conj. M (unmetrical) 27d after jahau M inserts 29a conieci vājināyaka 30a nāmā conj. k 28a a om. M(2) 28d mahı̄ ◦ conj. M ◦ M 31a gun 31c ’khilo◦ M: ’s.ilo◦ E 32d sattvam M: satvam E 33b . a conj. M ◦ ākhila◦ M: ◦ ās.ila◦ E, ◦ mahattva◦ M: ◦ mahatva◦ E 22 Upendravajra (Upajāti) 23 Upajāti 24 Indravajra (Upajāti) 25 Upendravajra (Upajāti) 26 Śikharin.ı̄ 27 Upajāti 28 Śloka 29 Rathoddhatā 30 Indravajra (Upajāti) 31 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 32 Indravajra (Upajāti) 33 Vasantatilaka Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 98 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Hans Bakker ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ tir, (dhı̄)ram . ks.āntir api pradhānakulajam . śraddhā yathā sā(ttvi)kam | tadvad bhūs.ayati sma yam . (pri)yatamā saubhāgyasaundharyabhū, rājāyı̄ti gun.āśrayā gun.agan.ādhāram . dharā ˘ k 34 k ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , dinakr.ddinakr.ddyutim | gurum ātmı̄yam ity es.a, papraccha tadanu dvijam k 35 k jānāsi sarvam . bhagavam . s tatas tvām . , pr.cchāmi paryutsukatām upetah. | agādhasam . sārapayodhi ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 36 k , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | (khi)lapāradr.śvā k 37 k , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ śayyāpālakulādhı̄śa nibodhedam . vaco mama | sam . sārasāgarottārakāran.am . na hareh. param k 38 k avatārā daśāpy asya, rāmas tehs.āmi˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 39 k ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ vāyuputrayukto vasaty uttamayogicintyah. | mahı̄dharasyāsya tapam . gires tam ., prabhāvam agryam . kim udāharāmi k 40 k vihāya me ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ sādya raghūdvahasya k 41 k prāg atra devo nr.harih. surārer, (bi)bheda vaks.ah. karajaih. śitāgraih. | tadraktapūrārun.itas tato ’yam, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 42 k ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | . saundaryasāraih. punas, ˘ ˘ ˘ hguin.akathām tadvad vaktum amum . (br.)haspatisamo ’py anyo hi jānāti kah. k 43 k papau samudram . culukena yas tam . , munı̄hśai ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 44 k ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , mano mr.du ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ meśvara itı̄ha kı̄rtyate k 45 k śrı̄rāmāya munı̄śvarah. kalaśabhūr madhyesabham . (bra)hman.ah., | śrutvaitasya gireh. prahbhāvai ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k46 k 34b ddhı̄ram 34c priyatamā . E M, yathā M(1): tathā M(2), sāttvikam M: sātvikam E M: pr.yatamā E 35c gurum ātmı̄yam M(1): gurutmātmı̄yam M(2) 36b pr.cchāni M(2) 37d khila◦ M: s.ila◦ E 39b tes.ām conj. M, conieci tes.ām anuttamah. 40a conieci raghūttamo yatra ca 42b bibheda M: vibheda E 42c tatoyam M(2) 43c ◦ gun 43d br.haspati◦ M: vr.haspati◦ E 44b munı̄śa conj. M 45d conieci . a conj. M gautameśvara (cf. SM 6.14 ff.): rāmeśvara conj. M 46a brahman . ah. M: vrahman . ah. E 46b prabhāva conj. M 34 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 35 Śloka 36 Upajāti 37 Indravajra (Upajāti) 38 Śloka 39 Śloka 40 Upajāti 41 Upajāti 42 Upajāti 43 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 44 Upendravajra (Upajāti) 45 Rathoddhatā 46 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 27 28 29 30 31 99 ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | vilokya sādaram . jantur, mucyate (bra)hmahatyayā k 47 k govipra(bā)lapramadāvadhādipāpaughapūrn.ā a ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 48 k , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | layaparvatendre k 49 k , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ kr.topavāsā harivāsare ye, kurvanti rātrau raghunandanāgre | tapam . girau jāgarahn.ām .i˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 50 k , | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ , marādhikābhaih ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ . k 51 k ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ghan.t.eśvaram . caiva sudheśvaram . ca kedāram ı̄śam . ca tathāñjaneyam | dvāreśvaram ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ k 52 k ˘ ˘˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | hmaijjanena duritam nirdhūya (ba)ndhacchidā, . ˘˘ svācchandyam . manujā bhajanti bhavane bhargasya yat tat param k 53 k ma ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 54 k ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ prabhāvam | śaknoti vaktum . na guruh. surān.ām anyasya tat kasya ˘ ˘ ˘ k 55 k , ˘ ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ śrı̄śaṅ(kha)nāmni (tri)bhuvanajanatāpūjyapādāravindam k 56 k , snātvā śrı̄ [32] ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ † latyanalām . † samayam abhayah. śaṅkhapān.yantikasthah. k 57 k tām agnitı̄rthaprabhavām . vibhūtim . , [33] ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , k 58 k ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 59 k haim(ba)tı̄rthe narah. snātvā pūjayitvām(bi)kāpatim | am(bi)kānāthasadane yāti bhogaikabhūmitām k 60 k 47d brahma◦ M: vrahma◦ E 48a bāla M: vāla E 50c jāgaran 52a conieci . ām . conj. M siddheśvaram 53c majjanena conj. M, bandha◦ M: vandha◦ E 54 metre . (cf. SM 2.1) ◦ ◦ ◦ 57d latyanalām uncertain 56d ◦ śaṅkha◦ M: ◦ śam . s.a E, tri M: tr. E . unmetrical, M(2) expresses doubt about this reading; samayam abhayah. M(2): samayamapabhayah. M(1) 59 metre uncertain 60a amba◦ conj. M: mva◦ E 60b ◦ āmbikā◦ M: ◦ āmvikā◦ E 60c ambikā◦ M: amvikā◦ E 47 Śloka 48 Indravajra (Upajāti) 49 Indravajra (Upajāti) 50 Upajāti 51 Indravajra (Upajāti) 52 Indravajra 53 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 54 Śloka ? 55 Indravajra (Upajāti) 56 Sragdharā 57 Mandākrāntā ? 58 Indravajra (Upajāti) 59 Śloka ? 60 Śloka Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 100 37 Hans Bakker adhigamya varun.atı̄rtham | ˘˘˘˘ . , [34] ˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘˘˘ varun.ādilokapālair, vanditacarahn.am i hhairiśaran am k 61 k ˘˘˘˘ . ˘ ˘ . yat śuklatı̄rthe ’py abhis.ekabhājām , . jāyeta pu(n.ya)m . narapum . gavānām | tad aśvamedhādimahāma(khā)nām, oghair na labhyam . na tapobhi [35] r ugraih. k 62 k tı̄hrtham i nr sim hasya katham . . . . hciid ādyaih., puhn.yaih.i samāsādya viśuddhamūrteh. | narasya loka(tri)taye karastham ., kim ı̄psitam nāsti durāpam anyaih . . k 63 k as.t.ame ca kuruks.etranāmni tı̄rthavare narah. | nima(jjya) (bra)hmahatyādimr.jāśuddho divam . vra [36] jet k 64 k tı̄rthapañcakam ihācalarāje yat trilokavidite vidihtāikhyam | tatprabhāvakathane na samartho devasārthagurur asti na so ’pi k 65 k laks.mı̄tı̄rtham . tes.u mukhyam . durāpā, laks.mı̄r na syān majjatām yatra tūrn.am | . yāvajjı̄vam pātakodbhūtihetu. prodyahddui(h.kho)drekadāridryabhājām k 66 k kim . ham . satı̄rthasya tathāprabhāvah. prabhūtapun.yo(jjva)laketanasya | vyāhkhyāiyate yajjalapānato ’pi ham . so hr.distho vimalatvam eti k 67 k śrı̄cakratı̄rthamahimānam amānam urvyām ., gurvı̄ pravaktum api kasya narasya śaktih. | yasya svayam . bhagavatā harin.ā svacakram ., raks.ārtham udyatam akalpi [38] sudarśanākhyam k 68 k snātvā dhanustı̄rthajale dhanuś ca pradāya hemādikr.tam . svaśaktyā | naro vidūrı̄kr.tapāparāśih. śrı̄śārṅgapān.eh. sadanam prayāti k 69 k . tı̄rthe pitr̄.n.ām pitr tı̄rthanāmni, . . snātvā ca kr.tvā pitr.tarpan.ādi | kot.im . pitr̄.n.ām . niyatah. pavitrı̄kr.(tyai)ti divyam . hi padam . pitr̄. [39] n.ām k 70 k girer apācyām diśi vājimedhatı̄rthe samarthe ’khilatı̄rthasārthāt | . naro nimajjyāṅganayā sametas tanūbhavān āśu labheta dhanyān k 71 k yā raraks.a kalikālato balād dharmam ūrmikarapaṅkajair nadı̄ | sā tathāsya kalipeti viśrutā samnidhau kalimalam . haraty alam k 72 k 61 metre uncertain 61d ◦ caran 61d conieci hari◦ : ri◦ E, svari◦ conj. . am . conj. M M(2) 62b pun 62c ◦ makhānām M: ◦ mas.ānām E 63a tı̄rtham . yam . M: punyam . E 63b pun 63c ◦ tritaye M: conj. M(1): tı̄rthe conj. M(2), ◦ cid ādyaih. conj. M . yaih. conj. M tr.taye E 64c nimajja M(1): nimajya E M(2), brahma◦ M: vrahma◦ E 65b viditākhyam 67b ◦ ojjvala◦ M: ◦ ojvala◦ E 67c vyākhyāyate conj. M 66d prodyadduh.kho◦ conj. M conj. M 70c niyatah. E: niyatam 70d ◦ kr.tyaiti M: ◦ kr.tyeti E 71a ◦ āganayā . conj. M M(1) 61 Gı̄ti ? 62 Upajāti 63 Upajāti 64 Śloka 65 Indravajra 66 Indravajra 67 Upajāti 68 Vasantatilaka 69 Upajāti 70 Indravajra 71 Upajāti 72 Indravajra Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 41 101 suranadı̄ ca suraugha [40] samāśritā nikat.ato ’sya vahaty acalasya sā | suraniketanabhogasamr.ddhidā sakr.d ivācamanādikr.tām . nr.n.ām k 73 k kalipāsuranadyam(bu)saṅgād hgiaṅgārkajām(bu)noh. | saṅgam . na gan.ayanty uccair manu(s.ya)munidevatāh. k 74 k nāścaryam asmin man.ikālakun.d.am ., tı̄rthottame prāpya samastasiddı̄h. | prāpnoti martyah. khalu muktir asya, prasādatah. sāpi na dūrasam . sthā k 75 k hmoiks.akun.d.am . samāsādya da(ks.i)n.asyām . mahı̄bhr.tah. | durlabho ’pi bhaven moks.ah. sulabhah. prān.inām . ks.an.āt k 76 k śrı̄rāmatı̄rtham . yad ihāsti tı̄rtham ., sāks.ātsadarthaprathitaprabhāvam | tasyāplutiprodbhavapu(n.ya)rāśe(h.), phalapradātā daśakandharā [42] rih. k 77 k ekādaśı̄vāsaravāsabhājām . tı̄rthe śubhārthe daśakan.t.haśatroh. | muktir varākı̄ karapañjarasthā karoti sevām . gr.hasārikeva k 78 k yat kārttike māsi naro nima(jjya) śrı̄rāmatı̄rthe daśakandharārim | bhaktyā prapaśyen na śarı̄rakośe kı̄t.atvam āyāti tad antarātmā k 79 k sakr.d rāmagayāśrāddham . girāv iha ka [43] roti yah. | labhante pitaras tasya muktim atyantadurlabhām k 80 k śrı̄rāmacandrasya samı̄pato ’sti sindūravāpı̄ sukr.taprapā sā | yasyā viśuddhena vilokanena vijitya nākam . samupaiti muktim k 81 k karpūravāpı̄ sukr.tapravāhapūren.a pūrn.ā kim u varn.anı̄yā | devasya sı̄tādayitasya pārśve, dāsyam . hi yasyāh. kurute ’pi [44] muktih. k 82 k kāśı̄ nojjayinı̄ na cāpi mathurā no dvārakā no purı̄, tadvat pun.yabharam . prayacchati nr.n.ām . vāsena nityāyus.ā | yadvad vāsaram ekam (āsita)kr.tām sindūrabhūmı̄dharah . ., śrı̄rāmasya padāravindayugalasparśena sarvottamah. k 83 k jaganmaṅgalam ādhatte yasya kumbhadvayı̄ smr.tā | gajendravadanah. [45] sāks.ād atrāste rāmakāṅks.ayā k 84 k āste dharmeśvaro nityam . sa rāmasya girāv iha | pı̄d.itam kalinā dharmam . . yah. kr.pālur apālayat k 85 k 74a ◦ ambu◦ M: ◦ amvu◦ E 74b conieci gaṅgā◦ : aṅgā◦ M, ◦ āmbunoh. M: ◦ āmvunoh. 75b tı̄rthottamam 75d sāpi: sā ’pi E 74d manus.ya◦ M: manukhya◦ E . M(2) ◦ M 76a moks.a◦ conj. M 76b daks.in 77c pun . asyām . M: daks.an . asyām . E . ya M: 78d sevā M(2) 79a nimajjya M: mimajya punya◦ E, ◦ rāśeh. conj. M: ◦ rāśes. E E 81a ’sti M(1): ’hi M(2) 81d samupaiti M(1): sumupaiti M(2) 83c conieci āsita◦ : as..titi◦ M (expressing doubt) 73 Drutavilambita 74 Śloka 75 Upajāti 76 Śloka 77 Upajāti 78 Upajāti 79 Indravajra 80 Śloka 81 Upajāti 82 Indravajra 83 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 84–85 Śloka Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 102 Hans Bakker śrı̄rāmacandrasya karen.a candrahāsāhatah. prāpya padam . murāreh. | sa śambukah. śūdramunir mahı̄dhrarāje ’tra dhūmrāks.a iti prasiddhah. k 86 k paśyanti muktı̄śvaranāmadheyam . śivam . śivā [46] nātham ihācalendre | śivavratasthāh. śivavāsare ye śivatvam āyānti śivālaye te k 87 k gopı̄janānandasamudrapūrn.acandro vinidro(jjva)lapadmanetrah. | gopālamūrtir jagadekamūrtir vasaty asāv atra dharādharendre k 88 k atı̄va tejah.prasaraprataptam ., jagat samagram . kr.payā raraks.a | yo ’yam . caturtho ’vataro ’cyutasya, śrı̄ [47] mān nr.sim . ho ’pi vasaty amus.min k 89 k saptāmbhonidhipūradūrapihitām . bibhrad dharām . dam . s.t.rayā, yo ’yam . bhāti sarojinı̄dalanibho dantena yadvan (n)ayan | yam . romāntaraguptavāsasukhino devars.ayas tus.t.uvu(h.), kalpānte daśakandharārisadane so ’trādikolah. prabhuh. k 90 k ananyalabhyām atulām . saparyām, nityam . [48] parityajya mahendradattām | śrı̄mān nr.pa(h.) paṅktiratho ’pi putraprı̄tyā vasaty atra girı̄ndrasānau k 91 k sutau śrı̄rāmacandrasya girau kuśalavāv iha | dadhāte kalpavr.ks.atvam . bhaktibhājām . jagatprabhū k 92 k mātaro ’s.t.au mahāsiddhināmadheyopalaks.itāh. | atra tis.t.hanti bhaktānām an.imādyas.t.akapradāh. k 93 k kalpānte kavalı̄ [49] karoti sakalam . trailokyam alpetarajvālājālakarālakālavadano ya(h.) kālikākelibhūh. | sindūrācalam ı̄ks.an.am . ks.an.am api ks.ı̄nānyavāsaspr.hah., śrı̄rāmaspr.hayā karoti bhagavān kim . vā mahābhairavah. | 94 k pañcāsyam candramaulim daśabhujam udayatkot.ibhānūgrabhāsam . . ., tryaks.am vr ks ā [50] hāisivaraśaradhanuh śūla(kha)t vā ṅgahastam | . . . ˘ . . hr.tpadme bhaktalokābhayavaradakaram cintayan yam narah syāt, . . . trailokye siddhisam . rād. vasati pavanajah. so ’tra rāmaikabhr.tyah. k 95 k mālām . pus.pamayı̄m iva ks.itim imām . bibhrac chirobhir vibhuh., śrı̄rāmāvatare hareh. sahacarah. śaṅkho ’py aśaṅkhātmakah. | āste so h’trai sa [51] mastabhaktajanatātattanmanovāñchitam ., sam yacchan janakādhirājatanayānāthāntike laks man ah k 96 k . . . . 86b ◦ hāsāhatah. M(1): ◦ hāsāddhatah. M(2), murāreh. M(2): purāreh. M(1) 88b ◦ ojjvala◦ M: ◦ ojvala◦ E 90a ◦ apihitam 90b conieci yadvan nayan: yad. M(2), dram . s..tryā M(2) vanmayan M, who remarks in footnote: ‘Perhaps unmajjayan is intended here’, on which the editor of EI remarks: ‘This reading would involve a sandhi with the preceding word which would spoil the metre. I would suggest ◦ dalam ibho dantena yadvan nayan as the intended reading.’ 90c tus..tuvuh. M: tus..tuvus E 90d deśakandharāri◦ M(2) 91c nr.pah. M: nr.pas ◦ ◦ 96c so ’tra conj. E 94b yah. M: yas. E 95b tryaks.am . vr.ks.ā om. M(2), conieci āsi M 86–89 Upajāti Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 90 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 91 Upajāti 95 Sragdharā 96 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 92 Śloka 93 Śloka 94 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 55 103 yannāmasmaran.āt prayāti ni(khi)lah. pāpādrir uccaih. ks.ayam ., yā viśvaikapativratādhvani gurur devı̄ dayaikāpagā | yā śāpena nināya bhasmakan.ikābhūyam . (ca) laṅkāpatim ., kartā me dayi(to) h’syai [52] nāśam iti sāpy atrāsti rāmāntike k 97 k ihācalendre daśakan.t.haśatror vilokya mūrtı̄h. khalu ˘ martyah. | paratra kāle na karoti bhı̄tim . † kātāstamat † sam . hr.tighoramūrteh. k 98 k bhaktyā mahatyā prabhum ādirāmam . jagatsu(khā)rāmatanum . nirı̄ks.ya | narah. surendrādikaropanı̄tapūjāgryapātratvam uhpaitii ni [53] tyam k 99 k śrı̄hbhoigarāmam abhirāmatanum . nirı̄ks.ya, ks.ı̄n.ā(khi)lāghasaran.ih. śaran.e murāreh. | bhogāhn abhaṅgurarasāin suciram . vicitrān, prāpnoti kalpaśatam alpitadevarājah. k 100 k dr.s.t.vā prakr.s.t.amahimānam anantabhaktyā, tam . guptarāmam atiguptapadam . ca kim . cit | prāpnoti yat tad iha kim . nanu devarāhjoi, ˘ [54] tadgururathāṅgiraso ’pi so ’pi k 101 k śrı̄śaṅkharāmam . pran.ipatya martyah., padam . samabhyeti hi śaṅkhapān.eh. | viśuddhabhāvena hr.dā mahendramukhyādidevair abhivandyamānah. k 102 k jaganmahānandanidānam ı̄śam ., śrı̄maithilı̄laks.man.adevayuktam | śrı̄rāmadevam . pran.ipatya mūrdhnā, namaskari(s.ye) ’lpatarair vahcobhih.i k 103 k deva śrı̄raghunandana (tri)jagatām advaitavādaprabho, bhāsvadvam . śamahāvibhūs.an.aman.e kārun.yaratnākara | trailokyāridaśāsyakan.t.hadaśakacchedollasatpān.aye, pā ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ te te trailokyagoptre namah. k 104 k deva ks.ı̄rasamudrasāndralaharı̄hr niirmathya hr.tkı̄rtaye, tattādr.ggun.a ˘ ˘ [56] ˘ ˘ viśvaikabhartre namah. | śrı̄rāmāya hanūmadādivadanāmbhojanmas.an.d.aprabhābhartre śrı̄janakaks.itı̄ndratanayānandaikahkanidāya ca k 105 k deva tvām . sphuradugraśos.ana ˘ ˘ ˘ , dāracat.usrutipraśamitakrodham namaskurmahe | . tatkāhlāipacitikriyārthamilitāśes.āmba , [57] ˘ dhattātyantasujātyaratnacayabhābhrājis.n.ūpādāmbujam k 106 k 97a nikhilah. M: nis.ilah. E 97c conieci ca: na M 97d conieci dayito: dayitā M, ’sya conj. M 98b mūrtı̄h. M(1): mūrti M(2), conieci khalu yo ’pi 98d kātāstamat M(1) (uncertain): kāntāsamam 99b sukhā◦ M: sus.ā◦ E 99d upaiti . conj. M(2) conj. M 100a bhogarāmam conj. M 100b ◦ ākhilā◦ M: ◦ ās.ilā◦ E 100c bhogān abaṅgurarasān conj. M 101c devarājo conj. M 103c mūrdhnā: mūrddhnā M E 103d ◦ karis.ye M: ◦ karikhye E, vacobhih. conj. M 104a tri◦ M: tr. E 105a ◦ laharı̄r nirmathya 106b ◦ cāt.u◦ M(2) 106bc tipraśamita◦ . . . ◦ āmba conj. M 105d ◦ kandāya conj. M(1) om. M(2) 106c kālāpaciti conj. M(1) 106d dattā◦ M(1) (uncertain) 97 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 98 Upajāti (Upendravraja?) 99 Upajāti 100 Vasantatilaka Vasantatilaka 102 Upajāti 103 Upajāti 104–106 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 101 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 104 Hans Bakker deva tvām giripādape(khi)labhujāmus.t.iprahāro ˘ , ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ | nikhilam trailokyanāśaks . . amam ., ˘˘ ˘ ˘ mam dhāmnā hyes.ui sahasrapūrn.arucima . numah. k 107 k ˘ [58] visarparogajagatı̄nāthāridāridryabhūr, ˘ bhı̄ter bhaktajanasya sam . madapadam . rāmeti nāmasmr.teh. | gavyūtipra ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , k 108 k ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ deva tvām . karun.ā ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ sāmantasindūrajam ., [59] ks.obhujām ren.um . tejasām | . sam . śayayantama ˘ ˘ ˘ kurvān.e jagadis.t.avr.s.t.im amr.tāsārām . bhavonmāthinı̄m ., prārthitat.aprabhākahrai ˘ k 109 k ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ r.n.ikāsana ˘ ˘ ˘ | sindūrācalamaulikalpi ˘ ˘ [60] pratis.t.ham . vibhum ., kumbhodbhūtamunı̄śvaren.a bhagavan vande mude nityaśah. k 110 k deva tvām . purus.am . purātanam ajam . tatta ˘ ˘ , ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ bhagavate bhaktyā namo ’stu prahbhoi k 111 k ˘ ˘ ˘ [61] rāmadevam . yahh.i stauti martyah. pavitradhı̄h. | sindūrācalamaulistham . bhajate tasya ya ˘ ˘ k 112 k kāśı̄prabhr. ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 113 k ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ , | kalpāntāvadhinirmalā(khi)lajalā vr.ks.ā ˘ ˘ [62] lah. | āste bālasamudra es.a vilasaddevālayālı̄mila. devā ˘ ˘ jalo jaleks.an.akr.tām ˘ k 114 k , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ dhanyah. k 115 k samabhyarcya naro bhaktyā na ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ [63] ˘ ˘ | durlabhām . labhate kām . kām . na hi siddhim . viśuddhadhı̄h. k 116 k varān i tāni, devām śu ˘ ˘ . . ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ k 117 k ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ 107a tvām . gi om. M(2), pādapekhila conj. M(1): pādapes.ila E, pes.i om. M(2), bhu om. M(2) 107c nikhilam M: nis ilam E 107d yes u conj. M(2): om. M(1) 108a nātha . . . . M(2) 108ab ridāridrya . . . bhı̄ter om. M(2) 108b sya sam . madapadam . rāmeti om. M(2) 109a karun 109b sa śamayantama M(2) 109d . ām . M(2), sāmanta om. M(2) prārthitadā M(2) (uncertain), prabhākara M(2): prabhāka M(1) 110b r.n . ikāsana M(1): mvi(mbi)kāsūnu M(2) 111d prabho conj. M 112a yah. conj. M: ya E 112cd ◦ stham 114b ◦ ākhila◦ M: ◦ ās.ila E 116b ˘ ˘ |: vidvān | M(2) 117a . . . . ya om. M(2) ragan 117b devaścara M(2) . itāni M(2) 107–111 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 112 Śloka 113 Śloka (Upajāti) 116 Śloka 117 Indravajra (Upajāti) 114 Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita 115 Indravajra Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 64–68 69 70 71 72–75 105 ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | bharan.am ˘ ˘ . garı̄yah., śrı̄rāghavo ’mam . sta kr.tārtham uccaih. k 118 k ... . . . māyideva . . . ... āhūya satvaram uvāca vacah. sa ˘ ... ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ maithilı̄nāthas tus.yati yena me kuru ˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘ ˘ k . . . māyideva . . . ... ll. 64–68 illegible l. 69 illegible; conieci māyideva: māı̄deva M(1), māideva M(2) l. 70 āhūya . . . sa om. M(2), saithilı̄◦ M(1), kuru om. M(2) l. 71 illegible; conieci māyideva: māı̄deva M(1), māideva M(2) ll. 72–75 illegible 118 Indravajra (Upajāti) l. 70 Vasantatilaka, Śārdūlavikrı̄d.ita Translation 27 Owing to the nectar stream of whose glory, the essence of the boundless ocean of existence, the earth has shed her grief at the loss of the illustrious King Sim . han.a . . . 29 His son, known on earth as Vāyināyaka on account of the abundance of glory . . . , became famous throughout the world, and no one that equalled him was ever heard of here. 30 Of him again this . . . (called) Rāghavadeva . . . 31 After the illustrious lord Rāmacandra had entrusted him, who was giving due weight to the virtues . . . , with the care of the magnificent prosperity of his thriving empire, he (himself), conversing in his pleasure garden with his harem-ladies, who are (skilled) in all the arts and sports of love . . . 34 . . . just as endurance (adorns) the steadfast and faithfulness the virtuous one of noble birth, so the most lovely Rājāyı̄, who is a store of virtues and embodies happiness and beauty, adorns him who is a receptacle of virtue ... 35 Thereupon he has asked a brahmin, whose illuminating splendour resembles that of the sun . . . , (thinking): ‘he should be my guru’. 36 ‘O Lord, you know everything; therefore I ask you with ardent desire . . . ’ 38 O Superintendent of the Royal Bedchamber, listen to this word of mine; there is nothing superior to Hari to enable one to cross the ocean of existence. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 106 Hans Bakker 39 Though there are ten avatars of His, Rāma is the (foremost) of them . . . 40 How can I describe that unsurpassed, wonderful efficacy of this mountain Tapam . giri, where he, (the scion of the Raghu race), who is the supreme object of meditation of the yogis, lives together with the Son of the Wind (i.e. Hanumat)? 42 Earlier, it was here that god Nr.hari had ripped open the chest of Surāri (i.e. Hiran.yakaśipu) with his sharp claws; reddened by the stream of his blood, this (mountain became known as Sindūragiri). 43 For who else, even if he resembles Br.haspati, would thus know how to tell yonder . . . ? 44 The lord of the sages, who has protected the ocean by keeping it in his mouth (i.e. Agastya) . . . 45 . . . is known here as (Gauta)meśvara. 46 After the lord of the sages who was born in a pot (i.e. Agastya) had heard the wonderful efficacy of this mountain in the audience-hall of Brahmā . . . , (he told it) to Rāma. 47 A man who has seen with due respect . . . , he is liberated from the sin of killing a brahmin. 50 Those who fast on a day sacred to Vis.n.u and keep a vigil in front of Raghunandana on Tapam . giri . . . 52 Ghan.t.eśvara, Sudheśvara (Siddheśvara?), Lord Kedāra as well as Āñjaneya (i.e. Hanumat), the Lord of the Gate (Dvāreśvara) . . . 53 People who, by taking a bath . . . , have removed their sins, they shall, by breaking their fetters, attain to freedom in the House of Lustre (i.e. the World of Brahmā) and what is beyond that. 55 The guru of the gods is not able to tell the wonderful efficacy of . . . (Gaṅgāsrotas?), 35 who else could do it? 56 . . . (in the tı̄rtha) called the illustrious Śaṅkha(tı̄rtha) . . . , whose lotusfeet are worshipped by the inhabitants of the three worlds. 57 After having taken a bath in the illustrious (Śaṅkhatı̄rtha?) . . . , he shall be without fear and abide in the proximity of Śaṅkhapān.in (i.e. Vis.n.u). 58 . . . that splendid power that is manifest in the Agnitı̄rtha . . . 60 A man who has taken a bath in the Ambatı̄rtha and has worshipped the Spouse of Ambikā, he shall be the unique recipient of pleasures in the abode of Ambikānātha. 61 After having proceeded to the Varun.atı̄rtha . . . , (he shall reach) the Refuge of (Hari) . . . , whose feet are venerated by the Guardians of the World, Varun.a and others. 35 Cf. SM 5.4. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 107 62 The merit that accrues to (those) excellent men who are eager to perform their ablutions in the Śuklatı̄rtha, that merit is not (even) obtained by means of many great sacrifices like the Aśvamedha, nor by severe ascetic practices. 63 When a man has reached the tı̄rtha of Narasim . ha and his brilliant image— in one way or the other, thanks to his eminent merit—which desirable thing is there in the three worlds that is not within his reach, though it is difficult to obtain by others? 64 A man who has bathed also in the excellent eighth tı̄rtha called Kuruks.etra shall reach heaven, since he is purified as a result of his wiping off of (his) sins, such as the killing of a brahmin. 65 Not even the accomplished guru of the gods is able to expound the wonderful efficacy of the well-known ‘Five Tı̄rthas’, here on this most prominent and world-famous mountain. 66 Among these (five) the Laks.mı̄tı̄rtha stands out; those who are subject to life-long excessive suffering, such as poverty, caused by the ripening of their sins, for them prosperity (Laks.mı̄) will quickly and easily be obtainable when they take a bath here. 67 And could one expound the wonderful efficacy of the Ham . satı̄rtha, that bright store of abundant purity, so much so, that even the goose that abides in the heart (i.e. the soul) becomes purified by drinking its water? 68 Would there be a man who possesses enough power to explain the greatness of the illustrious Cakratı̄rtha, whose equal there is not on earth, and for whose protection Lord Hari employed his own discus, called Sudarśana? 69 A man who has taken a bath in the water of the Dhanustı̄rtha and who has offered a bow made of gold, or of other material depending on his means, his pile of sins will be destroyed and he will go to the abode of the illustrious Śārṅgapān.in (the Bearer of the Bow, i.e. Vis.n.u). 70 The man who takes a bath in the tı̄rtha of the ancestors, named Pitr.tı̄rtha, and who offers oblations to his ancestors, after this disciplined man has (thus) purified a million of his ancestors, he will himself go to the heavenly abode of the ancestors. 71 That man shall quickly obtain healthy sons who takes a bath, together with his wife, in the Vājimedhatı̄rtha, which lies to the west of the mountain and which is a match for all tı̄rthas taken together. 72 The river that by its lotus-hands, viz. its waves, protects the dharma against the forces of the Kali Age, that river, running in the vicinity of this (mountain) and appositely known as Kalipā, is able to take away the faults of the Kali Age. 73 And in the neighbourhood of this mountain runs also that (river) Suranadı̄, which is frequented by a great number of gods and which grants to men who perform the bathing rites, beginning with sipping its water, even if Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 108 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Hans Bakker they perform them only once, abundant enjoyments in the House of the Gods. Gods, sages and men do not value the confluence of the waters of the Ganges and the Arkajā (i.e. Yamunā) higher than they do the confluence of the waters of the Kalipā and Suranadı̄ rivers. It is no wonder that, after having reached the Man.ikālakun.d.a, a mortal attains all accomplishments (siddhi) in this most excellent tı̄rtha; and then, owing to its grace, final release itself is not far away either. (And) though release is difficult to obtain, it comes within reach of the living at the very moment that he reaches the Moks.akun.d.a to the south of the mountain. The Enemy of the Ten-necked (Rāvan.a) (i.e. Rāma) grants a mass of merit to come forth as the reward of bathing in the illustrious Rāmatı̄rtha that lies here (on this mountain), a tı̄rtha of which the wonderful efficacy is famous for making the final goal come into view. Those who are dedicated to stay in this holy place of the Enemy of the Ten-necked (Rāvan.a) for goodness’ sake on an Ekādaśı̄ day, to them release becomes humble and, captured in the cage of their hands, will serve them like a domesticated maina-bird. When a man takes a bath in the illustrious Rāmatı̄rtha in the month of Kārttika and, filled with devotion, pays his respect to the Enemy of the Ten-necked (Rāvan.a), then his soul shall not become (that of) a maggot, if he returns into an earthly frame. If one performs on this mountain only once a śrāddha-sacrifice, a Rāma’s Gayā (as it were), then one’s ancestors will obtain the release which is extremely difficult to attain. In the vicinity of the illustrious (holy place) of Rāmacandra is the Sindūra pond which is a reservoir of virtue; by its purifying sight one conquers heaven and attains to release. And how could one describe the Karpūra pond in the proximity of the God who is Sı̄tā’s beloved, which brims over with a flood of favours? For, even release acts as its servant. The accumulation of merit that accrues from staying one day on the Sindūra mountain, which surpasses all other (mountains) because of its being touched by the lotus-feet of the illustrious Rāma, that (same amount of merit) is not even obtained by people who stay all their life in, be it Kāśı̄, or Ujjayinı̄, or Mathurā, or Dvārakā, or Purı̄. Out of desire for Rāma the Elephant-faced (Gan.eśa) abides here in person, whose pair of frontal globes, when thought of, brings worldly blessings. And here on this mountain of Rāma also abides the Lord of the Dharma (Dharmeśvara) who, as a vehicle of compassion, protects the Dharma injured by Kali. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 109 86 Here the śūdra saint Śambuka has reached the abode of Murāri (i.e. Kr.s.n.a/Vis.n.u) after having been killed by the sword Candrahāsa, which was wielded by Rāmacandra; and on this eminent mountain he became well-known as Dhūmrāks.a. 87 Those who go and see the Lord of Śivā, Śiva, known on this mountain under the name of Muktı̄śvara, on a day sacred to Śiva, while keeping a vow dedicated to Śiva, will attain to Śiva-hood in Śiva’s abode. 88 Yonder God whose unique form comprises the world lives here on this king of mountains, the one who in His form of Gopāla is the full moon in the ocean of bliss of the gopı̄ folk and whose shining lotus eyes are wide open. 89 The illustrious Narasim . ha also lives on that (same mountain), who is the fourth descent of the Unshakable one (i.e. Vis.n.u), who out of compassion has fully protected the world, when it was harassed exceedingly by a torrent of heat. 90 And here, in the residence of the Enemy of the Ten-necked (Rāvan.a), lives lord Ādikola (i.e. Varāha) at the end of the Kalpa, the one who, while carrying on his tusk the earth which had deeply sunken into the flood of the seven oceans, appeared as a leaf in a lotus pond as it were, when he brought it up by his tooth, and whose praises were sung by the divine seers, whose excitement resided within their hairs (i.e. whose hair stood on end due to exhilaration). 91 The illustrious monarch Paṅktiratha (i.e. Daśaratha) has also come to live on the top of this mountain, out of love for his son, after he had forever resigned the unequalled and unique homage payed to him by the great Indra. 92 Here on this mountain the two rulers of the world Kuśa and Lava, sons of the illustrious Rāmacandra, act as a tree of plenty for those who are steeped in devotion. 93 Here reside the Eight Mothers, who are distinguished by the name Mahāsiddhi, and who bestow upon their devotees the eight occult powers, viz. that of becoming as small as an atom, etc. 94 And what about Lord Mahābhairava, the Place of Sport of Kālikā, whose black, gaping mouth is like a large burning net which swallows the entire universe at the end of time, and who, when he came to see the Sindūra mountain out of desire for Rāma, immediately lost his inclination to live anywhere else? 95 He who is Rāma’s unswerving servant, the Son of the Wind, lives here. A man who visualizes him in his heart-lotus, as possessed of five mouths, moon-crested, with ten arms, blazing terribly like a million rising suns, as having three eyes, in his hands a hatchet(?) . . . , a sword, a boon (?), an arrow, a bow, a spear, and a skull-staff, and showing the abhaya and varada handgestures to his devotees, this man gains full control over the powers in the universe. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 110 Hans Bakker 96 The powerful lord who carries on his heads this world as if it were a garland made of flowers, Hari’s companion during his descent as the illustrious Rāma, the conch/serpent (śaṅkha), though without conch/serpent nature (aśaṅkhātmaka), resides here, in the proximity of the spouse of Janaka’s daughter, as Laks.man.a, who fulfils whatever desire is cherished by any of his devotees. 97 She is also present here in Rāma’s proximity, she by remembering whose Name the whole mountain of sins is totally destroyed, this Goddess, single river of compassion, who is a guide on the path of all women who remain faithful to their husbands, and who reduced the king of Lan.kā to ashes by a curse: ‘my husband shall effect his destruction’. 98 A man who has seen the images of the Enemy of the Ten-necked (Rāvan.a) . . . here on this mountain, into him . . . of the terrifying image of the destruction of the world will no longer strike fear. 99 When a man full of ardent devotion comes and sees Lord Ādirāma, whose image (body) is a garden of happiness to the world, then he shall forever attain to the state of being the principal recipient of veneration offered by the hands of the Lord of the Gods and the others. 100 If one sees the illustrious Bhogarāma, whose image (body) is beautiful, the whole range of sins is destroyed in Murāri’s (Kr.s.n.a’s) refuge; and directly one shall taste all kinds of undiminishing enjoyments for a hundred world periods, dwarfing the king of the gods. 101 When one, filled with inexhaustible devotion, has seen Guptarāma here, who is of superior greatness and whose abode is very secret, one gets whatever (one desires)—nay, (one becomes like) the king of the gods or even Āṅgirasa (Br.haspati), who is their guru . . . 102 A mortal who prostrates before the illustrious Śaṅkharāma reaches, indeed, the abode of Śaṅkhapān.in (the Bearer of the Conch, i.e. Vis.n.u) where he, being in a state of inner purity, will be respectfully welcomed by the great Indra followed by (the other) gods. 103 Bowing my head to the Lord who is the source of great happiness for the world, the illustrious god Rāma, who is accompanied by the illustrious princess of Mithilā and god Laks.man.a, I shall sing his praise in modest words: l04 ‘O God, illustrious Raghunandana, Lord who proclaims the oneness of the three worlds, you who, like a great jewel, adorn your splendid dynasty, mine of compassion, obeisance to you whose hand chops off in play the ten heads of the ten-faced Enemy of the Universe (i.e. Rāvan.a), obeisance to you, O guardian of the universe . . . ’ 105 ‘O God, obeisance to you whose glory of having churned the clotted waves of the milk-ocean (stirs) the heart, to you who are the unique support of all . . . , obeisance to you, illustrious Rāma, who lends lustre to a multitude Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 5 / The Ramtek Inscriptions I 111 of lotus-like faces such as those of Hanumat and others, to you who are the sole root of bliss for the illustrious daughter of King Janaka.’ 106 ‘O God, we pay homage to you . . . , whose anger was calmed by the flow of sweet words of . . . (his) wife . . . , whose lotus-feet radiate with the lustre of a heap of jewels . . . ’ 112 The mortal who praises Rāmadeva residing on top of the Sindūra mountain with a pure mind, to him grants . . . 116 When a man has devotedly worshipped . . . and his mind is purified, what difficult-to-obtain (occult) power will there be that he will not obtain? Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access The Ramtek Inscriptions II ∗ The Vākāt.aka Inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson Introduction In The Ramtek Inscriptions I (hereafter RI) mention was made of a Vākāt.aka 1 inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple on Ramtek Hill, the discovery of which was reported in IAR 1982–83, 137. The credit for first discussing, as well as editing the text goes to the Director of the Archaeological Survey and Museums of Maharashtra, Dr. A.P. Jamkhedkar. In an article which appeared in 1986 in R. Parimoo (ed.), Vais.n.avism in Indian Arts and Culture (pp. 335– 41), 2 Jamkhedkar attributed the inscription to Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā (Jamkhedkar 1987a, 340), an attribution for which he adduced arguments in a subsequent article that was published in M.S. Nagaraja Rao (ed.), Kusumāñjali, vol. I in 1987 (Jamkhedkar 1987b, pp. 217–23). In the latter publication the text of the inscription was edited and an interpretation of it was given (op. cit. 220 f.). In the same year Ajay Mitra Shastri’s Early History of the Deccan appeared, chapter V (pp. 45–81) of which deals with ‘The Vākāt.aka: fresh epigraphic evidence’. This chapter is for the greater part a reprint of the author’s earlier publication in the Nagpur University Journal (vol. 35 (1984–86), 130–64) with the exception of the Appendix (pp. 68–74). The appendix may have been added to the book in a late phase of its production, since the text of the endnotes ∗ The first version of this article with the title The Ramtek Inscriptions II was published in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. LVI, Part 1 (1993), 46–74. A revised version of the Sanskrit text of the inscription by Bakker alone was included in Bakker 1997, The Vākāt.akas, 163–67. The inscription was discussed again and new readings were proposed in Bakker 2010c, A new interpretation of Rāmagiri evidence (1) (below, pp. 351 ff.) and Bakker 2012 A new interpretation of Rāmagiri evidence (2) (below, pp. 357 ff.). The present edition reproduces the first edition in the BSOAS, but reference to the revised readings are given in the apparatus between [ ], footnotes, and through cross-references. 1 Hans Bakker in: BSOAS LII.3 (1989), 468; above, p. 80. 2 According to the title page, this volume was published in Delhi in 1987. 113 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 114 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson pertaining to it has unfortunately dropped out. In the Appendix Shastri analyses the contents of the Ramtek inscription of the time of Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā, but, owing to the omission of the notes, it remains unclear in the majority of cases on which textual reading his interpretation is founded. Since Shastri’s interpretation differs significantly from that of Jamkhedkar and the two authors do not refer to each other’s publications, we may not be far off the mark if we assume that both archaeologists’ treatments of this inscription were written independently at about the same time. Jamkhedkar’s text was unfortunately marred by numerous printing errors. A corrected version appeared in Jamkhedkar’s contribution to The age of the Vākāt.akas, edited by Ajay Mitra Shastri, which was published in 1992 (p. 162). The changes seem to be restricted to corrections of misprints, though a few new ones have crept in. Whereas Shastri (1987, 68) rightly observed that ‘so far as it can be made out, it appears to have been composed entirely in verse’, Jamkhedkar, quite astonishingly, seems to have overlooked the metrical nature of the text, proposing numerous readings which must be rejected on metrical grounds. Partly because of this serious oversight, Jamkhedkar’s edition is very unsatisfactory. We therefore feel justified in presenting a new edition and a translation of this text, 3 which, though tantalising and puzzling in many respects, 4 is evidently unusual if not unique in character, and of considerable significance for fifth-century Vākāt.aka and Gupta history. As will be argued below, the inscription was commissioned by a lady, though not Prabhāvatı̄ herself as believed by Jamkhedkar. 5 She seems rather to have been the beneficiary of the pious activity recorded, which was carried out by one of her children, not however a son as suggested by Shastri, 6 but a daughter. The inscription refers to events in this daughter’s life, in particular to her marriage with her maternal uncle the Gupta prince Ghat.otkaca, and her 3 When RI was written, Jamkhedkar’s edition had been announced but had not yet reached us; now it has, we feel that the reservation made in RI, 468 (above, p. 80) is no longer appropriate. 4 Shastri 1987, 68 f.: ‘And what little has escaped destruction makes little sense and gives only a faint idea of its likely object. The only thing that can be done under the circumstances is to indicate bits of information that can be made out, sometimes very doubtfully, from the preserved portion.’ 5 Jamkhedkar 1987b, 221: ‘References to Śrı̄ Rudrasena [. . . ], husband of the celebrated Prabhāvatı̄guptā, and to Ghat.otkaca, probably a son of Candragupta himself, all point to the inscription having been caused to be carved by Prabhāvatı̄guptā herself.’ See also the following note. 6 Shastri 1987, 70 f.: ‘The name of the person responsible for its excavation was also given, but it is damaged. The only thing that can be said with some degree of certitude is that it was a male person as would follow from the word kārayitr. in masculine form (kārayitā) (l. 12): he may have been Pravarasena II.’ Compare Jamkhedkar 1987b, 221: ‘That the present inscription was caused to be written by a lady is clear from the references in line 15 and that she is no other than Prabhāvatı̄guptā herself is most certain [sic!] from the nail-headed characters in which the inscription is carved.’ In his 1992 publication (p. 160) Jamkhedkar seems less certain of the identity of the lady in question. On Shastri’s argument from the word kārayitā see below, p. 134. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 115 forced return to her ancestral home after his death. Whereas Shastri missed the name ‘Ghat.otkaca’ and was hence led astray, Jamkhedkar does actually read this name, though the relationship between the persons mentioned— Candragupta, Ghat.otkaca, Rudrasena and Prabhāvatı̄ and their daughter (see Fig. 1)—epitomized in the word bhāgineyı̄ (l. 7)—escaped him too. Candragupta II Rudrasena II [Pravarasena II] bhrātr. = Prabhāvatı̄ [Kumāragupta I] daughter (bhāgineyı̄) = Ghat.otkaca Figure 1 Gupta–Vākāt.aka matrimonial relations 7 We shall elaborate on this scheme below on the basis of the text. For the archaeological, religious and cultural context of the present inscription we may refer to several earlier publications. 8 Some of the references that were made in them to this inscription do not conform with the readings and interpretations now proposed; these preliminary observations should be considered superseded by the present edition. The inscription is found in the southern wall of the man.d.apa of the Kevala– 9 Narasim . ha Temple, and was discovered when the covering plaster was removed during restoration work of the Archaeological Survey, which unfortunately led to severe damage. It is not clear whether the inscription has always been fixed to this spot or was, at a certain time, inserted in the southern wall. 10 When found, it covered principally two slabs of stone, fixed beneath one another. The left and upper sides of both stones are somewhat crumbled off, and the lower slab has been broken vertically in the middle. The three pieces of stone have been fitted again with mortar by the restorers. Twelve lines are carved on the upper slab and three on the lower. The height of both slabs taken together is about 50 cm, and their breadth about 100 cm. The ragged right sides of both 7 Names within square brackets do not occur in the legible part of the inscription. For a further elaboration see Bakker 2012, The Gupta–Vākāt.aka Relationship. A new interpretation of Rāmagiri evidence (2); below, pp. 357 ff. 8 Bakker 1989c, 1990b, 1991, 1992b, 1992c, 1992d (below, pp. 149 ff.). 9 For descriptions of the temple see Jamkhedkar 1988 and Bakker 1989c. 10 This question will be reexamined in Bakker 2010c, 2012, 2013b (see below, pp. 351 ff., pp. 357 ff., pp. 365 ff.). Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 116 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson the upper and lower slab seem to indicate that some portion was broken off which is now irretrievably lost. Before presenting the edited text and translation and embarking on a line by line discussion of problems and uncertainties, it seems advisable, in view of the fact that the right part of the inscription is totally illegible and partly lost, to attempt to determine what its breadth originally was, i.e. how many verses (syllables) were written on one line. In this we are helped by the fact that the text appears to be totally written in verse. As can be readily determined, the legible portions of lines 2–10 are written in Upajāti metre. Each line begins at the beginning of a pāda, and in almost all of these cases it seems as good as certain that this is also the beginning of a verse. Thus the imagery of verse 5 (line 3) seems too coherent and fitting for it to be in fact parts of two different verses; the first two pādas of line 4 could hardly come elsewhere than at the beginning of a verse; in line 6 it seems highly probable that the genitive supuṅgavasya depends on ghat.otkaco nāma suto, etc. And since on several lines, syllables or even words can be made out which clearly come after the fourth pāda of the verse with which the line begins, and these syllables or words can invariably be easily fitted into the Upajāti pattern, we conclude that on each line from lines 2–10 at least two complete verses in Upajāti metre were written. This has an important implication; since the first four pādas of Upajāti already cover approximately four-fifths of the breadth of the stone, at the time the inscription was made either the stone must have been (considerably) larger, i.e. since that time it must have been broken and a large section lost, or the inscription must have been continued horizontally on an adjacent stone or stones, just as we can see that it was continued vertically from the top stone to the bottom one. Assuming that there were two Upajāti verses (88 sylls.) to a line, the inscription would probably have covered a breadth of about 170 cm. This would already make it one of the broadest Gupta or Vākāt.aka inscriptions known. If we were to assume yet one more Upajāti verse per line (as one is tempted to do on the basis of the contents) the breadth would come to approximately 250 cm. Proceeding on the supposition that in lines 11–15, which can be determined to be in Śloka metre, the scribe would have covered approximately the same breadth of stone as in the lines with Upajāti, one arrives at the approximation that if two Upajātis (88 sylls.) were written there, three Ślokas (96 sylls.) could be written per line. This is borne out by the fact that in line 12 an aks.ara can be faintly made out that lies beyond where the end of the second Śloka could be, and by the fact that in the Śloka lines the aks.aras are written slightly closer to each other. If however we suppose that three Upajātis (132 sylls.) were written, there would have been room for four Ślokas (128 sylls.); even with more economical use of space it is hard to believe that five (160 sylls.) could have been written. The marked attempt in lines 11–15 to write more aks.aras in the same space therefore seems to support the first assumption of three Ślokas per line. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II Vākāt.aka Inscription in the Kevala–Narasim . ha Temple (Ramtek) Plate 10 117 Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 118 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson Palaeography The inscription is beautifully carved, giving a gentle and rounded impression. The characters may be described as belonging to the southern variety of Brāhmı̄ with, as Shastri remarks, ‘solid triangles, instead of square boxes, on the tops of letters’. 11 So bald a description will, however, give little indication of the palaeographic interest of the inscription. The feature to which Shastri has briefly called attention, the solid triangular head-marks, is particularly noteworthy, in view of the fact that for a long time the Poona copperplates of Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā (CII V, no. 2) was the only known Vākāt.aka inscription with triangular (in this case, however, hollow) head-marks. 12 The large majority of known Vākāt.aka inscriptions, with their characteristic hollow square head-marks, 13 are admittedly on copperplates—a medium whose differences from stone influenced the palaeography to an extent which has not yet been sufficiently evaluated—but also the few Vākāt.aka stone inscriptions published in CII V (those discovered since will be discussed separately below) have square rather than triangular head-marks. 14 On the characters of the Poona Plates Mirashi made the following remarks (CII V, 5). The characters are mostly of the nail-headed variety, having a triangle with its apex downwards at the top of the letters. A few letters, however, are of the boxheaded type in which all other inscriptions of the Vākāt.akas were written. See, e.g. vākāt.aka◦ in line 1 of the seal and si of siddham in line 1 on the first plate. It is noteworthy that besides their boxheads, some of these letters (e.g. v and s) have forms which are different from those noticed elsewhere in the grant. They agree with those in other grants of box-headed characters. It would seem therefore that the scribe began to write the present grant in box-headed characters, but not being accustomed to them, he soon changed over to nail-headed characters with which he was more familiar. He may have hailed from North India where the nail-headed characters were in vogue. The characters show an admixture of northern and southern peculiarities, the former predominating over the latter. It is therefore with these plates that one might reasonably first compare the palaeography of the inscription published here. But in contrast with the Poona Plates, we here find exclusively southern forms, as far as the shape of the letters is concerned. The difference can be clearly illustrated by the ma for example; our inscription showing the looped southern form as opposed to the open and 11 Shastri 1987, 68; Jamkhedkar 1987b, 220 contents himself with speaking of ‘the nail- headed characters of the Gupta times’. 12 Dani 1963, 173: ‘all their [i.e. the Vākāt.akas’] inscriptions are written in this style [i.e. with square head-marks at the top left of the verticals], except the Poona copperplate which has hollow triangular head-marks.’ 13 Cf. Dani 1963, 175. 14 CII V, nos. 1, 20–21, 22, 25, 26 and 27. Of these, it is worth noting that only no. 1, the Deotek Inscription of Rudrasena I, belongs to the Eastern Vākāt.akas. Nos. 20-21 and 22 have hollow square head-marks, the others solid. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 119 tailed variety of the Poona Plates. The only ‘northern’ feature is therefore the head-marks. One more characteristic that differs from the majority of hitherto known Vākāt.aka inscriptions is the form of the medial i/ı̄, for which the circle type, with an additional curve inside for the ı̄, is used; a form which, according to Dani, ‘though known in the inscriptions of Malwa and Gujarat in the fifth century ad, was not used in this region in the Vākāt.aka records’ (Dani 1963, 176). This remark must definitely be qualified: Dani appears to have overlooked the inscription of Varāhadeva in Ajanta Cave XVII, in which the circle type is found (in combination with solid square head-marks), and the Ghat.otkaca Cave inscription of the same. 15 Furthermore, several copperplate inscriptions use the circle type, sometimes together with the looped kind. 16 None the less it is true that the circle type is rarer in Vākāt.aka inscriptions. The particular combination of features here—solid triangular head-marks, exclusively southern forms of the letters, and the circle type of medial i/ı̄— seems to agree most closely with some specimens of Malwa epigraphy; a good example which is somewhat similar to our inscription is the famous Mandasor Stone Inscription of Kumāragupta and Bandhuvarman of ad 437/473 (CII III (1888), no. 18). In comparison with that inscription, however, we here find e.g. the pa with practically equal arms, instead of the form with its left arm bent. Other points which should be briefly noted are the use of the jihvāmūlı̄ya, here transliterated as h (l. 4), and the upadhmānı̄ya, transliterated ḩ (ll. 4 and ¯ 5, both somewhat damaged), as well as the halanta forms, which consist of a small version of the letter written slightly below the line (n in l. 8, t in l. 10, m in ll. 12, 13 and 14). The only punctuation mark visible, a double dan.d.a, is found in l. 13, after verse 27 (printed in bold-face in the text). At a number of places, e.g. l. 8, after verse 15, it can be clearly seen that no punctuation mark was used but some extra space was given between the verses. Some remarks should now be made as to the relation of the palaeography of our inscription with that of the other Vākāt.aka stone inscriptions discovered and published since the appearance of CII V. The first among these is the Hisse–Borala inscription of Devasena, which has been the subject of several publications since its discovery. 17 In his discussion of the palaeography of this inscription Kolte wrote (1965, 374): Most of the copperplates and stone inscriptions of the Vākāt.akas discovered so far are written in box-headed characters. The present inscription is an exception to this. The letters in it have neither the headline nor any boxes at the top of the 15 CII V, no. 26; though the plate published in CII is poorly legible, and Mirashi does not make any remark on the shape of the medial i/ı̄, it seems to be circular. 16 See especially the Ramtek Plate of Pravarasena II, CII V, no. 16, pl. XVI. 17 Kolte 1965; Gokhale 1967–68; Gai & Sankaranarayanan 1967–68; Shastri 1970; Shri- mali 1987, 81. The sole photograph published so far is that in Gokhale 1967–68, this photograph is the basis for the remarks made here. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 120 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson dan.d.a . . . However, the letter c seems to be an exception to this. The c in line 3 has been incised with a head line. Gokhale on the other hand wrote that ‘the characters of the epigraph . . . resemble those of the Ghat.otkaca Cave Inscription of Vyāghrasena. 18 They are not box-headed as found in many copperplate grants of the Vākāt.akas’ (Gokhale 1967–68, 2). On the basis of the photograph published by Gokhale these observations can be corrected and rendered more precise on a few points. Many of the letters indeed appear to have no head-mark. The ca, which occurs twice in line three, has a solid triangular head-mark (particularly clear in the second example). Occasionally other letters too seem to have been written with headmarks, e.g. the sa which in line 2 appears once with apparently a solid triangular headmark (in sudarśanam . ) and once with a solid square or rectangular head-mark (in ◦ satva◦ ). This inscription therefore actually appears to mix forms without head-marks, with triangular head-marks and with square or rectangular headmarks. Though the shapes of the letters can be described (with Gokhale 1967– 68, 2) as southern, several, most noticeably the da (curved instead of angular) and the pa (which has a bent left arm), differ significantly from those found in our inscription. The other two, admittedly very short, Vākāt.aka stone inscriptions published in recent years are the two graffiti found in the very same temple as the inscription at issue and published in RI. The first of these (RI, pl. II (a); above, Plate 6) was there described as being ‘written in Deccani style characters with solid triangular head-marks’, while the second (RI, pl. II (b); above, Plate 7) has ‘a mixture of solid triangular and block [i.e. square] head-marks’ (RI, 469; above, p. 81). Of these two graffiti, the second need not occupy us long here; it may suffice to draw attention to the ra with its extended lower curve and the very square tha, two features that distinguish it clearly from our inscription. The first graffito, on the other hand, is of interest here, since its letters can be seen to bear a certain resemblance to those of the large inscription. None the less, the appealing theory that the engraver of the latter carved his own name onto a pillar during an idle moment, must no doubt be rejected, as can be determined already by a study of the first letter of the graffito (śrı̄). As can be clearly seen in the published photograph (Plate 6), the medial ı̄ is of the curved rather than the circular type, and the top of the śa is rather broader and definitely flat, another characteristic which may suggest ‘northern’ influence. Finally the da is round, resembling the d.a rather than the da of the inscription published here. To conclude this note on palaeography, we believe that in this respect too this inscription proves itself to be unusual, showing a combination of characteristics which has not yet been found in any other Vākāt.aka inscription. The present 18 Sic: meant is the inscription of Varāhadeva, CII V, no. 26, which has square head-marks. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 121 state of our knowledge of Indian palaeography is not, however, so far advanced as yet that one can, in our opinion, draw any conclusions from these facts as to the provenance of the engraver or other possible implications. Note on the edition and translation The edition presented here is based primarily on photographs we made in November 1989 (of which the photograph published here (Plate 10) is a composite). Since the individual photos overlap to some extent, it was possible to make use of stereoscopy for considerable portions of the text. 19 In addition, photographs kindly supplied by the American Institute of Indian Studies (Ramnagar/Varanasi) were consulted. 20 While we have spared no pains in our efforts to establish the text from these photographs, it may be worthwhile to repeat the warning recently made by K.R. Norman with particular reference to Aśokan studies (Norman 1991, 245). One problem which bedevils inscriptional studies . . . is that what is legible on one set of photographs may for various reasons, including perhaps the skill of the photographer, the lighting, the shadows, etc., be doubtful or even completely illegible on another. Even in the case of identical photographs, variations in the printing process can lead to variations in the quality of the print of the photographs. It is in part such problems as these that have led us to give here, in addition to the text and translation, a relatively detailed commentary touching on both palaeographical and philological problems, and a separate section setting out our interpretation and its historical implications at some length. More importantly, however, this was done from a conviction that it is in these respects that much of the work done in inscriptional studies so far could be improved; and even if part of what follows may seem unnecessary, plodding or self-evident, our aims will have been fulfilled if with its help other scholars can more easily locate our mistakes and improve on them. Those conjectures of which we felt relatively certain, that is, for which we could think of no other possibility that was at all plausible, have been placed in hangular bracketsi in the text. Others, which seemed attractive but were less compelling, have been suggested in notes below the text, while a few more suggestions have been tentatively made in the annotation. We are of course aware of the subjective element involved in this procedure—what seems compelling to us may appear implausible to others—but feel none the less that at 19 The use of this technique was first suggested to us by Mr. M. Albers. We are also grateful to J.P. Posthumus (MA) for technical assistance. 20 The four photographs (nos. 580.60–63) were placed at our disposal thanks to the kind offices of F.H.P.M. Janssen (MA). The photographs published in Jamkhedkar (1987b) and Shastri (1987) are of too poor quality as printed to be of much help. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 122 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson least a rough categorization of such suggestions is desirable. Other conjectures proposed in Bakker 1997, 2010c, 2012 are given in [square brackets] in the apparatus. Readings of which we were less certain (not emendations as in RI) have been placed in (round brackets) in the text. The readings of Jamkhedkar’s edition are given after the text, in so far as they differ from the text as adopted by us. When the two published versions (Jamkhedkar 1987b and 1992) differ, one reading is almost always an obvious misprint and has not been reported. In one doubtful case both readings are given with J2 denoting the later version. So many of Jamkhedkar’s readings are metrically impossible that this has not been explicitly remarked in each case. Orthographical ‘peculiarities’ such as the use of the homorganic nasal for the anusvāra, the doubling of consonants after r have been left unaltered. The punctuation marks are, however, all ours, with the sole exception of the double dan.d.a after verse 27. Commas have been used to indicate the ends of the odd pādas. It should be noted that our use of brackets in the translation differs from the system employed in the edition. Explicatory additions are placed in (parentheses), restorations proposed in the notes to the edition are within hangular bracketsi, and lacunae in the text are indicated with the use of [square brackets]. Words or parts of words which are in parentheses or angular brackets in the text are not marked as such in the translation. Text ( ) reading uncertain hi conjectural addition [ ] in apparatus: references to conjectures proposed in Bakker 1997, 2010c, 2012 / vowel part of syllable consonant part of syllable ˘ , and ˘ : metrical quantity of illegible syllables 1 hsa jai(ya)ti sajalāmbudodarā ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ mitihpirasarājya na ˘ | , ˘ ˘ (ma)khasamayaidhitāṅga bhayalohlaidr s t i(dr )hs . . . . . t.aih. ||1|| ˘˘˘˘ (mu) ˘ ˘ n.ahrāi jar(s.)isa ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ||2|| ˘ | ◦ 1a ◦ odarābhah. 1c ran [For possible reconstructions of verse 1 see Bakker 1997, . amakha ◦ 163 and 2010c (below, p. 353)] [2a dūren samudraguptah. conj. . a conj. Bakker 1997, 163; Bakker 1997, 163, but rejected again in Bakker 2012 (below, n. 16 on p. 359)] ,˘˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | 2 × (12, 13) 1 Pus.pitāgrā: ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ 2–20 Upajāti: ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ 4 × (11) Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 2 (pra)bhāvodgata(pā)da(pı̄)ht.ha-i, | (pra) (dh)r.ti(sthā)lana (ñc)i yasyottamāṅgair bbalayo kriyanthei, (pā)de hsaicūd.āman.ibhir nr.hpān.āmi ||3|| ˘ ta(s)yodadhiprānta ˘ la ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ 3 ˘ (lekhā)mi ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ 7 ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ||6|| ˘ | ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||8|| sadaiva devas trisamudranāthas, sa candragup(t)a(ḩ paripū)rn.n.ahvi(r.)ttah. | ˘ ˘ nām adhi(pa)s suhtām . tāim ., śrı̄(ru)hdraisenāya (g)huin.ā ˘ ˘ ||9|| (ve) ˘ (lı̄) ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ 6 ˘ | tayoh kramād āhatala(ks.an.es.)u, ¯ u jātes . ˘ ˘ nvite(s.u)| yhavı̄yaisı̄ candra(ma)saḩ (p)ra(bh)hevai, ˘ mun.d.anāmnı̄ tana(yā) (ba)hbhūvai ||7|| ˘ ˘ 5 ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ||4|| ˘ hdi(e)vateva pratipūjyahmāni(ā), pitur gr.hhei (pra)ti(s.)i ˘ ˘ | ˘ hyayiau vr.d(dhi)ka(m . ) hcānailasya, prājyājyasiktasya śikheva ˘ ||5|| tām . ˘ nābhyunnata ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ 4 123 ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||10|| sudurvvahām . rājyadhuram . samagrām ., dhurandharasy(e)hvai supuṅgavasya | ˘ ˘ (syā) ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , hghait.ohtkaico nāma suto ˘ ˘ ||11|| ˘ m aṅganāpā ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||12|| tām bhāgineyı̄m atha rājarājo, dr.(s.)ht.vāi˘ ˘ ˘ veśmalaks.mı̄hmi | (d)y/hi, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ huipāsya pān.igrahan.am . cakāra ||13|| ◦ [3a tı̄ks.n 3b prabhā◦ [4a ◦ palāyamānām conj. Bakker 1997, . a conj. Bakker 1997, 163] 163] 5a sā devateva, [yā devateva conj. Bakker 1997, 164] [5b pitur gr.hı̄tā conj. Bakker 1997, 164, but rejected in Bakker 2010c (below, n. 1 on p. 352); pratis.iddhaśakteh. conj. Bakker 1997, 164] [5c kanyā yayau conj. Bakker 1997, 164] [5d śuddhā conj. Bakker ◦ 1997, 164] 7b putres.u gun [7d sā mun I now . ānvites.u . d.a conj. Bakker 1997, 164; ◦ conjecture: yā mun 9c dadau ˘ nām, [dadau prajānām conj. Bakker 1997, 164] 9d . d.a ] 11d suto babhūva gun [11c prajādhipasyā◦ conj. Bakker 1997, 164] . ākarāya Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 124 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson devendra(dha)n ˘ ˘ ˘ (ya)m, amā ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||14|| 8 ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ||18|| tatraiva yān yān manujendrapu(t)rı̄, ˘ ˘ dha ˘ savān akāhrs.iı̄t | ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ (n.a tes.ām . ) ˘ ˘ bhāgam etam . ||19|| ˘ ˘ 11 ˘˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ||16|| tasmin kadācit kamanı̄yarūpe, ˘ ˘ ˘ purandaren.a | (t/) ˘ (y/) ˘ ˘ (s sa)mānām ., bhrātā balāt svam . gr.ham ā(ni)nāya ||17|| ˘ ˘ 10 ˘ | śuddhair vvacobhir vvidus.ām . manhāi(m . )hsii, mburuheks.an.āhnāmi | (prı̄) ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ (s), sādhūn dhanaughair yyaśasā ca lokān ||15|| (sa) ˘ ˘ ˘ hmaihı̄pa, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘˘ 9 ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ | ˘ ||20|| prabhāvatisvāminam . ca, lokanāhthaim a(th)ā ˘ ˘ | pun.yam aks.ayam uddiśya, mā ˘ ˘ ˘ haikhāirayahti ||21|| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , jagaduthpai(tti)nā ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||22|| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||23|| 12 sudarśanam . tad.āgam . ca, deva(ñ) caiva sudarhśanaim | kadalı̄vāt.akagrāme, kārayithviāti vatı̄ ||24|| ˘ ˘ ˘ (pı̄)takeśā, pun.yam uhddiśyai ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , (pā) ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||25|| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ||26|| 14b amātya 15b prı̄n 19b [yatnān sva◦ conj. Bakker 1997, . āti nı̄lāmburuheks.an . ānām 166]; dharmaprasavān 21b athādarāt, [athālaye conj. Bakker 1997, 166] [21d mātuh. conj. Bakker 1997, 166, mātuh. śubham akārayat conj. Bakker 2010c (below, p. 355)] 24d kārayitvātibhāvatı̄ 21–34 Śloka Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 13 125 arddham . brahmārppahn.am . i pun.yam . , r. ˘ ˘ ˘ n.a ˘ nı̄ | mātāpitr.bhyhāmi ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ krhiiyodbhavam 27|| jagatas (sth)ihtiisaṅhārakāran.asyāhmiitaujahsah.i | (ā)rs.hai(ma) ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||28|| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ 14 ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ||29|| prāsādam . dayihti(ā)hdhi ātur, vvicintya tam aśāśvatam | mātur eva samuddihśyai, hpuin.yaugham aghavarjjitā ||30|| śil(ā) ˘ (śi)lasaṅhkiāśam . , (ci)rā(ya) ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||31|| ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘, ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘˘ 15 ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ | ˘ ˘ ||32|| ālokasthāyinı̄(ñ ce)māṅ, kı̄rttim prakhyāpayis.yatā | tayā hpariigr.hı̄hteina, tadājñānuvidhāhyiniā ||33|| kāvyahm . ), ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ gena (ca) | . maihaj jay(a) ˘ (dam ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ , ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ||34|| [27b ◦ n I now conjecture: kr.pākarun . aśālinı̄ Bakker 1997, 166; . aśālinı̄ ] conj. Bakker 1997, 166] [28c ārs.ad/ Bakker 1997, 166] [30a dayi 167] [27c arddham . ca tur Bakker 1997, Divergent readings of Jamkhedkar’s edition 1a J [ja]yati sajalāmbudodaro. . . 1b J does not read sylls. 6–9, 11 1c J ce samayai vi(rvi)tāṅgata. . . 1d J ◦ dr.s..tir mū [rdhrā]. . . 2a J does not read sylls. 1–4, . . . jamisa. . . 3a J prabhavodgatavādepi. . . 3b J reads nothing 3c J does not read syll. 1, pyontamāṅgair bbalayo [’]kriyanta 3d J does not read sylls. 1–3, 10–11 4a J [tasyā]tavı̄prānta. . . 5a J does not read sylls. 10–11 5b J . . . vicintya . . . 5c J does not read sylls. 3–4, 7–9 5d J sikhe[va] . . . 6a J tām . . . . nābhyunna [tā] ... 7ab J tayoh. kramād āha tala . . . prajāte . . . nvite . . . 7c J does not read sylls. 1–3, śrı̄[ca]ndra . . . 7d J [cā]mun 8a J . d.ām . nāmnı̄ (mnı̄m . ) tana[yām . ] ... . . . la[do]mi. . . 9b J . . . rn 9c J reads nothing 9d J does not read .n . a . . . ptah. sylls. 7–8 10a J reads nothing 11b J [◦ sya]. . . : ◦ syeva 11c J reads 13d J [a*]pāsya 14a J nothing 12a J . . . maṅgānāpah. (J2 maṅgānala) . . . devendrata[nayā*]. . . 14b J reads nothing 15a J does not read sylls. 10–11 15b J does not read sylls. 1, 11 15d J does not read syll. 1; [bhū]ndhanaudhair yaśasā ca lokān | 16a J reads nothing 17b J syll. 6 [ta] 17c J . . . [psamānām 17d J tām .] . : svam . 19b J does not read syll. 4 19d J . . . yam 21a J om. ca 21b J a[rthā]: . ...: n . a tes.ām . athā 21c J pun 21d J reads nothing 22b J . . . jagadutta[ma?mi mam . yā(n . ya)m . ?] ... 24b J devaś 24d J kārayitā. . . vatı̄ 25a J . . . takretā 25d J reads nothing 27b J reads nothing 27c J mātāpitr.bhyo . . . 27d J . . . krayodbhavam || 28a J jagatsthitisaṅha(sam 28c J reads nothing 30a J . hā)rakāran . asyāmito. . . dayitā mātur 31a J tilāttailasaṅkāśa 33ab J ◦ sthāyinı̄m 33b J . caimāṅ prakhyāpayis.yattā(ntyā) 33c J tayā . . . gr.hı̄[tānam 33d J tadājñānuti vā [citā?] .] 34a J kāvya[ā?]ñ jaya . . . 34b J reads nothing Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 126 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson Translation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 21 He is victorious, whose hcolour resemblesi the depths of a water-laden raincloud, who [. . . ] clarified butter in a stream [. . . ] , whose [. . . ] limbs are swollen at the occasion of a sacrifice hthat is the battlei, and who is looked at with gazes that tremble with fright [. . . ]. 21 [. . . ] royal seer of [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] To whose feet the crowned heads of kings pay tribute: [. . . ] whose [. . . ] recepticle for holding hthe lustrei from (his) footstool, (a lustre) that arises from (his) might [. . . ]. To him [. . . ] the edge of the ocean [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] hShei, being worshipped in the residence of her father like a deity [. . . ], grew up like a [. . . ] flame of a fire in which abundant ghee has been poured. Her [. . . ] raised [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] After (a number of) hsonsi had been born to them in succession, famous and furnished hwith virtuesi, [. . . ] a daughter called mun.d.ā, resembling the lustre of the moon, was born as (their) younger sister. [. . . ] streak [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] At all times the conduct of this King (deva), Candragupta, Lord of the three oceans, was perfect: the sovereign hgavei his daughter to the illustrious Rudrasena, ha mine of i virtues. [one verse (10 ), possibly two, lost] To (this) [. . . ] great hero, who was like a beast of burden, (carrying) the entire burden of (his) kingdom which was very difficult to bear, [. . . ] a son named Ghat.otkaca hwas borni. [. . . ] woman [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] Then, after he had seen that niece (of his) [. . . ], who was a palace Laks.mı̄, [. . . ] (this) king paid his respects (to her) and married her. The lord of the gods [. . . ] hministeri [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] hHe pleasedi the minds of wise men with refined language, [. . . ] of [. . . ] whose eyes were like hbluei lotuses [. . . ], mendicants with floods of wealth and the peoples with (his) fame. He [. . . ] king [. . . ]. [one verse possibly lost] When at a certain time [. . . ] he of desirable appearance [. . . ] by/with Indra, [. . . ] (her) brother brought the proud woman [. . . ], back to his own residence with force. [one verse (18 ), possibly two, lost] There, whatever [. . . ], hincreasing dharmai, the king’s daughter performed, of those [. . . ] this share [. . . ]. [one verse (20 ), possibly two, lost] And she hthen respectfullyi caused to be made the Lord of the Earth and Master of Prabhāvatı̄ for the sake of everlasting merit [. . . ]. 21 For a translation of the restored verse see below, p. 353. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 127 22 [. . . ] the origin of the world [. . . ]. [one verse (23 ), possibly two, lost] 24 After she of extreme hlustrei, had made in the village Kadalı̄vāt.aka a water reservoir Sudarśana (‘lovely to behold’) and (installed) the beautiful (sudarśana) god, 25 [. . . ] whose hair is yellow, for the sake of merit [. . . ]. [one verse (26 ), possibly two, lost] 27 Half of the merit assigned to the gods, for (her) father and mother [. . . ] accruing from the deed [. . . ]. 28 Of (him) of infinite might who is the cause of the sustenance and destruction of the world, the [. . . ] of the (Vedic) seers [. . . ]. [one verse (29 ), possibly two, lost] 30 Reflecting that that temple for her beloved hbegetteri is transitory, she free of sins, for the sake of a mass of merit for her mother alone, 31 [. . . ] stone [. . . ], resembling stone [. . . ], for a long time [. . . ]. [one verse (32 ), possibly two, lost] 33 By him, who was chosen by her and is carrying out her orders, (about) to proclaim this fame that will last so long as there is light, 34 a great kāvya [. . . ]. [one or two verses possibly lost] Annotation Line 1 Though much of the opening verse has been lost, enough remains to be able to determine with a high degree of certainty that the metre employed was Pus.pitāgrā. The fact that the fourth pāda seems to end at approximately the same place as the fourth pādas of lines 2 and 3 is consistent with the observation that the aks.aras are written somewhat more closely together in line 1. The first legible aks.ara we read as ya; the left tip of the ya can be clearly seen though the connexion with the centre vertical is no longer visible. This leads us to the natural conjecture sa jayati for the opening words. Judging from the place where all the succeeding lines begin, there might have been room for one more aks.ara before this, e.g. om . . It should however be noted that neither the Ajanta Cave Inscription of Varāhadeva (CII V no. 25) nor the Ghat.otkaca Cave Inscription of the same minister (CII V no. 26) has any benedictory syllables or formula before the first verse. 22 For a metrical Gupta inscription which opens with a Pus.pitāgrā verse see CII III (1888) no. 35, the Mandasor Stone Inscription of Yaśodharman and Vis.n.udharman (beginning with the words sa jayati jagatām . patih. pinākı̄). 22 These two inscriptions, together with the inscription in Ajanta Cave XVII (CII V no. 27), are in some ways the most appropriate for purposes of comparison with our inscription, since they are the only other known Vākāt.aka stone inscriptions written entirely in verse. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 128 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson At the end of the first pāda we tentatively propose restoring sajalāmbudodarābhah., 23 which would be a suitable enough adjective to describe Vis.n.u. It cannot however be determined with certainty to what (manifestation of a) divinity this maṅgala verse is addressed. As it is found in a Narasim . ha temple one certainly could expect Vis.n.u, perhaps even in his man-lion incarnation. This would accord well with bhayaloladr..s.tidr..s.tah., our reading in the fourth pāda; but the comparison with a dark rain-cloud would then be inappropriate. Also ◦ makhasamayaidhitāṅga◦ , if this reading is correct, does not seem particularly suited. The tentative suggestion ran.amakhasamayaidhitāṅga◦ would be more appropriate for a god doing battle in human form, e.g. Kr.s.n.a or Rāma. For the second pāda of the first verse we can offer no compelling restoration. In our translation we have chosen to interpret ◦ rasarājya◦ as containing the word ājya (also found in verse 5) rather than rājya, and this has led us to propose reading ◦ prasarājya◦ . The syllables miti preceding this could, e.g. be part of the word samiti, but since interpretation of the pāda and indeed the whole verse is problematic, the possibility that one should rather divide the words ◦ m iti prasarājya◦ can not be completely ruled out. 24 The second verse clearly cannot be in Pus.pitāgrā metre, since the fifth syllable ja must be heavy, as the following aks.ara is certainly a ligature. The sixth syllable is somewhat problematic; though we read r(s.)i, it must be admitted that the ligature rs. would in that case have here a form rather different from that which one would expect and which is indeed found in line 13. 25 On the basis of our proposed reading, we restore the word ◦ rājars.i◦ . Unfortunately, the word preceding it does not appear to be any name that is familiar to us. 26 Line 2 The main construction of verse 3 is to be found in pādas c and d, and is fortunately clear. It is unlikely that the verse also contained a correlative for yasya, and this in turn implies that the verse is a description of a king who was already mentioned. 27 The first two pādas apparently contained a long compound, the precise sense of which is difficult to make out, especially since 23 Since the following syllable is lost, and we do not have a compelling restoration, it is 24 25 26 27 obviously impossible to guess what the precise form would be after application of the rules of sandhi. Cf. below, p. 353. The other main candidate, the ligature rm seems, however, still less acceptable; the two arms visible do not really resemble those of the looped ma, and moreover there appears to be a short vertical connecting them with the lower part of the letter. One possible restoration of the first three syllables would be muren . a, which at least has the advantage that the cerebral n . would be explained. On the other hand, this would suggest that the content of the verse is again mythical rather than historical, as one would expect from the word rājars.i and from the fact that verse 3 seems to imply that a king or royal family had already been mentioned before. Also possible, though to our minds rather less likely, is that the king is first named in the following verse which begins with tasya. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 129 the termination has been lost, so that we cannot be certain who or what it qualified or described. For the first two syllables of pāda b we propose the ◦ reading ◦ prabhā◦ ; this provides assonance with √ prabhāvo◦ in pāda a and would be consonant with the frequent usage of (pra) bhā and its derivatives in the inscription. Verse 4 no doubt told something further of this king, though its contents are practically lost. In pāda a one thinks of the possibility of restoring tasyodadhiprāntabalasya, ‘of him, whose power/army [extended to] the edge of the ocean(s)’, but this is palaeographically quite unlikely. The seventh syllable appears to have taken up quite a lot of space vertically, and may have had the vowel i. Line 3 The main image of verse 5, that of a young girl growing up and increasing in brightness like a flame shooting up from a fire on which ghee has been poured, is fortunately clear. For the word in pāda b which apparently begins with pratis.i◦ we have no particularly convincing suggestion; it might be a bahuvrı̄hi adjective of the girl with pratis.iddha as its first member. 28 Pāda d one would rather expect to end with an adjective qualifying in the first place śikhā, and implicitly also the girl who is the upameya; just one possibility, though an appealing one, would be śuddhā, which would continue the series of sibilants. Of verse 6 far too little is preserved to be able to arrive at any certainty as to its syntax or contents. The first syllable tām no doubt refers to the girl described in verse 5. Whether nābhyunnata◦ contains the negative particle na or whether this is instead the termination of a word in the instrumental case, or even an a-stem which is the prior member of a compound, cannot be determined. Line 4 Of considerable interest in verse 7 is the word āhatalaks.an.es.u, which, although the last three aks.aras are somewhat damaged, and although it was misread by Jamkhedkar, can in our opinion be read with certainty in pāda a. This word was hitherto chiefly known from lexicographical works, its earliest and most important occurrence being in the Amarakośa (AK 3.1.10): gun.aih. pratı̄te tu kr.talaks.an.āhatalaks.an.au. 29 At least one commentator of Amara, the southern author Bommagan.t.i Appayārya (most probably to be dated towards the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century), seems also to have known a reading kr.talaks.an.āhitalaks.an.au. 30 The word āhitalaks.an.a 28 Less likely, though perhaps not impossible, is pratis.ikta◦ ; the passive participle of √ sic also occurs in pāda d, and, as far as we can judge, the use of this root with the preposition prati is rather uncommon. 29 Amara teaches the use of the words kr . talaks.an . a and āhatalaks.an . a in the sense of ‘one who is known on account of his virtues’, obviously the sense in which the latter is used by the author of the inscription. Other early occurrences of the word are found in MBh 2.48.36, 3.247.4, 7.19.63. 30 AK 16. Note that MS K5 of Liṅgayasūrin’s commentary on the AK adds āhitalaks . an .a iti vā pāt.hah. (AK1 16). The other commentaries available to us all read ◦ āhatalaks.an . au. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 130 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson occurs in apparently the same sense in Raghuvam . śa 6.71, where it is noteworthy that Mallinātha (also a southern writer) glosses it with prakhyātagun.ah., and supports this by quoting Amara with the ◦ āhitalaks.an.au reading. 31 In the present state of Kālidāsa studies it is, however, impossible to have any certainty about such textual details, and without a thorough study of the manuscript traditions of the Raghuvam . śa it would be rash to maintain that Kālidāsa must have used the word in the form āhita◦ rather than āhatalaks.an.a. Indeed, Rāyamukut.a (ad 1431/32), in his commentary on AK 3.1.10, quotes the relevant pāda from the Raghuvam . śa with the reading āhatalaks.an.o ’bhūt (AK2 9). We have met with one other significant occurrence of the word. In line 4 of the Ghat.otkaca Cave inscription of the Vākāt.aka minister Varāhadeva (CII V no. 26) the word āhitalaks.an.ānām . occurs; as Mirashi however points out in a footnote, earlier editions of the inscription by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji and 32 Bühler had read āhatalaks.an.ānām . . The valuable point about the occurrence of the word in our inscription, however, is that there can here be no doubt at all that the form āhatalaks.an.a was used, for the aks.ara ha is beautifully preserved on an undamaged section of the stone. 33 In 7ab we obviously have an absolute locative, and there can be little doubt that after jātes.u a substantive (masc. pl. loc.) meaning ‘son’, and another qualification of these sons must have followed. The restoration jātes.u putres.u gun.āvites.u, while perhaps not the only metrically correct possibility, seems both simple and plausible. More compelling, to our minds, are the readings proposed in pāda c; yavı̄yası̄ being the only metrically correct and at the same time both syntactically and semantically natural and convincing restoration. In view of the fact that a simile is clearly intended, prabheva at the end of the pāda seems equally certain. In 7d we find a personal name of a girl as the first member of a compound ending in ◦ nāmnı̄. The name no doubt ended in mun.d.ā, 34 though the first syllable is unfortunately illegible; it may have ended in ā (which would suggest Cāmun.d.ā), for what appears to be the right vertical of the ā can still be seen, together with the horizontal stroke attaching it to the head-mark. That the vowel is o instead is less likely, since the two arms of the o are generally curved rather than angular. For further discussion of the name and identity of the girl see below, p. 137. The few aks.aras legible of verse 8 do not of course offer much material for interpretation. We are inclined to think that the verse contains the word 31 Cf. Vallabhadeva’s gloss in his Raghupañcikā: gun . asampadā vikhyātah.. 32 The photograph published in CII V is unfortunately not of sufficiently good quality to confirm whether there really are, as Mirashi claims, traces of a curve above the ha, so that here too some doubt remains as to the correct reading. 33 A discussion of the not unproblematic etymology and semantics of āhatalaks.an . a/āhitalaks.an . a must be deferred to a later occasion. 34 The shortening of the feminine suffix ā to a is permitted here by P. 6.3.36. Cf. also prabhāvatisvāminam . in verse 21. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 131 lekhā which suggests the possibility that the daughter introduced in verse 7 is described further, and perhaps said to grow in beauty and lustre as the crescent moon; a comparison found in Kālidāsa’s description of the young Pārvatı̄ in Kumārasambhava (1.25): dine dine sā parivardhamānā labdhodayā cāndraması̄va lekhā | pupos.a lāvan.yamayān viśes.āñ jyotsnāntarān.ı̄va kalāntarān.i. It is not possible to determine whether one should divide lekhā mi ◦ , lekhām i ◦ , or lekhāmi ◦ . Line 5 Verse 9 is relatively unproblematic. On the use of the term trisamudranātha in pāda a see below, p. 138. The sixth and seventh aks.aras of pāda b are very badly damaged, but we are fairly confident of the reading paripūrn.avr.ttah.. The upadhmānı̄ya can be made out on the left arm of the pa. The word may be taken as containing a (mild form of) śles.a, with a secondary meaning of ‘completely full and round’, which would be a suitable adjective to describe the moon (candra), aside from the meaning ‘of perfect conduct’, a description of Candragupta. The verb has been lost, but considerations of syntax and common sense (the presence of a fem. acc. sg. besides a masc. dat. sg.), aside √ from known historical facts (see below, p. 138), strongly suggest a form of dā or a verb with the same meaning. This must almost certainly have been at the beginning of pāda c, since the second half of pāda d hardly has space for a verb, and contains instead in all probability an adjective describing Rudrasena, for which we propose gun.ākarāya. Aside from this verb, the illegible part of pāda c may have contained a gen. masc. pl., the final syllable of which (nām) is still legible, depending on the following words adhipas and most probably meaning either ‘king’ or ‘man’. The alternative possibility, that ◦ nām is to be interpreted as a fem. acc. sg. ending, a further qualification of the daughter, is most unlikely in view of the following adhipas. Since the gen. pl. must have taken up at least three syllables, 35 only two, at the very beginning of the pāda, remain for the verb. Hence our proposal dadau. Verse 10 must be regarded as completely lost, as far as the extraction of information, or even a single word, is concerned. The second aks.ara could be a ta (vowel uncertain), and two or three syllables after the li or lı̄ which can with difficulty be made out there seems to be another ta (vowel again uncertain). Line 6 Verse 11 is again relatively well preserved. The sense seems clear; pāda c no doubt contained at least one more qualification or epithet of the king described in the first two pādas, as appears from the single aks.ara (syā) that can be read. It is plausible that the verb occurred at the end of pāda d, and the most obvious candidate is babhūva, as at the end of verse 7. It does not appear possible to say anything about the text of verse 12. The only point to be noted is that four or five syllables after the last legible aks.ara 35 The only at all plausible word which could yield a two-syllable gen. pl. with the metrical pattern is nr. (nr̄.n . ām) but this, as well as other words such as nr.pa, nara, prabhu, etc., is impossible in view of the fact that the last syllable is clearly nām and not n . ām. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 132 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson (pā) what could be the sign for medial u can be seen. Line 7 Of verse 13, we are fortunate in having the subject, object and verb well preserved, so that the interpretation is clear and unproblematic. Since the main verb is at the end of pāda d, it is highly probable that the dr..s which can be made out at the beginning of pāda b, and of which the .s appears to be the top part of a ligature, is to be interpreted as dr..s.tvā, and this would provide a syntactically smooth construction. Pāda b may also have contained another adjective belonging with the bhāgineyı̄ and perhaps, though not necessarily, an iva going with veśmalaks.mı̄m. The contents of pāda c can not be reconstructed. Little can be said of verse 14. The fourth aks.ara could have been the horseshoe type ga, but since the lower part is damaged, so that it cannot be determined whether the character has a closed bottom or not, dha is an equally likely reading. We have chosen for the latter possibility, simply on the grounds that words beginning with dhan are rather more frequent than words beginning with gan. In pāda b the opening syllables amā suggest, in a royal context, amātya. Line 8 Of verse fifteen neither subject nor verb has been preserved. The construction clearly involves a series of acc. (pl.) together with instrumentals, both singular and plural, and in pādas a and b also 2 cases of a gen. pl., presumably dependant on an acc. pl. From the general tenor, one expects the verb to have a meaning such as ‘satisfy’, ‘delight’, ‘win over’ or the like, and the subject is no doubt a king. It should be noted that very similar verses are found in two Gupta inscriptions: the Junāgad.h Rock Inscription of Skandagupta (ad 457–58), where we read: ājyapran.āmair vibudhān athe.s.tvā dhanair dvijātı̄n api tarpayitvā | paurām . s tathābhyarcya yathārhamānaih. bhr.tyām ś ca pūjyān suhr daś ca dānaih k (CII III (1888), 60 (l. 19)), and the . . . Gangdhar Stone Inscription of Viśvarvarman, which contains a verse reading | mānena yajñais surān munigan.ān niyamair udāraih. ˘ ˘˘˘ ˘˘ ˘ bhr.ttyajanam appratimena (sic) loke yo [’]tos.ayat sucaritaiś ca jagat samaggram k (CII III (1888), 74 (ll. 3–4)). At the beginning of pāda b we read the aks.ara prı̄: the left arm of the pa and the medial ı̄ are clearly visible, and at the bottom left there is a mark which we interpret as the tip of the curved subscript r. On the strength of this aks.ara we propose reading the verb form prı̄n.āti (historical present), and for the two remaining illegible syllables nı̄lā ◦ seems a very plausible reading. This would however mean either that the acc. pl. on which the gen. pl. nı̄lāmburuheks.an.ānām depends is in pāda c or that manām . si in pāda a is to be construed again with this gen. pl. as well as with vidus.ām. It must also be admitted that a historical present does not seem to occur elsewhere in the inscription, though its durative aspect could be quite appropriate here. The subject must have been given in pāda c, perhaps at the end, for the double s (s sādhūn) suggests that the last word of pāda c may have been a nom. masc. sg. Verse 16 is again almost completely lost. The aks.aras hı̄pa at the end of the Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 133 first pāda strongly suggest the word mahı̄pa, probably, given the position, in the nominative, though the precise form taken after application of the rules of sandhi cannot be determined. Line 9 The basic outline of verse 17 is in any case clear: the first two pādas must have consisted of an absolute locative construction (on which purandaren.a probably depended), while pāda d contains the subject and verb. ānināya must govern two accusatives, the second of which (svam . gr.ham) is in pāda d and the first no doubt in pāda c, qualified by the adjective samānām. The possibility that samānām is a gen. pl. rather than an acc. fem. sg. is in this context very unlikely. Line 10 The subject of verse 19 is obviously manujendraputrı̄. The reading of this word is not in any doubt, despite the fact that Shastri misread it as manujendrapurı̄ (metrically impossible) and took this as a reference to the capital. The r visible is definitely in its subscript form, and above it the form of the t can still be made out. As for the grammatical construction of the verse, it is likely that tes.ām . in pāda d correlates with yān yān of the first pāda. It is unfortunately not quite clear what the princess akārs.ı̄t (note the use of the aorist which could point to the actuality of the action); ◦ savān in pāda b suggests ◦ prasavān, 36 and we conjecture that this is the final member of a bahuvrı̄hi compound meaning in effect ‘producing. . . ’. The aks.ara dha visible, and in a position where it must be metrically heavy, suggests dharmaprasavān. Line 11 With this line the metre changes to Śloka. This accompanies a noticeable change in subject matter and style; whereas till now the events related clearly seem to have taken place in a not very recent past and have been narrated, so far as can be judged, with a preponderance of perfect forms and in a fairly developed style with regular use of alam . kāras, from this point on the events spoken of are evidently those of the very recent past, told without the use of perfect forms and in a simpler style. Verse 19, in the previous line (with the only certain use of the aorist in the inscription), though still in Upajāti metre, may be seen as a transition to the second half of the inscription. 37 In pāda a of verse 21 (fourth or ra-vipulā) the word prabhāvatisvāminam . is an apposition to lokanātham in the following pāda, which obviously indicates an immediate connexion between Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā and the Vais.n.ava image/temple spoken of. The sixth syllable of pāda b is here read as thā; the curve inside the th is not visible, and the letter appears slightly damaged. Possible would also be the reading dhā, but we are unable to find a plausible restoration beginning with adhā, 38 whereas with athā◦ there are a number of 36 utsavān is metrically impossible, as well as intrinsically unlikely here. 37 The shortening of ı̄ to i is again allowed by P. 6.3.36; cf. above, n. 34 on p. 130. √ 38 The possibility of a form of dhā, such as adhārayat, may probably be rejected, since one would then require another object for akārayat; also the occurrence of two imperfect forms of causatives at the ends of pādas b and d is not very likely. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 134 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson possibilities, of which, e.g., athādarāt seems appropriate. Of verse 22 practically all that can be said is that it most probably refers to a god or an image of a god. jagadutpattinā could be either an instrumental or part of a longer compound. Line 12 On Sudarśana as both the name of a water reservoir and an adjective for a god (in pādas a and b respectively of verse 24) see below, p. 144 and n. 72 on p. 145). Pāda d poses a slight problem; the first four syllables appear to read kārayitā, and the word was so read by Jamkhedkar and Shastri. The latter drew the conclusion that the subject must have been a man, and put forth the suggestion that he may have been Pravarasena II. 39 While it is√true that kārayitā, if understood as a nomen agentis from the causative of kr., would be a masculine form, this would be in contradiction with the rest of the inscription, where it seems clear that the subject of various deeds is a woman, and even with the end of the same pāda where there is certainly a nom. fem. sg. (◦ vatı̄). Shastri did not apparently consider the possibility that kārayitā might be a periphrastic future, in which case it could also be used with a feminine subject. This possibility must, however, also be rejected. A periphrastic future would be highly unexpected in the present context; even more important, however, is the consideration that kārayitā is also most unlikely on metrical grounds, since the second and third syllables of a pāda are not allowed to be both laghu. No other metrical faults are found in the legible part of the inscription, and it would be very surprising if the author—obviously a well-trained poet—had made one. We are therefore of the opinion that kārayitā, in whatever way it is interpreted, cannot after all be the intended word. Fitting, both metrically and otherwise, would be kārayitvā, 40 which we have accordingly restored. It should be mentioned that this would not necessarily mean that we assume the apparently very careful engraver to have made an error here, for immediately underneath the tā the stone has been damaged, and in such a way that it is conceivable that the subscript v, which would have been attached to the bottom of the right leg of the tā, 41 has been effaced. For the final word in pāda d we propose reading atibhāvatı̄: though the aks.ara bhā cannot be read, it seems at least palaeographically possible. As an epithet, this would continue the numerous light/lustre images; on the possibility that it is a personal name see below, p. 140. In the first pāda of verse 25 (◦ )pı̄takeśā ( nom. fem. sg.) must be another epithet of the princess. Rather than assuming that she actually had yellow hair, we are inclined to think of the possibility that this is the second half of a bahuvrı̄hi compound. Pı̄takeśa might be an epithet of Narasim . ha, though 39 Shastri 1987, 70–71. 40 The absence of a finite verb-form in the verse is not a problem; very likely the construc- tion continues through the next verse. 41 The ligature tv does not occur elsewhere in the legible part of the inscription, but cf. the śv in line 14. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 135 admittedly not found in dictionaries, so the intended sense could be ‘she who worships Narasim . ha’ or ‘she who had installed/caused to be made [an image of] Narasim ha’ or something similar. 42 Finally, it is important to note that at . the far right of the slab, well after where one would expect verse 25 to have ended, there appears to be an aks.ara, probably pā or bā. While this cannot of course add anything to our understanding of the content of the inscription, it is useful confirmation that there must have been three Ślokas to the line in lines 11–15, and that the inscription must originally have been broader yet. Line 13 The verb of verse 27 has not been preserved, but the sense is probably that the daughter assigns half of the merit arising from some deed or rite to the gods, 43 and half to her parents. Pāda a is somewhat problematic; first of all one would expect arddham . to be construed with a genitive (pun.yasya). One would perhaps have also expected brahmārpitam . , but, though there seems to be a mark of some kind above the ligature rpp, we regard this as damage to the stone and do not think it warranted to read medial i. brahmārppan.am . must therefore be taken as an apposition to (arddham . ) pun.yam . . In pāda b there no doubt was a nom. fem. sg. qualifying or describing the princess who is the grammatical subject, which might have ended with, e.g. ◦ śālinı̄. While the missing part of pāda c cannot of course be restored with certainty, one metrically correct and rather appealing possibility would be to read mātāpitr.bhyām arddham . ca (a third or ma-vipulā). In pāda d we suggest the reading (◦ )kriyodbhavam; admittedly the sign for medial i cannot be seen, but the upper part of the character has in any case been completely destroyed. The low position of the arms of the k must be caused by the fact that another consonant sign was written above it, i.e. in ligature; this too however is no longer legible. From the point of view of sense, (◦ )kriyodbhavam seems more satisfactory as an adjective of pun.yam than krayodbhavam (as read by Jamkhedkar) or vikrayodbhavam. Of verse 28 one can do little more than to hazard the suggestion that it described the erection of a temple or the construction of a statue of a god, most probably Vis.n.u, described as ‘the cause of the sustenance and destruction of the world’. 44 The contents of pādas c and d remain a mystery. Line 14 An important crux is presented by the gen. in pāda a of verse 30. The syllables 4 and 5 reading dayi practically only allow the word dayita (‘beloved’), which one would expect to be used exclusively for close relatives. This is in accordance with syllable 8 ◦ tur, which may be a genitive of a nomen agentis or noun of relationship probably different from mātr. found in 30c. A 42 MBh 7.173.22 gives harikeśa as an epithet of Śiva. 43 Less probably, to the brahmins. 44 The omission of ‘creation’ is probably merely due to metrical reasons; cf. e.g. MkP 78.53 (cf. Mārkpur. 81.53) in which Vis.n.u’s cosmic sleep is described as the cause of sustenance and dissolution of the world: viśveśvarı̄m . jagaddhātrı̄m . sthitisam . hārakārin . ı̄m . | staumi nidrām . bhagavatı̄m . vis.n . or atulatejasah. k Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 136 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson metrically correct conjecture would be dayitādhātur: ‘of/for her beloved begetter’. 45 In pāda b tam . must refer to the prāsāda of pāda a, despite the slight awkwardness of expression. Perhaps the temple, which we take to be one erected either by or in memory of the father of the princess, i.e. Rudrasena, was already mentioned before, in verse 29 which is lost. The sentiment expressed in pāda b is unusual, and, to the best of our knowledge, without a close parallel. While royal inscriptions occasionally refer to the transitoriness of life, wealth, etc., and the changeableness of the world, 46 so specific a remark as that found here, made in regard to a temple (in memory) of a father, 47 seems only possible if prompted by the actual observation that the temple had fallen into some decay. Verse 30 contains no finite verb form, and probably formed a syntactic unit with verse 31. The latter probably spoke of the construction of another temple for the sake of the mother of the princess. 48 The fourth syllable of pāda a appears to be a ligature, with a ś or a g 49 partly visible at the bottom right. Also partly visible is what could be the sign for medial i above the character, though this seems a little smaller than is usual. cirāya in pāda b may be intended to contrast with vicintya tam aśāśvatam in 30b (cf. below, p. 144). Line 15 The syntactical construction of verse 33 is obviously not complete. The instrumentals were most probably the logical subject of a passive construction, which must have been in verse 34. The grammatical subject would have been kāvyam . in 34a, and the verb form must have meant ‘was made/composed’. The first word of 33a seems slightly ambiguous. Since sthāyin(ı̄) at the end of a compound could already carry the meaning of ‘which is enduring as . . . ’, ‘which shall last as long as . . . ’, the meaning might be ‘fame which shall last as long as there is light (āloka◦ )’. Another possibility, however, is that āloka is to be interpreted as ā lokāt and that the intended sense is ‘fame which shall last as long as the world does’. Such tatpurus.a compounds with 45 Nomen agentis of 46 47 48 49 √ dhā with preposition ā in the sense of ‘to impregnate’, ‘to make’. Cf. e.g. BhāgP 9.24.52: vasudevah. sutān as..tāv ādadhe sahadevayā k The more usual pitur is excluded by the long ā’s we read in syllables 6 and 7 and would also yield a metrically incorrect verse, in view of the short fourth syllable. Another metrically possible conjecture dayitabhrātur is rejected because 30b seems more appropriate, if we assume that the temple was built already some time ago, mātur eva (30c) suggests ‘father’, rather than ‘brother’ and, last but not least, ◦ bhrātur is palaeographically almost impossible in view of the absence of the subscript ‘ra’ that should have been visible in the undamaged part of the stone below the syllable. √ And it may be noted that in such cases the verb (pra)vi- ci is usually employed. Cf. e.g. the Mandasor Stone Inscription of Kumāragupta and Bandhuvarman, CII III (1888), 82 (11. 12–13). Such references later grow more and more frequent and are often the subject of elaborate verses. Inscriptions recording the building of a temple regularly express the wish that it be śāśvata; e.g. CII III (1888), 277 (1. 14). One might also consider the possibility that instead the repair of the temple mentioned in 30a is spoken of. Less probably, a t, since the legs appear wider and more horse-shoe shaped than the t. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 137 as their prior member adverbs which are themselves indeclinable compounds with a preposition as their first member, are, while grammatically somewhat problematic, fairly common in inscriptions, and especially in the sort of context that we have here; the proclamation that something will/should last for what is practically an eternity. 50 In favour of the first of these interpretations is perhaps the fact that the standard expressions used in similar cases (whether with a single compound or a yāvat . . . tāvat construction) usually mean ‘as long as the moon and sun last’. Analysis and interpretation As emerges from the above, very few things can be derived with certainty as to the content and purport of the inscription. Since it is found in a fifth century Vākāt.aka temple and contains a geneology featuring, and extending to, the children of Candragupta and Rudrasena (v. 9), it is certain however that the inscription belongs to the fifth century (a date which is also consistent with the palaeography), while the name Rudrasena and the name or title Prabhāvatisvāmin (v. 21) indicate that we are concerned with a Vākāt.aka inscription, notwithstanding the fact that the dynastic name Vākāt.aka does not feature in the legible part of the text. Comparison with other Vākāt.aka inscriptions makes clear that it does not fall into the category of official royal edicts or landgrants (śāsana), the structure and contents of which are very much standardized and completely different from the text under discussion. Rather, the inscription seems to report events that are related to some subordinate member of the royal family and as such is without parallel. The interpretation ventured below, in spite of all uncertainties, can claim no more than to be the most plausible hypothesis that the authors could think of. Verse 9 tells us that Candragupta gave ‘that daughter’ (sutām . tām . ) to Rudrasena and this agrees with the well-known historical fact that the Gupta emperor gave his daughter Prabhāvatı̄ in marriage to the Vākāt.aka king Rudrasena II in the eighth or ninth decade of the fourth century ad. What tends to disturb this interpretation, is the fact that two, possibly three verses earlier a ‘daughter’ (tanayā) is mentioned, the name of whom seems to end in ◦ mun.d.ā, which could yield Cāmun.d.ā or Gomun.d.ā, names not known from any other Vākāt.aka or Gupta inscription (v. 7). Family or tribal names ending in Mun.d.a are known from some seals found in Basarh (Vaiśālı̄) and Patna (Pāt.aliputra), 51 50 Cf. e.g. CII V, 13 (1. 28) (ācandrādityakālı̄ya). Of course such compounds, though rather rare, also occur in the classical works of Sanskrit literature; cf. e.g. Raghuvam . śa 1.5. 51 T. Bloch (ASI Annual Report (ASIAR) 1903–04, 113, 116) reports two seals dating from the Gupta period found in Basarh with the legend ‘Gomun.d.aka’. Thaplyal (1972, 286) lists ‘Mun.d.a’ among the name-endings ‘after races and tribes’, referring to seals found in Basarh (D.P. Spooner in ASIAR 1913–13, 131) and Patna (Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society (JBORS) X, 192). In an inscription dating from the reign of Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 138 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson but Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā in her own inscriptions claims descent from a Nāga lineage through her mother Kuberanāgā. 52 The daughter named [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā, is praised as resembling the lustre of the moon (candramasaḩ prabheva), an apposite pun if the daughter of Candragupta were meant. 53 However this may be, in view of the sutām . tām . in 9c, it is certain that the daughter known as Prabhāvatı̄ has been mentioned somewhere before verse 9. 54 Likewise, the way Candragupta is mentioned in 9b (sa candraguptaḩ) implies that he had been mentioned in an earlier verse. This probably was before verse 7, since the initial tayoh of 7a entails that members of two families had already been introduced: 1) a¯ young girl who ‘grew up like a flame of a fire in which abundant ghee has been poured’ (v. 5); 2) her (future) husband whose lineage may well have been described from v. 2 onwards, the first member being qualified as ◦ rājars.i. A similar qualification (rājādhirājars.i) was given to Candragupta II in the Udayagiri Cave inscription by his minister Vı̄rasena (CII III (1888), 35 (1. 3)). The description in verses 3 and 4 suits the Gupta dynasty well. The imperial status ensues from the tribute (bali) paid by other kings, whereas the rule is said to extend to the edge of the ocean, which has also been said of Candragupta II in the Tumain inscription. 55 The title attributed to Candragupta in verse 9, ‘Lord of the Three Oceans’, is noteworthy in view of the Poona Plates of Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā (CII V, 7 (l. 5)) where he is furnished with an honorific title generally given to his father Samudragupta, viz. caturudadhisalilāsvāditayaśas (‘whose fame has tasted the waters of the four oceans’). 56 A.M. Shastri argues that the title ‘Lord of the Three Oceans’ is ‘pertinent only in South Indian context’ 57 and ‘indicative of the tremendous 52 53 54 55 56 57 Mahārāja Svāmidāsa (Kalacuri year 67 = ad 317) a śān . d.ilyasagotramun . d.abrāhman . a is mentioned (CII IV, 7 (1. 3)). An inscription dating from the 5th regnal year of Rudrasena II is reported by Shastri (1987, 46-8) to have been recently found in Mandhal. According to Shastri it records the erection of a Vis.n.u temple dedicated to Mondasvāmin. One wonders whether there could be a connexion between ◦ mun.d.a and ‘monda’. To be certain we have to wait for the publication of the text. A detailed treatment of this issue will be found in Bakker 2010d, 467–69 (below, pp. 326 ff.). CII V, 7 (ll. 7-8) (Poona Plates), 36 (ll. 7-8) (R . ddhipur Plates). This reminds us of a tradition found in the Sthalamāhātmya of Śrı̄parvata reported by Dubreuil, Lakshman Rao and Altekar (Jouveau-Dubreuil 1920,73 f.; Rao 1924, 51 ff.; Majumdar & Altekar 1967, 99) and repeated by Sircar (HCI III, p. 179, n. 2) to the effect that Candragupta is credited with a daughter Candrāvatı̄, who was a devotee of the god Śrı̄śaila and is by some identified with Prabhāvatı̄. [I (H.T.B.) now consider it plausible that the tām . in 9c correlates with a conjectured yā in 7d. This would imply that verse 7 is a relative clause, which runs on in verse 8 (cf. above, p. 130) and is concluded by the main clause in verse 9.] sāgarāntam, EI XXVI, 117 (l. 1); see below, p. 139. CII III (1888), 26 (l. 2), 43 (l. 1), 49 (l. 15), 53 (l. 1), 256 (l. 2). The same epithet in CII IV, 41, (l. 10), 169 (ll. 5–6). A similar expression (catuh.samudraparyantaprathitayaśas) is found in CII III (1888), 89 l 7), 160 (l. 5). Cf. also catussamudrātikkrāntakı̄rttih. in CII III (1888), 220 (l. 1). A similar epithet, tisamudatoyapı̄tavāhanasa, found in the Nasik inscription, is given to the Sātavāhana king Gautamı̄putra Sātakarn.i (SI I, 204 (l. 3)). Sircar (SI I, 203, n. 4) Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 139 influence verging on political hegemony wielded by Candragupta II over a large part of the Deccan’ (Shastri 1987, 69). The marriage out of which the ‘moon-like’ princess named [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā was born in addition to a number of famous and virtuous elder princes (v. 7) must have been mentioned in verse 6 or, if we add one more verse to every line (see above, p. 116), in the verse directly following it (v. 6*). The comparison of the princess named [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā with the lustre (prabhā) of the moon and of her mother with a ‘flaming fire’ make it conceivable that [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā was a maiden name that became substituted by the more illustrious ‘Prabhāvatı̄’. The Vākāt.aka dynasty, i.e. Rudrasena, must have been introduced in verse 8, or possibly in 8*. And just as the offspring was mentioned directly after the description of the marriage in verse 6 or 6*, the offspring of Rudrasena’s marriage with Prabhāvatı̄ might have been mentioned in the following verse 10. To summarize our analysis of the first ten (partly) legible verses, we would venture the hypothesis that after an introductory verse in Pus.pitāgrā metre eulogizing a deity, probably Vis.n.u, verses 2 to 4 relate to the Gupta dynasty, in particular to Candragupta II, whereas in the second half of verse 4 and possibly in 4* another family is introduced in which a ’flame-like’ daughter was born, who in verse 6 (or 6*) was married to Candragupta II. Among the offspring of this couple is a ‘moon-like’ girl named [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā, who might have been no other than Prabhāvatı̄ Guptā. Verse 8 (or possibly 8*) may then have introduced a third lineage, viz. that of the Vākāt.akas, in particular its king Rudrasena II, to whom Candragupta gave his daughter in marriage, the offspring of that marriage being mentioned in verse 10. Verse 11 refers to a powerful (supuṅgava) king mentioned earlier. His name might possibly have re-occurred in verse 10* and may be inferred from the name of the son that was born to him, Ghat.otkaca (11d ). Considering the fact that he occurs in the middle of the inscription it is unlikely that the legendary Ghat.otkaca Gupta, son of Śrı̄gupta and father of Candragupta I, known from the Gupta genealogies, is meant. Rather it would seem, that we are here concerned with the same Ghat.otkaca who is known from the Tumain Inscription, who was ‘of perpetual good character and fame’, who ‘attained the glory of his ancestors, won by (the prowess of his) arms’, 58 and who descended from Candragupta II, but of whom the fragmentary state of that inscription does not allow us to specify whether he was his son or grandson. 59 The present context suggests that this Ghat.otkaca was a later son of Candragupta II, born after several princes and the daughter [ ˘ ]mun.d.ā/Prabhāvatı̄ (v. 7). The phrase describing his father ‘who was like a beast of burden, [carrying] the entire raises the possibility that the epithet may be connected with a digvijaya. Cf. Hars.acarita 82 (l. 22): trisamudrādhipataye sātavāhananāmne narendrāya. 58 EI XXVI, 117; SI I, 298: sa pūrvajānām . sthirasatvaktı̄rtir bhujārjitām . kı̄rtim abhiprapadya. 59 SI I, p. 298 n. 1; EI XXVI, 116. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 140 Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson burden of (his) kingdom, which was difficult to bear’ (11ab), may point towards the end of Candragupta’s reign. On the basis of the Tumain inscription we may say that Ghat.otkaca ruled as viceroy in eastern Malwa at the time that Kumāragupta held the imperial office (ad 435–36). 60 There might not therefore have been too great a difference in age between the children of Rudrasena and Prabhāvatı̄ on the one hand, and their maternal uncle, Ghat.otkaca, on the other. This observation may serve as a clue for the interpretation of one of the key verses of the inscription, verse 13. Verse 12 may have said more of Ghat.otkaca and then, possibly in 12*, his sister’s daughter (bhāgineyı̄) may have been reintroduced (as the initial tām of 13a seems to suggest), whom the viceroy (rājarāja) is said, not to have ‘consoled’ as Jamkhedkar paraphrases (1987b, 221), but to have actually married (pān.igrahan.am . cakāra), impressed as he was with her Laks.mı̄-like qualities. If our interpretation is correct so far, this niece can have been no other than the daughter born from the marriage between the Vākāt.aka king Rudrasena and his Gupta wife Prabhāvatı̄. She might have been mentioned in verse 10, and one wonders whether the conjectured reading atibhāvatı̄ (‘of extreme lustre’) in verse 24d could be her personal name. 61 Actually, bhāgineyı̄ may here stand for half-niece, since, more likely than not, Ghat.otkaca and Prabhāvatı̄ had been born of different mothers. Nevertheless this matrimony is at odds with the majority of the Smr.ti texts which prohibit intermarriage of cognates in the second remove. The present case, however, corroborates Kane’s (II, 467) observation to the effect that ‘a very striking instance of the limits of sapin.d.a relationship not being observed is the practice among certain sections of even brāhman.a marrying their own sister’s daughter’. After the alliance between the Guptas and the Vākāt.akas had first been sealed by the marrying-off of Prabhāvatı̄, the latter may have wished to confirm the friendship by giving her own daughter in marriage to her (half-)brother (see Fig. 1). 62 The following verses (14–16) seem to tell us what a good husband this Vākāt.aka princess married. Then, at a certain time (kadācit), something hap60 Thaplyal 1972, 66 (cf. Bloch in ASIAR 1903–04, 107), among other scholars, argues in favour of the identify of Ghat.otkaca of the Tumain inscription with the Ghat.otkacagupta of the sealing of Basarh. As to his possible identity with the ‘issuer of the [gold] coin in the St. Petersburg collection which bears on the obverse the word Ghat.o beneath the king’s arm and the marginal legend ending in (gu)pta(h.) [and] on the reverse the legend kramādityah.’, Thaplyal is more reserved and numismatists appear divided on the issue. 61 Names to which ati is prefixed or in which ati replaces another prefix are relatively infrequent, but for an example in a Vākāt.aka inscription see CII V, 125 (l. 7), where the wife of Kr.s.n.adāsa is said to have been named Aticandrā (following Mirashi’s reading: Bühler had previously read Sucandrā); unfortunately the name of her father/mother is lost. Such names appear to be most usually given to younger brothers (or sisters), e.g., Māyā – Atimāyā (Mahāvastu I, 355), Sudānta – Atidānta (PPL p. 456, v. 38), Datta – Atidatta (PPL p. 455, v. 34), Śulkagulma – Atigulma (PPL p. 459, v. 562 ), Gan.d.a – Atigan.d.a (BrP 165.29), Gambhı̄rā – Atigambhı̄rā (BrP 147.11), Balā – Atibalā (Rām. 3.12.12, Crit. App.). 62 Cf. Majumdar & Altekar 1967, 169 f. Hans T. Bakker - 978-90-04-41207-1 Downloaded from Brill.com12/17/2019 10:34:52AM via free access 6 / The Ramtek Inscriptions II 141 pened and the mentioning of Indra in verse 17b suggests that he (tasmin), i.e. Ghat.otkaca, left this world. 63 If this conjecture is accepted it would provide the inscription with a terminus post quem of ad 435–36, the year the Tumain inscription showed Ghat.otkaca to be still alive. In the wake of this event the brother of the princess is said to have brought her back to his own residence. Epigraphical evidence has preserved the names of three sons of Rudrasena and Prabhāvatı̄. As has been discussed elsewhere (Bakker 1992b, 7), it is highly unlikely that Divākarasena was still alive at the time of the present inscription, and of the two remaining brothers, Dāmodarasena and Pravarasena, the latter was the actually ruling king. It therefore seems plausible that the bhrātā of 17d is none other than the Vākāt.aka king Pravarasena II, who might have been mentioned along with his sister in verse 10. Anyhow, this must have been an extraordinary deed and the word balāt (17d) indicates that it was not done in accord with the people involved, i.e. that it was resisted either by the princess herself, or by her Gupta relatives, or by both (see below). The principal condition on which a widow is allowed to return to her paternal home by traditional law, viz. the absence of any male relative on the side of her deceased husband, (Nāradasmr.ti 13.29), was obviously not fulfilled in this

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