The Early Brahmanical System Of Gotra And Pravara

Originally published in 1953, this book investigates the most important problems connected with the clan system of the Vedic Brahmans, and also presents the textual evidence for the details of that system at the end of the Vedic period. The volume is composed of an English translation of the Gotra-Pravara-Manjari of Purusottama-Pandita, together with an extensive introduction and critical notes. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the Brahmanical system and perspectives on Indian religion and society.

The Book Takes A Fresh Look At The Legacy Of Dr. G.S. Ghurye, A Pillar Of Indian Sociology. Through The Format Of This Dictionary The Author Takes A New Path. It Has The Widest Coverage Of Ghurye`S World Through All His Works And Papers. For The First Time The 80 Theses Done Under Him Have Been Documented In Short Entries. It Would Lead The Serious Reader To Some Unexplored By Laws Of Ghureye`S World And Also Of Indian Sociology.

Ascetics and mystics have played a prominent role in the development of nearly all religious traditions. The particular importance of such figures within Hinduism is especially evident in the traditions recounted of the Seven Rsis - the seven archetypal sages or seers who are depicted as being more important and powerful than even the gods themselves indeed, through their asceticism the Rsis become the progenitors of the gods, as also of men, demons and all other orders of creation. Traditions of the Seven Rsis is the first systematic study of these traditions and consists of two separate but closely related parts. The first part is a text-historical examination of how and when different traditions were formulated, while the second part explores the various activities and ideas associated with the Seven Rsis. Basing his study on the Sanskrit sources, but making use also of Tamil, tribal and non-Indian sources, Dr Mitchiner sets out the main traditions associated with the Seven Rsis and traces the underlying themes in those traditions, particularly that of the creative role of these ascetic figures. The work encompasses a wealth of original literary material, much of it previously un-translated and is both a sourcebook of the Rsi traditions and a study of the historical development, symbolic meaning and interconnectedness of those traditions, illustrating above all the dynamically creative role of the ascetic and mystic within Hinduism.

Greater Magadha, roughly the eastern part of the Gangetic plain of northern India, has so far been looked upon as deeply indebted to Brahmanical culture. Religions such as Buddhism and Jainism are thought of as derived, in one way or another, from Vedic religion. This belief is defective in various respects. The book argues for the importance and independence of Greater Magadha as a cultural area until a date close to the beginning of the Common Era. In order to correct the incorrect notions, two types of questions are dealt with: questions pertaining to cultural and religious dependencies, and questions relating to chronology. As a result a modified picture arises that also has a bearing on the further development of Indian culture. The book is arranged in five parts. Part-I describes cultural features of Greater Magadha, under which there are three chapters-The Fundamental Spiritual Ideology, Other Features and Conclusions. Part-II: Brahmanism vis-a-vis Rebirth and Karmic Retribution has three sections- Hesitantly Accepted, Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Ignored or Rejected, and Urban Brahmins. Under section one there are chapters on„ Dharma Sutra, a portion from the Mahabharata and the early Upanisads. Section two features chapters on Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Ignored and Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Rejected. Section three is on urban Brahmins. Part-III dwells on the chronological issues, - linguistic consideration, the Vedic texts known to the early Sanskrit grammarians, to the early Buddhists, some indications in late-Vedic literature, urban versus rural culture, etc. Part-IV is Conclusion, while Part V has useful appendices-The antiquity of the Vedanta philosophy, a Carvaka in the Mahabharata, Vedic texts known to panini, the form of the Rgveda known to Panini, Vedic texts known to Patanjali, Brahmins in the Buddhist canon, Brahmanism in Gandhara and surrounding and Carvakas and the Sabarabhasya

The Sanskrit Mahabharata (which contains the Bhagavad Gita) is sorely neglected as a classic - perhaps the classic - of world literature, and is of particularly timely human importance in today's globalised and war-torn world. This book is a chronological survey of the Sanskrit Mahabharata's central royal patriline - a family tree that is also a list of kings. Brodbeck explores the importance and implications of patrilineal maintenance within the royal culture depicted by the text, and shows how patrilineal memory comes up against the fact that in every generation a wife must be involved, with the consequent danger that the children might not sustain the memorial tradition of their paternal family. The Mahabharata Patriline bridges a gap in text-critical methodology between the traditional philological approach and more recent trends in gender and literary theory. Studying the Mahabharata as an integral literary unit and as a story stretched over dozens of generations, this book casts particular light on the events of the more recent generations and suggests that the text's internal narrators are members of the family whose story they tell.

In Herrschergenealogie und religiöses Patronat, Annette Schmiedchen analyses some 250 inscriptions from the time of the early medieval royal dynasties of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, Śilāhāras, and Yādavas, who reigned in central India from the 8th to the 13th centuries.