Indian Studies Or Indology

Śrī Harṣa contra Hegel: Monism, Skeptical Method, and the Limits of Reason

by Ayon Maharaj

Forthcoming in Philosophy East and West

This essay brings Śrī Harṣa’s Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya (c. 1170) into dialogue with Hegel’s Phänomenologie des Geistes... more This essay brings Śrī Harṣa’s Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya (c. 1170) into dialogue with Hegel’s Phänomenologie des Geistes (1807), identifying salient points of affinity and divergence in the monistic metaphysics and skeptical methodologies of two thinkers working in entirely different traditions and separated by over six hundred years. Remarkably, both Śrī Harṣa and Hegel attempt to defend a monistic standpoint exclusively by means of a sustained critique of non-monistic philosophical positions. I will argue, however, that Śrī Harṣa and Hegel diverge sharply in their specific views on the powers and limits of philosophy and on the precise nature of monistic reality. In stark contrast to Hegel, Śrī Harṣa claims that the non-dual reality of Brahman lies beyond reason and hence rejects the very possibility of a philosophical justification of monism. Moreover, while Hegel drives a wedge between thought and empirical praxis by assuming the radical “independence of reason,” Śrī Harṣa insists that how we think and reason depends on the nature of our mind, which is itself conditioned by how we live.

Seminario Popolare sul Pensiero dell'Estremo Oriente (4 Ed.). Perché guardare a Oriente?

by Pietro Piro

Programma delle giornate di studi: Perché guardare a Oriente? Termini Imerese 5-6 Maggio 2012.

Nella giornata di studi Perchè guardare a Oriente?  I ricercatori coinvolti,  a partire dalle proprie... more Nella giornata di studi Perchè guardare a Oriente?  I ricercatori coinvolti,  a partire dalle proprie competenze e dai propri interessi, cercheranno di chiarire, in modo semplice e “popolare” perché è necessario conoscere e approfondire un tema legato ad un aspetto del pensiero Orientale (musica, arte, filosofia, religione, cinema..etc). In questo modo, si cercherà di trovare ragioni vitali, e non esclusivamente accademiche o commerciali, per accostarsi all’Oriente. Il tentativo è quello di avvicinare quante più persone possibili ad una cultura che rimane, nonostante l’accelerazione dei ritmi globalizzanti, relegata in secondo piano e ristretta o al cerchio ristretto degli specialisti o esposta alla banalizzazione del pensiero unico. Si cercherà dunque, di offrire delle risposte che possano essere un vero punto d’inizio per chi, spesso carico di pregiudizi, si accosta per la prima volta ad un mondo così complesso e affascinante. La sfida non è semplice. Si cercherà di non esporre una teoria preconfezionata, quanto di cercare di aprirsi al dialogo interrogante e stabilire insieme ragioni superiori e condivise.

Contributo per una Bibliografia Completa delle opere di A.K. Coomaraswamy.

by marco pucciarini

The first attempt to publish in Italian a complete bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy's works.

Americanasana (review essay on history of yoga in America)

by Jared Farmer

Special attention given to Mark Singleton's YOGA BODY, Stefanie Syman's THE SUBTLE BODY, and Robert Love's THE GREAT OOM.

My Indian Music Site

by Teed Rockwell

According to Academia.edu, someone just did a search with the question "Are there two Teed Rockwells?". The answer is that there are at least two, but that they all live in the same skin. For those who want to meet the musical one, you can connect to this link to see and hear videos of my Indian music. (Both Hindustani and Bollywood). There are also links to my twenty years of columns as Music Critic for India Currents Magazine.

Miért nem léphet be a súdra a szentélybe?

by Ferenc Ruzsa

Why cannot a shudra enter the sanctum?

A short essay on the origins and logic of Indian tolerance and caste discrimination A short essay on the origins and logic of Indian tolerance and caste discrimination

Though He Is One, He Bears All Those Diverse Names: A Comparative Analysis of Jayanta Bhatta's Argument for Toleration

by David Slakter

This paper analyzes Jayanta's argument for toleration in the Agamadambara (Much Ado About Religion) through a... more This paper analyzes Jayanta's argument for toleration in the Agamadambara (Much Ado About Religion) through a comparison with similar arguments given by John Locke and Pierre Bayle.

Review of: Valiathan, The Legacy of Suśruta

by Dominik Wujastyk

2007. Review of: M. S. Valiathan, The Legacy of Suśruta (Hyderabad: Ori-
ent Longman, 2007), in Indian Journal of History of Science, 42(2), 2007, pp.
263–67.

Miduri, M.C., (2009), "Regole senza senso o senso regolato". Rileggere la critica di Staal alle Scienze umane in una nuova prospettiva antropologica"

by Maria Chiara Miduri

Honors MA Essay in Indian Philosophies and Religions, Miduri, M.C., (2009), "Regole senza senso o senso regolato". Rileggere la critica di Staal alle Scienze umane in una nuova prospettiva antropologica", Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Torino, A.A. 2008-2009.

Towards the reliability of the online learning based on Sanskrit Materials

by Chandima Gangodawila

“Towards the reliability of the online learning based on Sanskrit materials.” 30th Anniversary International Research Conference of Open University of Sri Lanka, Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka August 20, 2010. [In English]

Towards the Reliability of the online Learning based on Sanskrit Materials

01 Introduction
The main... more Towards the Reliability of the online Learning based on Sanskrit Materials

01 Introduction
The main purpose of this research paper is to explore the reliability of the online learning based on the existing Sanskrit materials. At first, I should say that this doesn’t anyway mean to undermine the regular online learning system relied on Sanskrit. But, I deem it worthwhile to keep an inherent tradition of all the languages to bear a rich corpus of materials for online learning.
For Sanskrit, there can be seen a dozen of internet materials which have been published not only by some Indian websites, but also by some European and American authorities. Out of all, the Sanskrit Portal which is handled by Gerard Huet is the best, projecting the cruxes of them to a greater detail. The Sanskrit Portal generally provides with us a composite exposition of most of online materials for Sanskrit and related genres. First and foremost, it furnishes us with a list of general sites namely The Indology Site, Sanskrit Studies links, Sanskrit forums, International Sanskrit Association, Sanskrit Page, Omniglot.Then it brings to us the Sanskrit dictionary from Sanskrit heritage to Glossaire des terms Pali on Buddhiques. Digital Sanskrit library is the genre for online learning related to e-texts by which the GRETIL and Gaudiya Grantha Mandira texts have been carefully prepared. Next, the Sanskrit portal gives Devanagari fonts and translators which are aptly suitable for specific Sanskrit fonts. Educational institutes for Sanskrit in India and overseas renders us a really succinct account about the programs of online learning worldwide. The excerpts and abstracts of past Sanskrit conferences are also valuable for both the researches and common public who are keen interested in Sanskrit. Grammatical softwares such as TDIL for windows, Sanskrit Lemmatizer, Sanskrit Morphology Generator, Liberation Philology Software and The Devanagari Animated Calligraphy too drive the lovers of Sanskrit on the portions of Phonetics. The information about Sanskrit courses and workshops incluiding Spoken Programs and sessions would also be considered as some innovations for online learning.
02 Methodology
I would first describe the online learning using the softwares prepared by JNU Special Centre for Sanskrit. Then my attempt would be to cover up the Sanskrit dictionaries compiled for online learning. Moreover, my attention will focus on the German dictionaries for Sanskrit as most of the online materials for Sanskrit are in German. This will follow a copious study of individual sites prepared by Sanskrit scholars so as to have an impression of Sanskrit using the variegated ideologies .I will also not leave a scholarly discussion about how far the top-ranking departments and online Sanskrit journals have contributed to the caption.
04 Findings
One of the explorations from the JNU related softwares in the Special centre for Sanskrit Studies is that any Sanskrit researcher who is willing to study the grammatical materials does not need to grapple with any particular scholar or book related to the field .So it is a kind of immense help that they receive from online learning.
Secondly, the Sanskrit dictionaries for online learning show that they are not so flexible in the search mood. The searchable data system proves inconsistent in this regard. I also found that there are no online dictionaries in German Language for Sanskrit since most of compiled splendid Sanskrit dictionaries are in German. For instance, the Sanskrit Wotorbuch compiled by Heinrich Roth. This has not yet been published into online category by any authority.
Moving onto the individual Sanskrit sites maintained by various scholars it seems more complicated by the context and the views they hold on them due to the vividness of dogmatic views. Nevertheless, I found the website for online learning in Sanskrit made by Ulrich Stiehl as the best performance in this regard. When paying attention to the departmental sites for Sanskrit, I could investigate that they are too not systematic for online learning due to the basis they have been relied on. One of the other findings of my research is to testify the availability of Standard Online Sanskrit Journals appeared in several web pages.
05 Conclusion
In conclusion, I could say that the softwares for Sanskrit have made the traditional education easy for many, removing all the difficulties such as finding books and veteran mentors on the particular divisions of Sanskrit. It is also an indispensable necessity to build up a most proximate database for online Sanskrit dictionaries in German. Online publishing of the Wotorbuch zum Rigveda and other very usable Sanskrit dictionaries will pave the way of many researchers into a better understanding. Another salient factor is to make all the private websites related to Sanskrit consistent on all the portions. Online journals for Sanskrit should also be relied on the relevant Sanskrit of the particular countries.
Key Words: Online, Sanskrit, Learning, Indology, German, Website

Revisiting the Sanskrit Studies in Europe with Special Reference to Its Early Period

by Chandima Gangodawila

"L'Oriente in Noi" Seminario Popolare sul Pensiero dell'Estremo Oriente

by Pietro Piro

Giornata di Studi dedicata alle relazioni tra Oriente e Occidente.

Il Seminario Popolare sul Pensiero dell’Estremo Oriente nasce per confrontarsi in maniera aperta e non accademica con... more Il Seminario Popolare sul Pensiero dell’Estremo Oriente nasce per confrontarsi in maniera aperta e non accademica con i grandi temi del Pensiero Orientale. Un pensiero differente che si muove da categorie proprie e che fornisce nuove e profonde visioni della realtà. La mondializzazione ha accelerato i processi di commercio e di comunicazione ma ancora troppo spesso si continua a non conoscere il substrato religioso e filosofico dei popoli con i quali si entra in contatto. L’Altro è spesso ridotto a merce di scambio e a forza-lavoro e non è ancora visto come il portatore di una cultura vasta e profonda, capace di arricchire e di cambiare le stagnanti prese di posizione del pensiero Occidentale.
Il Seminario giunge alla terza edizione sulla base del successo e dell’entusiasmo delle prime due. Si è, infatti, suscitato un vero intererrogare su temi che all’inizio possono sembrare distanti e difficili ma che alla fine, ci rivelano il loro contenuto universale e ci riempiono di un bagaglio di nuovi ed essenziali argomenti di riflessione.

erratum for Sankhyan and Schug 2011

by Gwen Robbins Schug

Current Science published the following erratum this month to the trepanation paper

First Evidence of Brain Surgery in Bronze age Harappa

by Gwen Robbins Schug

erratum published below

Hindunationalismus und Mythen

by Felix Abrudan

Seminar paper.

circular_migration4

by Suresh Pillai

Călătoriile adolescentului miop prin țara brahmanilor și fachirilor - partea II (Viața Românească, CVI, nr. 11-12, 2011)

by Liviu Bordas

Călătoriile adolescentului miop prin țara brahmanilor și fachirilor - partea I (Viața Românească, CVI, nr. 9-10, 2011)

by Liviu Bordas

Zu den indoiranischen°īpa-Komposita: Vedisch abhīpatás

by Velizar Sadovski

Bulletin d’Études Indiennes, éd. par Nalini Balbir et Georges-Jean Pinault, vol. 20.1, 2002. Paris, 231-264

Morphology and Semantics of Names and Epithets in Indo-Iranian, I: On Morphological Structures in the System of Personal Names

by Velizar Sadovski

In: Proceedings of the 5th Conference of the Societas Iranologica Europæa. Vol. II. Edited by Antonio Panaino and Riccardo Zipoli, with the assistance of Gian Pietro Basello and Sara Circassia. Milano 2006, 541–555.

http://www.elamit.net/depot/sie2003/sie2003v2contents.pdf