Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- I Young Śvetaketu: A Literary Study of an Upaniṣadic Story
- II Dharmaskandhāḥ and brahmasaṃsthaḥ: A Study of Chāndogya Upaniṣad 2.23.1
- III Orgasmic Rapture and Divine Ecstasy: The Semantic History of ānanda
- IV Amrtā: Women and Indian Technologies of Immortality
- V Power of Words: The Ascetic Appropriation and the Semantic Evolution of dharma
- VI Semantic History of Dharma: The Middle and Late Vedic Periods
- VII Explorations in the Early History of Dharmaśāstra
- VIII Structure and Composition of the Mānava Dharmaśāstra
- IX Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature
- X Rhetoric and Reality: Women's Agency in the Dharmaśāstras
- XI Manu and Gautama: A Study in Śāstric Intertextuality
- XII Manu and the Arthaśāstra: A Study in Śāstric Intertextuality
- XIII Unfaithful Transmitters: Philological Criticism and Critical Editions of the Upaniṣads
- XIV Sanskrit Commentators and the Transmission of Texts: Haradatta on Āpastamba Dharmasūtra
- XV Hair and Society: Social Significance of Hair in South Asian Traditions
- XVI Abhakṣya and Abhojya: An Exploration in Dietary Language
- XVII Food for Thought: Dietary Rules and Social Organization in Ancient India
- References
- Index
XII - Manu and the Arthaśāstra: A Study in Śāstric Intertextuality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- I Young Śvetaketu: A Literary Study of an Upaniṣadic Story
- II Dharmaskandhāḥ and brahmasaṃsthaḥ: A Study of Chāndogya Upaniṣad 2.23.1
- III Orgasmic Rapture and Divine Ecstasy: The Semantic History of ānanda
- IV Amrtā: Women and Indian Technologies of Immortality
- V Power of Words: The Ascetic Appropriation and the Semantic Evolution of dharma
- VI Semantic History of Dharma: The Middle and Late Vedic Periods
- VII Explorations in the Early History of Dharmaśāstra
- VIII Structure and Composition of the Mānava Dharmaśāstra
- IX Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature
- X Rhetoric and Reality: Women's Agency in the Dharmaśāstras
- XI Manu and Gautama: A Study in Śāstric Intertextuality
- XII Manu and the Arthaśāstra: A Study in Śāstric Intertextuality
- XIII Unfaithful Transmitters: Philological Criticism and Critical Editions of the Upaniṣads
- XIV Sanskrit Commentators and the Transmission of Texts: Haradatta on Āpastamba Dharmasūtra
- XV Hair and Society: Social Significance of Hair in South Asian Traditions
- XVI Abhakṣya and Abhojya: An Exploration in Dietary Language
- XVII Food for Thought: Dietary Rules and Social Organization in Ancient India
- References
- Index
Summary
An individual belonging to and writing within a tradition of expert knowledge (śāstra) is likely to compare and contrast his or her views to other exponents of that tradition. Modern scholars do this by means of bibliographical notes. Ancient Indian scholars resorted to several strategies, including citation of authoritative works, as well as presenting and combating opposing (pūrvapakṣa) views. Within the expert tradition of dharma, the earliest extant texts, the Dharmasūtras, frequently cite opinions of other experts with which the authors often disagree. This strategy is also evident in the Arthaśāstra (AŚ) and must have been a common practice among the early śāstric writers. The overlap between topics dealt with in the śāstric texts devoted to dharma and artha, especially with regard to the king and government, has been noted in previous scholarship. This paper, however, explores a different kind of śāstric intertextuality: an author's use of and dependence on a pre-existing textual tradition in the creation of a new text. The author of the Mānava Dharmaśāstra evidently used pre-existing sources in composing his treatise. Here I explore the connections between Manu and the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭalya.
Given the problems inherent in the dating of these two texts, it is not possible to assert with a high degree of confidence who is borrowing from whom. I do agree with Kangle, however, that it is most likely that at least sections of the Arthaśāstra are older than Manu and are the source for some of the passages and vocabulary I will discuss below.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Language, Texts, and SocietyExplorations in Ancient Indian Culture and Religion, pp. 275 - 286Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2011