Ideology and Status of Sanskrit : : Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language / / edited by Jan Houben.

• TeilnehmendeR: Houben, Jan,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : BRILL,, 1996.
• Year of Publication: 1996
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Indological Library
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (x, 501 pages).

The present volume is the outcome of a seminar on the Ideology and Status of Sanskrit held in Leiden under the auspices of the International Institute for Asian Studies. The book contains studies of crucial periods and important areas in the history of the Sanskrit language, from the earliest, Vedic and pre-Vedic periods, through the period in which the (restricted) use of Sanskrit spread over practically all of South (including part of Central) and Southeast Asia (sometimes referred to as the period of "Greater India"), up to the recent history of Sanskrit in India. The contributions of this volume are divided into three sections: (1) Origins and Creation of the "Eternal Language"; (2) Transculturation, Vernacularization, Sanskritization; (3) The Sanskrit Tradition: Continuity from the past or Construction from the present?.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Contributors -- 1. Introduction: towards a Social History of the Sanskrit Language -- I. Origins and Creation of the 'Eternal Language' -- 2. Pre-ṛgvedic convergence between Indo-Aryan and Dravidian? A survey of the issues and controversies -- 3. The early history of Sanskrit as supreme language -- 4. What was Sanskrit for? Metadiscursive strategies in ancient India -- 5. Sanskrit and reality: the Buddhist contribution -- 6. Jain attitudes towards the Sanskrit language -- 7. Socio-linguistic attitudes reflected in the work of Bhartṛhari and later Grammarians -- II. Transculturation, Sanskritization, Vernacularization -- 8. The Sanskrit Cosmopolis, 300-1300 CE: Transculturation, Vernacularization, and the Question of Ideology -- 9. The use of Sanskrit in South Indian royal inscriptions: social, political and religious implications -- 10. Speech of the Gurus: Instances of treatment of Sanskrit in Tantric literature -- 11. Tibetan expertise in Sanskrit Grammar: ideology, status and other extra-linguistic factors -- 12. More on the Kāraka-saṁgraha, a Sanskrit grammatical text from Bali -- 13. The introduction of Indian Prosody among the Thais -- III. The Sanskrit Tradition: Continuity from the past or Construction from the present? -- 14. 'Do you speak Sanskrit?' On a class of Sanskrit texts composed in the Late Middle Ages -- 15. Sanskrit and Hindu national identity in nineteenth century Bengal -- 16. The place of Sanskrit in neo-Hindu ideologies: from religious reform to national awakening -- 17. Position of Sanskrit in public education and scientific research in modern India -- 18. Contextualizing the Eternal Language: Features of Priestly Sanskrit -- Bibliography -- Author Index -- General Index.

Map: The 'Sanskrit Cosmopolis' and Centres of Sanskrit learning.