Cubelic, Simon, Axel Michaels, and Astrid Zotter. Studies in Historical Documents from Nepal and India, edited by Simon Cubelic, Axel Michaels, and Astrid Zotter, 1–33. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2018
https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.331.454
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The book is the first volume of the Documenta Nepalica – Book Series, published by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the National Archives, Nepal.
In order to answer these important questions, this volume brings together eleven case studies by an international team of anthropologists and ethno-Indologists of Nepal on such diverse topics as secularism, individualism, shamanism, animal sacrifice, the role of state functionaries in festivals, clashes and synergies between Maoism and Buddhism, and conversion to Christianity. In an Afterword renowned political theorist Rajeev Bhargava presents a comparative analysis of Nepal’s experiences and asks whether the country is finding its own solution to the conundrum of secularism.
The PuCi reflects the medieval Hindu religion of the Nepalese elites, which tradi-tionally and up to recently was centred on the king as its major ritual patron. The struc-ture of the text mirrors a peculiar Nepalese combination of exoteric and esoteric cult practices. Flowers for Śiva, Viṣṇu, Sūrya and the other Grahas as well as in the śrāddha as prescribed in the common Dharmaśāstranibandhas are dealt with in the first two chapters. The third chapter might be seen as a hinge between the two ritual modi: con-cluding the area of smārta worship it deals with flowers for Durgā, who is considered to be the exoteric identity of the multitude of esoteric goddesses unfolding into different lines of transmission (āmnāya) of the Kaula traditions dealt with in the last chapter of the text. Furthermore, the analysis of the texts used for composing the PuCi attests to a strong link to the pan-Indian Sanskrit tradition and yet at the same time to its Nepalese prov-enance. There are texts quoted which by the 17th century must have become the “clas-sics” among the authorities on Nepalese ritual matters, such as the Śivadharma literature or the Manthānabhairavatantra. On the other hand the text heavily draws on works by North Indian Nibandhakāras, which must have been “brand new” at that time, such as Narasiṃha Ṭhakkura’s Tārābhaktisudhārṇava. The findings affirm that Pratāpa Malla was one of those royal figures who actually imported scholars and new texts in order to update the Nepalese version of Hinduism. In a wider perspective the text bears evidence to how fast knowledge and texts travelled in medieval South Asia.
Research into Nepalese manuscripts has uncovered a larger textual tradition on pūjā flowers surviving in about 100 manuscripts. These texts are closely interrelated. Newly emerging texts may take material from older compilations as their skeleton and coat it with new references or may be self-sustained developments of parts of their predecessors. Texts are translated into the vernaculars, into Newari and later on into Nepali. The Puṣpacintāmaṇi may be considered paradigmatic for this tradition. Its translation into Classical Newari in course of time comes to lead a life of its own, the Sanskrit text or parts thereof form the bones for later texts, and so forth.
Looking at the contents of the Puṣpacintāmaṇi several observations can be made. The text belongs to the prescriptive śāstra literature, which, according to its self-conception, relates back to earlier authorities to establish normative discourse rather than to nor-malize existing practice. The text is highly specialised by focusing on a single material aspect of ritual and consequently dropped all information of its sources that went be-yond its immediate scope. The text is purely encyclopaedic. It only presents the rules according to a certain order without linking them theoretically.
In the set of regulations general and special rules can be distinguished. The general rules for procurement, treatment and disposal of pūjā flowers allow for statements about the general conception of the same. They echo Brahmanical values of purity and show parallels to rules formulated for food and gifts. The special rules, in which particular flower species are prescribed (vihita) or prohibited (niṣiddha), can not only be ordered according to the deities, as in the text itself, but also according to the types of ritual they relate to, namely nitya, naimittika and kāmya. Notably, the flowers in their physical characteristics and cultural associations can be linked to different components of the rules stated. In nityapūjā the features of the flowers tend to correspond to that of the deities, in naimittikapūjā to the time component and in kāmyapūjā to the result to be achieved. Moreover, in nityapūjā a certain looseness of stress on the compliance with the rules is discernible. After all, devotion (bhakti) plays a major role, which may refer back to the deep rootedness of pūjā in the bhakti traditions. In contrast, prescriptions for kāmyapūjā are very precise and results are related to certain flowers almost mechanically. Moreover, statements of bhakti as superior means of worship are restricted to the first three chapters of the texts. In other regards too distinctions between rules for exoteric and esoteric worship are discernible. For example, there is a strong tendency in text portions of dharmaśāstric origin to keep on with the prestigious Vedic heritage in ritual flora—even if this requires the category “flower” (puṣpa) to be stretched considerably to include grasses or leaves—whereas plants known to be efficient in Vedic ritual tend to be more rarely prescribed or even prohibited in the Kaula texts.
Despite remarks on the systemic character of the rules, from an overall perspective it must be said that the text does not seem to aim at presenting a closed and thoroughly composed system. There are obvious contradictions, incomprehensible passages and unidentifiable flower names. These make the text have its dark and impenetrable edges. The translation into Newari confirms the impression that the text was not meant to be a highly sophisticated product well-conceived to the core, meaningful and understood in every detail. Many flower names mentioned in the text are either translated quite mechanically into Newari or they are completely dropped. But there are also some few cases in which the Newari text seems to take up names that are either unintelligible or whose botanical identity is a matter of discussion in order to provide plants of impor-tance in local pūjā practice with a Sanskrit identity.
But still, the text stays remote from actual practice. It was surely not meant to serve as a practical guide (prayoga). It operates on a different level. It assembles śāstric refer-ences in a specific tailoring and at maximum its use might have been to provide a le-gitimatory backup (pramāṇa). It is a link in the chain that loosely connects the trans-local śāstric discourse with a local pūjā practice. The translation into Newari can be seen as the next stride towards ritual application.
There was no need whatsoever for a text like this. The world could have lived without it. Pratāpa Malla would not have been a less illustrious king and Newar ritual flora would not have been less manifold. But the cultural climate of the 17th century, with three intensely competing kingdoms within the narrow confines of the Kathmandu valley and the court of a king who, personally, was very fond of the divine inhabitants of his realm, provided the ideal breeding ground for a composition specializing in and thereby highlighting a minute detail of one of the or even the most prominent ritual practice of that time. It may have been a mere intellectual exercise of some pandits, a true l’art pour l’art, but nevertheless it appears to be a rewardingly informative witness of the way in which medieval Nepalese religion was conceived and constructed in elite circles.
The book is the first volume of the Documenta Nepalica – Book Series, published by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the National Archives, Nepal.
In order to answer these important questions, this volume brings together eleven case studies by an international team of anthropologists and ethno-Indologists of Nepal on such diverse topics as secularism, individualism, shamanism, animal sacrifice, the role of state functionaries in festivals, clashes and synergies between Maoism and Buddhism, and conversion to Christianity. In an Afterword renowned political theorist Rajeev Bhargava presents a comparative analysis of Nepal’s experiences and asks whether the country is finding its own solution to the conundrum of secularism.
The PuCi reflects the medieval Hindu religion of the Nepalese elites, which tradi-tionally and up to recently was centred on the king as its major ritual patron. The struc-ture of the text mirrors a peculiar Nepalese combination of exoteric and esoteric cult practices. Flowers for Śiva, Viṣṇu, Sūrya and the other Grahas as well as in the śrāddha as prescribed in the common Dharmaśāstranibandhas are dealt with in the first two chapters. The third chapter might be seen as a hinge between the two ritual modi: con-cluding the area of smārta worship it deals with flowers for Durgā, who is considered to be the exoteric identity of the multitude of esoteric goddesses unfolding into different lines of transmission (āmnāya) of the Kaula traditions dealt with in the last chapter of the text. Furthermore, the analysis of the texts used for composing the PuCi attests to a strong link to the pan-Indian Sanskrit tradition and yet at the same time to its Nepalese prov-enance. There are texts quoted which by the 17th century must have become the “clas-sics” among the authorities on Nepalese ritual matters, such as the Śivadharma literature or the Manthānabhairavatantra. On the other hand the text heavily draws on works by North Indian Nibandhakāras, which must have been “brand new” at that time, such as Narasiṃha Ṭhakkura’s Tārābhaktisudhārṇava. The findings affirm that Pratāpa Malla was one of those royal figures who actually imported scholars and new texts in order to update the Nepalese version of Hinduism. In a wider perspective the text bears evidence to how fast knowledge and texts travelled in medieval South Asia.
Research into Nepalese manuscripts has uncovered a larger textual tradition on pūjā flowers surviving in about 100 manuscripts. These texts are closely interrelated. Newly emerging texts may take material from older compilations as their skeleton and coat it with new references or may be self-sustained developments of parts of their predecessors. Texts are translated into the vernaculars, into Newari and later on into Nepali. The Puṣpacintāmaṇi may be considered paradigmatic for this tradition. Its translation into Classical Newari in course of time comes to lead a life of its own, the Sanskrit text or parts thereof form the bones for later texts, and so forth.
Looking at the contents of the Puṣpacintāmaṇi several observations can be made. The text belongs to the prescriptive śāstra literature, which, according to its self-conception, relates back to earlier authorities to establish normative discourse rather than to nor-malize existing practice. The text is highly specialised by focusing on a single material aspect of ritual and consequently dropped all information of its sources that went be-yond its immediate scope. The text is purely encyclopaedic. It only presents the rules according to a certain order without linking them theoretically.
In the set of regulations general and special rules can be distinguished. The general rules for procurement, treatment and disposal of pūjā flowers allow for statements about the general conception of the same. They echo Brahmanical values of purity and show parallels to rules formulated for food and gifts. The special rules, in which particular flower species are prescribed (vihita) or prohibited (niṣiddha), can not only be ordered according to the deities, as in the text itself, but also according to the types of ritual they relate to, namely nitya, naimittika and kāmya. Notably, the flowers in their physical characteristics and cultural associations can be linked to different components of the rules stated. In nityapūjā the features of the flowers tend to correspond to that of the deities, in naimittikapūjā to the time component and in kāmyapūjā to the result to be achieved. Moreover, in nityapūjā a certain looseness of stress on the compliance with the rules is discernible. After all, devotion (bhakti) plays a major role, which may refer back to the deep rootedness of pūjā in the bhakti traditions. In contrast, prescriptions for kāmyapūjā are very precise and results are related to certain flowers almost mechanically. Moreover, statements of bhakti as superior means of worship are restricted to the first three chapters of the texts. In other regards too distinctions between rules for exoteric and esoteric worship are discernible. For example, there is a strong tendency in text portions of dharmaśāstric origin to keep on with the prestigious Vedic heritage in ritual flora—even if this requires the category “flower” (puṣpa) to be stretched considerably to include grasses or leaves—whereas plants known to be efficient in Vedic ritual tend to be more rarely prescribed or even prohibited in the Kaula texts.
Despite remarks on the systemic character of the rules, from an overall perspective it must be said that the text does not seem to aim at presenting a closed and thoroughly composed system. There are obvious contradictions, incomprehensible passages and unidentifiable flower names. These make the text have its dark and impenetrable edges. The translation into Newari confirms the impression that the text was not meant to be a highly sophisticated product well-conceived to the core, meaningful and understood in every detail. Many flower names mentioned in the text are either translated quite mechanically into Newari or they are completely dropped. But there are also some few cases in which the Newari text seems to take up names that are either unintelligible or whose botanical identity is a matter of discussion in order to provide plants of impor-tance in local pūjā practice with a Sanskrit identity.
But still, the text stays remote from actual practice. It was surely not meant to serve as a practical guide (prayoga). It operates on a different level. It assembles śāstric refer-ences in a specific tailoring and at maximum its use might have been to provide a le-gitimatory backup (pramāṇa). It is a link in the chain that loosely connects the trans-local śāstric discourse with a local pūjā practice. The translation into Newari can be seen as the next stride towards ritual application.
There was no need whatsoever for a text like this. The world could have lived without it. Pratāpa Malla would not have been a less illustrious king and Newar ritual flora would not have been less manifold. But the cultural climate of the 17th century, with three intensely competing kingdoms within the narrow confines of the Kathmandu valley and the court of a king who, personally, was very fond of the divine inhabitants of his realm, provided the ideal breeding ground for a composition specializing in and thereby highlighting a minute detail of one of the or even the most prominent ritual practice of that time. It may have been a mere intellectual exercise of some pandits, a true l’art pour l’art, but nevertheless it appears to be a rewardingly informative witness of the way in which medieval Nepalese religion was conceived and constructed in elite circles.