How the Brahmins won : from Alexander to the Guptas / by Johannes Bronkhorst.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bronkhorst, Johannes, 1946-2025, author.

Series:

Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia 30.

Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, 0169-9377 ; Volume 30

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brahmans--History--To 1500.

Brahmans.

Brahmanism--History--To 1500.

Brahmanism.

India--History--324 B.C.-1000 A.D.

India.

India--Religious life and customs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (590 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leiden, [Netherlands] ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : Brill, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is the first study to systematically confront the question how Brahmanism, which was geographically limited and under threat during the final centuries BCE, transformed itself and spread all over South and Southeast Asia. Brahmanism spread over this vast area without the support of an empire, without the help of conquering armies, and without the intermediary of religious missionaries. This phenomenon has no parallel in world history, yet shaped a major portion of the surface of the earth for a number of centuries. This book focuses on the formative period of this phenomenon, roughly between Alexander and the Guptas.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

I Catastrophe and New Departures

II Brahmanism

III External Influence

IV Conclusions: How did the Brahmins Win?

Appendix I Brahmins and Śramaṇas

Appendix II Vedic and Para-Vedic Texts on the Śunaskarṇa Sacrifice

Appendix III Manu’s Final Chapter

Appendix IV Passages Dealing with Five-Nailed Animals

Appendix V Liberation, Enlightenment and Death

Appendix VI The Ṛgveda Prātiśākhya and its Śākhā

Appendix VII Did Patañjali Know Pāṇini’s Original Text?

Appendix VIII Why did Buddhism and Jainism Develop Differently in India

Appendix IX Bhāskara’s Acquaintance with Grammatical Literature

Appendix X Was there Buddhism in Gandhāra at the Time of Alexander?

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-04-31551-9

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004315518 DOI