Dh�rman In The Rgveda

On the Etymology of Vedic áha

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2022

This paper sets forth a proposal for deriving the emphatic particle Ved. áha from an obsolete present form of the verb āha 'says'. The suggested verbal origin accounts for unusual syntactic features of the particle, most notably the synchronically unmotivated accentuation of the verb in a main clause containing áha.

Studies in the Dharmdharmatāvibhaṅga — Introduction to bCom ldan rig pa’i ral gri's Commentary on the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅgakārikā

Abstract: The following six files that constitute my work on the commentaries of bCom ldan ral gri and Blo bzang rta dbyings will be uploaded here one by one: (1) Who is bCom ldan ral gri?; (2) Introduction to bCom ldan rig pa’i ral gri’s commentary on the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅgakārikā; (3) The Flower Ornament, the Discrimination of Dharma and Dharmatā and the [Compendium of the] Discrimination of Dharma and Dharmatā; (4) Introduction to the commentary on the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅgakārikā by Blo bzang rta dbyangs (1867-1937); (5) The Opened Chest of Jewels of Eloquence: A Commentary on The Discrimination of Thematic Reality and Reality-itself, Part One; (6) The Opened Chest of Jewels of Eloquence: A Commentary on The Discrimination of Thematic Reality and Reality-itself, Part Two.

Language of the mindful and the tomb of the hero. Indo-European *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂- in Homeric, Vedic and Old Norse diction. (M.A. Thesis, University of Helsinki, 2020)

2020

M.A. Thesis in Indo-European linguistics, University of Helsinki, 15.12.2020. Original abstract is available in separate document. This is a revised version 0978 of the MA thesis document, uploaded on 8.2.2021 with the following major corrections: - IE root for ON dís changed to mirror full ablaut grade as recommended by the inspectors. - corrections and upgrade to the language and typos. - harmonization to the presentations of IE roots in the text. - an erroneous footnote with Gödecke's trl. to Völuspá 7 was corrected. - corrections to the *stél- derivations, as presented in chapter 4 and Appendix 2, to correspond with the dictionary entries *stḗlo- *stól-no- as given in §4.7.1. - minor additions and corrections to clarify the sections discussing agnícayana and pravárgya. - the extra spaces after diacritics and accents removed from reference texts (condensed MS Word text -> pdf processing error). There were still few in version 0977 --> corrected to v. 0978. - The notation error with second laryngeal and long accented ī́ and ā́ could not be fully erased from the document preview mode. ***Changes TBD: In addition, a requirement for a major revision to the Part I is acknowledged regarding the inference of ablaut rule for Ved. dhíṣṇya. The current inference under §1.4 is acknowledged as erroneous, (or at least incomplete), however I decided to keep it intact in the M.A. thesis, as a reminder. There are options to tackle the open issues which will be investigated separately in the PhD. thesis. The five most plausible inferences, and therefore likely to be included in the PhD, are listed below: 01) There are actually two nouns present in RV, dhíṣan and dhíṣ(a)ṇya, which have analogous declension with rā́jan, rā́janya. 02) There are only three nouns in RV that are affixed with -san i.e. dhíṣan, rā́jan (*h₃rḗǵ-ōn) and pū́ṣan (*péh₂us-ōn). The Skt. affix -san is recognized by Panini and defined as sanādyantā dhātavaḥ "to belong to dhātu" (A 1.3.1), for which Patañjali comments that "signifiers (vādi) of what comes into being (bhū) are called dhātu". In Balto-Slavic, the equivalent suffix *-snь < *-sni- is related to verbal nouns related exclusively to speaking or singing (Matasovic 2014:45 /§2.4.8). 03) Analogous declination between pū́ṣan and rā́jan was recognized and investigated by Oettinger 2000:397. Dhíṣan declines in the same manner: in the inventory that I run in Jan-Feb 2021, no forms emerged in RV, AV, that could _not_ be placed under the particular declension for rā́jan available f.ex in Macdonell VG§90. 04) The verbal noun/denominative dhíṣan (m.) is based on accented root dhí-s which represents reduced grade instead of full grade. The accented reduced grade had an impact to the unaccented -a-, on the second syllable, which manifests as /0 on the unaccented second syllable in the masculine form dhíṣ(a)ṇ-ya, yet appears as accented á in the feminine dhiṣáṇ-ā, where the accent has moved from the root to the second syllable. The vowel *n̥ > a on the second syllable thus becomes pronounced only when accented, namely in the feminine forms. 05) In addition, RV & AV display peculiar reduplicate forms in dual and plural, i.e. Pl. loc. didhiṣ-ú, didhiṣ<ú>vo; Du.nom. dídhiṣ-āṇā, gen. didhiṣ-ós, for which the declension is not corresponding with that of rā́jan - dhíṣan. Based on the context, the reduplicate forms could be explained out by declension of a personal name/family name Dídhis- instead of forms built on dhíṣan /dhíṣ(a)ṇ-ya.

The Indian Buddhist Dhāraṇī: An Introduction to its History, Meanings and Functions

2011

This dissertation deals with the Buddhist dhāraṇī, mainly understood as the term selected by Indian Buddhism to assimilate the non-Buddhist notion of mantra. In the Introduction the two major categories of dhāraṇīs are defined, i.e., the ‘formulaic’ and ‘syllabic’ dhāraṇīs. In Chapter 1 the two sources for the emergence of dhāraṇīs are studied: the non-Buddhist source being focused on the non-Vedic, Vedic and Śaiva Tantric factors, and the Buddhist one being focused on several mainstream Buddhist and Mahāyāna factors. It continues with a study on the Dhāraṇī Scriptures’ emergence and their inclusion within Vajrayāna Tantras. Chapter 2 provides a detailed summary on the traditional definitions of the dhāraṇī term, its synonyms, compound terms, and its pairing with other Dharma qualities. It is followed by a survey on how the dhāraṇī term is defined and classified according to key Indian Mahāyāna Sūtras and Śāstras, and the Indo-Tibetan and East Asian Vajrayāna traditions. Chapter 3 is focused on the dhāraṇī practice, first dealing with its ethical basis, its non-ritual and ritual approaches, and its mundane and supramundane accomplishments, and then the main dhāraṇī practices are analysed intended for worldly and soteriological purposes. The dissertation closes with five Appendices including a study on a set of early Vedic mantras appearing within the Buddhist dhāraṇīs, an analysis of the ‘formulaic’ and ‘syllabic’ dhāraṇīs, a survey on mantras/dhāraṇīs accepted by several mainstream Buddhist schools, and another one on mantras/dhāraṇīs within Mahāyāna Scriptures, and finally, a ‘References’ list providing a comprehensive and updated bibliography in several Western languages mainly focused on Buddhist mantras/dhāraṇīs.

Development of the Term Dhyāna in the Discourse of Yoga

Історія філософії та історії філософій. Тези тринадцятої міжнародної наукової конференції "Філософія. Нове покоління" (Київ, НаУКМА􏰉􏰈􏰘􏰗), 2018

Dhyāna is a category and one of the basic elements of yoga philosophy (yogadarśana). This term has ancient roots that are first mentioned in g Veda (RV). Later dhyāna becomes a part of yoga discourse in the Upaniads, and a cornerstone in the framework of Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. It is often used in Moksadharmaparvan and Bhagavadgītā of Mahābhārata, texts which are disclosing yoga and in many details describe dhyāna. In haha-yogic texts, such as Dattātreyayogaśāstra, Gorakaśataka and others, dhyāna is still used as one of the major parts of yoga-practice. The term dhyāna is generally translated as meditation. The results of my Ph.D. research show that the meaning of the term dhyāna is non- homogeneous. Dhyāna in different texts has had a different meaning, explaining various mental and embodied practices. Analysis has shown that the term meaning was continuously changing, going from poetic, visionary and less specified in its first mentioning in RV (root dhī derivatives in 4.36.2, 8.12.10, 10.11.1.) to mystical practices of seeing ātman in Upaniads (e.g., Śvetāśvatara Up. 1.14.). In Patañjali’s Yogasūtras (2.11. and 3.2.) a clear and unambiguous definition of dhyāna is given, it is there a continuity of cognition on the subject of dhāraā and destroyer of vtti, which are accurately defined in the Yogasūtras. The text of Moksadharmaparvan (12.181, 12.188, 12.203, 12.333.) contain explicit explanations of dhyāna-yoga practice, with its cognitive component and substantial vision of the mind. Bhagavadgītā (12.6.) equates dhyāna and bhakti. The haha yogic texts, mentioned earlier, describe dhyāna as an embodied practice, sometimes followed by a visualization.

Meaning of dharma and cognate expressions in 79 R̥ca-s consistently explain the root as 'the Law or Ordinance'

This is an addendum to: Olivelle's leaps of faith and misadventures in interpretation of ancient texts (RV 3.3.1) of Bhāratam Janam (RV 3.53.12) https://tinyurl.com/y45cuulz The following are 79 R̥ ca-s from all 10 maṇḍala-s of R̥ gveda. These provide a framework to unravel the semantics of dharma and cognate expressions such as vidharman, svadharman, dharmakr̥ te satyadharmā. Thanks to Megh Kalyanasundaram for identifying all these R̥ ca-s in his article. https://tinyurl.com/y45cuulz Semantics of expressions: धर्म णा = discharge of (one's) duties; by culture; धर्ाम णं = upholder; svadharma 'one's own duty'; धर्म भ िः 'virtuous acts'; dharma 'the Law' or 'ordinance' भि-धभर्म न् mfn. transgressing the law (as speech), MBh.; vidharman 'various functions' Most translations are based on Wilson; for some, Griffith's translations have also been provided. कभिर्भिर्ु प स्तु भि सत्यधर्ाम णर्ध्वरे । दे िर्र्ीिचातनर्् ॥७॥ RV 1.12.7 1.012.07 Praise in the sacrifice, Agni, be the protector of that offerer of oblations who worships you, the messenger of the gods. सत्य satya-धर्म ः the law of truth, eternal truth. ˚परायण a. devoted to truth and virtue (Apte). सत्य-धर्म m. the law of truth, eternal t°, R. सत्य-धर्म mfn. one whose ordinances are true, Up. (Monier-Williams) त्रीभण पदा भि चक्रर्े भिष्णु र्गोपा अदाभ्यिः । अतो धर्ाम भण धारयन् ॥१८॥RV 1.22.18 1.022.18 Vis.n.u, the preserver, the uninjurable, stepped three steps, upholding thereby righteous acts. [gopa_, sarvasya jagato raks.akah: the preserver of all the worlds; the principal attribute of Vis.n.u]. त्वं तभर्न्द्र पिम तं न ोजसे र्िो नृ म्णस्य धर्म णाभर्रज्यभस । प्र िीये ण दे िताभत चे भकते भिश्वस्मा उग्रिः कर्म णे पु रोभितिः ॥३॥RV 1.55.3 Griffith RV 1.55.3 Thou swayest, Indra, all kinds of great manly power, so as to bend, as it were, even that famed mountain down. Foremost among the Gods is he through hero might, set in the van, the Strong One, for each arduous deed.