Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE

662 Pages·2006·4.133 MB·English

by  Patrick Olivelle

Title Pages
Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE
to 400 CE
Patrick Olivelle
Print publication date: 2006
Print ISBN-13: 9780195305326
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305326.001.0001
Title Pages
(p.i) Between the Empires
(p.iii) Between the Empires
(p.iv)
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Copyright © 2006 by The South Asia Institute at the University of
Texas
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Page 1 of 2
Title Pages
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
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stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Between the empires : society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE /
edited by Patrick Olivelle.
p. cm. — (South Asia research)
Papers of a conference held at the University of Texas, South Asia
Institute
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13 978-0-19-530532-6
1. India—social conditions—To 1200—Congresses. I. Olivelle, Patrick.
II. South Asia research (New York, N. Y.)
HN682.B448 2006
934’.05—dc22 2005049534
3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
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South Asia Research
Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE
to 400 CE
Patrick Olivelle
Print publication date: 2006
Print ISBN-13: 9780195305326
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305326.001.0001
(p.ii) South Asia Research
SERIES EDITOR
Patrick Olivelle
A Publication Series of The University of Texas South Asia Institute and Oxford
University Press
THE EARLY UPANISADS
Annotated Text and Translation
Patrick Olivelle
INDIAN EPIGRAPHY
A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-
Aryan Languages
Richard Salomon
A DICTIONARY OF OLD MARATHI
S. G. Tulpule and Anne Feldhaus
DONORS, DEVOTEES, AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD
Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu
Leslie C. Orr
JĪMŪTAVĀHANA’S DĀYABHĀGA
Page 1 of 2
South Asia Research
The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal
Edited and Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Ludo Rocher
A PORTRAIT OF THE HINDUS
Balthazar Solvyns and the European Image of India 1740–1824
Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr.
NECTAR GAZE AND POISON BREATH
An Analysis and Translation of the Rajasthani Oral Narrative of Devnārāyan
Aditya Malik
MANU’S CODE OF LAW
A Critical Edition and Translation of the Manava-Dharmaśāstra
Patrick Olivelle
BETWEEN THE EMPIRES
Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE
Patrick Olivelle
Page 2 of 2
Preface
Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE
to 400 CE
Patrick Olivelle
Print publication date: 2006
Print ISBN-13: 9780195305326
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305326.001.0001
(p.v) Preface
The papers collected in this volume resulted from an international conference
held at the University of Texas at Austin, April 3–6, 2003. The conference was to
explore the period between roughly the fourth century BCE and the fifth century
CE, a period that saw unparalleled developments within the Indian subcontinent,
developments that defined classical Indian culture and society. Shortly prior to
this period occurred the first invasions of India by foreign military forces (those
of Persians under Darius and of the Greeks under Alexander), bringing with
them an opening to the West. This period saw the establishment of the overland
silk road to China and the expansion of maritime trade, which established
contacts with East Asia. Buddhism spread to the east, intensifying the cultural
interaction between East and South Asia. Developments within the Indian
subcontinent included the extensive use of writing and the flowering of
literature and scholarship: grammar, philosophy, law, political science, epics,
drama, poetics, art, architecture, and so on. Out of this period came many of the
basic texts of Indian learning and some of the basic features of Indian culture.
Page 1 of 3
Preface
We called the conference Between the Empires, because the heart of the period
falls between the decline of the first major Indian empire, that of the Mauryas
(whose last king died in the early second century BCE), and the rise of the Gupta
Empire (beginning in the fourth century CE). The aim of the conference was to
bring together scholars pursuing advanced research relating to this period and
to provide them the opportunity to interact with each other over a two- or three-
day period. The participants included archeologists, art historians, numismatists,
historians, experts in literature, law, and linguistics, philosophers, and historians
of religion. The conference participants were asked to send their papers before
the meeting so that they could be distributed to all the participants. This
eliminated the time-consuming process of reading the papers during the
meeting. Rather, each participant introduced her or his paper within ten
minutes, thereby leaving as much time as possible for discussion, debate, and
the exchange of ideas. This was an opportunity for scholars from diverse fields
to interact with one another and to profit by the insights of those in other fields.
A transcript of the vigorous and fruitful discussions that followed each summary
is available at: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/southasia/empires/conferencepapers.
A few of the scholars invited could not attend due to personal and professional
reasons. Two of their papers, those of Dilip K. Chakrabarti and J. Mark Kenoyer,
are included in this volume. A few of the participants were unable to provide
papers for this volume. My own paper was not distributed at the conference and
is included to provide an overview of the developments in the legal literature
during this period.
This volume contains a rich collection of serious and often groundbreaking
studies of a variety of cultural and historical issues relating to this seminal
period of South Asian history. Yet we were unable to cover everything; many
important topics are not covered mostly because experts in those areas were
unable to participate in the (p.vi) conference. We do not have studies, for
example, on early Buddhism, Asokan inscriptions, writing systems, foreign
invasions and immigration, works on politics and governance (the Arthaśāstra,
for example), drama, belles lettres (kāvya), or developments in technology,
mathematics, and other sciences. Nevertheless, this volume and the scholarship
contained therein, we hope, will become a standard reference for scholars and
students interested in the history and culture of ancient South Asia.
We also organized a graduate seminar on the topic Between the Empires during
the spring semester of 2003, attended by a large group of our graduate students
and faculty. The seminar participants read most of the papers written for the
conference, as well as other readings suggested by the authors of those papers.
The students discussed the papers among themselves, wrote their own studies of
this period, and participated in discussions with the conference participants. We
appreciate the added vigor that the interest and energy of these students
brought to the conference.
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Preface
Many individuals assisted in the planning and execution of the conference. My
colleagues Joel Brereton, Janice Leoshko, Martha Selby, and Cynthia Talbot were
on the planning committee and assisted in every phase of the conference; as did
our faculty colleagues Oliver Freiberger and Edeltraud Harzer. Richard
Lariviere, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, generously funded the
conference. Members of our staff who contributed in a variety of ways to the
success of the conference include Sandra Paschall, Jeannie Cortez, Liliana
Merubia, and Eduardo Contreras. Jarrod Whitaker led a large group of our
graduate students who helped with the logistics. Matthew Sayers is responsible
for producing the camera-ready copy of this volume, and Mark McClish prepared
the Index. I want to thank Matthew in a special way for his extraordinary
diligence and good humor in formatting this very complex text and in dealing
with the idiosyncrasies of seventeen authors and an impatient editor. My wife,
Suman, as usual was a wonderful host during the “after hours” of the
conference. To all of them, a heartfelt thanks. And to all of them and to the
wonderful participants at the conference this book is dedicated.
Page 3 of 3
Abbreviations
Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE
to 400 CE
Patrick Olivelle
Print publication date: 2006
Print ISBN-13: 9780195305326
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305326.001.0001
(p.ix) Abbreviations
AB
Aitareya Brāhmaṇa
Abhidh-k-bh(P)
Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakośabhāsya
ĀcS
Ācārāṇga Sūtra
ĀDhP
Āpaddharmaparvan of the Mahābhārata
AK
Amarakośa
AngN
Anguttara Nikāya
ĀnSS
ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series
ĀpDh
Āpastamba Dharmasūtra
ĀpG
Āpastamba Gṛhyasūtra
AŚ
Arthaśāstra
ĀśG
Āśvalāyana Gṛhya Sūtra
AV
Atharva Veda
BĀU
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad
BDh
Baudhāyana Dharmasūtra
Page 1 of 4
Abbreviations
BI
Bibliotheca Indica
BORI
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
BP
Bhāgavata Purāṇa
BrP
Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa
BSS
Bombay Sanskrit Series
BŚS
Baudhaāyana Śrautasūtra
ChU
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
CSS
Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series
DDhP
Dānadharmaparvan of the Mahābhārata
GDh
Gautama Dharmasūtra
GG
Gobhila gṛhyasūtra
HOS
Harvard Oriental Series
HV
Harivaṃśa
IIJ
Indo-Iranian Journal
JAOS
Journal of the American Oriental Society
KA
Kauṭilīya’s Arthaśāstra
KapS
Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha Saṃhitā
KB
Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa
KS
Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā
KSS
Kasi Sanskrit Series
KSū
Kāma Sūtra
JB
Jaimanīya Brāhmaṇa
Page 2 of 4
Abbreviations
MadhK(deJ)
Nāgārjuna, Mūlamadhyamakakārikāḥ
MajN
Majjhima Nikāya
(p.x) MBh
Mahābhārata
MDh
Mānava Dharmaśāstra
MDhP
Mokṣadharmaparvan
MP
Matsya Purāṇa
MS
Maitrāyanī Saṃhitā
OI
Oriental Institute
Pāṇ
Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī
PB
Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa
PTS
Pali Text Society
Ram
Rāmāyaṇa
RDhP
Rājadharmaparvan of the Mahābhārata
Ṛv
Ṛg Veda Saṃhitā
ŚB
Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
SBE
Sacred Books of the East
SBH
Sacred Books of the Hindus
ŚBK
śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, Kāṇva
ŚBM
Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, Mādhyaṃdina
SK
Sāṃkhya Kārikā
ŚP
Śāntiparvan of the Mahābhārata
ŚŚS
Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra
Page 3 of 4