CONTENTS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND V. Balambaj A. Veluppillai R. Champakalakshmi BUDDHIST CENTRES Natana Kasinathan Shu Hikosaka

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

CONTENTS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND V. Balambaj A. Veluppillai R. Champakalakshmi BUDDHIST CENTRES Natana Kasinathan Shu Hikosaka CONTENTS Page PREFACE k INTRODUCTION xi SECTION I HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1. HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN TAMIL NADU 3-30 G.V.Saroja 2. BUDDHISM IN TAMIL NADU DURING THE KALABHRA PERIOD 31 - 39 V. BalambaJ 3. HISTORY OF TAMIL BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA 41 - 67 A. Veluppillai 4. BUDDHISM IN TAMIL NADU : PATTERNS of PATRONAGE 69 - 96 R. Champakalakshmi i SECTION n BUDDHIST CENTRES 5. BUDDHIST CENTRES IN TAMIL NADU 99 - 107 Natana Kasinathan 6. BUDDHA AKARAM 109 - 118 Vanniya Adikalar 7. THE POTIYIL MOUNTAIN IN TAMIL NADU AND THE ORIGIN OF THE AVALOKITESVARA CULT 119 - 141 Shu Hikosaka SECTION HI INSCRIPTION, SCULPTURE ART AND ARCHITECTURE Page 8. IDENTIFICATION OF 'KAKAMDI1 IN BHARHUT INSCRIPTIONS 145 - 148 Iravatham Mahadevan 9. BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN TAMIL NADU 149 - 156 V.N. Srinivasa Desikan 10. THE BUDDHIST IMAGES AS CONCEIVED BY THE TAMIL SCULPTOR 157 - 169 V.GanapatiSthapati SECTION IV MANIMEKALAI 11. MANIMEKALAI : TAMIL BUDDHIST EPIC 173 - 196 J. Parthasarathi 12. THE RENUNCIATION OF MANIMEKALAI 197 - 210 Rangarajan Vijayalakshmy 13. MANIMEKALAI : HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INDIGENIZATION OF BUDDHISM 211 266 A. Veluppillai 14. PROSODIC AND POETICAL ANALYSIS OF MA NIMEKALAI 267 - 278 T. Wignesan 15. THEORY OK ANUMANA IN MANIMEKALAI 279 - 300 S. Krishna Raja 16. COSMOLOGY AS RHETORIC 301 - 328 P. Rich man SEcrroN V LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY Page 17. CONTRIBUTION OF BUDDHISM TO TAMIL LANGUAGE 331 - 338 N. Deivasundaram and S. Kapilan 18. VfRAcdLtiYAM:-THE EARLIEST CONTRASTIVE-TRANSFER GRAMMAR IN TAMIL 339 - 344 M. Shanmugam Pillai 19. THE CULT OF BODHISATTVAS IN THE BUDDHIST TAMIL LITERATURE 345 - 390 S.N. Kandaswamy 20. BUDDHISM IN NANACAMPANTAR'S TEVARAM 391 - 400 P. Marudanayagam 21. BUDDHIST THEMES IN MODERN TAMIL WRITINGS 401 - 422 A. Mariappan 22, POLEMICS OF NitAKECi AND CITTIYAR AGAINST THE BUDDHIST CONCEPT OF ANATMA 423 - 448 Kalpakam Sankaranaray an SECTION VI WORKS ON TAMIL BUDDHISM IN OTHER LANGUAGES 23. BUDDHIST TEXTS IN SANSKRIT BY TAMIL MONKS 451 - 462 S. S. Janaki 24. THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER OF THE LANKA VATARAMAHAYANASUTRA 463 - 482 Gishin Tokiwa SECTION VII RITUAL, IMPACT AND CONTEMPORARY POSITION Page 25. BUDDHIST GODDESSES OF TAMIL NADU IN FORM AND FAITH 485 - 502 S.P. Sabarathinam '26. \M?fKCXOvDHAMMAPADAOnTlkUKKURAL 503 - 520 G. Sundaramoorthy 27. TANTRIC BUDDHISM IN RELATION TO SOUTH INDIA 521 - 528 Masahide Mori 28. RKVIVAL OF TAMIL BUDDHISM: A HISTORICAL SURVEY 529 - 542 S. Perumal A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 545 - . 562 - INDEX 563 - 596.
Recommended publications
  • Internet Based Learning for Ancient Tamil
    Vol.1 No.1 July 2013 ISSN : 2321 – 788X Internet Based Learning For Ancient Tamil R. Nithya M.Phil. Scholar, Govt. Arts College, Ooty, Dr.E. Senavarayan Govt. Arts College, Ooty. Abstract The land of Tamil speech and people was in ancient times ruled by three famous lines of king, the Chera, Chola, and Pandiya. The land ruled by them was called Chera Nadu (Chera country), Chola Nadu (Chola country), and Pandiya Nadu (Pandiaya country) respectively. The landmass covered by the present-day Kerala State in the South India formed a major part of Chera Nadu, the Central and Northern parts of present Tamil Nadu were the then Chola Nadu and the Southern part of Tamil Nadu was the Pandiya Nadu. Tamils are of Dravidian origin. Many historians claim that the Dravidians, before the dawn of the history of the Tamils, were spread all over India. For various reason they split into small groups. Consequently, the original language also split into different languages. Tamil is found to have retained about 80 per cent of the features of the original Dravidian language.There are three major sub-groups in the Dravidian family of language, namely, South Dravidian, Central Dravidian, and North Dravidian. Internet based Tamil resources to Tamil communities living in different part of globe as well as others interested learn in Tamil. To develop and deliver internet based learning Tamil material in Tamil Keywords: language, literature and culture to global. Tamil people and others interested. The languagesChera of Naduthe South, Chola Dravidian Nadu, Pandiya sub-group Nadu, Valayapathi, Kundalakesi, Panchkavyams The1.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit 10 Early Tamil Society – Regions and Their Cultures and Cult of Hero Worship
    UNIT 10 EARLY TAMIL SOCIETY – REGIONS AND THEIR CULTURES AND CULT OF HERO WORSHIP Structure 10.0 Introduction 10.1 Sources 10.1.1 Sangam Literature 10.1.2 Foreign Accounts 10.1.3 Archaeological Materials 10.1.4 Tamil Brahmi Inscriptions 10.1.5 Coins – Indian and Roman 10.2 Regions and their Cultures (Aintinai/Five Fold Landscape) 10.2.1 Tinai Concept 10.2.2 Kurinji 10.2.3 Mullai 10.2.4 Marutam 10.2.5 Neytal 10.2.6 Palai 10.3 Polity 10.4 Cult of Hero Worship 10.5 Summary 10.6 Glossary 10.7 Exercises 10.0 INTRODUCTION In this unit we will study the Early Historic period in the Tamil country that witnessed significant developments in a number of areas. One of the important contributions of this period was the composition of the early Tamil texts, collectively known as the Sangam literature. The other important characteristics of this period include the Indo- Roman trade, which became active from the first century A.D. onwards, introduction of Tamil Brahmi script, beginning of urbanisation, and the continuing tradition of megaliths. The Early Historic period, which is also called the Sangam Age, is generally placed between fifth century B.C. and fifth century A.D. We are particularly concerned with the cult of hero worship in the context of the regions and their cultures. Geographically, the ancient Tamil country was bounded by Venkatam (Tirupathi Hills in Andhra Pradesh) in the north, Kumari (Kanyakumarai or Cape Comarin) in the south and the seas (the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) on the east and the west.
    [Show full text]
  • International Seminar: Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in Sri
    International Seminar: Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in Sri Lanka Zurich, Switzerland 7 - 9 April 2006 Organized by the Centre for Just Peace and Democracy (CJPD) in collaboration with the Berghof Foundation, Sri Lanka Session 8: Re-envisioning Sri Lanka – Lessons learned & Challenges and Opportunities Dr. B. Roshan de Silva Wijeyeratne School of Law, Griffith University, Australia States of Mind and States of History: The Future in Sri Lanka Can Be Decentered Introduction In The Work of Kings: The New Buddhism in Sri Lanka (1999) H.L Seneviratne asks what is it about Sinhalese Buddhist society that renders it unable to generate the conditions for civic reconciliation? For Seneviratne the answer to this is in the changing historic relation between the Sangha and Sinhalese society. In the North India Ashokan Empire the Sangha failed to establish an institutional relationship with society because the Buddhist State collapsed within 200 years of its inception. In the classical Theravada polities of Sri Lanka and South East Asia, the Sangha was able to develop an institutional relationship with society and was able to actively transform that social order. In Sri Lanka this relationship combined with the way in which the Pali Chronicles, principally the Mahavamsa (The Great Chronicle of Lanka) associated the island with the Sinhalese and Buddhism as Sinhadipa and dhammadipa (the island of the Sinhalese and Buddhism respectively) have combined to construct a discursive frame within which the Sangha imagines its role in Sinhalese society as guarantor of the Sinhalese Buddhist nation.1 This is a literary tradition that represents a “paracochizing and hegemonizing tendency” (ibid.
    [Show full text]
  • CJBS 7 News and Views
    Brock University Michael Berman Brock University’s Philosophy Department and Graduate Program will be offering numerous courses in Eastern Philosophy and Asian Thought in 2012-13. Professor Michael Berman is slated to teach Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Buddhist Thought; Professor Raj Singh is to lecture on both Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu Thought and Gandhi and Non-Violence; Professor W. C. Chan will be the instructor for Introduction to Chinese Philosophy, Confucianism, and Taoism; and Prof. R. S. Dalvi will teach a topic in Advanced Studies in Eastern Philosophy. Both Taoism and Advanced Studies in Eastern Philosophy will be offered as Graduate Level courses. 192 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number 7, 2011 McMaster University James Benn There are currently five PhD students in Buddhist Studies (two in Chinese Buddhism, one each in Indian Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism, and Buddhism in North America), and one MA student in Indian Buddhism. We also have one PhD student in East Asian Religions who has a minor in Buddhism. We welcome applications to study at the PhD or MA level, and interested students should consult the information on our website: http://www.religiousstudies.mcmaster.ca/graduate-program/admissions Mark Rowe (Japanese Buddhism) is on research leave in Japan for academic year 2011–12. His new book, Bonds of the Dead: Temples, Burial, and the Transformation of Contemporary Japanese Buddhism , was published by University of Chicago Press. Shayne Clarke (Indian Buddhism) will be on leave in 2012–13. His book will appear soon from University of Hawai’i Press. James Benn (Chinese Buddhism) currently serves as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mother- Goddess Kannaki in South India 1K
    International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 119 No. 12 2018, 2667-2674 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.ijpam.eu Special Issue ijpam.eu The Mother- Goddess Kannaki in South India 1K. Varsha 1University of Hyderabad. The epic being the oldest and widely accepted form in literature renders the story of the adventures and successes of men in war. These long narratives also deal with the incarnations of gods and goddesses and their interventions in human life. The country India is popular for its wide range of epic and mythological narratives which are numbered among the fine classics in the contemporary society. The Indian epics are full of discourses on morality, etiquette and on sacredness. They instruct and direct people in their social life through beautiful stories. All these epics and mythologies, in a way, found to be teachings to women on their duties and responsibilities and on the kind of behaviour expected of them. Most of the epics are replete with accounts of women who are revered for their virtue. Women became respectable in their culture by adhering to ‘pativrata dharma’. A woman is considered to be a ‘pativrata’ or a chaste one when she surrenders herself to her family and husband, irrespective of their treatment to her. The heroines of the Ramayana and Mahabharata are surprisingly contemporary for modern women in this respect. Women of epics are considered to be strong personalities, cherishing their autonomy and having no qualms about arguing for and securing their rights. The epic women like Sita, Draupadi, Kunti, Mandodari, Gandharietc are esteemed as the best models for Hindu womanhood.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamics in the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe Dynamics in the History of Religions
    Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe Dynamics in the History of Religions Editors-in-Chief Volkhard Krech Marion Steinicke Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany Advisory Board Jan Assmann – Christopher Beckwith – Rémi Brague José Casanova – Angelos Chaniotis – Peter Schäfer Peter Skilling – Guy Stroumsa – Boudewijn Walraven VOLUME 1 Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe Encounters, Notions, and Comparative Perspectives Edited by Volkhard Krech Marion Steinicke LEIDEN • BOSTON 2012 Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. ISSN 1878-8106 ISBN 978 90 04 18500 5 (hardback) ISBN 978 90 04 22535 0 (e-book) Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 Marion Steinicke Dynamics in the History of Religions – Preliminary Considerations on Aspects of a Research Programme .............. 15 Volkhard Krech PART ONE THE FORMATION OF THE MAJOR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS THROUGH INTER-RELIGIOUS CONTACT Dynamic Approaches to Antique Religions in the East and West. Beyond Centres and Boundaries .................................................... 73 Peter Wick Religious Formations and Intercultural Contacts in Early China ..................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • International Conference : Buddhist and Philosophy
    International Conference : Buddhist and Philosophy Conference Group 1 : Room 101 100 Years Building of Somdej Prabudhajarn (Ven. Aaj Asaphamahathera) Commentators : 1. Phramaha Somboon Phanna, Dr. : Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University 2. Prof. Dr. R. Gopalkrishnan : University of Madras, India พุทธนวัตกรรมเพื่อพัฒนาประเทศไทย ๒ (Buddhist Innovation for Developing Thailand) No Article/Presenter Page 1 History of Buddhism in India with Reference to the Culture in Tamil Nadu Dr. S. Armstrong 4 2 The Role and Status of Deities in Tibetan Buddhist Practice Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Dr. Niraj Raungsan 20 3 Buddhist Perspectives on Interfaith Relations Ven. Piseth Sek 32 4 Expanding Buddhism in New Zealand Ven. Saron Voem 40 5 The Philosophical Trends in Buddhism Professor. Dr. R. gopalakrishnan 52 6 What Kind of Religion Do We Need for the Contemporary World? Professor. Dr. R. gopalakrishnan 70 7 Role of Geospatial Technology in Analysis and Mapping of Some Important Buddhist Sites in India and Its Cultural Geography Significance in Thailand Professor. V C Jha 85 8 Educational Management in ASEAN Community: A Case Study of Education in Singapore PhraRajvaramethi, Dr., PhraTikumporn Dhammajoto Rodkhunmuang, 96 Dr. Lampong Klomkul 9 The Two Truths in Buddhist Thought Dr. Niraj Ruangsan, Phra Sophonphatthanabundit, Assoc.Prof.Dr, 111 PhraRajvaramethi, Dr., Dr.Sompong Chasingkaew, Adun Lanwong 10 Two Perspectives of Buddhist Economics PhramahaJaroon Ritthithit, Dr., Asst. Prof. Dr. Jaras Leeka, Asst. Prof. Dr. Suwin Tongpan, 2, Lt. Dr. Vasant Srisaard 123 11 The Buddha-Cariya: The Great Conduct for the World Peace PhrakhruPariyatwisutthikhun, Asst. Prof., Dr. 139 การประชุมวิชาการระดับชาต ิ ครั้งที่ ๔ และนานาชาติ ครั้งที่ ๒ ๓ T No Article/Presenter Page 12 Identity of Buddhist Jurisprudence PhramahaThanarat Ratthamedho, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • DECLINE and FALL of BUDDHISM (A Tragedy in Ancient India) Author's Preface
    1 | DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM (A tragedy in Ancient India) Author's Preface DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM (A tragedy in Ancient India) Dr. K. Jamanadas 2 | DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM (A tragedy in Ancient India) Author's Preface “In every country there are two catogories of peoples one ‘EXPLOITER’ who is winner hence rule that country and other one are ‘EXPLOITED’ or defeated oppressed commoners.If you want to know true history of any country then listen to oppressed commoners. In most of cases they just know only what exploiter wants to listen from them, but there always remains some philosophers, historians and leaders among them who know true history.They do not tell edited version of history like Exploiters because they have nothing to gain from those Editions.”…. SAMAYBUDDHA DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM (A tragedy in Ancient India) By Dr. K. Jamanadas e- Publish by SAMAYBUDDHA MISHAN, Delhi DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM A tragedy in Ancient India By Dr. K. Jamanadas Published by BLUEMOON BOOKS S 201, Essel Mansion, 2286 87, Arya Samaj Road, Karol Baug, New Delhi 110 005 Rs. 400/ 3 | DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM (A tragedy in Ancient India) Author's Preface Table of Contents 00 Author's Preface 01 Introduction: Various aspects of decline of Buddhism and its ultimate fall, are discussed in details, specially the Effects rather than Causes, from the "massical" view rather than "classical" view. 02 Techniques: of brahminic control of masses to impose Brahminism over the Buddhist masses. 03 Foreign Invasions: How decline of Buddhism caused the various foreign Invasions is explained right from Alexander to Md.
    [Show full text]
  • Manimekalai's Renunciation
    MANIMEKALAI’S RENUNCIATION by Dr (Smt) PREMA NANDAKUMAR TRANSACTION No. 76 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF WORLD CULTURE Bangalore 560 004 TRANSACTIONS Many valuable lectures are given, papers read, discussed and oral reviews of outstanding books presented at the Indian Institute of World Culture. These Transactions represent some of these lectures and papers and are printed for wider dissemination in the cause of better intercultural understanding so important for world peace and human brotherhood. TRANSACTION No. 76 In August 1987 Dr. (Smt.) Prema Nandakumar was invited to deliver the Annual Founder’s Day address in memory of the founders of the Institute, Shri B. P. Wadia and Smt. Sophia Wadia. Dr. Nandakumar chose for her topic an ancient Tamil classic which remains untranslated into English © 1987, THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF WORLD CULTURE All Rights Reserved Printed by W Q Judge Press, 52 (old 97) Residency Road. Bangalore 560 025 and published by the Indian Institute of World Culture, 6 Shri B P Wadia Road, Basavangudi, Bangalore 560 004. Printed in India. MANIMEKALAI'S RENUNCIATION by PKEMA NANDAKUMAR Ever Since I chose-Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri for my doctoral dissertation Three decades go, epic heroines have endlessly, fascinated me and when presently I began studying ancient Tamil literature, I felt overwhelmed by three great epic heroines who shed the lustre of the Messed feminine in three different stances: Kannaki of Silappadhikaram, Manimekalai of Sathanar’s epic and Vijayai of Jeevaka Chintamani, who bring to t& thus total involvement in love which only woman is capable of as wife, as daughter, and as mother.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnie Conflict and Violence in SRI LANKA
    Ethnie Conflict and Violence in SRI LANKA Report of a Mission to Sri Lanka in July-August 1981 on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists by Professor Virginia A. Leary, Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence State University of New York at Buffalo, USA with a supplément by the ICJ staff for the period 1981—1983 INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages P R E F A C E ........................................................................................................................... i IN T R O D U C T IO N ............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction to Sri L anka......................................................................................... 1 Recent Events: Background to the ICJ M ission...................................................3 Purpose and Scope of Mission: Sources of Inform ation................................. 5 ETH N IC C O N F L IC T IN SRI L A N K A .................................................................... 7 Historical Background to Present Ethnie C o n flict......................................... 7 Tamil Demand for a Separate State........................................................................ 14 V IO L E N C E IN SRI L A N K A ......................................................................................... 18 Communal Violence..................................................................................................... 18 Political Violence or Terrorism...............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Veṅkaṭanātha's Engagement with Buddhist Opponents in the Buddhist
    BSRV 33.1-2 (2016) 65–99 Buddhist Studies Review ISSN (print) 0256-2897 doi: 10.1558/bsrv.31642 Buddhist Studies Review ISSN (online) 1747-9681 Veṅkaṭanātha’s Engagement with Buddhist Opponents in the Buddhist Texts he Reused ELISA FRESCHI INSTITUTE OF THE CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF ASIA, AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VIENNA [email protected] ABSTRACT Veṅkaṭanātha (1269—1370) was the most important systematiser of the Viśiṣṭādvaita school of Vedānta. This article describes his use of Buddhist sources and shows how Veṅkaṭanātha reused Buddhist texts to a much more significant extent than his predecessors Yāmuna and Rāmānuja. The reused text-passages come mostly from the epistemological school of Buddhist phi- losophy (Dignāga, Dharmakīrti and his followers) but there are important exceptions, attesting that Veṅkaṭanātha was also aware of Buddhist schools such as the Vaibhāṣikas, of whom only little is preserved today. Given that Buddhist philosophy was no longer an active presence in South India at the time of Veṅkaṭanātha, his interest in it must be due to factors other than his polemical agenda. Perhaps, his project of enlarging Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta made him confront outsiders such as Buddhist thinkers and his intellectual interest in philosophy made him engage in a genuine confrontation with them. KEYWORDS Veṅkaṭanātha/Vedānta Deśika, Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, textual reuse, Dharmakīrti, Buddhist epistemology, Vaibhāṣika, Prakrit, Sanskrit philosophy Veṅkaṭanātha (also known as Vedānta Deśika, traditional dates: 1269–13701) was a polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages (Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhraṃśa, Maṇipravāḷa and Tamil). He constitutes a turning point in the history of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, being an intel- lectual figure who shaped this current as well as Śrī Vaiṣṇavism in general.
    [Show full text]
  • Foundations of Anti-Caste Consciousness: Pandit Iyothee Thass, Tamil Buddhism, and the Marginalized in South India Gajendran Ayyathurai
    Foundations of Anti-caste Consciousness: Pandit Iyothee Thass, Tamil Buddhism, and the Marginalized in South India Gajendran Ayyathurai Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2011 2010 Gajendran Ayyathurai All rights reserved Abstract Foundations of Anti-caste Consciousness: Pandit Iyothee Thass, Tamil Buddhism, and the Marginalized in South India Gajendran Ayyathurai This dissertation is about an anti-caste movement among Dalits (the oppressed as untouchable) in South India, the Parayar. Since the late 19th century, members of this caste, and a few others from Tamil-speaking areas, have been choosing to convert to Buddhism based on conscience and conviction. This phenomenon of religious conversion-social transformation is this study’s focus. By combining archival research of Parayar’s writings among Tamil Buddhists, as these Parayar, settled in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, are called, I have attempted to understand this movement ethno-historically. In pre-colonial times, though the sub-continent’s societies were hierarchical, the hierarchies were fluid and varied: i.e., the high-low or self-other dichotomies were neither fixed nor based on a single principle. The most significant effect of the encounter of British Colonialism and India was to precipitate an unprecedented master-dichotomy of singular and absolute form of self and other, as colonizer and the colonized. This had three consequences. (a) India was itself seen as singular and served as the Self to the colonial Other in an absolute dichotomy; (b) the role of essentializing the Indian Self was assumed by the brahmin; (c) this in turn resulted in an internal dichotomy between the—brahmin—essential self and the—non- brahmin—non-essential other.
    [Show full text]