Itihāsottama: A Source Text Of Cultural Amalgamation
Keywords:
Culture, Amalgamation, Itihāsottama, Source Text, Itihāsa, Puṛāṇa, Bhakti, Vaiṣṇavism, Mahābhārata, Narrative
Abstract
The life of Indians was documented in Sanskrit Literature. The dynamic culture of society was started from the Vedic periods. After that, Smārta literature or Dharmaśāstra flourished as the code of conduct. Here a particular text of this tradition named ‘Viṣṇu Smṛti is going to discussed. The text seems by the name anyhow related to Dharmaśāstra. Hence, the content of the text has proved the presenter wrong. The unique feature of the text is the orientation of Bhakti where Kṛṣṇa is the supreme Godhead. Even the other diverse dogmas (e.g. Śaiva, Śākta, Pāśupata, Bauddha) and popular belief systems are propounded through the code of conduct. Dealing with diverse topics it is considered not only a law text but also a kind of a source-book of social history which throws light on Indian culture, ethics and philosophical tradition. Even the existence of Viṣṇu Smṛti proves that undeniable primacy and priority of Manu was not the end. It is a mixed composition of poetry and prose in 100 chapters around 7th century of Kashmir. It is really not possible to analyse the whole life as mentioned in the Smṛti in a short paper. Instead, this paper is an attempt to discuss some aspects of dharma and religious life as described in the Viṣṇu Smṛti.References
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Basu, Ratna and Das Karunasindhu. Aspects of Manuscriptology. Kolkata: The Asiatic Society, 2009.
Bhatta, Gopal. Haribhaktibilasa,with sanatana goswami’s tika, 1318 bangabda
Chakravarti, Ramakanta. Vaṣhnavism in Bengal, Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1985
Katre, Sumitra M. Introduction to Indian Textual Criticism. Pune: Deccan College, 1941.
T.N.Dharmadhikari. A manual on Manuscriptology and Textual criticism. Pune: Upendra T.Dharmadhikari, 2011.
Vidyalankar, Shashibhusan. Paurāṇika-abhidhāna (Jibani-kosh)1st and 2nd part. Ed. Nimaichandra Pal. Kolkata: Sadesh, 2007.
Williams, M.Monier. A Sanskrit English dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
Published
2022-11-30
How to Cite
Mandal, D. A. (2022). Itihāsottama: A Source Text Of Cultural Amalgamation. International Bilingual Journal of Culture, Anthropology and Linguistics, 4(3), 1-9. Retrieved from https://indianadibasi.com/journal/index.php/ibjcal/article/view/39
Section
Research Articles
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