Abstract
This chapter looks at some of the common features and differences in the context, form and dispersal of textual knowledge across South and Southeast Asia. With a focus on the multiple cultural flows pertaining to knowledge transmission in the pre-modern era, it looks at patterns of adaptation and recreation of knowledge across the region. While there has been assimilation, adaptation and integration of a predominantly classical Sanskrit textual idiom across the region from early times, there have also been other parallel processes of knowledge dispersal with manifold evolutions across time and space.
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Notes
- 1.
The Sanskrit saying goes, pustakeshu cha yaa vidyaa/parahastagatam dhanam/samaye tu paripraapte/na saa vidyaa na taddhanam.
- 2.
Daniel M. Veidlinger. 2007, Spreading the Dhamma: Writing, Orality and Textual Transmission in Buddhist Northern Thailand. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, p. 31.
- 3.
Sheldon Pollock, “The Cosmopolitan Vernacular”, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 1 (February, 1998), pp. 6–37.
- 4.
Richard Gombrich, 2006, How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings. London and New York: Routledge, p. 9.
- 5.
Jens-Uwe Hartman, 2009, “From Words to Books: Indian Buddhist Manuscripts in the First Millennium CE”, in Buddhist Manuscripts: Knowledge, Culture and Art, Eds. Stephen C. Berkwitz, Juliane Schober & Claudia Brown, London: Routledge, pp. 95–105.
- 6.
Lokesh Chandra, who took the initiative to forge the collaboration between the National Archives and the Japanese institution, refers to Gilgit manuscripts as ‘the glory of India—the Lotus Sutra has deep pan-Asian significance for a more meaningful study of all, Sanskrit, Chinese, Korean and Japanese languages and literature. Mantras in this even form a part of Gandhiji’s Bhajanavali—even the three monkeys associated with Gandhi are from the Lotus Sutra. The publishing and easy access that scholars will get has unimaginable potential for scholarly research.’ Seema Chishti, ‘Countries oldest Manuscripts out in Brand New Prints’, Indian Express, April 27, 2012. Online at http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/country-s-oldest-manuscript-out-in-brand-new-prints/942090/ Accessed on 15 July 2015.
- 7.
Sheldon Pollock, 2006, Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture and Power in Premodern India, Berkeley, University of California Press, p. 12.
- 8.
Thomas Hunter, 2011, “Exploring the Role of Language in Early State Formation of Southeast Asia”, Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre Working Paper No. 7 (October), http://nsc.iseas.edu.sg/documents/working_papers/nscwps007.pdf, p. 13.
- 9.
Ibid., p. 5.
- 10.
O. W. Wolters, 1999; rpt. 2004, History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, p. 63.
- 11.
Stephenson Barry, “The Koan as Ritual Performance”, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Jun., 2005), pp. 475–496.
- 12.
Kapila Vatsyayan, 1977, ‘The Dance Sculptures of Lara-Djonggrang (Prambanan)’, National Centre for Performing Arts Quarterly, Vol V, No. 1, pp. 1–14.
- 13.
Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger and Lauri J. Sears (ed.), 1991, Boundaries of the Text: Epic Performances in South and Southeast Asia (Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia, No. 35) Michigan, Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, p. 1.
- 14.
Ibid.
- 15.
Yana Van dyke, 2009, “Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves”, The Book and Paper Group Annual 28, pp. 83–97.
- 16.
Sacred rituals surrounding the text in India are described by B. N. Goswamy, 2007, in the Introduction to the exhibition catalogue The Word is Sacred, Sacred is the Word: The Indian Manuscript Tradition, New Delhi, National Mission for Manuscripts, pp. 11–47.
- 17.
Kristina Myrvold, 2010, Introduction to The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World. Surrey: Ashgate, pp. 1–9.
- 18.
D. Max Moerman, “The Materiality of the Lotus Sutra: Scripture, Relic, and Buried Treasure”, Dharma World July–September 2010. Internet Resource. http://www.kosei-shuppan.co.jp/english/text/mag/2010/10_789_4.html
- 19.
Thomas W. Hunter, “Exploring the Role of Language in Early State Formation of Southeast Asia”, p. 13.
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Gopalakrishnan, S. (2018). Transmission of Textual Traditions in South and Southeast Asia: A View from India. In: Saran, S. (eds) Cultural and Civilisational Links between India and Southeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7317-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7317-5_10
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