Congratulations! Looking forward to reading your excellent work. Thanks Lavanya
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 12:40 PM Matthew Robertson via INDOLOGY < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Colleagues, > > I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my first book, *Puruṣa: > Personhood in Ancient India *(OUP). > > Please find a description of the work below. Interested parties may > receive *30% off* the title by using the code *AAFLYG6*. A sample chapter > is also available by following this link > <https://academic.oup.com/book/55730/chapter/434169835>. > > Description of the work via OUP > <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/purua-9780197693605?cc=us&lang=en&#> > : > > Personhood is central to the worldview of ancient India. Across voluminous > texts and diverse traditions, the subject of the *puruṣa*, the Sanskrit > term for "person," has been a constant source of insight and innovation. > Yet little sustained scholarly attention has been paid to the precise > meanings of the *puruṣa* concept or its historical transformations within > and across traditions. In *Puruṣa: Personhood in Ancient India*, Matthew > I. Robertson traces the history of Indic thinking about *puruṣas* through > an extensive analysis of the major texts and traditions of ancient India. > > Through clear explanations of classic Sanskrit texts and the idioms of > Indian traditions, Robertson discerns the emergence and development of a > sustained, paradigmatic understanding that persons are deeply confluent > with the world. Personhood is worldhood. *Puruṣa* argues for the > significance of this "worldly" thinking about personhood to Indian > traditions and identifies a host of techniques that were developed to > "extend" and "expand" persons to ever-greater scopes. Ritualized swellings > of sovereigns to match the extent of their realm find complement in ascetic > meditations on the intersubjective nature of perceptually delimited > person-worlds, which in turn find complement in yogas of sensory restraint, > the dietary regimens of Ayurvedic medicine, and the devotional theologies > by which persons "share" and "eat" the expansive divinity of God. Whether > in the guise of a king, an ascetic, a yogi, a buddha, or a patient in the > care of an Ayurvedic physician, fully realized persons know themselves to > be coterminous with the horizons of their world. > > Offering new readings of classic works and addressing the fields of > religion, politics, philosophy, medicine, and literature, *Puruṣa: > Personhood in Ancient India* challenges us to reexamine the goals of > ancient Indian religions and yields new insights into the interrelated > natures of persons and the worlds in which they live. > > > From the back cover: > > "Thinking precisely and clearly about personhood and its relationship to > the worldhood is important.' This golden thread runs through the whole of > this fascinating book that examines the social, philosophical, and > religious understandings of puruṣa through Indian history. From deepest > antiquity to the mid-first millennium, Robertson explores the very > different evolutions of the central concept of personhood through the great > traditions of Indian reflection and belief. This is a nuanced and > sophisticated series of reflections on one of the most important and > continuous themes in South Asian thought." -- Dominik Wujastyk, Singhmar > Chair in Indian Society and Polity, University of Alberta > > "This magnificent, groundbreaking study of the ancient Indian category of > puruṣa, the Indian 'person,' sweeps us into a world where the dimensions of > inner and outer, and body and cosmos, collapse. Also collapsing are several > received notions concerning Indian metaphysics." -- David Gordon White, > Author of *The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography* > > > With very best wishes to all, > Matthew > > Matthew I. Robertson, PhD > (he / him / his) > Lecturer, Department of History > Coordinator, Religious Studies Minor > Murray State University > [email protected] > [email protected] > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > -- *Dr. Lavanya Vemsani* Ph.D. History (Univ. of Hyderabad) & Ph.D. Religious Studies (McMaster Univ.) Distinguished University Professor of History, Department of Social Sciences *Shawnee State University* Portsmouth OH 45662 V:7403513233 F:7403513153 E:[email protected] Editor, *American Journal of Indic Studies*
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