Dear All Thank you very much for responding to my query on and off the list! I think all the suggestions, including *Puruṣa: Personhood in Ancient India *by Matthew Robertson, *Instant et Cause *by Liliane Silburn, and early reflections of Jan Gonda, will be really helpful for me to start with. I would be grateful if you could suggest more sources that you come across on the early usages of *prakāśa,* *loka, *and one more related root word √*vas* *.* Thank you for the clarification, Prof. Lyne. I will write to you off the list.
Thanks and Regards, Himanshu On Fri, 5 Sept, 2025, 7:15 pm Franco, <[email protected]> wrote: > There is a monograph by Gonda, *Loka: World and Heaven in the Veda.* > *Best wishes,* > *Eli* > > Sent from my iPad > > On 05.09.2025, at 15:39, Lyne Bansat-Boudon via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear Himanshu, > > I hurridly answered to your request. Hence, the need for a small > emendation about the root from which *loka* is derived: since it is > parallel to *ruc-*, the correct spelling should be *luc*-/*loc*- (hence > *locana*) > > As for essays of comparative Indo-European grammar, it is an altogher > different domain, requiring a long study. No essay is particularly dealing > with the word and notion of *loka*. > > I understood that you wished to examine *prakāśa* in the context of > non-dualist Kashmir Śaivism , since you referred to Abhinavagupta. If such > is the case, I can send you some references off-list. > > Best wishes, > > Lyne > > Lyne Bansat-Boudon > > Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde > > Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses > > Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France > ------------------------------ > *De :* Himanshu <[email protected]> > *Envoyé :* jeudi 4 septembre 2025 04:50 > *À :* Lyne Bansat-Boudon <[email protected]> > *Cc :* [email protected] <[email protected]> > *Objet :* Re: [INDOLOGY] Sources on prakāśa, loka, and their relation > > Dear Lyne, > > Thank you very much for such a clear explanation. Indeed, this is what I > read in Jan Gonda's 1966 book, he warns against translating loka as "world" > and shows the wider horizon of meaning it carries. > > Could you please share references of these works on "Comparative grammar > of Indo-European Language" where these terms are analysed? More than the > classical usage of prakāśa or loka (in the systematic śāstra literature) I > want to read about how these terms were used in their original context > (perhaps in poetry or in the Vedas?). For example, a clearing - as you have > already explained - occuring at the moment of dawn or sandhyā, or as Gonda > cites phrases from a Veda where Indra having killed troublemakers "creates" > loka. > > Please also share the list of essays dealing with prakāś/vimarśa in > nondual Śaiva context. However, my immediate concern is to understand > earliest usage of these terms, so that I can understand what innovations > Utpaladeva or Abhinavagupta are bringing when they are using them in the > 9-10th c. CE. > > Thanks and regards, > Himanshu > > On Thu, 4 Sep, 2025, 3:53 am Lyne Bansat-Boudon, < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Himanshu, > > Comparative grammar of Indo-European languages has established the > existence of a Sanskrit verbal root, *ruc*, with the meaning “to shine,” > “to be luminous" (present *roc-a-te*), which, in the *guṇa* degree of > *luk* (its phonetic variant, according to the attested equivalence of -r > and -l), gives *lok* > *lok-a.* > Thus, the world “shines,” as a clearing shines (see the word “clairière” > in French, an orderly and ‘clear’ space in the forest). *loka *is thus > the bright, clear and shining open space gained from the dark chaos of the > forest > > Note that from this root *luk/lok*, also derives the noun *loc-ana*, > “that which illuminates", hence the “eye.” > > The same analogy is found in Latin, but with a different root: *mundus *is > a noun adjective, meaning "clean, neat", hence “brilliant,” hence > “universe,” (see, in French, the verbs ‘monder’ and “émonder.” > > Likewise, Greek has the term κοσμος, simply Latinized as “cosmos", > meaning "order, good order, orderly arrangement”, hence the idea of a > universe opposed to the original chaos. A related meaning is "ornament" > which appear in such words as "cosmetics"). > > Enough of this very simplified survey! > > Now, as for *prakāśa*, it certainly derives from the Sanskrit root *kāś > *"to shine, to resplend" from which derives Kāśī, "the "Bright" one, > ancient name of Benares. But, as you point it out, the term has crucial > ontological implications in the non-dualist Kashmir Śaivism. This is the > * prakāśa/vimarśa* dichotomy, which, far from opposing them, > articulates two complementary concepts, and, as such, lies at the heart of > Śaiva reasoning. > > Numerous articles and books by specialists of the domain deal with this > issue. If needed, I can send you a brief list of essays dealing with the > topic. > > Hope this will be of some use, > > Best, > > Lyne Bansat-Boudon > > Lyne Bansat-Boudon > > Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde > > Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses > > Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France > ------------------------------ > *De :* INDOLOGY <[email protected]> de la part de > Himanshu via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> > *Envoyé :* mercredi 3 septembre 2025 17:34 > *À :* [email protected] <[email protected]> > *Objet :* [INDOLOGY] Sources on prakāśa, loka, and their relation > > > Dear All, > > I am looking for works on the ideas of *prakāśa*, *loka*, and how these > concepts, if they do, relate to each other. Often, these two terms may > (e.g., in nondual philosophies) appear in contradiction to each other. But > I am particularly searching for any scholarship that produces something > around a philological history or a history of these ideas (philosophical), > or any analysis of literary usage before or after their usages in the > post-sūtra age texts. > To contextualise what *prakāśa *and loka might share: If I am not > misquoting, Kśemarāja employs the word loka by deriving it from √*lok*+ > *ghañ*. And so does Candrakīrti (perhaps in his discussion on > *lokaprasiddhi*, as I learned from Prof. Mattia Salvini). I am not very > much confident about the prevalence and implications of this derivation, > but it certainly indicates a possible relation that √*lok* (- > *loka darśane*) might share with √*kāś *in *prakāśa*. > > As my doctoral research focuses on Abhinavagupta's concept of *prasiddhi * > and its ontological relation with his concept of non-dual *prakāśa, *my > interest lies in the ontological implications of the terms I mentioned > above. I am aware of only one work that takes a somewhat similar > direction: Jan Gonda's 1966 book, *Loka - World and the Heaven in the > Vedas.* I would be grateful if you could provide any references > discussing these concepts. > > Thanks and regards, > Himanshu > Doctoral Candidate > Department of Humanities and Social Sciences > Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay > Mumbai > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > >
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