Kāśyapa's Book of Wisdom (Kāśyapa-jñānakāṇḍah). A Ritual Handbook of the Vaikhānasas by T.Goudriaan; KāśyapaReview by: Ludo RocherJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 90, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1970), pp. 344-346Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/598179 .

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344 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 90.2 (1970)

that "matters are much more complicated" than the formulas "Vedic origin" and "non-Vedic origin" would make us believe. It is at this point that the nine specific examples following after the introduction come in as adequate illustrations. Gonda rightly points out that with regard to identical phenomena the points of view of an uninterrupted and an interrupted Vedic tradi- tion often correspond with Indian and Western scholars, respectively. "Whereas they (= Western scholars) were first and foremost captivated by the changing scene of outward forms and in- terested in tracing 'historical developments', the attention of traditional Indian scholarship was not rarely arrested by those elements which, actually or in appearance, remained in the course of time unaltered, and by that which may be said to reflect a deeper meaning underlying the out- ward phenomena, or, by their 'mystical' or philo- sophical background" (p. 17). Here we are tempted to go one step further than Gonda. In our opinion the fact that Indian scholarship mosly defends the thesis of an uninterrupted Vedic tradition whereas Western scholarship is likely to stress the changes should not surprise us. After all, we are dealing here with a religion at the root of which is a revealed text. It is only natural that he who believes in the absolute authority of the revealed text cannot accept the so-called changes as such, whereas he who does not believe feels free to emphasize the changes, and to consider as "a question of historical semantics" what is really a problem of "the history of Indian thought" (p. 199). The point at which we definitely object to the approach of Western scholars-and this certainly does not hold for Gonda-is when they apply to the study of Hindu religion criteria which they would re- fuse to consider when it comes to the study of their own religion.

With regard to the Indus Valley or the Dra- vidian substratum theory we again fully sub- scribe to Professor Gonda's views, and we sincerely hope that his remarks will be duly considered by all those who, for a variety of reasons, have been guilty of drawing too hasty conclusions. Gonda rightly points out that, as far as Indian

scholars are concerned, their attitude quite naturally involves "certain emotional motives" (p. 23). We fully understand that, just before and after Independence, they were bound to draw attention to the fact that the Dravidian contribution to Indian culture was a considerable one, and, consequently, that the Dravidians are as important a part of Independent India as their Aryan neighbors. Very interesting also are Gonda's remarks about the success of compari- sons "with the great importance of the Cretic- Mycenaean culture forthe Greek Indo-Europeans" (p. 22), both in India and in the West, be it for apparently different reasons.

Gonda's book, besides its many positive con- tributions, is essentially meant to be "a word of warning" (p. 207), warning against speculation, against too easy solutions, against "hopes of reaching definite results" (p. 206). Our attitude should be one of extreme caution, even in word- ing our findings, because "the guess of a prede- cessor becomes a certainty for a later author who lays his work under contribution" (p. 29). However, all this should not withhold us from gathering as much material as we can, and from examining it along strictly scientific lines.

As usual Gonda's notes are abundant, with numerous bibliographical references. There are indices of names, of other terms, of Sanskrit (and other) words, and of the main text-places discussed.

LUDO ROCHER UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Kasyapa's Book of Wisdom (Kadsyapa-jnana- kdntdah). A Ritual Handbook of the Vaikhadn- asas. By T. GOUDRIAAN. (Disputationes Rheno-Trajectinae, no. X.) Pp. 341. The Hague: MOUTON AND CO., 1965.

Ever since Caland the name Vaikhqnasa seems to be firmly connected with the University of Utrecht. We vividly remember Professor Gonda's lectures on the Vaikhqnasa school, and now one of his students provides us with a translation of another important text of the same school.

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Reviews of Books 345

Goudriaan's book is an excellent piece of work. No doubt, the text which he had selected for his Ph.D. dissertation was a difficult one. About so many facets, about so many technical terms of so-called "sectarian" Hinduism very little is known at present, and the problems with which the author was faced must have been numerous. However, although a number of questions marks remain, in the whole the translation is bound to be a very useful one. We first tried to read through the English text without referring to the Sanskrit original; and it must be said that the translation is a very readable one. As such it will be a welcome working instrument for historians of religion who have no access to the Sanskrit text. But the nature of the treatise is such that will be read not only by historians of religion, but by others too; we think especially of art historians, anthro- pologists, etc.

The translation is preceded by a short intro- duction about the VaikhAnasa school, about VaikhAnasa literature generally, and about the KdayapajftanakAnda in particular. The basis of the translation is, of course, Pandit R. Par- thasarathi Bhattachar's edition in the Sri Ven- katesvara Oriental Series, but the translator has not hesitated to appeal to other manuscripts unknown to the editor; on a number of occasions this procedure has been highly rewarding. Each chapter has been provided with a short summary of contents, containing also occasional references to other VaikhAnasa materials or to relevant modern literature. The footnotes are abundant: according to circumstances they are textcritical, explanatory, adding new references to Sanskrit or modern literature; but they are always well chosen and never superfluous. Finally, the transla- tion is followed by three indexes. First, there is a "List of mantras recorded in the Ka-syapa- jnanakaVyiab" (p. 313-327). The fact that out of hundreds of quotations only very few have re- mained "unknown" is in itself a tribute to the author. The second appendix is a list of plants and trees (p. 328-335) which play an important part in the text; most Sanskrit terms are given a Latin or English equivalent. Appendix 3 contains a list of "Linguistic peculiarities of the text."

The sanskritist could not, however, be content with consulting the English translation only. Goudriaan's volume was an excellent opportunity to read a few passages in the Sanskrit edition. In general, the translation proved to be perfectly faithful. Whenever we happened not to agree with the translator, it was on minor details only, as will be clear from the following examples.

P. 255 of the translation: "Kalki brings the world-process to an end," renders the original text (p. 136): yugante samhardrtham kalk! ca bhaviayati. Unless it escaped our attention, no other passage from the text refers to the yuga theory. Therefore, it is hard to know how the author of the text envisages this theory. At any rate, he seems to hold the less common view that at the end of the yuga-in the sense of caturyuga or mahdyuga-there occurs a samhdra which, in the classical theory, comes only after 1000 caturyugas, or 1 kalpa. However, even then we would hesitate to translate samhara by "the end of the world-process." If Kalkin appears on earth, it is to put an end to the kaliyuga and to bring back the krtayuga, and, hence, not to bring the world process "to an end." Within the frame- work of the yuga theory samhdra is a technical term which only refers to a temporary destruc- tion, to be followed by another creation; it is not the end of the world process.

Sometimes the translation might have been more precise. Thus, so 'yam prakrtisthas san na svapnadyagocaro 'pi (text, p. 2) is translated as: "He, Who, being based in Nature, has the states of sleeping, (dreaming, and awaking) as His domain" (p. 22). The English text translates neither the double negation na and a' (in agocara) nor the indeclinable api. We come much closer to the Sanskrit text, if we translate: "Even though he is prakrtistha"-perhaps: "in a natural, unal- tered state"-, "he is not therefore beyond the states of sleeping, etc."

The expression prakrtisthas san leads us to another remark, in connection with Goudriaan's notes on "irregular sandhi" (p. 336). Are we really entitled to call -as s- an "irregular sandhi? Even though -a4 s- may be more frequent, Pdnini (8.3.36) allows both forms, and they do

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346 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 90.2 (1970)

appear in the texts too (cf., e.g., Renou's Gram- maire sanscrite ?36).

Another example of irregular sandhi quoted by Goudriaan (p. 336) concerns the text (p. 156): prathame anyayac cauryac carame, translated (p. 284) as: "The first-mentioned (anulomas) are (begotten in marriage) from a mother of another caste, the last-mentioned are from secret union." We fail to understand the irregular sandhi: "anydyac caurya- instead of anyayafl caurya-." Even if we accept a printing error in anyayar't, instead of anyayam, we would not dare interpret the latter as a feminine locative singular. The more so because the text, as it is, seems to convey a perfectly acceptable meaning: "the first mentioned (are anulomas) because they do not follow the rule; the last mentioned (are anulomas) because they act secretly."

The only point in bringing up these few exam- ples is to show that, whatever objections one might raise against the volume under review, concern minor details only. In no case should they be held against the author of this magnificent volume. We sincerely hope that Dr. Goudriaan will further develop his unique knowledge of Vaikhanasa literature by bringing out similar interpretations of other texts, by examining specific points across several related texts, and, perhaps, by providing us with a standard volume on the Vaikhdnasa school of Hinduism.

LUDO ROCHER UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Les Sources du Droit dans le Systeme traditionnel de l'Inde. By ROBERT LINGAT. Pp. 322. Paris, The Hague: MOUTON AND COMPANY, 1967.

This appropriately appears in two series, that called Le Monde d'Outre-Mer Passe et Present and that called Les Systemes de Droit Contem- porain, the first because the subject treated is an essential feature of a major civilization, the second because although the details are mostly from the ancient and mediaeval world the essence of the matter is still very much alive. For students of

the classical Indian law (which has so many points of fruitful comparison with that of China) this book is the best ever produced. M. Lingat is well known for penetrating occasional essays on dharmas'astra (with allusions to Buddhism and the Buddhist South East Asia he knows so well), for example "Les quatre pieds du proces" in Journal Asiatique 1962 and "Dharma et temps" in the same journal of the previous year. Yet the arrival in this handy volume of a comprehensive treatment of what made the indigenous Indian legal system tick was a delightful surprise in more senses than one. In another place this reviewer has commented upon the fact that the author of this most necessary treatment is a Frenchman (instead of a Briton or an Indian), and upon the evidence of his work having enjoyed the advantage of the presence and active help of the late Louis Renou and also Louis Dumont. In this review the questions will be asked whether the crafts- manship and efficiency of the book place it, in any real sense, above the efforts of previous writers-as distinct from the evident utility of having the information in a relatively small space; and a further observation is called for, in order to encourage others to emulate M. Lingat's example.

Perhaps this should come first. It is often argued that no one should attempt to understand ancient Indian law unless he is thoroughly ac- quainted with Sanskrit. This is an argument ill

the mouth of those who want to avoid work. On the other hand the student of comparative law, recognizing in translated Indian legal material many signs which can only alert him to the sys- tem's peculiarities, hopes that Indian writers, ancient and modern, will simplify matters for him. To his disappointment he finds that for the most part they write for the initiate, or at least for those who are committed to the notion that all Indian texts are to be understood literally in faith, and that no commentary upon them is worth anything if it does not praise the Indian as contrasted with other systems. And this soon palls. The result is that the vineyard withers for want of pruning as well as harvesting. Now IVI. Lingat has produced a book nominally devoted

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