Etymology, Genealogy and History in Early South Asia
This paper explores the relationship between etymology, genealogy and the literary exploration of the past in early South Asia. By means of a close reading of a range of materials drawn from the Atharvaveda, Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads, as well as the Nirukta, the Bṛhaddevatā and the Mahābhārata, I will...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox
2011
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| In: |
Religions of South Asia
Year: 2011, Volume: 5, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 79-102 |
| Further subjects: | B
Genealogy
B Mahābhārata B Veda B Etymology B Nirukta B History |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper explores the relationship between etymology, genealogy and the literary exploration of the past in early South Asia. By means of a close reading of a range of materials drawn from the Atharvaveda, Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads, as well as the Nirukta, the Bṛhaddevatā and the Mahābhārata, I will demonstrate that there is a progression from etymology, to expanded etymology, by which I refer to narratives spun from the details of etymologies, to full accounts of birth and descent, that is to say, genealogy, and, from there, to larger-scale historical accounts. I will thus show that etymology played an important part in the formation of consensus understandings of the past in early South Asia. |
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| ISSN: | 1751-2697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions of South Asia
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.79 |