Classical India Research Articles

RESCUING THE BUSINESS RESCUE PROCESS: A CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT A SUBSTITUTE BUSINESS RESCUE PRACTITIONER THROUGH THE LENS OF Shiva Uranium Limited v Mahomed Mahier Tayob 2022 (3) SA 432 (CC)

A determination on the authority to appoint a substitute business rescue practitioner is particularly important for its bearing on the perpetuity of business rescue proceedings. In turn, business rescue proceedings provide a rehabilitative avenue for ensuring that financially distressed companies are extricated from their financial quagmire, thereby achieving company profitability, preservation of employment, economic development and other significant social goals. Through the lenses of Shiva, the case note critically reflects on the contestation regarding who can appoint a substitute business rescue practitioner in terms of the applicable provisions of South Africa’s Companies Act 71 of 2008, wherein the court-appointed business rescue practitioner has either resigned, incapacitated or died. The case note argues that whilst the Constitutional Court in Shiva rightly held that the company or the affected person who lodged the business rescue application has the right to make the alternative appointment, depending on whether the business rescue is voluntary or compulsory, there is a need to go beyond this decision by rethinking who can be appointed as a business practitioner and well as the delegative authority of the courts. Using the classical India approach and international best practices, this case note advances the need to amend the Companies Act provisions governing the appointment of a business rescue practitioner to achieve better perpetuity and obviate the disruptions of companies’ rehabilitative process.

Ashwamedha Yagya: Gupta Dynasty

The Ashwamedh Yagya, an ancient Vedic ritual extensively documented in Indian epics and Vedic texts, holds significant historical importance. This ritual, detailed in texts such as the Rig Veda and Yajur Veda, is also elaborated upon in the Mahabharata’s Ashwamedha Parva. Despite its ancient prominence, the frequency and depth of the Ashwamedh Yagya declined over time after the Gupta dynasty. Archaeological evidence, including inscriptions and rock edicts, provides substantial insights into the practice of the Ashwamedh Yagya. The Gupta dynasty's inscriptions, particularly those issued by rulers like Samudragupta and Chandragupta II, provide critical genealogical and historical data regarding the Ashwamedh Yagya. These inscriptions mention the performance of the ritual and highlight its significance during their reigns. Samudragupta, in particular, revived the Ashwamedh Yagya and issued commemorative Ashwamedha coins, which serve as crucial historical artifacts. These coins depict the ritual’s elements and were used to honor the Ashwamedh Yagya, showcasing the advanced metallurgical technology of the Gupta period. Furthermore, archaeological discoveries, including inscriptions and rock edicts, illuminate the extensive practice of Ashwamedh Yagya among the Gupta rulers to build the nation and culture against foreign attackers of the time. Overall, the Ashwamedh Yagya's practice and its documentation through archaeological findings, inscriptions, and coins reveal its extensive significance in ancient Indian history, particularly within the Gupta dynasty, for reviving Vedic culture through Ashwamedh Yagya. \\

On Smrti

“April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire… ” So, begins T.S. Eliot’s iconic poem, “The Wasteland,” challenging the memory of Chaucer’s April from Canterbury Tales, as being a delightful month to go on pilgrimage. Platonic teachings emphasize that you don’t create, you just remember. Might the inverse might also be true, “You don’t remember, you just create.” As the oneirocritic, Robert Bosnak, contends, you do not actually remember your dreams. You remember your memory you recreate the dream in this time. Since the challenges of post-modernism, this is no longer a far-fetched idea. The eminent historian of immigration, Deborah Dash Moore, defines history in this regard, as “a search for a plausible narrative.” “History” is not a record of what happened, but rather, is a record of what we believe happened, or what we want to believe happened. This brings to the fore Foucault’s documenting the relationship of knowledge to power, as well as Freud’s assertion that material which is unacceptable to the ego, is disguised, in order to make them palatable. This places the notion of memory in a different light. There are incidents that occurred fifty years ago that seem as if they occurred five minutes ago. The depth psychologist and champion of the imagination, James Hillman, referred to this process as “soul-making.” Back to T.S. Eliot: when he studied Sanskrit at Harvard, he was certainly aware that the Sanskrit word for memory, smara (from which smrti “that which is remembered,” is derived) is also an epithet for Kama Deva, the Indian Cupid. Hence, the mixing of memory and desire. Perhaps, in this light, the study of history, which is a form of collective memory, is also a form of mass therapy, an effort to process the collective past. Hegel and Marx both believed classical India to be an inferior civilization because it had “no history,” but collections of mythologies. Maybe classical India, however, held an awareness that all memory is myth, a word which in its early Greek form literally translates as “plot.” Jesus declares (in the Gospel story) “Let the dead bury the dead.” As the Jesus narrative exemplifies, however, burying the dead is no easy task. Perhaps our ongoing, ever-morphing narratives, allow us an oblique opportunity to connect with and process our pain. And in this theatre of memory, the goal may not be to accumulate or catalogue what has been spoken (itihasa), but look a good miller, to process the grain into its essence: from what has passed, and is passing, and is to come, into what always is. Perhaps, the pilgrimage of the mind, on its endless perigination of story, is meant to ultimately take us to love, but that may be unspeakable. Keywords: memory, desire, narrative, history, myth, power

Vedic Era and Social Conditions: Unraveling the Tapestry of Ancient India

The Vedic era, spanning from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE, is a crucial period in the history of ancient India. This article delves into the social conditions of the Vedic era, exploring the intricate tapestry of society, culture, and governance. Drawing upon the Vedas, the primary religious texts of the time, and archaeological evidence, we navigate through the variegated landscapes of social structures, economic systems, and religious practices that defined this epoch. The article also sheds light on the role of women, the emergence of the caste system, and the profound impact of Vedic thought on the socio-cultural milieu. Through a comprehensive analysis, this article seeks to unveil the nuanced dynamics that shaped the social fabric of ancient India during the Vedic era.

Entertaining the Royalty. A forgotten tradition of the Vidushaka in Ancient Indian History

This paper provides an overview of the importance of dwarf figures/jesters in Ancient Indian history and society. There are numerous dwarf-like figures depicted in ancient Indian temples. These little figurines would have not only filled the area and add decorative value but also, they have a small but significant place in iconography. A dwarf-like figure, the Vidushaka, who was a brahmin with a tuft on his head and a staff in his hand, was found on the walls of Ajanta and in the Natyashastra text. His occupation is to light the stressful environment by making the court laughing. It goes without saying how valuable the Vidushaka is as a kind of entertainment in ancient India. The objective of this research is to look at how the Vidushaka (jester) had been contributing to the ‘entertainment industry’ of ancient India and how they have been portrayed through out the history (from ancient to medieval times). This would also allow us to discover that jesters were not only adept at entertaining others with amusing jokes, but also able to express himself on the oddities of human life.

Women and Dalit Oppression and Suppression: Searching for Historical Background

When we search about ancient history of India, specially the history of Vedic Age, then we observe a monolithic history of the oppression and suppression of Women and Dalit.In the history of Ancient India in Rig Vedic and later Vedic period the society was developed on the basis of Brahmanical four fold system. In Rigvedic period there was some kind of mobility in this brahmonical four fold system and in that period varna of an individual was not hereditary. The upanayana of women was acknowledged or accepted in social life, that is the ten samaskaras were applicable to women also. Women could read vedas. They also could able to participate in political life and were able to choose their life partners. On the other hand Sudra Varna was mainly those Aryan tribes who were defeated during conflicts between themselves. They were also referred to as the Dasas and Dasyus in the Rigveda and were also included in the category of the Sudra varna, the lowest stratum of the varna hierarchy. In the later vedic period,the varna system or varna hierarchy started to be immobile and the specific varna of an individual started to be hereditary. After the Vedic age Jati or caste system was started. After the Vedic age a certain part of sudra varna was described as the untouchable or the fifth varna. Gradually the society started to exploit the women and the Sudras from their various rights and privileges. Women as a whole and women and men folk of sudra varna both were prohibited to read the Vedas and to get education. They were also deprived of the rights of observing various samaskaras. Gradually the sudra varna were being appointed to give service to the upper three varnas. On the other hand women were only used for the cause of reproduction and to give service to their families of in laws. In the ancient Literature, women were described as eligible for Sampradana to the Bridegroom with other mobile or immobile gifts such as cattle or other material objects. On the other side the chandalas, the cobblers, the sweepers were described as untouchable and were directed to live outside the pale of the varna system and outside the frontiers of villages. It was prohibited for higher varnas to touch and see the Untouchables. By doing these the higher varnas had to enunciate their varna status. But accepting their services was not anyway prohibited to the upper varnas. In ancient Hindu society various types of services from the untouchables were compulsory and to continue the reproduction system marriage was obligatory in state and society. So it can be said that suppression and exploitation of women and untouchables are the continuous process. Since ancient time. In colonial times there started the process of upliftment women through various social reform movements. Almost at the same period Jyotirao Phule and Sabitribai Phule – this couple tried to eradicate the untouchability from society and to uplift the status of Untouchables. In this present Research Project, we try to explain the historical background of the suppression and oppression of women and Untouchables in Indian Society

Descriptions of Ānvīkṣikī in the Texts of Classical India and the Nature of Analytic Philosophy

Abstract The author enters an already old dispute, that is, whether a countеrpart of the notion of philosophy could be encountered in the traditional India, upholds the view that the term ānvīkṣikī (lit. “investigation”) was nearest to it and traces its meaning along the texts on dharma, politics, poetics and philosophy properly. Two main avenues to the understanding of philosophy’s vocations in India have been paved in the Mānavadharmaśāstra, along with the commentaries thereon and by Kamandaki, the author of the Nītisāra (as the knowledge of Ātman) and in the Arthaśāstra and the Nyāya texts composed by Vātsyāyana and Uddyotakara (as a metascience helping the other branches of knowledge bear their fruits). Therefore philosophy in India as well was regarded as the duality of ideological and methodological constituents, while the emphasis on analytic practice in the definitions of ānvīkṣikī (Wittgenstein’s conception of philosophy as a practice is also referred to in this context) paves a good promise for comparative philosophy.

How to Change Law in Classical India

In his celebrated book The Concept of Law, H. L. A. Hart posits three secondary rules in a legal system: recognition, change, and adjudication. In this paper, I look at the second category: the means provided within the Indian legal system by which laws, in this case dharma, can be changed. The category of recognition provides us with means of knowing what the laws are. In modern systems, this is done through the passage of laws in a duly constituted legislature. The ancient Indian system did not have a provision for a legislative body. Instead, law as dharma was to be discovered rather than enacted: it was thought to be found in the Veda (vedamulatva concept) and, secondarily, in the texts known as smrtis. Law is thus eternal and, in theory, immutable; it cannot be changed. But, in spite of the theory, society and culture do change and demand laws that reflect those changes. The hermeneutical tradition of India provided means by which such change, foreclosed de jure, could be enacted de facto. This paper will analyse several of these techniques, including the yuga theory, the dharma of smaller social and geographical units, and, quite interestingly, the opprobrium of the people (lokavidvista).

An analytical feedback report of Siddha Yogam practice and integration perspective among the undergraduate female medical students of Tirupati

Background: The application of Siddha Yogam (SY) as a healing intervention, which began early in the ancient Indian history, which has various health benefits. This is the first preliminary study to evaluate the student interest toward SY and integration. Objective: This study was aimed to assess: (i) modern medical students’ awareness (ii) knowledge, benefits and (iii) interest of medical students toward integration of SY in clinical practice. Materials and Methods: SY training was conducted for the students of Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 38 students were participated in a SY session. The training was conducted for about 2 weeks daily for a duration of 45 minutes. Feedback questionnaires were used to collect student perceptions about SY. Results: The result shows that out of 38 students, 37 (97.4%) were already aware of the benefits of SY, 28 (73.7%) practiced daily, 31 (81.6%) participated in the SY session regularly, 38 (100%) want to continue session in future, 38 (100%) had an interest in attending session, 15 (39.5%) found difficulty in doing SY during Yogam session, and 36 (94.7%) said that they will suggest Siddha Yogam for the patient approaching them. Conclusion: From the feedback data collected, it is evident that the students are interested in SY, aware of the benefits of SY, and are looking forward to an opportunity for an integrative approach in treatment strategy.

«Философия» в культуре исторической Индии: систематизация источников В.К. Шохин

The author enters an already old dispute, that is whether a countеrepart of the no­tion of philosophy could be encountered in the traditional India, upholds the view that the term ānvīkşikī (lit. “investigation”) was nearest to it and traces its meaning along the texts on dharma (from the Gautama-dharmasûtra, i.e. the 2nd century B.C., to the later medieval commentaries on the Mānavadharmaśāstra), politics (the Arthaśāstra and Kamandaki’s Nītisāra), poetics (Rājaśekhara’s Kāvyamīmāňsā) and philosophy properly (the basic commentary and subcom­mentary on the Nyāya-sûtras by Vātsyāyana and Uddyotakara, i.e. from the 5th to 7th centuries A.D.). Two main avenues to the understanding of philosophy’s vocations in India have been paved in the Mānavadharmaśāstra, along with commentaries thereon and by Kamandaki (as the knowledge of Ātman) and in the Arthaśāstra and the texts of the Nyāya school (as a metascience helping the other branches of knowledge bear their fruits). Therefore philosophy in India as well was regarded as the duality of ideological and methodological con­stituents, and it was Vātsyāyana who in all clarity pointed out that his science of Nyāya was not “the mere knowledge of Ātman” in the manner of the Upanişads but the same knowledge as realized in the context of professional investigation of 16 categorial topics. It is the significance of ānvīkşikī as examination of con­cepts with the philosophers of Nyāya and as polemical debate with Rājaśekhara that leads one to conclude that in classical India philosophy has been regarded not as a body of doctrines but as analytical practice (with the exact similarities to Wittgensteins’s understanding of it) as realized in controversy and that unfolds very meaningful horizons for comparative philosophy

Review of Human Being, Bodily Being: Phenomenology from Classical India. By Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad


 
 
 Human Being, Bodily Being: Phenomenology from Classical India. By Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. viii + 204.
 
 

Adoption of E-Kanikka in Kerala

Kanikka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, Jainism, Prakrit. So many as 22 QR codes have been displayed at various locations in the temple complex and nearby areas through which the devotees can offer the kannikka. As the annual pilgrimage is progressing at the famed Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex temple body, has made arrangements for devotees to offer 'e-kanikka' at the electronic hundi collection in the temple complex and nearby areas. As in the previous years, the arrangements for the digital payment was made in association with the Dhanlaxmi Bank, who are the official bankers of the TDB this year as well.

Historical Evidences from the illustration of Pāṇinian Aphorism: A study

Sanskrit literature have contributed immensely to the field of historical study, it is Pāṇini who in his Aṣṭādhyāyī, first set a linguistic model with historical datas for the description of language in 5th Century B.C. Kāśikā-Vṛtti of Jayāditya and Vāmana is a well-coded gloss on Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī. The present study discusses some historical evidences found in Kāśikā in the form of examples and counter examples which are supplied by its authors to illustrate the working of the aphorisms of Aṣṭādhyāyī. Throughout the world, the scholars have shown great interest in the field of language-analysis and in this respect Sanskrit grammatical literature have contributed immensely by studying language-behavior of Ancient India. Like any other ancient language of any part of the globe, Sanskrit has been the successful means of carrying reflections of the ancient Indian cultural heritage. Sanskrit grammarians too have not lagged behind in this mission. As objective recorders of facts, Indian grammarians have tried to reveal various aspects for the study of ancient Indian history. Knowledge of Panini’s grammar is essential for Sanskrit language. The name of Aṣṭādhyāyī comes before us by saying the grammar of Panini. Aṣṭādhyāyī is a composition of aphorisms. It is difficult to explain the meaning of aphorisms without the help of commentary text. The enormous commentaries are available on this. They deal with different perspectives of research and study. Kāśikā or Kāśikā-Vṛtti is a ‘gloss’ whose purpose is to precisely explain sūtras(aphorisms) without leaving any doubt in the minds of the readers. To illustrate the working of aphorisms of Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī, the author of Kāśikā supply historical data in the form of examples and counter examples. Examples of Sanskrit grammatical text constitute a livelily norms of language-use which may be considered as one of its primary aspects. The description of this aspect of language-use in society in relation to various facts of social life tends to be interesting and the legitimate goal of historical investigation. It is taken for granted that the trimuni vyākaraṇa samples and records facts of ancient India from the source of natural speech. Coming unto the time of Jayāditya and Vāmana, the natural speech might be progressing rapidly towards a theoretical possibility. Still the historical recording mainly of diachronic nature noticed in the Kāśikā Vṛtti (KV) makes it appropriate a text of historical investigation. It will not be out of place to prepare below a brief but relevant outline of the nature and necessity of historical investigation when Pāṇini is claimed to be a scholar of the science of ancient Indian history having the critical attitude of accurate recording of facts in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.

Logic in the Religions of South Asia

This special issue of Journal of Indian Philosophy results from a thematic session on “Logic in the Religions of South Asia”, a separate section of the 2nd World Congress on Logic and Religion (held at the University of Warsaw, Poland, June 18–22 June, 2017). The papers address questions, discussed in philosophical thought in classical India, such as how religious practice could shape philosophical reflection on the relation between language and reality, whether there are necessary truths and whether a priori knowledge is possible, the nature of some arguments for the existence of God, especially the argument from the causality of the universe, the problem of the validity of religious authority, the relation between logic and religious belief as well as language-related topics such as a theory of interrogatives expressing doubts and of declaratives expressing certitudes, both regarded as the verbal expression of cognitions.

Cognitive Tools for Narrating the Past: A Study of Classical India

Cognitive Tools for Narrating the Past: A Study of Classical India

The Divine Word and its Expression in Sanskrit: Continuity and Change in Vedic and Classical India

The Vedas are said to be not a human creation (apauruṣeya), but Revelation imparted to the Vedic sages who have put it down in inspired verses. Vedas’ words are therefore divine and eternal, and thus extensively praised. Vāc, the Vedic word, is eulogised in several hymns, among which Vāk Sūkta (X.125) is by far the most illustrative of all. In some teachings of the Upanishads, Vāc is equated to Brahman alongside other interpretations. When analysing the nature of the word, centuries later, philosophers and grammarians refer to it as śabda, and no longer as Vāc, the latter remains somehow confined to a rather poetical and mystical reality. Yet, the idea of the eternal and divine character of the scriptures is superimposed on the Sanskrit language also, despite certain historical change remarks on the grammarians' side. In the 5th century CE, Bhartṛhari displays a genuine linguistic and philosophical thought of the folding and unfolding of Reality and its understanding as Word-Principle (brahman śabda-tattva). From an auxiliary science of preserving the correct forms of the Vedas, Sanskrit grammar acquires a hermeneutical role and empowers itself as a way to salvation, an idea supported by previous evidence of grammar's role in producing celestial happiness (abhyudaya), merit and righteousness (dharma). I seek in this paper to analyse and point out the strongholds that underpin Sanskrit as a divine language and how continuity and change coexist to support over millennia this undaunted approach.

Ethan Mills, Three Pillars of Skepticism in Classical India: Nāgārjuna, Jayarāśi, and Śrī Harṣa

Ethan Mills, Three Pillars of Skepticism in Classical India: Nāgārjuna, Jayarāśi, and Śrī Harṣa

Ethnomedicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Urolithiasis in India: A Review

Background: Kidney stone is the most commonly observed and painful disease of the urinary tract in human beings. Numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors are responsible for the formation of kidney stones, for instance, age, sex, heredity (intrinsic factors), climate, diet, geography, mineral composition, and water intake (extrinsic factors). The kidney stones are categorized into calcium, struvite or magnesium ammonium phosphate, uric acid or urate, cystine, and other types of stones based on chemical composition and pathogenesis. Due to the multifactorial nature of kidney stone disease, the patient may need to rely on complex synthetic medication. However, in ancient Indian history, there are several pieces of evidence where natural resources such as plants were used to remediation this lethal disease. Objective: The present review attempts to provide exhaustive ethnomedicinal and ethnopharmacological information on medicinal plants used for kidney stones in India. Result: Hitherto, 258 ethnomedicinal plants from 90 different families reported using for kidney stone application. The majority of the plant species are associated with three important families: Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, and Fabaceae. Most of the plants are from Andhra Pradesh (43 plants), followed by East Bengal (38), Jammu & Kashmir (36), Uttarakhand (31), Panjab (27), Mizoram (23), Karnataka (20), Maharashtra (20) and Assam (18). The commonly used plant parts for the herbal preparation are roots (21.22 %) followed by leaves/leaf (20.15 %), and sometimes complete plant (17.77 %) is used. The most commonly used method for the formulation is decoction (46.41 %) followed by powder (18.66 %) and then extracts (15.78 %) of different aerial and non-aerial parts of the plant. More than sixty ethnomedicinal plants assessed the in-vitro and in-vivo activities against the kidney stone. Conclusion: The present review epitomizes the ethnomedicinal information of medicinal plants used for kidney stones and pharmacological evidence for anti-urolithiasis activity. Most reported medicinal plants are not yet scientifically explored and need immediate attention before losing important species due to excessive deforestation for farming and industrial needs.

A Comprehensive Study of Huna Invasion in India during the Reign of Skandagupta

The Gupta age was considered the golden age of ancient Indian history. However, during the reign of Emperor Skandagupta the stability of the Empire was threatened by the invasion of a Central Asian tribe, The Huna. Emperor Skandagupta was at that time dealing with the rebellion of Pushyamitra’s. and The Huna after ravaging Persia thought that time was ripe to invest in India. Even though the imperial fabric of the Gupta’s was in a decaying stage, nevertheless Skandagupta defeated the Hunas. The conquest of the Hunas is mentioned particularly on the Bhitari pillar inscription, and the conquest of the Mlechcchas is mentioned in more general terms on the Junagadh rock inscription, albeit the Mlechcchas cannot be definitively identified as the Hunas. The Hunas were thoroughly defeated by Skandagupta, according to the inscription on the pillar. This article is aimed to highlight the nature and outcome of the conflict between Skandagupta and The Hunas.

The cultural evolution of love in literary history

Since the late nineteenth century, cultural historians have noted that the importance of love increased during the Medieval and Early Modern European period (a phenomenon that was once referred to as the emergence of 'courtly love'). However, more recent works have shown a similar increase in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Indian and Japanese cultures. Why such a convergent evolution in very different cultures? Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we leverage literary history and build a database of ancient literary fiction for 19 geographical areas and 77 historical periods covering 3,800 years, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Modern period. We first confirm that romantic elements have increased in Eurasian literary fiction over the past millennium, and that similar increases also occurred earlier, in Ancient Greece, Rome and Classical India. We then explore the ecological determinants of this increase. Consistent with hypotheses from cultural history and behavioural ecology, we show that a higher level of economic development is strongly associated with a greater incidence of love in narrative fiction (our proxy for the importance of love in a culture). To further test the causal role of economic development, we used a difference-in-difference method that exploits exogenous regional variations in economic development resulting from the adoption of the heavy plough in medieval Europe. Finally, we used probabilistic generative models to reconstruct the latent evolution of love and to assess the respective role of cultural diffusion and economic development.