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Rule-extension strategiesin Mms, rautastra

(and Vykaraa):tantra and prasaga

Elisa Freschi

IKGA, Vienna, FWF M1437

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Summary

1.A short history of tantra in rS and Mms

2

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Summary


2.A short history ofprasaga in rS and

Mms

3

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Summary


2.A short history ofprasaga in rS andMms

3. Comparison of the two

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Summary

1.A short history of tantra in rS and Mms2.A short history ofprasaga in rS and

Mms


4. Comparison with Vykaraa

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Summary


2.A short history ofprasaga in rS andMms


4. Comparison with Vykaraa

5. General Conclusions on space and time in

ritual and linguistic speculations

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Caveat

In Ancient and Classical India, hermeneutics(Mms) and ritualistics (rauta Stra)focused on texts about ritual, rather than on the

ritual themselves

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Caveat

In Ancient and Classical India, hermeneutics(Mms) and ritualistics (rauta Stra)focused on texts about ritual, rather than on the

ritual themselves

Forget all you think you know about the termstantra and prasaga

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Tantra

In rauta Stras and in Mms it oftenmeans basic procedure. This means that it isthe paradigm against which one notices

differences and absences

In Mms it also means: device throughwhich a ritual element is performed once, but

automatically applies to the whole ritual

How could the transition from the one to the

other happen?

At first sight, the situation is asfollows:

this also means that through

tantra one can avoid the

problem of an absence.

This is the question which

made me consider the

problem at first.

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Tantra

In fact, tantra has more than one meaning in

Mms:

1. basic procedure

2. device through which a ritual element is

performed once, but automatically applies to

the whole ritual

3. each of these elements

But the situation is in fact more

complicated

Initially, I did not focus on the distinction

between 2 and 3, then I started taking it

seriously

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Tantra An hypothesis about the historical evolution

Meaning no. 1. is historically the most ancient

one

The shift from 1 to 3 is a case of metonimy

(pars pro toto)

The shift from 3 to 2 is a case of metaphor (thedevice instead of each element it applies to),

perhaps influenced by the case ofprasagaas we will see in short

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In other words:

the basic procedure (tantra) has been

explained once and for all (sakt) and remainsvalid (BaudhrS 13.1.1)

thus, extensively, each element which remains

valid for the whole time of the ritual is part of

tantra (tantrasthna bhajate, BaudhrS24.3)

hence, the simultaneous application itself is

said to be tantra

Tantraet passim in the whole rSe Mms literature

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Tantra

An element continues to remain valid althoughit is actually absent through tantra (tantrea),because it has become part of the basic

procedure of the ritual, which is present in each

moment of its performance

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Tantra in Grammar

Similarly, Patajali describes some elementswithin a straby Pini by saying that they arenot tantra. For instance, the gender andnumber endings found in the stras, onlyregard that stra and do not have to be appliedto all cases ad A 3.3.18

nirdeaatantram

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Prasaga

It is a further case of multiple application

What distinguishes it from tantra?

you might remember that I

said that tantra (meaning 3)

might have been influencedby prasaga, which, in fact,does not denote an element,

but rather a function.

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Prasaga


1.Already in Jaiminis MS: an element appliesto several rites through tantra since it

becomes part of the basic structure of the

sacrifice

By contrast, through prasaga a functionapplies to several rites vertically, drippingfrom one to the other, without becoming part

of a shared centre

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Prasaga


1. Non-structural

2. Consequently, the multiple application takes

place due to external circumstances and hasno internal rationale

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Prasaga


1. Non-structural

2. Due to external circumstances

3. Consequently, prasaga occurs only when acertain function is needed by a later rite

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Prasaga


1. Non-structural

2. Due to external circumstances

3. Need by a later rite

in the case of tantra, there isa centre which emanates to

the periphery, independent of

the periphery need for it.

Example of prayjas.

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Prasaga in Grammar

prasaga/prsagika/prasakta in Patajali:

the expected procedure

Through the comparison with Mms we nowknow that this procedure is not the general rule

(as it has been frequently translated, e.g. byMylius), but rather what applies automatically,

dripping down from what precedes.it is the default option. prasad apavdo balyadoes not mean the exception is stronger than thegeneral rule, but rather that, unless exceptionally

required, one just keeps on with the behaviour which

was already at hand.

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tantra/prasaga

A few examples:

1. For the ritual X one needs a large altar

(mahvedi); for the subsequent ritual Y oneneeds an altar (vedi) where to place the offerts.

Since one already has the mahvedi at hands,through prasaga (prasagena) one uses itssupport

please note that it is not the

element which is multiplied

used, but rather its function.

The element is, in fact, not

the same, but the former can

perform the same function of

the latter

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tantra/prasaga

A few examples:

1. The supporting function of an already availablealtar can be used for a subsequent ritual

(prasaga).

2. In contrast, within the Darapramsasacrifice, everything is applied, through tantra(tantrea) six times, i.e., to each of the six ritescomposing it

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tantra/prasaga

rite

rite

tantra rite

prasaga1. please remember thatprasaga regards the function,not the material elements (the

support, not the altar)

2. tantra, by contrast, candenote both the elements and

the device

please note that the rites arenot outside the

circumference. For tantra

(device) to work they must be

part of the same basic

structure (also called tantra)

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tantra/prasaga

Brahmin

Brahmin

lamp Brahmin

prasaga

house

street

tantra

these same examples are

found in abara (ad MS12.1.1)

the light (i.e., the lamps function) isapplied through prasaga

the lamp is said to be tantra (or to apply

to many Brahmins through tantra)

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tantra

A school bus bringing to school all children,

willing or not, insofar as they belong to the

same group

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prasaga

Disparate people taking advantage of the

transit of a car because they need it

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Conclusions

i i b bl h h ld l

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Conclusions

rauta Stra, Mms and Vykaraa oftenshare the same technical terminology

It is not possible to trace a single direction of

influence

It is, hence, more likely that they share acommon prehistory (rather than that the one

influenced the other)

it is probably that the same would apply

to Dharmastra, although I did notcheck there (I am saying it because

whenever I checked on the Ghyastras Ifound similar results and the GS arethe background of the Dh, andbecause of other analyses of mine on

their shared terminology (as for

pratisakha/niyama/vidhi)). This is not thecase, by contrast, for the Vedic Sahits.

historical conclusions

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Conclusions

The texts never mention the disappearanceof something

Rather, they discuss spatially organisedabsences

An empty slot can be filled in various ways

(through tantra, prasaga, atidea,pratinidhi), which all require the extension ofan element/a function, which is already present

elsewhere within the ritual space

Both rS stress a spatial and nottemporal organization of ritual

Eivind Kahrs, Indian Semantic Analysis

(map/territory, ablative vs. genitive))

conceptual conclusions

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