L'interprétation et la tradition indienne du Nirukta

The Indian tradition of semantic analysis known as nirukta or nirvacanasâstra represented a powerful tool in the exegesis and transmission of authoritative scripture. Nevertheless, it has all too frequently been dismissed by modern scholars as anything from folk-etymology to a primitive forerunner of historical linguistics. The author argues that such views fall short of explaining both its acceptance within the sophisticated grammatical tradition of vyâkarana and its effective usage in the processing of Sanskrit texts. He establishes his argument by investigating the analysis of the name of the deity Bhairava in the learned Sanskrit literature of Saiva Kashmir, and goes on to explain the nirvacana tradition in the light of a model of substitution, in use since the time of the Brâhmanas and later refined in the technical literatures of grammar and ritual

Argument (complex analysis · Art · Epistemology · Etymology · Exegesis · Feminism · Grammar · Linguistics · Literature · Philology · Sanskrit · Sociology · Theology · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Philosophy · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism · Translation Studies and Practices