Sufism as Medium and Method of Translation
Mughal Translations of Hindu Texts Reconsidered
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3943369 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shankar Nair (0009-0003-0673-0880, University of Virginia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 390-410 |
| Publication date | 2014-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-4298 • E-ISSN: 2042-0587 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0008429814538228 |
| OpenAlex | W2121979774 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 18 |
During the height of the Mughal Empire in pre-colonial South Asia (16th-17th century CE), Muslim nobles facilitated the translation of numerous Hindu Sanskrit texts into the Persian language. While this "translation movement" (Ernst, 2003: 173) had long been attributed to the reputedly liberal, tolerant, and enlightened personal inclinations of the Mughal emperors, scholars in recent decades have begun to re-evaluate the phenomenon, arguing instead that practical socio-political considerations and quotidian cultural processes best explain the nature of the translation movement. What such analyses lack, however, is a sustained consideration of how the Islamic - and, in particular, Sufi - worldview(s) of the nobles in question shaped the inner workings of, and motivations behind, the movement. In this essay, I take up one such translation from the Mughal period - Mir Findiriski's Muntakhab-i Jug Basisht, a translation of the Sanskrit Laghu-Yoga-Vasistha - examining not only its content in relation to the Sanskrit original, but also the manner in which Sufi thought and metaphysics informed the very process of translation itself
Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Buddhism · Epistemology · Hinduism · Islam · Literature · Metaphysics · Political science · Politics · Relation (database · Sanskrit · South asia · Sufism · Hispanic-African Historical Relations · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies
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| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,8 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2023 (8) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |