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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions of South Asia
Main Author: Hegarty, James M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Equinox 2011
In: Religions of South Asia
Further subjects:B Genealogy
B Mahābhārata
B Veda
B Etymology
B Nirukta
B History
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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.
ISSN:1751-2697
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions of South Asia
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/rosa.v5i1/2.79