Gitabhasya of Shankara

[Leo Facq]

Does any one have information on a translation in English, German or French 
of Shankara's Gitabhasya, preferably including the sanskrit tekst. The info 
we need is: Publisher's complete address and/or address we can loan it from.

 


> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 19 1995 Sep EST 11:52:11
Date: 19 Sep 1995 11:52:11 EST
Reply-To: THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
From: ALLEN W THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: PAATRI

          On the possibility of paatri being from paatiri from padre: 
           
          In  how much respect are  the paatris held?  If  they  are looked 
          down upon although needed for certain purposes, there might be an 
          element of sarcastic honor in calling them "Fathers" or  for that 
          matter  in  calling them  "Worthy Vessels  or Recipients," as  in 
          other hyperbolic terms  of  address  for  other somewhat degraded 
          though necessary groups,  e.g.  calling  barbers Maharaj.   Also, 
          could it  be the basic derivation is from Skt. patra but there is 
          a contamination from Port. padre?  On the other hand, although of 
          course Hindus are very frequently willing to worship at Christian 
          churches  and  shrines,  use Christian sacred objects,  and  read 
          devoutly  Christian  literature,  and  contemporary Hinduism  has 
          clearly been profoundly influenced by Christianity, it  seems  to 
          me  that  in  some  respects  that  there  are  greater migration 
          barriers between Christianity and Hinduism than  between Hinduism 
          and Islam in India.  E.g. I have gone through many dozens if  not 
          hundreds of printed books and manuscripts on magic, amulets, etc. 
          in various languages and  from various regions and  I  have found 
          Christian medals  or  symbols included in  only  one  (a  Marathi 
          printed  book),  whereas talismans  and  prayers  and  spells  of 
          Islamic origin, frequently admitted to  be such, are included all 
          the time.  You also don't find, at least not until very recently, 
          Christian terminology  for  religious professionals or  spiritual 
          athletes being  applied  to  Hindu religious figures, unlike  the 
          phenomenon of  terms for Muslim holy  men being applied to  Hindu 
          ones  and  vice versa. (You  do quite recently find  His Holiness 
          being used, and I think I have seen Reverend used a few times but 
          couldn't swear to it.)  This makes me more sceptical that a Hindu 
          religious professional might be called padre even sarcastically. 
           
           
          Allen Thrasher 
          Library of Congress                                               
 


> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 19 1995 Sep EST 10:57:10
Date: 19 Sep 1995 10:57:10 EST
Reply-To: THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
From: ALLEN W THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: PATRA; PATRI

          RE: Patri 
           
          The prima facie derivation would  be  that  he  is  a "vessel" of 
          divine influence.  In  Pune there is  a festival in which brahmin 
          women become possessed after blowing vigorously over  the  mouths 
          of pots as  in  the  US  we would over  the mouth of  a bottle; I 
          forget the name of the festival and the deity; perhaps one of our 
          Maharashtrian  members  can   supply.    Is   this  technique  of 
          possession used elsewhere,  and  in  particular  by  the  patris? 
          (Would however a pot, with a constricted neck, count as  a patra? 
          Intuitively I think of a patra as a plate, dish, or bowl.) 
           
          Allen Thrasher 
          Libarry of Congress