hamsa (1)

[Julia Leslie]

I have so enjoyed catching up on this discussion thread. As Dominik
indicated, the (religious) symbolism of birds in Sanskrit literature is
a particular passion of mine, and I plan a monograph on the subject
as soon as I am able to finish the backlog of other work.

My basic premise is that we are unable to understand the underlying
symbolism involving a given bird if we cannot identify the specific
bird in question. Anyone who is interested in the one article in this
area thay I have completed so far might like to read:

'A Bird Bereaved: the identity and significance of Valmiki's kraunca.'
Journal of Indian Philosophy 26 (1998): 455-87.

I agree with Frits and others that Vogel's excellent work is the place
to start in relation to this question, but I also believe that there is
more to be said. I shall see if I can dig out my draft article, and send
the beginning of it in my next email.

Julia


Dr I J Leslie
Department of the Study of Religions
SOAS