[INDOLOGY] Ears of the Buddha

Asko Parpola aparpola at gmail.com
Fri Dec 31 07:41:58 UTC 2021


A very rich collection of references to the ear is:

Bollée, Willem B., 2010. Remarks on the cultural history of the ear in India. Pp. 141-167 in: Balbir, Nalini (ed.) 2010. Svasti: Essays in honour of Professor Hampa Nagarajaiah for his 75th birthday. Bangalore: K. S. Muddappa Smaraka Trust. 

On p. 145 Bollée discusses the form of the ear, starting with “Karṇa ‘Longear’ (?)” and “Vikarṇa ‘With widely extended ears’” … “Long ears are a positive mark of Mahāvīra (…); such people, however, are to be excluded from the sacrifice to the dead.” …

Best wishes for a Happy New Year 2022,

Asko Parpola


> On 31. Dec 2021, at 8.32, Allen Thrasher via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> If the particular work of art shows a large piercing or rather a hole in the ear, it must intend to communicate that he used to have large and heavy earrings, which he renounced.  This does not necessarily mean that his ears were not also naturally pinayata.

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