[INDOLOGY] Sources on prakāśa, loka, and their relation

[Himanshu]

Dear Lyne,

Thank you very much for such a clear explanation. Indeed, this is what I
read in Jan Gonda's 1966 book, he warns against translating loka as "world"
and shows the wider horizon of meaning it carries.

Could you please share references of these works on "Comparative grammar of
Indo-European Language" where these terms are analysed? More than the
classical usage of prakāśa or loka (in the systematic śāstra literature) I
want to read about how these terms were used in their original context
(perhaps in poetry or in the Vedas?). For example, a clearing - as you have
already explained - occuring at the moment of dawn or sandhyā, or as Gonda
cites phrases from a Veda where Indra having killed troublemakers "creates"
loka.

Please also share the list of essays dealing with prakāś/vimarśa in nondual
Śaiva context. However, my immediate concern is to understand earliest
usage of these terms, so that I can understand what innovations Utpaladeva
or Abhinavagupta are bringing when they are using them in the 9-10th c. CE.

Thanks and regards,
Himanshu

On Thu, 4 Sep, 2025, 3:53 am Lyne Bansat-Boudon, <
Lyne.Bansat-Boudon at ephe.psl.eu> wrote:

> Dear Himanshu,
>
> Comparative grammar of Indo-European languages has established the
> existence of a Sanskrit verbal root,  *ruc*, with the meaning “to shine,”
> “to be luminous" (present *roc-a-te*), which, in the *guṇa* degree of
> *luk* (its phonetic variant, according to the attested equivalence of -r
> and -l), gives *lok* > *lok-a.*
> Thus, the world “shines,” as a clearing shines (see the word “clairière”
> in French, an orderly and ‘clear’ space in the forest). *loka *is thus
> the  bright, clear and shining open space gained from the dark chaos of the
> forest
>
> Note that from this root *luk/lok*, also derives the noun *loc-ana*,
> “that which illuminates", hence the “eye.”
>
> The same analogy is found in Latin, but with a different root: *mundus *is
> a noun adjective, meaning  "clean, neat", hence “brilliant,” hence
> “universe,” (see, in French, the verbs ‘monder’ and “émonder.”
>
> Likewise, Greek has the term κοσμος, simply Latinized as “cosmos",
> meaning "order, good order, orderly arrangement”, hence the idea of a
> universe opposed to the original chaos. A related meaning is "ornament"
> which appear in such words as "cosmetics").
>
> Enough of this very simplified survey!
>
> Now, as for *prakāśa*, it certainly derives from the Sanskrit root *kāś
> *"to shine, to resplend" from which derives Kāśī, "the "Bright" one,
>  ancient name of Benares. But, as you point it out, the term has crucial
> ontological implications in the non-dualist Kashmir Śaivism.  This is the
> * prakāśa/vimarśa* dichotomy, which, far from opposing them,
> articulates two complementary concepts, and, as such,  lies at the heart of
> Śaiva reasoning.
>
> Numerous articles and books by specialists of the domain deal with this
> issue. If needed, I can send you a brief list of essays dealing with the
> topic.
>
> Hope this will be of some use,
>
> Best,
>
> Lyne Bansat-Boudon
>
> Lyne Bansat-Boudon
>
> Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde
>
> Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses
>
> Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France
> ------------------------------
> *De :* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> de la part de
> Himanshu via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Envoyé :* mercredi 3 septembre 2025 17:34
> *À :* indology at list.indology.info <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Objet :* [INDOLOGY] Sources on prakāśa, loka, and their relation
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> I am looking for works on the ideas of *prakāśa*, *loka*, and how these
> concepts, if they do, relate to each other. Often, these two terms may
> (e.g., in nondual philosophies) appear in contradiction to each other. But
> I am particularly searching for any scholarship that produces something
> around a philological history or a history of these ideas (philosophical),
> or any analysis of literary usage before or after their usages in the
> post-sūtra age texts.
> To contextualise what *prakāśa *and loka might share: If I am not
> misquoting, Kśemarāja employs the word loka by deriving it from √*lok*+
> *ghañ*. And so does Candrakīrti (perhaps in his discussion on
> *lokaprasiddhi*, as I learned from Prof. Mattia Salvini). I am not very
> much confident about the prevalence and implications of this derivation,
> but it certainly indicates a possible relation that √*lok* (-
> *loka darśane*) might share with √*kāś *in *prakāśa*.
>
> As my doctoral research focuses on Abhinavagupta's concept of *prasiddhi *
> and its ontological relation with his concept of non-dual *prakāśa, *my
> interest lies in the ontological implications of the terms I mentioned
> above. I am aware of only one work that takes a somewhat similar
> direction: Jan Gonda's 1966 book, *Loka - World and the Heaven in the
> Vedas.* I would be grateful if you could provide any references
> discussing these concepts.
>
> Thanks and regards,
> Himanshu
> Doctoral Candidate
> Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
> Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
> Mumbai
>
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