[INDOLOGY] New publication

[Jan E.M. Houben]

Congratulations, posthumously, to Edwin Gerow on this richly annotated
translation of the Nāgeśa's Paramalaghumañjūṣā (first translation into a
Western language (French)), and congratulations to the editors for editing
his work with meticulous attention to all details. The work contains, in
addition, a substantial 17-page Summary in English by E. Gerow, which
places Nāgeśa's work in a broader context of Indian *and* Western
philosophy of language and universal grammar, the former represented mainly
by Bhartrhari and the latter by Aristotle and "James Harris' *Hermes, or A
philosophical inquiry concerning universal grammar*, first published in
1771."

With regard to the word *rathantara-* in the section on compounds, Nāgeśa
invokes the maxim *rūḍhir yogārtham apaharati*, translated by Gerow (p.
250) as « Le sens traditionnel est prioritaire par rapport au sens
dérivationnel ». K.K. Raja (Ind. theories of meaning, p. 61) observes in a
similar context:
« The well-known rule accepted by all Indian writers is that the
conventional meaning is more powerful than the etymological meaning, since
the former occurs to the mind immediately whereas the latter has to be
known through analysis », for which he cites *yogād rūḍhir balīyasī
śīghravṛttitvāt*.

Question to the list-members: what could be the source of this last
citation?
Could it be a Mīmāṁsā-statement, especially the first part before
*śīghravṛttitvāt
*?

Best regards,

On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 at 17:50, Lyne Bansat-Boudon via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> I am pleased to announce the publication of *Bulletin d'études indiennes* (BEI)
> 37, under the auspices of the Association Française pour les études
> indiennes (AFEI):
> *Nāgeśa : Paramalaghumañjūṣā. La Très petite corbeille. Introduction,
> texte, traduction et notes par Edwin Mahaffey Gerow. Révision et
> avant-propos par Lyne Bansat-Boudon et Sylvain Brocquet. *Bulletin
> d’études indiennes 37*. *Paris : Association française pour les études
> indiennes (see the cover in the attached file).
>
> The work consists mainly of a monograph by Edwin Gerow which is a richly
> annotated French translation of the *Paramalaghumañjūṣā, the Very Small
> Basket,* by Nāgeśa, accompanied by the Sanskrit text, a scholarly
> introduction, and a “Summary” in English, which is in fact a masterful
> synthesis of Nāgeśa’s *tātparya*.
>
> A Francophile and Francophone, Edwin Gerow was all the more keen to
> publish this work in French as he wished to pay tribute to Louis Renou, the
> great French Indologist, for whom, at the beginning of his career, he had
> come to Paris to attend his seminars and benefit from his benevolent
> guidance in his research work.
> Hence, the project of a publication of the *Paramalaghumañjūṣā*, an
> important text of grammar, never before translated into a Western language,
> in the BEI 37. Yet, Edwin Gerow 's sudden death on 24th July 2025 changed
> the situation dramatically.
> The scientific editors of the Bulletin were placed in a very peculiar
> situation, preventing them from maintaining the editorial dialogue they
> would have liked with Edwin Gerow, and making them “executors of his will”,
> with the mission of publishing his *opus ultimum*, so that this work,
> remarkable for its erudition and insight into the whole of the Indian
> grammatical tradition, as expounded by a 18th century grammarian, may be
> known to the Indianist community.
> They have therefore made it their duty to resume the work of revising
> Edwin Gerow’s text, either by introducing the necessary amendments into the
> body of his annotated translation, or through editor's notes, while
> ensuring that they would remain as faithful as possible to the author's
> original wording.
>
> Now accessible, the *Paramalaghumañjūṣā* is a remarkable example of the
> virtuosity of Indian reasoning, which demonstrates a level of
> sophistication almost unmatched in Western thought, and which is part of a
> long tradition, because tradition prevails, even if, or because, it is open
> to discussion.
> Undoubtedly, this pioneering translation of the *Paramalaghumañjūṣā* will
> be the basis for studies and developments of the greatest interest.
>
> The book can be ordered from either of the following addresses:
> Lyne.bansat-boudon at ephe.sorbonne.fr
> sylvain.brocquet at orange.fr
>
> With kind regards and  New Year greetings,
>
> Lyne
>
>
>
> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>


-- 

*Jan E.M. Houben*

Directeur d'Études, Professor of South Asian History and Philology

*Sources et histoire de la tradition sanskrite*

École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, Paris Sciences et Lettres)

*Sciences historiques et philologiques *

Groupe de recherches en études indiennes (EA 2120)

*johannes.houben [at] ephe.psl.eu <johannes.houben at ephe.psl.eu>*

*https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben
<https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben>*

*https://www.classicalindia.info* <https://www.classicalindia.info>
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