Dear all,

Triśaṅku's sacrifice is certainly loaded with terminology (e.g., ṛtvij, sruva) pointing the audience towards envisioning a proper vedic affair, so I would certainly agree with Dominik that there is an intentional resonance between the Vedas and the epic.  And our understanding of "saśarīra" is likely to be colored similarly.  Also, the question of saśarīra vs. svaśarīra is a great one.  The Triśaṅku episode appears somewhat noncommittal in a distinction between the two, though I suspect other genre's may have more to say on the subject -- which I suppose is one thing I am hoping to sort through by posing my original question.  On a quick glance through just the Triśaṅku episode (VR 1.56.10-1.59.33), however, I noticed a few things:

1. saśarīra is a bit more common.  By my count, it occurs nine times versus svaśarīra's five (with one occurrence splitting the prefix sva- and declining it adjectivally)

2. svaśarīra shows up in a few different situations, but it is notably never said by Triśaṅku himself.  It first shows up when the story's narrator (Śatānanda) introduces Rāma to the character Triśaṅku.  Its only other occurrences are when Viśvāmitra is either discussing Triśaṅku with Vasiṣṭha's sons or addressing Triśaṅku directly.

3. Both Śatānanda and Viśvāmitra seem to use the two terms interchangeably.  Viśvāmitra even says them in adjacent verses (e.g., 1.59.14-15). 

4. Because Triśaṅku never uses svaśarīra, his direct statements of his intent to go to a heavenly realm always use saśarīra.  

5. Of course, the Triśaṅku episode presents a special complication when considering whether a body is one's own or not.  Triśaṅku is not, in a sense, in his original body when he approaches Viśvāmitra -- he was cursed to be caṇḍālarūpin.  Viśvāmitra even suggests that Triśaṅku will go to heaven in the cursed caṇḍāla form and uses saśarīra in his dialogue (1.58.4).  That Viśvāmitra is confident that Triśaṅku would enter heaven in such a form is especially significant when viewed in comparison to the Śambūka story.

I'm sure there is more to be unpacked here, but this is an initial glance.

With best wishes,
Aaron

On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 4:53 AM Dominik Haas <dominik.haas@univie.ac.at> wrote:



What could also be noted is that when saśarīra is used, it does not always mean that one simply keeps the mortal body and "physically" goes to heaven, the brahmaloka or any other place. As result of performing the Agnicayana (or one of its subforms, the Nāciketacayana), a new body is obtained after death. Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa III 11.7.3 reads: sáśarīra evá svargáṃ lokám eti, ‘embodied, he goes to the heavenly world.’ But this obviously has to be a new body (so saśarīra might be opposed to svaśarīra?) . 

Personally I'm convinced that there were quite a few overlaps between "Epic-yogic" and "Vedic-ritualistic" (broadly speaking) ways of imagining the goal of salvation (argued here: doi.org/10.1007/s10781-019-09408-y). My point is that there were different views about the way of embodiment in the afterlife (the polysemy of the word ātman was helpful in this case), and people constantly "remixed" and blended ideas from various sources. This might also be relevant in some way for the Epic stories and for Triśaṅku and his sacrifice. 

Best, 
Dominik 

---
 


__________________
Dominik A. Haas, BA MA
PhD student, University of Vienna
 


Am 2019-12-17 03:23, schrieb Aaron Sherraden via INDOLOGY:

Thank you very much for all these helpful responses -- I have a few great new paths to explore and look forward to hearing about any more that this list may conjure up.  
 
My mistake with regards to the role of tapas in the Triśaṅku story -- it was, of course, Viśvāmitra whose tapas caused a bit of a stir, not Triśaṅku's.  Many thanks to Dr. Goldman for steering the list in the right direction.
 
All the best,
Aaron
 

On Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 3:56 PM Robert Goldman <rpg@berkeley.edu> wrote:
Of course, technically, Triśaṅku does not seek to enter the heavenly world(s) through tapas, but rather by having a sacrifice performed on his behalf for this purpose. Thus he first approaches Vasiṣṭha, then Vasiṣṭha's sons and finally, in his cursed form, Viśvāmitra. Then there are also various accounts of mortals who are able to travel to heaven in their earthly  bodies on a temporary basis, such as Arjuna at Mbh. 3.43 ff.  and Dilīpa at Raghuvaṃśa 1. 75 ff. etc. 

Dr. R. P.  Goldman
Catherine and William L. Magistretti Distinguished Professor in South and Southeast Asian Studies
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies MC # 2540
The University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-2540
Tel: 510-642-4089
Fax: 510-642-2409

On Dec 16, 2019, at 12:18 PM, Uskokov, Aleksandar via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Hi Aaron,

Perhaps not relevant directly, but you could look at Sabara's commentary on Mimamsa-sutra 1.1.5, where a statement from the Brahmanas that the ritualist attains heaven in his own body along with the ritual implements is discussed.

Best
Aleksandar

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Tieken, H.J.H. via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2019 3:14:20 PM
To: Aaron Sherraden <aaron.sherraden@gmail.com>; indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] saśarīra
 
Dear Aaron,

In my article "The Mahābhārata after the Great Battle", WZKS XLVIII (2004, app. 2005) I deal with Yudhiṣṭhira, who is the only one of the Pāṇḍavas to arrive in heaven with his body because he is without sin (see p. 36).
I think (but am not certain) you may find a pdf of this article on my website.
Herman

Herman Tieken
Stationsweg 58
2515 BP Den Haag
The Netherlands
00 31 (0)70 2208127
Van: INDOLOGY [indology-bounces@list.indology.info] namens Aaron Sherraden via INDOLOGY [indology@list.indology.info]
Verzonden: maandag 16 december 2019 21:02
Aan: indology@list.indology.info
Onderwerp: [INDOLOGY] saśarīra
 
Dear list members,
 
I am wondering about appearances of the word "saśarīra" and/or "svaśarīra" in various contexts.  I have encountered saśarīra/svaśarīra in the episodes of Triśaṅku and Śambūka from the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, but would be curious to know of other places where these or similar concepts show up.  In both of these episodes, the goal of Triśaṅku and Śambūka is to enter some sort of heavenly realm or divine form (variously referred to as divam, gatim, svargam, devatvam etc.) with their body.  Also in these episodes, Triśaṅku and Śambūka have gone rogue to engage in tapas as a way of achieving this goal.  
 
An example from each of the Rāmāyaṇa episodes:
 
guruśāpakṛtaṃ rūpaṃ yad idaṃ tvayi vartate |
anena saha rūpeṇa saśarīro gamiṣyasi || VR 1.58.4 (Triśaṅku episode)
 
śūdrayonyāṃ prasūto 'smi tapa ugraṃ samāsthitaḥ |
devatvaṃ prārthaye rāma saśarīro mahāyaśaḥ || VR 7.67.2 (Śambūka episode)
 
I am especially curious about the use of "saśarīra" in similar ways, but I am open to any use of the term from the literature at large.
 
With thanks in advance,
Aaron
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