I raise a similar question about the sparsity of epidemics in early literature, in “Plagues and Brahmins” (Zysk felicitation volume, Brill 2021; has just come out).

Johannes Bronkhorst

On 14 Oct 2020, at 19:58, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Having experienced terrifying wildfires in California, I wonder why this list of ईतिs did not include something like दावानल.  Were such wildfires not that common in ancient India?

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 9:47 AM Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Thank you much, dear Peter, for the reference.
Now I can add the following article  by F. Wilhelm in IT, precisely on the topic ("Calamities - a dharma problem?) :
Anyway, the śloka below (also quoted in a commentary to the final stanza of Mālavikāgnimitra, according to Wilhelm) must be earlier than its occurrence in the Kṛtyakalpataru and Vīramitrodaya digests.
bw
Christophe

Le 14 oct. 2020 à 12:05, Peter Wyzlic via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> a écrit :

Am 14.10.2020 um 11:42 schrieb Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY:
From which (nīti?)śāstra
could come the following śloka about the six 'īti' :

ativṛṣṭir anāvṛṣṭir  mūṣikāḥ śalabhāḥ śukāḥ |
pratyāsannāś ca rājānaḥ  ṣaḍ eta ītayaḥ smṛtāḥ ||   

PW gives a slightly different version with a reference to Parāśara, according to the Śabdakalpadruma
ativṛṣṭir anāvṛṣṭiḥ śalabhā mūṣikāḥ khagāḥ 
pratyāsannāś ca rājānaḥ ṣaḍ eta ītayaḥ smṛtāḥ ..  Parāśara  im Śkdr.

Hartmut Scharfe in his "The State in Indian Tradition" (Leiden: Brill, 1989, p. 69) refers to Kṛtyakalpataru and Vīramitrodaya. In this list we find: deluge, drought, rats, locusts, parrots and kings that are too near [to their subjects] (and thus able to satisfy their greed). He refers, too, to an older list of calamities in the Arthaśāstra.

Hope it helps,
Peter Wyzlic
-- 
Universität Bonn
Institut für Orient- und Asienwissenschaften
Bibliothek
Brühler Str. 7
D-53119 Bonn
Tel.: 0228/73-62436
_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7Cf62e49e235594d7bc04108d87028d4a9%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637382667955157952&amp;sdata=BW%2BPYm58A1%2BdFdkNXE%2ByjeZNcceisn5uAfpt9johLzo%3D&amp;reserved=0 (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)

–––––––––––––––––––
Christophe Vielle
Louvain-la-Neuve



_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)