Buchbesprechungen Comptes Rendus

Author(s): Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher: Johannes Bronkhorst

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BUCHBESPRECHUNGEN/COMPTES RENDUS
BUCHBESPRECHUNGEN / COMPTES RENDUS
"Il est important de noter ce point, à l'heure où la mode du sculturalisme et de la prétendue authenticité tendrait à enfermer chaque civilisation dans ses valeurs et ses structures, incommunicables et intraduisibles, quant a l'orientalisme, il serait, selon une vision «politiquement correcte, un sous-produit du colonialisme et du racisme, voué à écraser les différences, au profit du modèle occidental. Dans ce débat, le travail de Louis Renou prend une résonance éthique et politique teu jours actuelle." (p. XIV).
Let us hope that these volumes will contribute, however modestly, to the realisation of such a wider view of humanism and of humanity.
This scheme is far from perfect, but shows nonetheless a tendency away from indigenous grammar and towards word- and etymological studies in more recent years. An article like "The first verse of the Trisaptiyam (AV.S 1.1 - AV, P 1.6) and the beginnings of Sanskrit linguistics" (pp. 932-938; first published in 1985) shows that the two domains are not completely isolated from each other in Thieme's mind. The "Excursus" to the article "Meaning and form of the grammar' of Panini" (pp. 1170-1201, originally published in 1982), which studies "[t]he meaning of vyakarana- n. and of the verb vya + kr" in various Vedic texts confirms this. It is however primarily the historical linguist and the Vedic scholar who will turn to this volume (and occasionally disagree with it).
The volume contains an "Addenda und Corrigenda", a "Verzeichnis der behandelten Wörter", a "Verzeichnis der behandelten Textstellen, and a "Namen- und Sachregister". In the "Addenda und Corrigenda" we find the following observation (p. 1234):
Johannes Bronkhorst
Paul THIEME: Kleine Schriften 11. Ed. Renate Söhnen-Thieme. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1995. (Glasenapp-Stiftung; Band 5,II.) - Pp. I-IX, 815-1278. - ISBN 3-515-05523-1. - DM/sFr 124,- (ÖS 967.--).
Ersetzung von adhi durch abhi in abhidhammakosa 'den Dharma betreffendet Schatz'; vgl. adhivedam 'den Veda betreffend', adhividyam das Wissen hetreffend'...".
Two volumes of Kleine Schriften and one volume of Opera Maiora have so far been published of Paul Thieme's work, and more has been announced. The "Vorwort" to Opera Maiora / speaks of "eine voraussichtlich mehrbändige Sammlung", and the "Vorwort" to Kleine Schriften II mentions a projected "Ergänzungsband".
Kleine Schriften I came out in 1971 and was reprinted in 1984. Kleine Schriften Il contains mainly articles published since 1970. If we leave out of consideration the "Rezensionen" and "Verschiedenes", these two volumes allow us to compare the development of Thieme's interests. Following the thematic division by the editors (Georg Buddruss for KiSchr I, Renate Söhnen-Thieme for KISchr II) one arrives at the following result:
This somewhat puzzling remark (where does abhidhammakosa occur?) seems to agree with Buddhadeva's interpretation of the word abhidharma. The Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā attributes to him the following words (as translated in Buswell, 1997:567):
"Abhi is a prefix ... which expresses the meaning of addition: cg, extreme pride (adhimåna) is called abhimana, highest enlightenment (adhibuddha) is called ah. hibuddha; extreme old age (adhijara) is called abhijara. This (word abhidharma) is just the same, for its adds to this (mundanc) dharma (making it into the higher dharma)"
Veda-Exegese und Wortstudien
Allgemeine und indogermanische
Sprachwissenschaft Vermischte Abhandlungen zur Kul
tur- und Religionsgeschichte Zur einheimischen indischen
Grammatik
KISchr 24 articles (50%)
277 pp. (43%) (no such category
in KISchr 1) 10 articles (21%)
236 pp. (37%) 14 articles (29%)
128 pp. (20%)
KISchr II 11 articles (38%)
152 pp. (38%) 9 articles (31%) 117 pp. (30%) 7 articles (24%)
86 pp. (22%) 2 articles (7%) 41 pp. (10%)
The present volume contains one article that had not yet been published before, the text of a lecture held in Erlangen in 1977: "Stand und Aufgaben der Rigveda-Philologie". It contains some methodological reflections, and emphasises the tentative nature of Rgveda-studies and Indological research in general. We meet here "Thiemes Radiergummi", ready to revise and give up earlier positions. Thieme points out that he has used his India rubber with regard to some of his own earlier points of view, and gives a few examples. Indian studies will be well served if its practitioners are to