Makaranda Madhukar Anand Mahendale Festshrift

Author(s): M A Dhaky, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

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Krishna S. Arjunwadkar
Makaranda
grown up man opens his account of growth from the womb of his mother. DPC is out to prove that these primitive conditions are reflected in the ancient Indian literature. In other words, it is his imaginative way of interpretation of the said literature based on certain presumptions/observations (such as importance of woman in primitive societies as the source of production, woman as the centre of an agricultural society and so on) that make his quasi-theoretical views unacceptable. If scientific exposition of a fact (which needs undeniable proof leading to inevitable conclusions) and writing classed as fiction in which imagination plays the decisive role) based on only a broad framework of the fact are considered to be the two extremes of literature, DPC's writing has the appearance of the former but in fact tends towards the latter. This is perhaps owing to the influence of the western tenets of hermeneutics which can work on possibilities lacking support to translate them into certainties. This may, incidentally, open up doors to a comparative study of hermeneutics—Western and ancient Indian, i.e., Mimāṁsā.
Materialism, magic and ritual
Materialism is defined as belief that only matter is real or important characterised by "rejection of spiritual values etc.' (OED) Materialism being this, how can it be reconciled with magic which is defined as the art of influencing events by occult control of nature or spirits' (OED) ? For, what is ‘occult? It is something 'involving the supernatural, mystical,...' All this terminology militates against the very foundation of materialism which denies anything and everything beyond matter. And DPC talks of magic as a characteristic of materialism of primitive man and illustrates it by citing the description of dogs chanting for food occurring in a principal Upanisad, and enlists even some deities like Ganapati, Gauri and the whole gamut of Tantric practices as part of ancient Indian materialism. It is like avowed enemies being made to join hands for diametrically opposite goals. If this is said to be justified on the ground that it is meant for material, this-worldly gains, any religious prayer can have an equal claim to materialism, for being meant for material gains ! With this approach, DPC can enrol almost the whole of Vedic and later religious literature as representing ancient Indian materialistic tradition, leaving out very little of it as really religious; for the Vedic seers and common people pray gods for progeny, horses, wealth, conquest of the