Makaranda Madhukar Anand Mahendale Festshrift

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

Page 222

The Resurrection of Cārvāka
211
may be made to another Ṛgvedic sukta which portrays Indra jabbering under the effect of excessive drinking. Apart from the very unique, highly literary idea of composing such a hymn, it may be legitimately asked if such an event and its expression is possible in a primitive society.
Marxist Utopia and exploitation
DPC positions materialism against idealism, and, following in the footsteps of Marx and his followers, talks of the Utopia that the primitive human society was, and criticises surplus production as the root cause of exploitation. With Utopia as an ideal of human relations, it would be idle to speak of materialism and idealism as opposing outlooks. Secondly, all talk of Utopia is founded on the wrong presumption that it is possible to manage a society in isolation. The stark reality is that, given the possibility of intercommunication, no intelligent society can think of going its own way except at the cost of being severed from the rest of the world and, by implication, from better means of livelihood and openings for development.
Tantra and Tantrism
DPC relates Samkhya to Lokayata through Tantrism on the slender basis of the Samkhya being referred to as a Tantra by Samkara. This effort is as funny as one to relate gramasimha (dog) to simha (lion) or geheśūra (coward) to śūra (brave)! And he thinks that the etymology of the word Tantra supports his conclusions !! Judicious thinkers do not rely on etymologies of words when they are interested in a serious dialogue, knowing that, whatever the etymology, words denote the conventional meaning. And as to Śamkara, he uses the term Tantra as much to refer to Samkhya as to Vaiśeṣika. (Vide Brahmasūtra-bhāsya 2-2-17) Leaving Śamkara aside, how would DPC account for the use of the term Tantra in such words as salyatantra, prasütitantra, pañcatantra, kātantra, and above all, svatantra and paratantra ? As with the word Tantra, DPC has fumbled with the pronominal feminine form kāṁcana in the passage 'na kamcana pariharet' ('one should never abstain from any woman'-DPC's translation) in the Chandogya II.13:2, which he understands to mean any woman (p. 66), not aware that it can, and, in the context, legitimately does, refer to one's wife. These instances show the weaknesses of a researcher who has no access to the first sources; and DPC admits that