Ritual remnant (ucchiṣṭa) in Vedic ritual

• Thesis title in Czech: Zbytek obětiny (ucchiṣṭa) ve védském rituálu
• Thesis title in English: Ritual remnant (ucchiṣṭa) in Vedic ritual
• Key words: védské náboženství, zbytek obětiny, šrauta rituály, interritualita
• English key words: Vedic religion, ritual remnant, śrauta rituals, interrituality
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2014/2015
• Thesis type: diploma thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Institute of Philosophy and Religious Studies (21-UFAR)
• Supervisor: Mgr. Ing. Lubomír Ondračka, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 27.05.2015
• Date of assignment: 27.05.2015
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 01.06.2015
• Date and time of defence: 09.09.2016 11:00
• Date of electronic submission: 10.08.2016
• Date of proceeded defence: 09.09.2016
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: prof. Srikant Bahulkar

Guidelines

Vedic religion is known to have one of the most sophisticated and complex ritual systems, therefore it is not easy to make a general overview of it. This thesis tries to describe and understand the Vedic ritual system through the method proposed by Carlo Ginzburg: a generalization is made on the basis of a detailed description and interpretation of a particular abnormal phenomenon.
I am convinced that in Vedic ritual this abnormal phenomenon might be found the ucchiṣṭa, the remnant of the offering. In everyday life the ucchiṣṭa is viewed as extremely polluting, taboo, but it gains an extraordinary power in the context of ritual.
In my thesis I would like to examine the phenomenon of ucchiṣṭa in three spheres of the Vedic tradition, connected to three main research questions. The first one will concern the context of the ritual – in this area I will try to understand mainly why the ucchiṣṭa, working in the manner of a sourdough, is carried from one ritual to another, and if this fact means that the ucchiṣṭa establishes a continuity of the ritual system. Second, I am interested in the area of Vedic mythology. References to the ritual remnant are present in the corpus of Rigvedic and Atharvavedic mythology, where it is, among other things, labelled as the primordial creative principle of the universe (AV 11.7). Apart from this I would try to explore the relationship between the ritual remnant and the god Rudra, who is said to be the “one, whose share is the remnant” (e.g. TB 1.7.8.5). Last but not least, I will explore the broader meaning of the ucchiṣṭa – according to my view, the usage of ucchiṣṭa in the Vedic ritual (mainly in the ritual of śrāddha) reflects the manner in which the ritual itself stratifies the social reality.

The remnant of the offering has been studied only by few Vedologists (in particular by Jan Gonda and Charles Malamoud) so far. The aim of my thesis is to revise previous interpretations, which have mostly been based on textological premises, by analyzing the extant texts and interpreting them using the concepts of anthropology of religion. I will be using the method of Mary Douglas, who analyses the concepts of pollution and taboo, but I am also influenced by Stephanie Jamison’s structural approach to the interpretation of Vedic religion.

References

Primary Sources: Editions and Translations

AV Edition: Atharva Veda Sanhita. 2 Bände. Her. R. Roth and W. D. Whitney. Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler, 1855¹. [English trans.: Atharva-veda-saṃhitā. 2 vols. Trans. William Dwight Whitney. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2001^r. Also: Hymns of the Atharva-veda: Together with extracts from the ritual books and commentaries. Trans. Maurice Bloomfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1897. Partial Czech trans.: Védské hymny. Přel. Oldřich Friš. Praha: DharmaGaia, 2000.]
GS [English trans.: The Grihya Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies. 2 vols. Trans. Hermann Oldenberg. Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1996^r (1886¹).]
MDŚ Edition and translation: Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of Manava-Dharmasastra. Ed. and trans. Patrick Olivelle. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
[Czech trans.: Mánavadharmašástra aneb Manuovo poučení o dharmě. Přel. Dušan Zbavitel. Praha: ExOriente, 2009.]
RV Edition: Die Hymnen des Ṛgveda. 2 Bände. Her. Theodor Aufrecht. Bonn: Adolph Marcus, 1877.
[English trans.: The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India, 3 vols. Trans. Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton. Oxford – New York: The University of Texas, South Asian Institute – Oxford University Press, 2014. Partial trans.: The Rig Veda. Trans. Wendy Doniger. London: Penguin Books, 1981¹. German trans.: Rig-Veda: Das heilige Wissen. 2 Bände. Üb. Michael Witzel, et al. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag der Weltreligionen, 2007-2013. Též: Der Rig-Veda. 3 Bände. Üb. Karl Friedrich Geldner. Cambridge – London: Harvard University Press, 2003^r (1951¹). Russian trans.: Rigveda. 3 sv. Přel. Taťjana Jakovlevna Jelizarenkova. Moskva: Nauka, 1999. Partial Czech trans.: Védské hymny. Přel. Oldřich Friš. Praha: DharmaGaia, 2000.]
ŚB Edition: The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa in the Kāṇvīya recension. Ed. W. Caland and Raghu Vira. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998^r.
[English trans.: The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa: According to the text of the Mādhyandina School. 5 vols. Trans. Julius Eggeling. Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1996^r.]
Up Edition and translation: The Early Upanisads: Annotated text and Translation. Ed. and trans. Patrick Olivelle.New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
[Czech trans.: Upanišady. Přel. Dušan Zbavitel. Praha: DharmaGaia, 2004.]

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