Encounters of the brahmanical Sanskrit tradition with Persian scholarship in the Mughal Empire

• Verfasst von: Bergunder, Michael [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Encounters of the brahmanical Sanskrit tradition with Persian scholarship in the Mughal Empire
• Titelzusatz: genealogical critique and the relevance of the pre-colonial past in a global religious history
• Verf.angabe: Michael Bergunder, Professor of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, Abteilung Religionswissenschaft und Interkulturelle Theologie, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: 30 January 2024
• Umfang: 30 S.
• Fussnoten: Online veröffentlicht: 30. Januar 2024
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
• Ort Quelle: [Leiden] : Brill, 2015
• Jahr Quelle: 2024
• Band/Heft Quelle: 10(2024), 1, Seite 56-85
• ISSN Quelle: 2364-2807
• DOI: doi:10.30965/23642807-bja10087
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Hindu nationalism
• Sach-SW: Upanishads
• Sach-SW: Sanskrit Philosophy of Language
• Sach-SW: Mughal India
• Sach-SW: Sufism
• Sach-SW: theories of history
• K10plus-PPN: 1895486173

Abstract

Within the scope of global religious history, a Foucauldian genealogical critique makes “history” itself the central focus of inquiry. Genealogy is usually perceived as a methodology for historicizing general concepts within religious studies, which seemingly favours post-nineteenth-century history – something that causes discomfort among pre-colonial researchers. However, this article presents genealogy as a general starting point for any critical historiography across all historical periods, emphasizing its key characteristic as a counter-history originating from the present.

Abstract

Through a case study, it demonstrates this approach’s practicality by offering a fresh perspective on the notion of an unchanging Sanskrit tradition championed by Hindu nationalists. Genealogical analysis exposes how contemporary research unwittingly reinforces this notion, while the article proposes a counter-narrative using sixteenth to eighteenth-century sources, revealing a dynamic interplay between Sanskrit and Persian scholars under Mughal rule in India. This case underscores the efficacy and adaptability of genealogical critique across all historical periods.