Special Issue, The Study of Ancestors and Ancestor-Related Rituals
摘要
During the transition from Vedic religion to the formative stages of Hinduism, the mode of mediation between the lay religious patron and various supernatural beings, e.g., ancestors, shifted. While the earlier period was characterized by sacrifices into the ritual fire, the latter saw the emergence of gifting to individuals. This study of the Indian ancestral rite of śrāddha demonstrates how Brahmin and Buddhist authors claimed religious expertise within this new mode of patronage as the social value of large-scale sacrifice declined. One aspect of the newer model was the substitution of the Brahmin and monk for the ritual fire employed in the ancestral rites. As a part of a larger argument about Brahmanical and Buddhist intellectual discourse on the householder's ritual responsibilities, this paper describes the efforts of both traditions to establish their religious experts as the superior recipient of religious giving, specifically for the offerings made in the śrāddha.
目次
Vedic Mediation 6 Agni as Mediator 7 Brahmin as Mediatior 7 The Qualities of a Brahmin to Be Invited to a šrāddha 8 Qualities of the Brahmins in the Dharmasūtras 9 Qualities of the Brahmins in the Mānava Dharmasāstra 10 Buddhist Efforts to Appropriate the Role of Mediator 12 Undermining the Authority of Brahmins 12 Substitutes for Agni 13 The Field of Merit 13 Notes 15 Abbreviations 16 References 17 Biographical Sketch 17
