Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan by Vinay Dharwadker and A.

K. Ramanujan
Review by: E. G.
Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 121, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 2001), pp.
537-538
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/606720
Accessed: 24-08-2019 15:19 UTC

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 Brief Reviews of Books 537

Ecological
Ecological andand
Agrarian
Agrarian
RegionsRegions
of South of
AsiaSouth
circa 1930.
Asia circacent
1930.
books,
books, published
published along
along with
with Halbfass'
Halbfass'own
ownrejoinders
rejoinder
Edited
Edited bybyDANIEL
DANIEL
THORNER.
THORNER.
Based onBased
a monograph
on a monograph
by by
and commentary.
commentary. AA bibliography
bibliography of
ofHalbfass'
Halbfass'works
works(throug
(throu
CHEN
CHENHAN-SENG.
HAN-SENG. Karachi:
Karachi:
OXFORDOXFORD
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
PRESS, PRESS,
1996, pp.
pp. xxv-xxxiii)
xxv-xxxiii) is
is provided
provided and-something
and-somethingrather
ratherun
u
1996.
1996.Pp.
Pp.xiiixiii
+ 148.
+ 148. usual for
for works
works of
of this
this sort-a
sort-a comprehensive
comprehensivebibliography
bibliographyo
works cited
cited in
in the
the individual
individual articles
articles(pp.
(pp.599-664).
599-664).Endnotes,
Endnote
This
Thislarge-format
large-format (ca. 12"
(ca.
x 17")
12" statistical
x 17") statistical
atlas is caught
atlas ishowever,
caught are
however, are article-specific.
article-specific. The
Thework,
work,planning
planningfor
forwhic
wh
in
insomething
somethingof aof
time
a time
warp. It
warp.
reflects,
It reflects,
essentially, essentially,
the status wasstatus
the begun
begun in
in 1989,
1989, appeared
appeared just
just months
monthsbefore
beforeHalbfass'
Halbfass'un
u
quaestionis
quaestionis of the
of the
yearsyears
1950, when
1950,Chen
when
Han-seng's
Chen mono-
Han-seng's mono- death
fortunate
fortunate death at
at the
the age
age of
of 60,
60, and
andwill
willthus
thusalso
alsoserve
serveasas
graph
graph(on(on
which
which
the tables
the tables
and charts
andare
charts
based) was
are finished,
based) was finished,
kind of
of unplanned
unplanned memorial
memorial to to this
thisgentle,
gentle,humane,
humane,andandvery
ver
through
through 1965,
1965,
when
when
DanielDaniel
ThornerThorner
wrote the wrote
preface the
to what
prefacethorough
to what comparativist.
thorough comparativist.
was
wasby bythen
then
a finished
a finished
work. Thorner
work. Thorner
died in 1974,
died
without
in 1974, without
The first
first two
two sections,
sections, more
more oror less
lessfocusing
focusingon
onIndien
Indienun
u
seeing
seeing publication;
publication;
now, now,
twenty-five
twenty-five
years later,
years later, hisEuropa
his widow, Europa
widow,(1981;
(1981; English,
English, 1988),
1988), are
are also
alsothe
themost
mostfocused-th
focused-t
Alice
AliceThorner,
Thorner,has successfully
has successfully
brought brought
the project the
into project
the into the"comparative"
obvious
obvious "comparative" problem
problem dominates:
dominates:in
inthe
thefirst
firstsectio
secti
light
lightofof
day,
day,
through
through
"alternate
"alternate
phases ofphases
hope andof
despair,
hope andit
despair,
is often
often contained
contained through
through buzzwords
buzzwordslike
like"encounter";
"encounter";ini
promises
promises andand
betrayals,
betrayals,
franticfrantic
activity and
activity
exasperating
and exasperating
delay" thedelay"
second,
second, more
more substantial
substantial issues
issuesare
areexamined
examinedthat
thatactually
actual
(p.
(p.viii).
viii). have to
to do
do with
with the
the civilizations
civilizations we
wegogoon
oncalling
calling"India"
"India"and
an
The
TheRajRaj
of of
1930
1930
is divided,
is divided,
for the for
purposes
the of
purposes
Thorner'sof Thorner's
"Europe."
"Europe." Halbfass'
Halbfass' remarks
remarks on on the
theepistemological
epistemologicalpitfalls
pitfallsof
o
atlas,
atlas,into
into
twenty-one
twenty-one
regions-from
regions-from
the Northwest
the Northwest
Frontier Frontier
"comparison"
"comparison" (pp.
(pp. 297ff.)
297ff.) are
are especially
especiallypertinent,
pertinent,and
andofte
oft
Province
Province to to
the the
TamilTamil
country-each
country-each
provided with
provided
a some-with more
a some-
sophisticated
sophisticated than
than those
those found
foundin
inthe
thevarious
variousessays.
essays.Ben
Be
what
whatschematic
schematic
land-utilization
land-utilization
map and map
circle and
diagrams
circle
indi- Ami
diagrams Scharfstein's
Scharfstein's (pp.
indi- (pp. 235-95)
235-95) is
is aashort
shortbook
bookin
initself,
itself,dea
de
cating
cating types
types
and and
proportions
proportions
of produce,
of produce,
by district by
(whendistrict
ing(when
with
with "the
"the three
three philosophical
philosophical traditions"
traditions"of
ofIndia,
India,Europe
Europ
known).
known). These
These
diagrams
diagrams
are then
are
completed
then completed and China.
China. Scharfstein
by statisticalby statistical Scharfstein means
means "three"
"three"here
hereto
tobe
beexclusive
exclusiv
tables
tablesthat
that
alsoalso
provide
provide
absolute
absolute
numbers,numbers,
such as acreages
such as acreages
which involves
involves him
him in
in rather
rather airy
airyexcursions
excursionson
onwhat
what"philo
"phil
actually
actually under
under
cultivation
cultivation
or uncultivable,
or uncultivable,
again by district
again bysophy"
district
sophy" is,
is, and
and what
what aa "tradition."
"tradition."The
Thevast
vastreach
reachof
ofthis
thisarticl
arti
(pp.
(pp.2-53).
2-53).
Chen's
Chen's
monograph
monograph
(pp. 56-140)
(pp.is56-140)
organizedisbyorganized by
is supported
supported largely
largely by by impressionistic
impressionisticand
andex-cathedra
ex-cathedrapro
pr
the
thesame
same
twenty-one
twenty-one
regions,
regions,
each treated
eachintreated
more or less
in more
the ornouncements
less the
nouncements that
that fail
fail to
to clarify,
clarify,unfortunately,
unfortunately,even
evenScharf-
Schar
same
sameformat:
format:
topography,
topography,
hydrography,
hydrography,
crops, land crops,
system in
land system
stein's in
method,
method, let
let alone
alone the
the array
arrayof
of"philosophers"
"philosophers"he
hewant
wan
use
use(these
(these
summaries,
summaries,
especially,
especially,
being quite
being
usefulquite
to eco-
usefultotoinvolve
eco- in
involve in "dialogue."
"dialogue."
nomic
nomic historians
historians
of the
oflate
theRaj),
late
andRaj),
"General
andEconomic
"GeneralDe-Economic De-three
The three concluding
concluding sections
sections of
of the
thebook,
book,devoted
devotedprimar-
primar
velopment."
velopment." Need
Need
we repeat-all
we repeat-all
this targeting
this targeting
1930 from the
1930 from the in
ily and
and in various
various ways
ways toto Tradition
Traditionand andReflection
Reflection(1992)
(1992
perspective
perspective of 1950.
of 1950.
Readers
Readers
will therefore
will therefore
look in vain look
for any begin
in vain for anyto
to resemble
resemble the
the usual
usual Festschrift-essays,
Festschrift-essays,often
oftenquit
qui
of
ofthe
thetrendy
trendy
reinterpretations
reinterpretations
of recentof
Indian
recent
history
Indian
that history that
interesting,
interesting, on
on aa wide
wide variety
variety of
of topics,
topics,some
sometextually
textuallyfo
f
have so shaken our confidence in the wisdom of the British: cused, some
some not,
not, that
that are
are held
held together
togetherlargely
largelyby
bylaudatory
laudatory
here we see the last (perhaps) vestiges of the model of Indian expressions
expressions of
of deference
deference to to Halbfass'
Halbfass'work,
work,andandby
byHalbfas
Halbfa
development that the colonial power itself recognized-and own dispersed
dispersed comments
comments on on them.
them.Halbfass'
Halbfass'third
thirdand
andmos
mo
that alone makes this work far more useful than its biblio- recent book,
book, On
On Being
Being and
and What
What There
ThereIsIs(1993),
(1993),isisalso
alsoan
a
graphic status as a dim echo of the past might indicate. undercurrent
undercurrent in
in some
some of
of these
these papers,
papers,but
butthe
theoverall
overallbias
biasof
o
E.G. the work
work under
under review
review is
is decidedly
decidedlyIndological-Halbfass
Indological-Halbfas
return,
return, in
in his
his last
last book,
book, to
to his
his origins
originsin
in"German,"
"German,"or,
or,atatleast,
least
"Heideggerian,"
"Heideggerian," philosophy
philosophy is
is only
onlyof
ofanecdotal
anecdotalinterest
interestto
many of
of those
those who
who do
do "Indian"
"Indian" philosophy-thus
philosophy-thusperpetuating
perpetuatin
the great
great divide
divide that
that Halbfass
Halbfass devoted
devotedhis
hislife
lifeto
tomediating.
mediating.
E.G.
Beyond Orientalism: The Work of Wilhelm Halbfass and Its
Impact on Indian and Cross-Cultural Studies. Edited by
ELI FRANCO and KARIN PREISENDANZ. Poznan Studies in
the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, vol. 59.
Amsterdam: RODOPI, 1997. Pp. xxxv + 673 + catalogue.
The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan. Edited by VINA
$180 (cloth); $52.50 (paper). DHARWADKER. New Delhi: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1999. Pp. xviii + 638. Rs 995.
This self-consciously imposing volume is of the nature of
a huge colloquium: twenty-three papers loosely organized
Welcome indeed is this Gesamtpublikation of A. K. Ra
around topics provided by Wilhelm Halbfass' three most re-
manujan's shorter articles and essays-some never befo

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538 Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.3 (2001)

printed.
printed.The
Thearticles
articles
havehave
beenbeen
arranged
arranged
in fourin
sections,
four sections,
each Nyayasudha of Sri Jayatirtha, vol. 2. Translated by B. N. K.
each
introduced
introduced byby
a brief
a brief
essay
essay
written
written
by Dharwadker
by Dharwadker
("Essays ("Essays
SHARMA. Basavanagudi: VIlVA MADHVA MAHAPARISAT,
of
of Classical
Classical Literatures")
Literatures")
or by
orguest
by guest
editors:
editors: Doniger Doniger2000. Pp. xvii + 316. Rs 150, $20 (paper).
Wendy Wendy
("General
("GeneralEssays
Essays
on on
Literature
Literature
and Culture"),
and Culture"),
John Carman
John Carman
("Essays
("Essaysonon
bhakti
bhakti
andand
Modern
Modern
Poetry"),
Poetry"),
and Stuart
and Blackburn The indefatigable and seemingly indestructible B. N. K.
Stuart Blackburn
and
and Alan
AlanDundes
Dundes("Essays
("Essays
on Folklore").
on Folklore").
The whole
The iswhole Sharma (b. 1909), doyen of today's Dvaita Vedanta scholars,
pre- is pre-
ceded
cededby bya a
general
generalintroduction
introduction
by Dharwadker
by Dharwadker
and by twoand by here
two continues his monumental exposition of Jayatirtha's mag-
tributes
tributeswritten
written
by by
the the
late late
Edward
Edward
Dimock
Dimock
and theand
late the
Milton num opus-itself an extended commentary on Madhva's Anuv-
late Milton
Singer.
Singer.Ramanujan's
Ramanujan'snotes
notes
are reproduced
are reproduced
as endnotes
as endnotes
(pp. ydkhydna (which is often considered Madhva's magnum opus).
(pp.
553-96)
553-96)and
anda brief
a brief
index
index
is also
is appended.
also appended.
The whole
Thegives
wholean givesThe
an present volume brings the first adhyaya to completion, so
impression
impression ofof
great
great
carecare
expended.
expended. we may infer that we have approximately one-fourth of the to-
Ramanujan,
Ramanujan, who
whodied
died
unexpectedly
unexpectedly
in 1993
inwhile
1993under- tal work before us. (The first volume [lacking, in my edition, a
while under-
going
goingroutine
routinesurgery,
surgery,
left left
a legacy
a legacy
of greater
of greater
dimension
dimension
than title page] is said here [p. xiii] to have been published by the
than
the
the several
severalslender
slender
works
works
that that
bear his
bearname.
his Perhaps "man of "manRaghavendra
name. Perhaps of Ashram in Bangalore in 1995.)
letters"
letters"conveys
conveysit better
it better
thanthan
more more
ambitious
ambitious
accolades:
accolades:
in- Sharma's work is not a translation in any usual sense: it is
in-
spiring
spiringteacher,
teacher,gifted
gifted
poet,poet,
poeticpoetic
translator,
translator,
an essayist
an of
essayist
im- rather a thoroughly informed (formed from the inside) para-
of im-
mense
menseand
andoften
often
surprising
surprising
erudition,
erudition,
yet self-effacing
yet self-effacing
and phrase-a
and bhasya that purports both to clarify Jayatirtha's
most
mostdeterminedly
determinedlypolite,
polite,
but without
but without
a traceaof
trace
the unctuous; thought and offers Sharma's assessment of Jayatirtha's place in
of the unctuous;
aa man
manofofmany
manyandand
unusual
unusual
insights.
insights.
Ramanujan's
Ramanujan's
influenceinfluence
the panoply of Dvaita thinkers. It is thus (as those familiar with
on
on others,
others,as as
evidenced
evidenced
in this
in this
volume,
volume,
may well
may be well
his most Sharma's other works will not be surprised to learn) a sustained
be his most
enduring
enduringlegacy.
legacy. and often intense defense of the Dvaita philosophical position.
The
The present
presentcollection
collection
doesdoes
not include
not include
materials
materials
drawn drawnIn this sense, it continues, rather than objectifies, that tradition.
from
fromRamanujan's
Ramanujan'sbooks-and
books-and
so, does
so, not
doesinclude
not include the "After-The Nyayasudha is generally considered by Dvaitins the
the "After-
word"
word"totoThe
TheInterior
Interior
Landscape
Landscape
(1967)(1967)
or his or
several
his enlight- essential elaboration of their interpretation of the Brahma-
several enlight-
ening
eningcontributions
contributionsto the
to the
Literatures
Literatures
of India:
of An
India:
Introduction sutrani, and is even today the piece de resistance of advanced
An Introduction
(1974).
(1974).But
Butit it
does
does
clarify,
clarify,
though
though
perhapsperhaps
more asmore
com- as com-
dialectical study in Dvaita asramas. Dr. Sharma's effort to con-
mentary
mentaryonon hishis
principal
principal
works,
works,
his place
his at
place
manyatbound-
many bound-
vey this crucial text to a "modern" readership little used to the
aries-an Indian of the West; a classicist of the "other" passions of medieval sectarianism will accomplish both more
classical language; a poetical scholar; a man apprehendingand
in less than a straight scholarly translation might have done:
but, above all, it will exemplify the central role of reason and
the imaginations of the Volk the disciplines of wisdom. Exem-
plary is the charming essay, "Is There an Indian Way of Think-
reasoning in matters of such transcendent importance; reason is
ing?" (pp. 34-51), in which all these strands are interwoven
at the heart of Indian "theology," rather than an inconvenient
and made to serve an otherwise dry "linguistic" thesis. guest
Ra- at the table. And the great Dvaitins-from Madhva and
Jayatirtha to B. N. K. Sharma-have taken it as a point of
manujan's "liminal" position provides ever-novel perspectives
and a sense of excitement rare in the scholarly literature. honor not to allow us to forget that.

E. G. E. G.

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