Vedic Language and Vaiṣṇava Theology:Madhva’s Use of Nirukta in his Ṛgbhāṣya

This article explores the way in which Madhva (1238–1317), the founder of the Dvaita Vedānta system of Hindu thought, reformulates the traditional exegetic practice of nirukta or “word derivation” to validate his pluralistic, hierarchical, and Vaiṣṇava reading of the Ṛgvedic hymns. Madhva’s Ṛgbhāṣya (RB) is conspicuous for its heavy reliance on and unique deployment of this exegetical tactic to validate several key features of his distinctive theology. These features include his belief in Viṣṇu’s unique possession of all perfect attributes (guṇaparipūrṇatva) and His related conveyability by all Vedic words (sarvaśabdavācyatva). Such an understanding of Vedic language invokes the basic nirukta presupposition that words are eternally affiliated with the meanings they convey. But it is also based onMadhva’s access to a lexicon entitled Vyāsa’s Nirukti with which his critics and perhaps even his commentators seem to be unfamiliar.While the precise status of this text is the subject of ongoing debate, Madhva’s possession of special insight into the sacred canon is established in part by his unique claim to be an avatāra of the wind god Vāyu and a direct disciple of Viṣṇu Himself in the form of Vyāsa₁. Thus, Madhva’s use of nirukta invokes his personal charisma to challenge not only conventional understandings of the hymns but traditional exegetic norms. Madhva’s provision of an alternative tradition of nirukta provoked sectarian debate throughout the Vijayanagara period over the extent to which one could innovate in established practices of reading the Veda. Articulating the Veda’s precise authority was a key feature of Brahmin debates during this period and reflects both the empire’s concern with promoting a shared religious ideology and the competition among rival Brahman sects for imperial patronage that this concern elicited. By looking at how two of Madhva’s most important commentators (the 14^th-century Jayatīrtha and the 17^th-century Rāghavendra) sought to defend his niruktis, this article will explore how notions of normative nirukta were articulated in response to Madhva’s deviations. At the same time, however, examining Madhva’s commentators’ defense of his niruktis also demonstrates the extent to which Madhva actually adhered to selected exegetic norms. This reveals that discomfort with Madhva’s particular methods for deriving words stemmed, in part, from a more general ambivalence towards this exegetical tactic whose inherent open-endedness threatened to undermine the fixity of the canon’s very substance: its language. Vyāsa’s Nirukti is one of several ”unknown sources” cited in Madhva’s commentaries whose exact status continues to be debated. Some scholars (e.g. Rao, Sharma, Siauve) maintain that these texts are part of a now lost Pāṅcarātra tradition that Madhva is attempting to preserve. This may be true for many of these citations. However, in addition to claiming to be both an avatāra of Vāyu and Viṣṇu-as-Vyāsa’s student, Madhva states in several places (e.g., VTN 42, RB 162) that the canon has suffered loss during transmission and that only Viṣṇu can reveal it in its entirety. Thus, it is possible that Madhva intends texts like Vyāsa’s Nirukti to be viewed as part of an ongoing and corrective revelation, a notion that is compatible with many Vaiṣṇava traditions (Halbfass, 1991: 4).     

恩格斯晚年对马克思主义法学的新贡献

从法学角度看,恩格斯晚年创造性地运用历史唯物主义的立场和方法,巩固和发展了历史唯物主义法学理论。恩格斯系统阐发了国家和法的起源与演进理论,批判了费尔巴哈唯心主义历史观和黑格尔唯心主义法哲学,进一步阐发了历史发展的内在辩证法;根据欧洲的新形势,恩格斯主张工人阶级要将合法斗争与“非法”斗争相结合;结合巴黎公社经验,他阐述了无产阶级新型国家和法制的基本原理,反对国家崇拜;在一系列通信中,他深入阐发了法和国家对经济关系的积极反作用和相对独立性理论,批驳了社会发展的“唯经济论”。恩格斯一系列法哲学新观点,对于当今时代深入理解法与经济的关系、法的历史发展规律、法的本质及功能、法律意识形态等问题,都依然具有极为重要的指导意义。     

The image of ‘ideal’ Turkish womanhood? a Bakhtinian approach to Halide Edib Adıvar’s Raik’in Annesi (Raik’s Mother) (1909)

Critics often read Halide Edib Ad?var’s Raik’in Annesi (Raik’s Mother, 1909) as an affirmation of the author’s vision of ‘ideal’ womanhood, one which is aligned with the visions of reformers involved in the projects of Turkish nationalism and modernisation. This article presents an analysis of the novel that both incorporates and goes beyond such accounts. Instead of focusing on depictions of the heroine (Refika) as signs of female objectification or as reflections of Ad?var’s views on the woman question, the analysis focuses on the dialogic properties of the text in order to attend to the ways in which the heroine is presented as the locus of an ongoing conflict between her own aspirations for independence and the various opinions and judgements about her that are set within the discursive boundaries of ‘ideal’ womanhood. The analysis draws on Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism (and concepts related to it, in particular ‘authoritative and internally persuasive discourse’ and the notion of internal dialogue) and examines the tension between the hegemonic discourse that asserts the role of ‘ideal’ wife-mother and the dissenting voices in the text that provide insight into the heroine’s experiences and struggles for autonomy. In doing so, we can develop a sense of the polyvocal, dialogic and inconsistent depiction of the heroine while drawing out the texts’ critiques of the conventions of womanhood and marriage and their effects on women. By analysing such contradictory depictions of Refika, the article aims to draw attention to the way in which the text problematises the image of ‘ideal’ womanhood, whilst offering reflection on the novel’s concluding commentary on the woman struggle for agency and freedom.     

析香港基本法的解释问题

香港特区终审法院在 1 999年 1月 2 9日就内地子女在港居留权的判决 ,引起了很大的争议。后来由全国人大常委会对《香港特别行政区基本法》的有关条文作出解释。在这一事件中 ,问题的焦点在于对基本法的解释权。本文拟就香港基本法的解释问题作一粗浅探讨。     

民营科技企业发展的法律障碍

本文就我国目前民营科技企业因范围界定不准所带来的法律障碍提出了作者的解决措施     

论国际私法上的法律规避

国际私法中法律规避问题的实质涉及法哲学中一对基本价值———正义与安全———的二律背反。本文认为 ,在此问题上 ,法官透过当事人的表面行为探究其内心真意的做法是必要和合理的 ,即个别正义的价值在这个问题上具有优先性。在规避外国法行为效力的问题上 ,通过对法律规避行为的本质 ,其与公共秩序保留的关系及一些实际操作中具体问题的分析 ,得出结论 ,规避外国法和规避国内法的行为一样构成法律规避 ,应受法律规制。     

简论配偶权

本文分析了配偶权与夫妻同居义务和忠实义务的关系 ,论证了我国婚姻法规定这两项义务的理由 ,并提出了具体设立这两项义务的设想 ,以期对我国的立法有所帮助。     

判例制度立法的建议

判例制度是人类文明的一个组成部分 ,我们应当大胆地借鉴 ,设计出符合中国国情的判例制度 ,弥补成文法的不足 ,加快我国社会主义国家的法治建设     

知识经济时代学报编辑知识增长点探析

知识经济时代要求学报编辑必须寻求新的知识增长点。实现知识增长的途径为:以专业知识为依托,构建新的知识体系;夯实基础,站在学科的前沿;明确本业定位,不断开拓进取。知识增长的核心为知识创新,强烈的创新意识、敏锐的创新思维、全面的创新能力是实现知识创新的要素。