Joanna Jurewicz

This is a third volume of my history of ancient Indian philosophical ideas. I present here a coherent account of the next stage of early Indian thinking, based mainly on the first chapter of the Manusmṛti (cosmogony), Mokṣadharma (cosmogony, cosmology, rebirth, liberation), the last chapter of the Manusmṛti and the Bhagavadgītā (ethics). I show that the most important axioms, settled in the beginnings of culture, i.e. the precedence of cognition over being, monism, and the internal contradictoriness of reality are still valid and motivate philosophical theories. I also show how the novelty of the thought, which partly is the result of the new ways and techniques of achieving supernatural knowledge, expands the conceptual range of philosophers. Some of this arises through discussion with Buddhist thought and practice. I also show that the concept of fire still motivates thinking of the composers. It is especially seen in conceptualization of the role of Brahmins and their power, and in conceptualization of the results of recitation and other practices which lead to supernatural cognition. In the last chapter, I analyze the early Smṛti thought with the use of some theories proposed in the humanities.

This is a reprint of Jurewicz 2016. The monograph is a continuation of the research presented in 'Fire and Cognition in the Ṛgveda' (2010). The sources which I analyze here are: the late hymns of the Ṛgveda, the “philosophical” hymns of the Atharvaveda, cosmogonies of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and selected parts of the oldest Upaniṣads, composed before the Buddha (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya,  Aitareya,  Taittirīya and Kauṣītaki). The basic claims of the research are as follows. Firstly, the composers of these texts continue the metaphysical assumptions of the Ṛgveda, according to which fire is the metaphysical principle  underlying  reality. This continuity is expressed not only in the exegesis expressed in the texts, but also in the ritual practice which is presented in detail in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.  Secondly, the diachronic approach allows me to track how the thought changed, how new concepts and theories appear and develop. It also allows me to propose  possible reasons for these changes. Thirdly, my approach allows me to reconstruct the belief in rebirth which is presented in these texts. As in my previous book, my tools are traditional philology and cognitive linguistics, because the features of these texts are similar to the Ṛgveda and their explicit form is difficult to comprehend, especially as far as the philosophical content is concerned. The early Indian texts open the way to the beginnings of  human philosophical thinking and show that abstract and general thinking can be created in the oral tradition.

This monograph is a continuation of the research presented in 'Fire and Cognition in the Ṛgveda' (2010). The sources which I analyze here are: the late hymns of the Ṛgveda, the “philosophical” hymns of the Atharvaveda, cosmogonies of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and selected parts of the oldest Upaniṣads, composed before the Buddha (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya,  Aitareya,  Taittirīya and Kauṣītaki). The basic claims of the research are as follows. Firstly, the composers of these texts continue the metaphysical assumptions of the Ṛgveda, according to which fire is the metaphysical principle  underlying  reality. This continuity is expressed not only in the exegesis expressed in the texts, but also in the ritual practice which is presented in detail in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.  Secondly, the diachronic approach allows me to track how the thought changed, how new concepts and theories appear and develop. It also allows me to propose  possible reasons for these changes. Thirdly, my approach allows me to reconstruct the belief in rebirth which is presented in these texts. As in my previous book, my tools are traditional philology and cognitive linguistics, because the features of these texts are similar to the Ṛgveda and their explicit form is difficult to comprehend, especially as far as the philosophical content is concerned. The early Indian texts open the way to the beginnings of  human philosophical thinking and show that abstract and general thinking can be created in the oral tradition.

In this book I reconstruct the efforts of ancient Indian thinkers to understand the world and themselves as expressed in the Ṛgveda. I analyse how they created a consistent philosophical system and began to formulate abstract ideas. The first issue has led to the reconstruction of the metaphysical theory of which the central concept was Agni, the fire. The second has shown that the Ṛgveda can be regarded as one of the sources of philosophical thinking seen as a universal human endeavour. For this book I got the Prime Minister Award for the Outstanding Scholar Achievement (2011).

The paper discusses the possible meeting areas between oriental studies, archaeology, and cognitive linguistics. The point of departure is study of Chris Gosden (2008) in which he shows a possible cooperation between archaeology and neuroscience when the interactions among brain-body-world are taken into account. On the example of a sword from the Iron Age, he shows the mutual influences of the brain-body-culture complex on the one hand, and the materials used in craft. I will follow his line of reasoning and show the use of the concept of gold processing in thinking about cognition as it is attested in the early Indian texts. The example analyzed in the paper is a description of a Buddhist meditation attested in the Pāli Canon (c. 4th-1st centuries BCE). With the use of cognitive linguistics models of mental processes, I will show how the triangle brain-bodyworld can be enlarged with two more elements, namely, the mind and signs.

The paper is an analysis of R̥ gveda 3.62. This hymn contains the famous mantra, popularly known as Sāvitrī (3.62.10). My aim is to show the coherence of the poet's thought. The order in which the gods are invoked (Indra and Varuṇa, Bṛhaspati, Pūṣan, Savitṛ, Soma, Mitra and Varuṇa) in the hymn reflects the line of thinking of the poet who wants to realize his cognitive abilities in accordance with the morning transformation of cosmos. The well-thought composition of the hymn could be an important reason for the great role of Sāvitrī in the later Indian tradition. Activation of the single stanza could activate the whole hymn with its general idea of morning cognition and creation of the world.

Philosophy, Ritual and Performativity in Ancient Indian Thought on the Example of the Chāndogya Upaniṣ ad 6.1-6 The paper discusses cosmogony presented by Uddālaka Āruṇi attested in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.1-6), according to which world forms arise by giving them a name. I argue that the experience that motivates the thinking of Uddālaka is ritual, the essence of which is to give people and objects a name, thanks to which their status dramatically changes for the duration of the ritual. An analysis of a selected passage of the king's coronation described in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (5.3.4) reveals the fundamental importance of the verses uttered during preparation of the water for the consecration. The reconstruction of an experience that influences philosophical thought makes it possible to see its coherence and depth, and the fact that this experience is a ritual, a common experience of humanity, enables it to be better understood by those who grew up in other philosophical traditions as well.

My analysis allows me to propose a hypothesis that the myths analyzed by Ivanov
& Toporov were also motivated by the ancient concept of reality understood in
terms of ambivalent fire. In the Slavic and Baltic accounts, this concept is already
lost, but its elements are still present in the specific conceptualization of the God
and the Snake. In the Vedic tradition, it is the identification of Agni with snake
which is not explicit, but it still motivates thinking of the composers. These facts
allow me to suppose that the ancient myth of fight between the God and the Snake
developed in two ways: while the Vedic composers elaborated the oneness of reality,
the composers of Slavic and Baltic myths elaborated its two opposing aspects
conceived in terms of the God and the Snake whose features are common to some
extent. It should be added that the main frame of the ancient myth is not completely
lost in the Veda: the Vedic composers used it to explain the role of man in ritual.
It is also worth adding that the research done in this paper shows the great
conceptual similarity between the ancient Vedic thinking and Slavic and Baltic
thinking which still needs more profound research.

Joanna Jurewicz. Polysemy and cognitive linguistics. The case of vána. The Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, PL ISSN 0079-4740, pp. 61-72 The aim of this paper is to address the problem of the polysemy of Sanskrit words using the example of the meanings of the word vána used in the Ṛgveda ("a tree, wood, forest, fire drill, vessel for Soma, water and material of the world"). I will show that the methodology of cognitive linguistics is very useful to analyse the rational background of polysemy and its conceptual consistency. The basis for my analysis is three assumptions accepted in cognitive linguistics: 1. the meaning of words reflects thinking about the designate; 2. thinking is motivated by experience and cultural beliefs; 3. the associations between semantic aspects of the word can be modelled as conceptual metonymy, conceptual metaphor and conceptual blending. On the basis of these assumptions, I will reconstruct the semantic structure of the word vána. It is a radial category, the centre of which is constituted by its most literal meaning, "tree", and its metonymic extensions, i.e. wood and forest. The meanings of things made of wood (i.e. fire drill and vessel) are also close to the central meaning and are metonymic extensions. The meanings of water and the material of the world are metaphoric extensions of the central meaning and more peripheral. They are based on cultural beliefs and models shared by the Ṛgvedic poets. I will also argue that the Ṛgvedic poets consciously shaped the semantics of the word vána by using it in contexts which forced the recipient to activate its less literal meanings. Thus they could create a general concept of the hiding place of desirable goods, such as fire, Soma, the sun, and the world.

The aim of this essay is to show how the Vedic composers constructed arguments in their ritual exegesis. 1 Ritual activity, performed according to the metaphysical assumptions presented in cosmogonies, represents the dynamic reality in which man plays a crucial role. The ritual represents reality in two ways. First, it represents metaphysical assumptions and theories. Second, it represents their content, i.e. what happened during creation, in illo tempore, and what happens now. It is important to note that in the representation of the ritual, there is no division between the description and its designate. Whatever happens at the ritual place is real. The ritual, thus understood, is the embodied representation of human thought and its designates. I will show the rational background of the Brahmanical thinking that allowed them to construe a coherent and convincing theory of ritual understood as outlined above. The sources are the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (ŚB 2.2.4) and the Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa (JB 1.1-2). In my reconstruction, I will use two models proposed by cognitive linguistics-conceptual metonymy and conceptual metaphor. These are basic mental strategies, the recognition of which enables us to analyze the meaning of verbal and non-verbal signs. Conceptual metonymy is a model of thinking within one conceptual domain. Its part (called the vehicle) gives access to another part of it or to the whole domain (called the target domain). 2 The vehicle can also

The present paper is an analysis of the concept of freedom in the Ṛgveda, the most ancient Indian text composed in Sanskrit ca 13 BCE. Although the composers of this text do not use the term which would correspond to English „freedom”, I am arguing that the concept of freedom is its pivotal concept. In order to prove my thesis, I will use the cognitive analysis. I will analyse some words which refer to physical dimension (“wide, broad, spacious, extended”), to physical space and their antonyms. These are the adjective and noun urú, the verb uruṣya, and the nouns áṃhas, aṃhú, amhūraná. Then I will analyse the word urú in its larger context (everyday life experience and mythology). Two expressions will be analysed: urvī́ gávyūti (“a wide pasture”) i urú loká/uloká (“a wide space”). Finally, I will analyse two abstract concepts, i.e. ártha (“aim, purpose, activity, task, advantage”) and vratá (“command, rule, duty”). Their analysis is necessary for the full reconstruction of the concept of freedom in the Ṛgveda.
The results of analysis are as follows. The Ṛgveda describes cosmogony understood as the first creative act and as the act which is re-enacted in cosmos (in the morning) and by men (in war and ritual). These three processes can be seen as creation of space in which physical movement, cognition and good life is possible. Freedom is conceived in terms of space thus understood. The general conclusion is that, according to the Ṛgvedic poets, creation of the world in all its dimensions is creation of freedom.

W artykule omawiam problem powstawania pojęć abstrakcyjnych w kulturze oralnej starożytnych Indii. Kultura ta przez ponad półtora tysiąca lat przekazywała swoje teksty wyłącznie ustnie. Najstarszym tekstem jest Rygweda (ok. XIII p.n.e.) wraz z pozostałymi trzema wedami (do ok. X p.n.e.). Po nich powstawały teksty komentatorskie do Wed (brahmany, ok. IX-VIII p.n.e, aranjaki, ok. VII p.n.e.). Ostatnią grupą tekstów są najstarsze upaniszady (ok. VI-V p.n.e.). Całość tych tekstów określana jest mianem śruti, dosłownie „słyszenie” i, metonimicznie, „to, co usłyszane”. Badacze początków pojęć filozoficznych w tradycji europejskiej podkreślają istotny wpływ piśmienności (Havelock 1983, 2006), niektórzy z nich, jak Goody (2012) wręcz uważają, że pismo jest niezbędnym warunkiem abstrakcyjności myślenia.

W artykule ukazuję, iż ustny przekaz nie oznacza niezdolności do tworzenia pojęć abstrakcyjnych, czego dowodem jest tradycja indyjska. Omówię zmiany semantyczne pojęcia brahman, w upaniszadach oznaczającego absolut, a w Rygwedzie - moc świętego słowa i święte słowo. Ukażę, że doświadczenia związane z długotrwałą recytacją tekstów, niezbędną dla ich zapamiętania i przekazu, mają wpływ na tworzenie się ostatecznego abstrakcyjnego znaczenia tego pojęcia.


Goody J. 2012. Mit, rytuał, oralność. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Havelock E. A. 1983. „The Linguistic Task of the Presocratics". W: Robb K. (red.) Language and Thought in Early Greek Philosophy”. La Salle IL: Hegeler Institute, 7-82
Havelock E. A. 2006. Muza uczy się pisać. Rozważania o oralności i piśmiennictwie w kulturze Zachodu. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego

The aim of the paper is to show how conceptual metonymy, metaphor and blending, as discussed in cognitive linguistics, can be used in the investigation on the beginning of abstraction in philosophical thinking. The analysis is based on selected stanzas from the Ṛgveda (ca. 13th BC), the Atharvaveda (ca. 10-9th BC) and the Mahābhārata (ca. 4th BC - 4th AD) composed in Sanskrit. I discuss how the notion of riding in a chariot, used in the earliest texts for expressing ontological, epistemological and ritual issues, is transformed into an abstract concept of the wheel to express the concept of time. The use of cognitive models allows showing the conscious and rational nature of this transformation performed by the early Indian thinkers, and thus qualifies as a form of philosophy.

In this paper, I analyse how the concept of journey was used in order to express abstract concepts in philosophy in the early Indian thought. I will begin with the accounts attested in the Ṛgveda, then I will show how they were elaborated in the later Brahmanic thought (attested in the later Śruti and early Smr̥ti texts). The analysis is done with use of cognitive linguistics tools of conceptual metonymy, metaphor and blending. This allows me to show the universal aspects of the early Indian thinking and its specific realisations due to the specific cultural background. I also demonstrate that the main conceptual foundations are present already in the Ṛgveda and how they were transformed and enriched by the later philosophers.

SŁOWA KLUCZOWE: metonimia pojęciowa, metafora pojęciowa, amalgamat pojęciowy, myślenie ogólne, myślenie abstrakcyjne, filozofia, brahmany, Indie KEY WORDS: conceptual metonymy, conceptual metaphor, conceptual blending , abstract thought, general thought, philosophy, the Brahmaṇas, India Celem poniższych rozważań jest ukazanie początków filozoficznego myślenia w rytualnych tekstach starożytnych Indii 1. Myślenie to można zdefiniować jako takie, które każe zadawać sobie pytania dotyczące kwestii istnienia świata i czło-wieka, ich początku i przeznaczenia, i poszukuje na nie odpowiedzi. Jego cechą jest dążenie do ogólności i abstrakcji. Zagadnienie to jest istotne nie tylko z punktu widzenia indologii, lecz tak-że z ogólniejszej perspektywy, zgodnie z którą filozofia jest wysiłkiem ludzkiego umysłu charakteryzującym nie tylko Europejczyków. Co więcej, w przeciwień-stwie do kultury zachodniej, której nie udało się zachować żadnego fragmentu w oryginale z czasów sprzed Sokratesa 2 , indyjska tradycja przechowała w pamię-ci ogromną liczbę tekstów, co daje znakomite podstawy do badania początków 1 Zagadnienie początków filozoficznej myśli w najstarszym tekście indyjskim, Rygwedzie, jest przedmiotem mojej analizy we wcześniejszej pracy – por.