It might help the reader to appreciate the larger scope of my project if they are able to recognize the general relationships I'm attempting to outline.
For one, I'm very interested in the kinds of conclusions we can draw concerning the historical development of calendars in the context of Vedic and Hindu culture. Calendars are very important for organizing or structuring yearly events, such as seasonal festivals, or for coordinating human congregations, perhaps most recognizeably for weddings. Indeed, Hindu weddings are still powerfully influenced by astrological considerations, which often comes under the temporal jargon of "muhūrtas". Astrologers are often consulted, particularly among the higher castes, in the determination of the exact hour of a wedding event. Of course, we may wonder if such a trend will last forever.
And for another, this draws our attention toward the crucial role that calendars play in astrological thinking. Hindu metaphysics would lose much of its original meaning, were we to sweep under the rug the popular significance of astrology. Astrology is not merely some antique which accidentally inhabits the Hindu imagination alongside other metaphysical understandings. Rather, I argue that it deeply saturates the mythical structure of Hindu cosmology. This blog is dedicated to a good extent to drawing this understanding to light. By framing Hindu cosmology within an astrological frame of reference, we aim to clarify how many of the so-called "exoticisms" of Hindu religious culture trace to observable phenomena.
But if we can trace the sources of Hindu semiotics to Cosmological or Astrological phenomena, what does this tell us about the History of Hinduism? Can we find data embedded in the symbology of such semiotics which might decypher calendrical dates that are intentionally being signaled by the authors of the Vedic hymns? Such a result is the greatest promise of the method and theme that we have chosen.
But in order to find a date, one must first securely clarify all of the calendrical symbology in a way that settles the matter decisively. We have to work out the history of history itself! And we do this by working out the history of the calendar.
As such, we might ask about when the Muhūrta system first came into use, what textual evidence there is for it, and what sorts of calendrical data it signals. Or else, we might ask about the symbology of Yugas, and how they too signal calendrical data which can be used in turn to decide about their historical origins.
All of these questions disclose complex patterns of semiotic activity that can be detected within the Sanskrit canon. But they also invite debate regarding the extent of the use of such calendars. That is, since these systems were so complicated, how can we be sure when and where they were used? In this regard, it may make sense to speak of a Vaiṣṇava calendar, a Śaiva calendar, or a Śākta calendar, moreso than a "Hindu" calendar. Vaiṣṇavas, after all, adhere to a discrete set of narratives about history, in comparison to Śaivas or Śāktas. Often, these narratives are in deep ideological conflict, so that they may disagree about a great many details. Yet even these conflicts may point us to important data regarding the gradual development of the baroque calendrical patterns we see today in Hindu festivals.
It is thus our task, to attend closely to the development of the materials which comprise the Vedic-Hindu calendrical complex, for this may provide us one of the most concrete bases for determining an original history of South Asia, and in such a way that directly responds to the Hindu-emic objection to Western concepts of Time and History. Such objections must be regarded seriously and surmounted by all those seeking to appreciate Hindu history understandingly, and not merely as one, so to speak, looking in from the outside.
For one, I'm very interested in the kinds of conclusions we can draw concerning the historical development of calendars in the context of Vedic and Hindu culture. Calendars are very important for organizing or structuring yearly events, such as seasonal festivals, or for coordinating human congregations, perhaps most recognizeably for weddings. Indeed, Hindu weddings are still powerfully influenced by astrological considerations, which often comes under the temporal jargon of "muhūrtas". Astrologers are often consulted, particularly among the higher castes, in the determination of the exact hour of a wedding event. Of course, we may wonder if such a trend will last forever.
And for another, this draws our attention toward the crucial role that calendars play in astrological thinking. Hindu metaphysics would lose much of its original meaning, were we to sweep under the rug the popular significance of astrology. Astrology is not merely some antique which accidentally inhabits the Hindu imagination alongside other metaphysical understandings. Rather, I argue that it deeply saturates the mythical structure of Hindu cosmology. This blog is dedicated to a good extent to drawing this understanding to light. By framing Hindu cosmology within an astrological frame of reference, we aim to clarify how many of the so-called "exoticisms" of Hindu religious culture trace to observable phenomena.
But if we can trace the sources of Hindu semiotics to Cosmological or Astrological phenomena, what does this tell us about the History of Hinduism? Can we find data embedded in the symbology of such semiotics which might decypher calendrical dates that are intentionally being signaled by the authors of the Vedic hymns? Such a result is the greatest promise of the method and theme that we have chosen.
But in order to find a date, one must first securely clarify all of the calendrical symbology in a way that settles the matter decisively. We have to work out the history of history itself! And we do this by working out the history of the calendar.
As such, we might ask about when the Muhūrta system first came into use, what textual evidence there is for it, and what sorts of calendrical data it signals. Or else, we might ask about the symbology of Yugas, and how they too signal calendrical data which can be used in turn to decide about their historical origins.
All of these questions disclose complex patterns of semiotic activity that can be detected within the Sanskrit canon. But they also invite debate regarding the extent of the use of such calendars. That is, since these systems were so complicated, how can we be sure when and where they were used? In this regard, it may make sense to speak of a Vaiṣṇava calendar, a Śaiva calendar, or a Śākta calendar, moreso than a "Hindu" calendar. Vaiṣṇavas, after all, adhere to a discrete set of narratives about history, in comparison to Śaivas or Śāktas. Often, these narratives are in deep ideological conflict, so that they may disagree about a great many details. Yet even these conflicts may point us to important data regarding the gradual development of the baroque calendrical patterns we see today in Hindu festivals.
It is thus our task, to attend closely to the development of the materials which comprise the Vedic-Hindu calendrical complex, for this may provide us one of the most concrete bases for determining an original history of South Asia, and in such a way that directly responds to the Hindu-emic objection to Western concepts of Time and History. Such objections must be regarded seriously and surmounted by all those seeking to appreciate Hindu history understandingly, and not merely as one, so to speak, looking in from the outside.
