The main cultural monuments and religious and philosophical traditions of ancient India. Literary monuments

A significant part of the primary sources on the history of ancient India has perished irretrievably. Many works of ancient Indian literature were written on birch bark or palm leaves and did not withstand the unfavorable conditions of a climate more humid than in Egypt (where such fragile material as papyrus could be preserved). On the other hand, fires, which could not destroy collections of clay books in Western Asia, turned out to be destructive for the archives of ancient India. Only those texts that were carved on stone survived in the original, and relatively few of them were discovered. Fortunately, Sanskrit, unlike most ancient Eastern languages, was never forgotten; the literary tradition was not interrupted for thousands of years. Those works that were considered valuable were systematically rewritten and came to us in later copies with additions and distortions.

The situation is worse with the ancient chronicles. Almost nothing remains of them, except for fragments included in later medieval chronicles.

The largest in volume and richest in content are the poetic works: the Vedas (extensive collections of hymns, chants, magical spells and ritual formulas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda), Mahabharata (epic poem about the great war of the descendants of Bharata) and Ramayana (the tale of the deeds of Prince Rama).

In addition to mythical and epic works, the collection “Laws of Manu” has also been preserved, the chronological fixation of which also presents great difficulties (c. 3rd century BC - c. 3rd century AD). This is a typical monument of sacred law, in which civil and criminal regulations are closely intertwined with ritual regulations and prohibitions.

A unique written monument is the Arthashastra, the composition of which is attributed to the outstanding dignitary, contemporary of Alexander the Great, Kautilya. This remarkable treatise on government contains a whole series of advice and instructions reflecting the conditions of the era when centralization and bureaucratization were established in the country.

For the study of early Buddhism, the main source is the collection of legends and sayings of the Tipitaka.

The edicts of King Ashoka (III century BC), carved on rocks, are most accurately dated. They report on the warriors and religious policies of this king.

Among the ancient authors, along with Herodotus, who gave a description of western India of his time (5th century BC), Arrian, who lived in the 2nd century, should be especially noted. AD In his “Anabasis of Alexander” he described the campaign of this king to India, in a special work - “India” - he gave a detailed geographical outline of the country11 Bongard-Levin T.M. “Ancient Indian civilization”, M., 1993.

The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, and the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of text transmission. The true encyclopedias of Indian life are the two great epic poems of Ancient India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. They depict all aspects of the life of ancient Indians. The epic absorbed material that, emerging from the oral poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character and included religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent eras, many prominent Indian artists, including the famous Kalidas, drew their inspiration from these treasures of wisdom of their people.

In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the collection of stories and parables “Panchatantra”, based on folklore, gained particular popularity. It was translated into many languages, and they became acquainted with it quite early in Russia.

Among the literature attributed to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (1-2 century AD) stands out clearly. The poem “Buddhacharita” written by him was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature. The Gupta era was the time of development of ancient Indian theater. Even special treatises on dramaturgy appeared. The tasks of the theater and the technique of acting were determined. The Indian theatrical tradition preceded the Greek one.

The theory of literary creativity, including poetry, reached a high level in Ancient India. The rules of versification and treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of “poetic science” are emerging, and there are debates about genres, the purpose of literature, and artistic language.

The concept of the divine character of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech lies at the basis of the sciences and arts. In Panini’s grammar “The Eight Books” the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scientists find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.

The first monument of the thought of the ancient Indians was the “VEDAS”, literally meaning “knowledge, knowledge” when translated from Sanskrit. The VEDAS, having emerged between the second and first millennium BC, played a huge, decisive role in the development of the spiritual culture of ancient Indian society, including the development of philosophical thought.

The VEDAS consist of hymns, prayers, spells, chants, sacrificial formulas, and so on. They are the first to attempt a philosophical interpretation of the human environment. Although they contain a semi-superstitious, semi-mythical, semi-religious explanation of the world around man, nevertheless, they are considered as philosophical, or rather pre-philosophical, pre-philosophical sources. Actually, the first literary works in which attempts are made to philosophize, i.e. interpretations of the world around a person could not be different in content. The figurative language of the Vedas expresses a very ancient religious worldview, the first philosophical idea of ​​the world, man, moral life. The VEDAS are divided into four groups (or parts). The oldest of them is Samhitas (hymns). The Samhitas, in turn, consist of four collections. The earliest of them is the Rig Veda, a collection of religious hymns (about one and a half thousand years BC). The second part of the Vedas - Brahmanas (collection of ritual texts). The religion of Brahmanism, which dominated before the emergence of Buddhism, relied on them. The third part of the VED is the Aranyakas ("forest books", rules of conduct for hermits). The fourth part of the VEDAS is the Upanishads, the actual philosophical part, which arose about a thousand years BC.

Already at this time, the first elements of philosophical consciousness arose, the formation of the first philosophical teachings (both religious-idealistic and materialistic) began.

Upanishads (“to sit near”, i.e. at the feet of the teacher, receiving instructions; or - “secret, intimate knowledge”) - philosophical texts that appeared about one thousand years BC and in form, as a rule, represented the dialogue of a sage - a teacher with his student or with a person seeking the truth and subsequently becoming his student. In total, about a hundred Upanishads are known. They are dominated by the problem of the root cause, the first principle of being, with the help of which the origin of all natural and human phenomena is explained. The dominant place in the Upanishads is occupied by teachings that believe that the spiritual principle - Brahman, or Atman - is the primary cause and fundamental principle of existence. Brahman and Atman are usually used as synonyms, although Brahman is more often used to designate God, the omnipresent spirit, and Atman - the soul. Beginning with the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman become the central concepts of all Indian philosophy(and above all - Vedanta). In some Upanishads, Brahman and Atman are identified with the material root cause of the world - food, breath, material elements (water, air, earth, fire), or with the whole world as a whole. In most Upanishad texts, Brahman and Atman are interpreted as the spiritual absolute, the incorporeal root cause of nature and man.

A common thread running through all the Upanishads is the idea of ​​the identity of the spiritual essence of the subject (man) and the object (nature), which is reflected in the famous saying: “Tat tvam asi” (“You are that”, or “You are one with that”) .

The Upanishads and the ideas expressed in them do not contain a logically consistent and holistic concept. With a general predominance of the explanation of the world as spiritual and incorporeal, they also present other judgments and ideas and, in particular, attempts are made to provide a natural philosophical explanation of the root cause and fundamental basis of the phenomena of the world and the essence of man. Thus, in some texts there is a desire to explain the external and internal world as consisting of four or even five material elements. Sometimes the world is presented as an undifferentiated being, and its development as the sequential passage of certain states by this being: fire, water, earth, or gaseous, liquid, solid. This is precisely what explains all the diversity that is inherent in the world, including human society.

Cognition and acquired knowledge are divided into two levels in the Upanishads: lower and higher. On lowest level You can only know the surrounding reality. This knowledge cannot be true, since its content is fragmentary and incomplete. The highest is the knowledge of truth, i.e. spiritual absolute, this perception of being in its integrity, can be acquired only with the help of mystical intuition, the latter in turn being formed to a large extent thanks to yogic exercises. It is the highest knowledge that gives power over the world.

One of the most important problems in the Upanishads is the study of the essence of man, his psyche, emotional disturbances and forms of behavior. The thinkers of Ancient India noted the complexity of the structure of the human psyche and identified in it such elements as consciousness, will, memory, breathing, irritation, calm, etc. their interrelation and mutual influence are emphasized. An undoubted achievement should be considered the characteristics of various states of the human psyche and, in particular, the waking state, light sleep, deep sleep, and the dependence of these states on the external elements and primary elements of the external world.

In the field of ethics, the Upanishads predominantly preach a passive-contemplative attitude towards the world: the deliverance of the soul from all worldly attachments and worries is proclaimed to be the highest happiness. The Upanishads make a distinction between material and spiritual values, between goodness, as a calm state of the soul, and the base pursuit of sensual pleasures. By the way, it was in the Upanishads that the concept of transmigration of souls (samsara) and retribution for past actions (karma) was first expressed. Here the desire is expressed to determine the cause-and-effect relationship in the chain of human actions. An attempt is also made, with the help of moral principles (dharma), to correct human behavior at every stage of his existence. The Upanishads are essentially the foundation for all or almost all subsequent philosophical movements that appeared in India, since they presented or developed ideas that “nourished” philosophical thought in India for a long time.

Speaking about the philosophy of Ancient India, one cannot fail to mention the extensive epic poem Mahabharata, consisting of eighteen books. The main source of philosophical thought of the later - epic period is the extensive epic poem "Mahabharata", which consists of 18 books telling about the struggle for power between two clans - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Along with the narration of this struggle, in various books of the Mahabharata there are texts of philosophical content. Of greatest interest from this point of view are “Bhagavad-Gita”, “Mokshadharma”, “Anugita” and some others (VII century BC - II century AD).

In their content and orientation, most of the philosophical ideas of the Mahabharata represent a continuation and development of the views dominant in the Upanishads about Brahman-Atman or Purusha as a spiritual absolute and about its comprehension as a means of salvation and deliverance from the shackles of karma and samsara. However, unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented primarily in the form individual statements and provisions with unsettled, sometimes amorphous terminology, already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear in the Mahabharata, giving a more or less unified interpretation of the main ideological problems, ranging from ontological to ethical and sociological, and having a more strictly fixed and more unambiguous conceptual apparatus .

Among these concepts, the teaching of Samkhya and closely related yoga, which were occasionally mentioned already in the Upanishads, acquires the main importance among these concepts in the epic. True, these teachings various parts The Mahabharatas are presented in different ways, but everywhere they are based on the position of prakriti, or pradhana (matter, nature), as the source of all existing existence (including the psyche and consciousness) and the pure spirit independent of it and unaffected by its modifications - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman).

Greatest interest with philosophical point view is represented by one of the books - Bhagavad Gita (divine song). Unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented in the form of individual statements and provisions, already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear here, giving an interpretation of worldview problems. Of primary importance among these concepts is the teaching of Samkhya and the closely related yoga, which were occasionally mentioned in the Upanishads. The basis of the concept is the position of prakrit (matter, nature), as the source of all existence (including the psyche, consciousness) and the pure spirit independent of it - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman). Thus, the worldview is dualistic, based on the recognition of two principles.

The main content of the Bhagavad Gita consists of the teachings of the god Krishna. God Krishna, according to Indian mythology, is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. God Krishna speaks of the need for every person to fulfill his social (varna) functions and duties, to be indifferent to the fruits of worldly activity, and to devote all his thoughts to God. Bhagavad Gita contains important ideas of ancient Indian philosophy: about the mystery of birth and death; about the relationship between prakriti and human nature; about genes (three material principles born of nature: tamas - an inert inert principle, rajas - a passionate, active, exciting principle, sattva - an uplifting, enlightened, conscious principle). Their symbols are respectively black, red and white, the colors that define people’s lives; about the moral law (dharma) of fulfilling one’s duty; about the path of a yogi (a person who has devoted himself to yoga - the improvement of consciousness); about genuine and non-genuine knowledge. The main virtues of a person are called balance, detachment from passions and desires, and detachment from earthly things.

Writing and Scribes in Ancient India

A.A. Vigasin

The article discusses the question of the time of the appearance of writing in India and the status of scribes. The Vedic tradition was focused on memorizing and preserving texts orally. The first written monuments of India are the inscriptions of Ashoka in the 3rd century. BC BC, they use four types of script: Aramaic, Greek, Kharosthi and Brahmi. Aramaic appeared in Gandhara from the end of the 6th century. BC e., Greek - after Alexander’s campaign. Kharosthi arose, most likely, on the basis of Aramaic in the V-IV centuries. BC e., brahmi - later. The inventors of kharostha and brahmi were, obviously, learned brahmanas who were at royal service. The scribe's status remained high in subsequent centuries. Writing spread widely after the Mauryans, as evidenced by epigraphy. At the turn of the century e. The Buddhist canon and epic poems were written down. In the shastras of the beginning of the century. e. (from the Arthashastra to the Narada Smriti), written documentation is often spoken of and there is reason to believe that the foundations of diplomacy had already been formed. Sanskrit texts of late antiquity and the Middle Ages show an extremely negative attitude towards kayastha scribes, which can be explained by their active participation in collecting taxes.

Key words: India, antiquity, writing, scribes, Brahmi, Kharosthi.

the central word (Vac). Vach in the Rigveda (X.125) appears as a sovereign goddess, a giver of benefits and the embodiment of creativity. But this word is oral and does not imply written recording.

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. the so-called vedangi appeared - auxiliary “parts of the Veda”, or Vedic sciences. This

The Vedic religion attached great importance to sa-

phonetics, etymology, grammar, metrics, that is, disciplines of the philological cycle1, focused mainly on the careful preservation and reproduction of the sacred word. Even works such as Panini's famous Sanskrit grammar were designed for oral instruction - their very form is associated with school tradition. The text of this grammar is a collection of rules (sutras), set out with extreme laconicism and replete with special terminology. Vedic sutras are often difficult to interpret, since they offer only a certain outline, almost a table of contents, and the interpretation of the content could be given by a guru mentor.

Vedic textbooks, also called sutra (lit. "thread"), apparently assumed rote memorization - syllable by syllable, word by word. A characteristic feature of at least some of them is the double division of the text: on the one hand, into substantive sections, on the other, into “lessons” or “readings” (a^uaua)2. The latter could tear apart not only a thought, but even a phrase. For example, in one of the most archaic dharmasutras (“Apastamba” 1.3.45-1.4.1), the last sutra of the “lesson” reads: “By feeding him” (meaning the teacher). And the end of the phrase makes up the first sutra of the next lesson: “He (that is, the student - A.V.) can eat the rest himself.”

If we turn to non-Vedic religious traditions, then we will see that here, too, the original form of existence of texts was oral. The canonical monuments of Buddhism were recorded by joint recitation (samglti) of learned monks, and they were written down only in the 1st century. BC e. Rules of behavior (vinaya) and plots associated with everyday life monastery, do not imply either the presence of writing instruments, or reading and writing as the activities of a monk3. The very form of canonical texts, with their monotonous repetitions and stringing of synonyms in a sequence dictated by rhythm, indicates their oral origin and existence4.

The stylistic features of monuments are also imitated in the era when literature becomes written. As an analogy, we can recall how, during the construction of cave temples, such details were reproduced that had a constructive meaning only in wooden architecture. "Arthashastra Kau-

tily", compiled at the beginning of the century. e., preserves the double division of the text5. The author of “Vishnu-smriti” in the middle of the 1st millennium tries to present his work in the form of an ancient sutra. The sacred books of Hinduism, no longer associated with the Vedic schools (shastras, puranas), are presented in verses that make it easier to memorize. And the prologue to the story is often the story of how the ancient sage dictated this shastra to his students.

Indologists have no inscriptions earlier than the 3rd century. BC e.6 And even such a supporter of the deep antiquity of writing in India as Georg Bühler admitted that not a single literary monument mentioning written documents can be confidently dated to the pre-Aurian era7. The word lipi itself, which in the ancient Indo-Aryan languages ​​meant writing or inscription, is undoubtedly borrowed from Iran. It comes from Persian dipi (in Achaemenid inscriptions), and then, in turn, from Elamite tippi/tuppi (Akkadian tuppu, from Sumerian dub - “tablet”)8. This borrowing could have occurred no earlier than the end of the 6th century. BC e., when two Persian satrapies appeared in northwestern India - Gandara (Gandhara) and Hindu (Sindhu, Sind).

The situation changed in the 4th century. BC e. Nearchus, the naval commander of Alexander the Great, first reports about the writing of the Indians (Strab. XV. 1.67): according to him, they write on pieces of thin fabric. Because the we're talking about about the territory of Punjab, it is quite possible that the Greek saw documents in the Aramaic language, which spread here from the end of the 6th century. BC e., during the time of the Achaemenids. But it is possible that they were referring to documents written in the so-called “Arameo-Indian” script. This is what J. Filliosa9 called the Kharoshthi script, which arose on the basis of Aramaic and adapted to the phonetics of the Indo-Aryan languages.

There is similar information in Quintus Curtius Rufus (VIII.9.15) - that the Indians write on bast wood, like on papyrus. Obviously, this refers to documents on birch bark (such birch bark documents are known in Kashmir of a later time). But since Curtius does not give any reference to the source of his information, perhaps this information does not go back to the era of Alexander, but to the 1st century, when his History of Alexander was compiled. The same fragment by Curtius refers to precious

stones that are found on the sea coast of India - an undoubted echo of the literature of the beginning of the century. e., when the Greeks sailed to Western and Southern India.

Ancient Indian writing, of course, was invented for practical needs - after all, the Brahmins did not need writing to record sacred texts in Sanskrit10. And for several centuries, starting from Ashoka, inscriptions were compiled only in spoken languages ​​- Prakrit. Only at the beginning of the century e. Sanskrit epigraphy also appeared.

The principles of Kharoshtha and the Brahmi script that appeared later11 reveal familiarity with the discipline developed in the Vedic schools - phonetics112. Therefore, one should think that writing was invented not only by people familiar with Aramaic, but also by those who received a Brahman education. We are obviously talking about those who served at court. Nearchus (81hab. XV. 1.66) distinguishes two categories of brahmanas: some, according to him, indulged in what belongs to nature, while others were engaged in state affairs, accompanying the kings as advisers. Sanskrit texts use the word asShua to designate the king's servants and advisors. According to the Pali texts, the social status of these hereditary atasses is so different from ordinary brahmins that they constitute a kind of caste13. This made Megasthenes see in the “advisers and companions of the king” a very special category of the Indian population - along with the “philosophers”-brahmans ^gab. XV. 1.49). The royal servants (including, apparently, scribes) acted not as representatives of the priestly varna, but as educated administrators. And they needed writing not for reading the Vedas (learned by heart in childhood), but for state activities14.

The earliest inscriptions in Indian languages ​​were carved by order of the Magadha king Ashoka in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. In the northwestern territories of his state these were inscriptions in Kharosthi, and in all other areas - in Brahmi. The text of the royal edicts, naturally, was prepared in the capital, Patali Putra. Then the royal people (taIatShta) delivered it to the provinces. Local authorities were asked to carve the words of the Sovereign (devanampiya) on rocks, on stone slabs or columns in order to preserve them forever (VII Column Edict). From provincial

centers, the king’s “decrees on righteousness” were distributed to small towns and fortresses (Small Rock Edict). They were periodically, on calendar holidays, to be read at a gathering of people (Special Rock Edicts). The minted formulations of what exactly the dharma consists of are often distinguished by a special rhythm - they were undoubtedly designed for recitation.

We cannot recreate with certainty the process of disseminating the “edicts of dharma” (LashtapshaY). A careful study of the inscriptions showed that groups of words are separated by intervals that reflect pauses made when dictating to a scribe. Sometimes the vowel sounds that complete such fragments acquire longitudes that have no linguistic justification - the scribe probably carefully reproduced the chanting style15. We cannot exclude the hypothesis that sometimes the royal envoy did not have the written text of the decree with him at all, but read it to the scribe by heart. However, in most cases there was still a written original. The fact is that in a number of inscriptions the decree itself is preceded by some kind of introduction indicating the addressee of the message and good wishes to him. Sometimes this appeal is not on behalf of the king, but from an intermediate authority - the provincial governor (a number of versions of the Small Rock Edict). We are dealing with an accompanying “envelope” that was not at all intended to be reproduced in stone and passed on to future generations. But the administration of one or another town, without understanding it, ordered everything that was received from the authorities to be carved into the rock. In such cases, it becomes obvious that if there was an “envelope” or accompanying message, then the royal decree existed in written form.

Local authorities were sometimes quite clueless. For example, three versions of the Small Rock Decree (MNE) contain words of greeting to the leaders of the town of Isila. Of course, only one of these three points could bear the name Isila, but those who received a copy of the message in the other two places mechanically reproduced the entire text, including those words that were not related to them16.

A number of circumstances make us think that translations into colloquial dialects were usually prepared not locally, but directly in the royal office. Apparently, at the court in Pata-

Liputra worked with scribes who knew the spoken languages ​​of those regions of the state where it was planned to send messengers with edicts. We can also see in later Sanskrit literature the requirement for the scribe to know the languages ​​of different regions and peoples (desabhäsäprabhedavid - “Shukra-nitisara” II.173). Sometimes the knowledge of dialects was not impeccable, and then alien forms characteristic of the scribe’s native language penetrated into the translations.

They wrote from dictation in the Brahmi script, which is common throughout India except the northwestern territories. During recording, errors occurred related to the perception of the text by ear. If it was then rewritten in a different script (kharosthi), errors could appear due to incorrect reading of the Brahmi written sign17. It is worth noting in passing that the Greek-Aramaic bilingual found in Kandahar does not apparently go back to the same original. Judging by the fact that the king's name is rendered in Greek as nioSaccfj, the translator had at his disposal the same version as we see in eastern India (Prakrit piyadasi). Meanwhile, the Aramaic translation was apparently made from the same text as we find in the Kharoshthi inscriptions from northwestern India: the Prakrit priyadrasi is rendered in Aramaic by Prydars. But it is quite possible that both scribes were not in Kandahar at all, but in the same royal office in Pataliputra - only the Greek translator used the original of the edict, and for Aramaic it was easier to work with the text in Kharosthi and the Gandhari dialect.

The royal envoy brought a separate copy of the decree to each region, from which copies were then made for further distribution. For this reason, even obvious errors in the original could be replicated: for example, in Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi there is the same typo: dhamangala instead of dhammamangala. W. Schneider18 made an attempt to determine the relationship between the versions of the Great Rock Edicts (GRE) by building their “family tree” (Stammbaum). This should supposedly contribute to the reconstruction of the structure of the administration of the Mauryan state. But the methodology of such constructions raises serious doubts. If the translations were prepared in Pataliputra, then the relationship between the versions is not related to the structure of the state, but to a purely clerical procedure.

Three local versions of the II MNE (from Brahmagiri, Siddapur and Jatinga-Rameshwar) contain the scribe's signature. It is fully preserved in the inscription from Brahmagiri: “written by Chapada scribe (Hr1kaga).” By “scribe,” of course, we do not mean the artisan19 who carved the inscription on the stone (he, most likely, was illiterate). A scribe is a person who wrote down a text from dictation20 with paint or chalk, so that the stone carver could then begin his work. The assumption that the scribe only copied the received message with utmost accuracy (even respecting the width of the intervals between groups of words in the original) does not seem convincing. It is well known that the text was often shortened locally. Even Ashoka himself knew about this, pointing out in the XIV BNE: “what is not written in full - this happens due to the location or (other) reason or due to the scribe’s oversight.”

The only question is who this Chapada was - the man who wrote from dictation on stone, or the scribe who produced the original decree in Pataliputra. In the first case, one would have to assume that the royal envoy was accompanied on his trip around the country by the same scribe, who left his signature in three places. G. Falk21 claims that the scribe’s handwriting in all three cases is completely different - therefore, the scribes were different and, most likely, local. But then we can only think that Chapada signed the original message sent from the capital. By the way, the presence at the end of the letter of an indication of the name of the copyist is fully consistent with later practice and the requirements of medieval scribes22. In all other places (except for the three indicated) where there are versions of the MNE, the authorities did not consider it necessary to reproduce the scribe’s signature - just as the address accompanying them was omitted.

Particularly interesting is the fact that the word “scribe” in all three local versions is written in the Kharosthi script, while the entire inscription is in Brahmi. The Kharostha script was widespread only in northwestern India. On this basis it is usually assumed that the scribe Chapada himself was a native of Gandhara. The written tradition in the North-West had deeper roots than in Magadha, and the use of Gandharan scribes in the service of Pataliputra would have been quite natural. Is it true,

K.R. Norman23 doubts this interpretation, noting that in the Kharosthi inscriptions from northwestern India the word “scribe” has a different, closer Persian, form - dipikara. However, the use of kharostha in the signature under the edict in Brahmagiri did not at all oblige Chapada to switch to his native Gandhari dialect in his vocabulary.

IN last decades a hypothesis was expressed24 that the Brahmi writing was invented under Ashoka specifically for recording his edicts on stone. In our opinion, this point of view contradicts the degree of spread of literacy in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. In order to write edicts in different parts of the vast country, a certain number of scribes were required, as well as readers who knew the Brahmi script. People who read the king’s edicts to local residents on holidays could obviously be found even in small settlements25. In order for literacy to be mastered throughout the country by at least a very narrow layer of people associated with government, of course, time was required26.

After the 3rd century. BC e. the number of inscriptions increases sharply, and many of them were private (dedicatory, dedicatory, etc.). From the 2nd century BC e. inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharosthi also appear on coins (not without Hellenistic influence). Literacy becomes prestigious as a form of knowledge. Thus, King Kharavela (1st century BC, Orissa) boasts that from a young age he mastered literacy and numeracy (lekharüpagananä). In the inscriptions of the turn of the century. e. names of scribes or members of the scribe's family are found who visit holy places and bring donations to the Buddhist community27.

The later parts of the Pali canon contain references to writing (although the canon itself had not yet been written down). The activity of a scribe is considered one of the “noble crafts” (ukkattham sippam - Vinaya IV.7.128). At the turn of the century e. or at the beginning of the century e. The most important literary monuments in Pali and Sanskrit, such as the Tipitaka, Mahabharata and Ramayana, were written down. Author's works (for example, Sanskrit poems and dramas of Ashvaghosa) are created in written form. The Kushan era was the heyday of cities whose culture was largely associated with writing. And it’s not without reason that, speaking about the bearer of urban culture,

ry (nagaraka - lit. “city dweller”), the Kama Sutra mentions that there must certainly be “some kind of book” on the table by his bed (D4.4). Kalidasa (“Raghuvamsha” Sh.28) likens knowledge to the “verbal ocean” ^apshauash samudram), the path to which is opened by the possession of literacy (Pro. In the period of late antiquity, culture and knowledge could already be associated with the book.

One of the later books of the Mahabharata (XIII.24.70) contains the following phrase: “Those who write down the Vedas will go to hell.” Two conclusions can be drawn from this. Firstly, already at the end of antiquity there were recordings of Vedic texts. Secondly, the attitude of the orthodox Brahmins, editors of the didactic parts of the epic, towards the procedure of writing down sacred texts (but only them!28) and in the first centuries A.D. e. remained sharply negative. We see a similar situation later. An aphorism is attributed to Chanakya (“Vriddha-Chanakya” XVII.!), according to which true knowledge can only be obtained from the lips of a mentor. Knowledge gained from books is compared to an illegitimate child conceived by a lover. This comparison is quite understandable: a self-taught person lacks the main thing - a living connection with a mentor-guru, involvement in a continuous line of teachers. And in the 11th century. Abu Reikhan Biruni29 noted that Indians “do not consider it permissible to write down the Vedas.”

The attitude towards book knowledge among Buddhists was much less severe. Buddhism sought to spread, and the rewriting of manuscripts contributed to the increase in the number of its adherents. Buddhist authors projected the situation of their time onto the era when the founder of the teaching lived. Therefore, in “La-litavistara” (125.19), for example, it is said that the Buddha knew 64 types of writing (the number, of course, is conventional and sacred). Proponents of the early origin of Brahmi and Kharostha30 are very fond of referring to this passage. However, in the list of types of writing (just as in a similar list in “Mahavastu” - N35) there are obvious anachronisms. Along with Brahmi and Kharosthi, one can find here Greek writing31, and Chinese (which Indians could have become acquainted with no earlier than the 2nd century BC), and even the writing of the Huns (which appeared in India only in the middle of the 1st millennium AD). )32.

A sharply negative attitude towards the recording of the Vedas did not in the least hinder the widespread spread of literacy and the use

writing for other, non-sacral purposes. This is evidenced by the Brahmanical books - shastras. In the Arthashastra, in accordance with the theme of the entire treatise, we mainly talk about official documents. There is also a special chapter (II. 10) on the rules for drawing up decrees (^ala)33. It is assumed that the royal office does not use spoken dialects (Prakrits) as a language, but Sanskrit. This means that in drawing up decrees and royal correspondence the most Active participation Sanskrit experts - learned brahmins - had to accept it. This is also indicated by the widespread use in this chapter of the treatise of the special terminology of traditional grammar and logic - subjects that formed the basis of Brahmin education.

In the ancient dharmasutras that told about the judicial procedure (“Apastamba”, “Baudhayana”), documents were not mentioned at all - they only talked about the oral testimony of witnesses. But in the dharmashastras of the mid-1st millennium (“Yajnavalkya”, “Narada”, “Vishnu”, fragments of “Brihaspati” and “Katyayana”) we see the widest use of business documentation. The shastras list numerous types of documents: agreements on debt, pledge, sale, slavery or other dependence, etc. (“Nara-da”, Introduction P.38, etc.). It is documents, and not oral testimony of witnesses, that become the most important method of evidence in court (Narada G66, etc.). The authors pay great attention to ways to verify the authenticity of the submitted document (by handwriting, signatures, compliance with the form, etc.). The mention in this regard of “handwritten receipts” indicates the spread of literacy.

The document was drawn up by a scribe (lekbaka), whose name had to be indicated - just like the names of the witnesses to the transaction. Strictly speaking, Iekbaka could not have been a professional, but simply a competent person (Nrupa), who was brought in to formalize the transaction (“Narada”, P.146; “Vishnu”, VII.4). However, the need to adhere to the form suggests that he was usually a professional scribe. If we are talking about various transactions carried out in rural areas, the documents were obviously drawn up by the one who is called the word grāma1ekhaka - “village scribe” or grāmakayastha (“Rajatarangini”, U175). “Every village and every city must have a scribe,” as stated in Shukra-

nitisare" P.220. In the Middle Ages and in modern times, “village scribes” participated in the collection of taxes. In the 19th century, in different regions of India, their position was not the same: in some places they were government officials, in other places they were considered as employees of the village community itself34. It is quite natural that the spread of literacy contributed to the fact that representatives of increasingly lower social strata gained access to it. Among the scribes in the Middle Ages, we sometimes meet Brahmans, but, of course, the majority of village literates did not belong to high castes.

Letter books have been preserved from the Middle Ages, containing samples of both official documents of various kinds, and private letters addressed to relatives or friends. And although we are talking in this case about a literary genre that requires some convention, it is difficult to doubt that the basis of these texts was genuine act material. Scribes could pursue practical purposes - to serve as a guide for scribes (as well as for judges who determined the authenticity of documents). The most famous of them, “Lekhapadchati,” dates back to the 13th-15th centuries. Some texts of this kind are known only from mentions in Sanskrit literature - for example, “Trishastilekhaprakara-na” (“Sixty-three types of documents”) by Kalyanabhatta. It is worth noting that the author of the last treatise was a learned Brahmin - it was he who edited Asahaya’s commentary on the Narada-smriti, one of the most important monuments Hindu law.

We do not have at our disposal such manuals that date back to ancient times. But the rules for drawing up decrees that are contained in the Arthashastra allow one to assume the existence of such benefits already at the beginning of the century. e.35 The requirements set out in the dharmashastras of Yajnavalkya and Vishnu for the execution of deeds of gift for land are fully consistent with the practice of issuing such documents on copper plates, known since the Gupta era. Therefore, we can say with confidence that even then the foundations of diplomacy were developed in India.

Classical Sanskrit drama of late antiquity depicts several figures of a scribe. They are usually referred to by the term k aua8Sha (as in the inscription from Damodarpur of the mid-6th century, cf. “Vishnu” VII.3). In one of the scenes of “The Clay Cart” Shudraki the scribe ass.

reports to the judge together with the merchant foreman (shresthi), - he draws up a protocol of interrogation. The original text of this protocol was probably written with chalk on a board lying on the ground, because the participant in the process who let it slip tried to quietly erase the recording with his foot. The scribe has the official status of a member of the judicial department ^Ykagapa), he speaks, although not in Sanskrit, but in the prestigious Shauraseni dialect.

In Visakhadatta's drama “The Ring of Rakshasa,” the scribe Shakata Dasa is a person especially close to the main adviser of the deposed king. True, the brahman Chanakya speaks of him somewhat disparagingly: the bird is small, he says, but is just a scribe (kayastha Sh ^bu! ta^a)37. However, he takes Shakatadasa very seriously as an opponent to be reckoned with. In the same play we see that only professional scribes were trusted with the design of letters. After all, as Chanakya asserts, learned brahmanas write indistinctly (zgoShuakvagash pgayatnalikhitanyapi niyatamasphutani byauapi)38.

Mentions of k^a^Ia in Sanskrit texts of the 1st millennium are often accompanied by extremely harsh reviews about them. This is perhaps the earliest formulated in Yajnavalkya's dharmashastra: the king is advised to protect his people from all kinds of rapists and robbers, but mainly from kayast:ha (P.336). This aphorism became popular, it was repeated in various texts39 for several centuries, and slight variations indicate that it was usually quoted by heart. In the synonymous dictionary "Amarakosha" the scribe was associated with the king: the word Nr1kaga - as well as ambassador and purohita (household priest) - was considered in the section on kshatriya. His main function taxes were collected40. Often the scribe is referred to as the royal favorite, which makes him especially dangerous for the population of the country41. This is a representative of the all-powerful bureaucracy, the “jug’s snout,” as our writer puts it. The medieval Sanskrit chronicler Kalhana (“Rajata-rangini”, V. 180) calls the scribes the word “son of a slave” (^TrShha - this expression roughly corresponds to our “son of a bitch”). He says that the whole earth came under the rule of the Kayasthas (U181). The scribes are trying to take everything away from decent people, leaving them only air (U185, cf. IV.629-630). An artificial etymology was attributed to the ancient sage Ushanas42, in a typically Indian spirit.

the words kaua81ba from kaka - uata - yaray. She was supposed to reveal the very essence of the scribe: he is greedy, like a crow, and ruthless, like the god of death himself.

Since the 9th century. we can talk about scribal castes. The position of representatives of these castes is often contradictory43. They could be associated with the court and administration (especially if this administration is foreign). However, their occupations themselves were considered as a service, serving labor, similar to craft professions44. In later Sanskrit texts, a disgusted attitude towards “ink souls”45 on the part of learned Brahmins46 is evident. The status of Kayasthas in the caste hierarchy has been the subject of fierce debate in traditional society47. In Bihar and Uttar-pradesh in the century before last they were considered as twice-born, and in Bengal they were considered sudras.

Notes

H. Scharfe emphasizes the difference in this regard between India and classical Greece, in which the leading science was geometry (Scharfe H. Education in Ancient India. Leiden: Brill, 2002. P. 60). See Renou L. Les divisions dans les texts sanskrits // Renou L. Choix d "études indiennes. Tome II. P.: École Française d "Extrême-Orient, 1997. Rhys Davids T. W., Oldenberg H. Introduction // Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XIII (Vinaya Texts). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1880. P. XXXI-XXXII. Hinüber O. von. Der Beginn der Schrift und frühe Schriftlichkeit in Indien. Mainz: Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, 1989. S. 31; Idem. Untersuchungen zur Mündlichkeit früher mittelindischer Texte der Buddhisten. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1994.

See Renou L. Les divisions... P. 20; Scharfe H. Investigations in Kautalyas's Manual of Political Science. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1993. P. 16 f. True, a number of archaeologists claim that they discovered objects with Brahmi writing signs in layers of the 4th century during excavations in Anuradhapura in Lanka. BC (Salomon R. Indian Epigraphy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. P. 12). However, this information needs thorough verification. Bühler G. Indian Paleography. Delhi: Munshiram, 2004. P. 18. Mayrhofer M. Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen. Bd. III. Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1976. P. 103. From lipi “letter”

(in Prakrit livi) the word “scribe” (lipika - livika) also originates, see Divyävadäna, 293, 5; 9.

Filliozat J. Paléographie // L"Inde classique. Tome II. P.: EFEO, 1996. P. 670.

Janert K.L. About the Scribes and their Achievements in Asoka's India // German Scholars on India. Vol. I. Varanasi: Chowkhambha Sanskrit Series Office, 1973. P. 141.

Voigt R. Die Entwicklung der aramäischen zur Kharosthl- und Brähml-Schrift // ZDMG. Bd. 155. 2005. S. 48. Bühler G. Indian Paleography. P. 18, 33.

Fick R. Die sociale Gliederung im nordöstlichen Indien zu Buddhas Zeit. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlags-Anstalt, 1974. S. 93-94, 164. The fact that the inventors of Indian writing were experienced phoneticians was noted long ago. In our opinion, this contradicts the assumption that traders traveling to Western Asia could have played a significant role in the creation of writing. The Vaishya traders were hardly people versed in the science of phonetics.

Janert K.L. Abstände und Schlussvokalverzeichnungen in Asoka-Inschriften Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1972.

Schneider U. Zum Stammbaum der grossen Felseninschriften Asokas // Indologen-Tagung 1971. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1973; Idem. Die grossen Felsen-Edikte Asokas. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1978. S. 18. For criticism of these constructions, see: Fussman G. Central and Provincial Administration in Ancient India: the Problem of the Mauryan Empire // IHR. Vol. XIV No. 1-2. 1987-1988.

Upasak (Upasak C.S. History and Palaeography of Mauryan Brähml Script. Varanasi: Siddhartha Prakashan, 1960. P. 27) believes that it was an engraver.

Salomon R. Indian Epigraphy. P. 65; Sircar D.C. Indian Epigraphical Glossary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1966. P. 171.

Falk H. Asokan Sites and Artefacts. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2006. P. 58. “Yajnavalkya” II.88: etanmayä likhitam hyamukeneti... lekhako "nte tato likhet (“Let the scribe write at the end: this was written by me, so and so”) Norman K.R. Middle Indo-Aryan Studies X // Norman K. R. Collected Papers. Vol. I. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1990. P 161-162. Hinüber O. von. Der Beginn der Schrift. S. 59-60; similarly expressed by G Falk: Falk H. Schrift im alten Indien. Tübingen: Günter

Narr, 1993; see also Goyal S.R. Ancient Indian Inscriptions. Recent Finds and New Interpretations. Jodhpur: Kusumanjali Book World, 2005. Perhaps sometimes these were officials who migrated from Magadha - in any case, the inscriptions from the southern borders of the state are written in the same eastern dialect (and the population there was completely Dravidian).

K.L. rightly draws attention to this circumstance. Yanert. See JanertK.L. Abstände... S. 19.

Lüders H. A List of Brahmi Inscriptions. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, 1912. No. 209, 1037, 1045, 1138, 1148, 1149, 1291. In the Puranas (Shabdakalpadruma II.93) one can find the following statement: “The scribe has the right to write down whatever he wants with a pen ink (masya saha lekhanya) - but not the Vedic text (vaidikam).” Biruni A. India // Biruni A. Selected works. T. II. Tashkent: Publishing house. Academy of Sciences of the UzSSR, 1963. P. 141.

Dieringer D. Alphabet. M.: Publishing house. foreign literature, 1963. P. 388. Yavanl.

Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya claims that the text dates back to the turn of the century. e., which is difficult to reconcile with the mention of the Huns (Vorobyeva-Desyatovskaya M.I. Manuscript book in the culture of the peoples of the East. Book 2. M.: Nauka, 1988. P. 23).

Stein O. Versuch einer Analyze des Sasanadhikara // Stein O. Kleine Schriften. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1985.

Wilson H. A Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms. London: W.H. Allen and Company, 1855, p. 406.

Strauch I. Die Lekhapaddhati-Lekhapancasika. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, 2002. S. 17.

Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings (CII, Vol. III). Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1981. P. 360.

Visakhadatta. Mudraraksasa. Poona: Royal Book Stall, 1948. P. 20. Ibid. P. 24.

“Parasara-smriti” XII.25; "Vishnudharmottara Purana" II.61.28; Agni Purana 223.11, cf. "Nitisara" V.81; "Manasollasa" II.155-156; "Yogayatra" I.18.

Already in the Mahabharata it is said (II.5.62) that “scribes and accountants” (ganakalekhaka) are used in matters of “receipt and expense” (ayavyaya) at the royal court. Apararka explains the word kayastha in Yajnavalkya II.336: "tax officials" (karadhikrta). In a similar sloka "Manu" there is simply "the king's servant" (bhrtya). At least after the 11th century. some kayasthas received villages with dependent farmers (Thapar R. Social Mobility in Ancient India

with Special Reference to Elite Groups // Indian Society: Historical Probings. Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1974. P. 112). See EI. XVIII.243: vallabha from kayasthavamsa “feudal lord from the family of scribes,” cf. Vijnanesvara’s commentary on “Yajnavalkya” II.336 about royal scribes “ favorites" or feudal lords (rajavallabha).

Kane P. V. History of Dharmasastra. Vol. II. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1974. P. 76.

Baines A. Ethnography (Castes and Tribes). Strassburg: K.J. Trubner. 1912. P. 38-39; ThaparR. Cultural Pasts. Essays in Early Indian History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. P. 202. See Angavijja. Banaras: Prakrit Text Society, 1957. P. 160; Wed Kane P.V. History. P- 76 (quote from Veda-Vyasa-smriti, according to which scribes are associated with barbers, potters and other sudras). Food from a scribe should no more be accepted than from a goldsmith or a libertine. masisaka - lit. "wielding ink."

See Sabdakalpadruma (Vol. II. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1961) for a selection of derogatory characteristics of scribes (kayastha, lipikaraka), who are said to be the Sudra caste: they come from the soles of the feet of Prajapati and are supposed to be servants of the brahmanas (viprasevaka). ). Kane P. V. History. P. 75-77.

Each of the monuments we examined has, as we sought to show, a special, unique specificity. The mythological and ideological ideas that underlay the Vedas, epics, Buddhist and Jain canons, respectively, are different, the principles of their composition are dissimilar, and the stylistic accents are placed differently. However, at the same time, one cannot help but notice that they all share some common characteristics, which, in accordance with chronological criteria, definitely indicate that they belong to one thing, namely the early period of the development of ancient Indian literature.

First of all, as evidenced by the comparative history of the literatures of Antiquity, the formation of these literatures usually begins with the appearance of religious codes and epics. The first works of Chinese literature are considered to be “Shujing”, “Shijing” and “Iijing”, included in the Confucian “Pentateuch”, the history of Iranian literature opens with the Avesta, Jewish - the Bible, Greek - “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. Among ancient monuments Mesopotamian, Ugaritic, Hittite and Egyptian literatures are dominated by fragments of mythological epic and ritual texts. From this point of view, it seems logical that the beginning of the development of Indian literature was marked by the creation of precisely those four literary complexes (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and epic) that were discussed.

Further, the Vedas, the Tipitaka, and the epic developed as a whole over many centuries, and they developed in line with the oral, rather than written, tradition. We know that the letter was already known to the population of the Indus Valley in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e., then his skills were lost, and writing in India was revived only around the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. However, initially it was apparently used mainly only for administrative and economic purposes. Although the Rig Veda already existed by 1000 BC. e., Vedic literature in general - by 500 BC. e., and the early versions of the epic and the first Buddhist and Jain texts - by 400-200 BC. Don. e., they were not recorded immediately and, at least until the turn of our era, functioned as oral monuments. This led to several important consequences for all Indian literature of the ancient period.

Since her works were not fixed, we often deal with not one, but several texts (editions) of the same monument, and in this case it is useless to find its original or archetype. Oral existence also explains such features of the style of the Vedas, epics, “Tipitaka”, as the abundance in them of clichéd phraseological units (so-called “formulas”), repetitions, refrains, etc. In formulas and repetitions they often see the heritage inherent, for example, in hymns Vedas of magical functions, but first of all they were a necessary condition for the creation of any kind of text in oral form and its subsequent reproduction “from memory” by new performers. Oral origin finally determines some of the basic methods of constructing the most ancient Indian monuments (in the form of a sermon, dialogue, address, panegyric, etc.), as well as a number of their names that have come down to us by tradition (shruti, upanishads, etc.).

Partly related to the oral nature of the works we have considered is the fact that we have already noted that they are not distinguished as strictly literary works. It would, of course, be wrong to say that every ancient Indian text pursued only practical - religious or didactic - goals, but in general aesthetic goals have not yet come to the fore. And although we are dealing with works whose artistic merit unique in their own way, it is no coincidence that most of them were part of religious codes, and the Sanskrit epic, and above all the Mahabharata, is highly characterized by ethical and philosophical coloring.

Lack of artistic self-awareness in Indian culture of the 1st millennium BC. e. It also reveals itself in the fact that the idea of ​​the creator of the work has not yet crystallized into the concept of the poet. The hymns of the Rigveda were composed, as legend says, by the legendary prophets-rishis, the Brahman prose and dialogues of the Upanishads - by holy sages, Buddhist and Jain texts - by religious teachers Buddha and Mahavira and their associates.

At the same time, literature remained mostly anonymous, the name of the author did not so much indicate the real creator of this or that monument, but rather asserted its significance, and the literary work belonged, in fact, to the entire society or at least one of its social or religious stratum in in general.

And therefore - perhaps with the only exception of the Ramayana, which is already on the threshold of a new stage in the development of literature - it would be futile to look for signs of individual style, themes, and means of expression in ancient Indian literature.

Naturally, when literature is not yet aware of its autonomy, literary theory cannot take shape, although the unlimited possibilities of the word as such were more than once praised by the creators of Vedic chants. And since there was no literary theory, one cannot speak in connection with ancient Indian literature and about a clear differentiation of genres in it. When in the Vedic Samhitas we distinguish epic, dramatic and even lyrical hymns, in the Brahmanas we separate theological instructions from narrative episodes, in the Upanishads we isolate philosophical dialogues, and in the Tipitaka - fables, parables, biographies, etc., we are in some kind of In this way, we introduce the genre classification of later literature into monuments that are syncretic in their essence. In Indian literature of the Ancient period, a work existed as an indivisible whole, subject to special laws, and this literature must be assessed, first of all, in accordance with the norms and principles put forward by it.

However, this does not mean that already in the literature of the 1st millennium BC. e. new genres and forms were not maturing, albeit still in a diffuse, mixed state. These genres and forms were adopted, developed and refined in stable outlines, by the subsequent literary tradition. Together with them, she inherited everything that turned out to be viable in the ideological concepts, themes and visual means of the Vedas, epics, Buddhist and Jain texts. And these monuments, although they remain valuable and unique in their appearance and artistic achievements, at the same time can be considered as a prologue to the entire further development of Indian literature.

History of world literature: in 9 volumes / Edited by I.S. Braginsky and others - M., 1983-1984.