Puruṣa: Personhood in Ancient India

Description: Puru?a: Personhood in Ancient India [Hardcover] Robertson, Matthew I. Product Overview Personhood is central to the worldview of ancient India. Across voluminous texts and diverse traditions, the subject of the puruṣa, the Sanskrit term for "person," has been a constant source of insight and innovation. Yet little sustained scholarly attention has been paid to the precise meanings of the puruṣa concept or its historical transformations within and across traditions. In Puruṣa: Personhood in Ancient India, Matthew I. Robertson traces the history of Indic thinking about puruṣas through an extensive analysis of the major texts and traditions of ancient India. Through clear explanations of classic Sanskrit texts and the idioms of Indian traditions, Robertson discerns the emergence and development of a sustained, paradigmatic understanding that persons are deeply confluent with the world. Personhood is worldhood. Puruṣa argues for the significance of this "worldly" thinking about personhood to Indian traditions and identifies a host of techniques that were developed to "extend" and "expand" persons to ever-greater scopes. Ritualized swellings of sovereigns to match the extent of their realm find complement in ascetic meditations on the intersubjective nature of perceptually delimited person- worlds, which in turn find complement in yogas of sensory restraint, the dietary regimens of Ayurvedic medicine, and the devotional theologies by which persons "share" and "eat" the expansive divinity of God. Whether in the guise of a king, an ascetic, a yogi, a buddha, or a patient in the care of an Ayurvedic physician, fully realized persons know themselves to be coterminous with the horizons of their world. Offering new readings of classic works and addressing the fields of religion, politics, philosophy, medicine, and literature, Puruṣa: Personhood in Ancient India challenges us to reexamine the goals of ancient Indian religions and yields new insights into the interrelated natures of persons and the worlds in which they live. Read more Details Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (February 2, 2024) Language ‏ : ‎ English Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 296 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0197693601 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 05 Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.9 x 1.5 x 6.4 inches Best Sellers Rank: #6,597,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,049 in Hindu Theology (Books) #1,570 in History of Hinduism #1,833 in Indian Eastern Philosophy #1,049 in Hindu Theology (Books) #1,570 in History of Hinduism We have been selling used books since 2012, and we've learned that the most important thing is doing good business. Honesty is our policy. Free Shipping We ship worldwide. We have multiple warehouses around the world, so please note the extended handling time on certain listings.

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