TY - JOUR
AU1 - Patton, Laurie L.
AB - This article takes up the question, Who is aunaka? from a literary angle. aunaka was both a proponent of a method of Vedic interpretation and a mythological sage. It examines the references to aunaka in the Vedic and Epic literature, and characterizes the distinction of his approach. aunaka's emphasis on the role of the deity and the giving of names (nmadheya) in ritual activities is distinct from other sages. Second, it argues that the later legends that treat the progenitor of this school, the sage unaka, as well as his descendant, aunaka, focus in some way on the power of the deity within ritual action, especially the use of mantra. In his penchant for mantra-centered theological commentary (especially through etymological means), aunaka stands for a deity-centered literary style, even in the later texts in which he appears as a mythological figure. The article ends by suggesting that in ancient India, an author does not create a text so much as a textual tradition creates a sense of authorial capacity, an authorial imaginaire.
TI - Traces of aunaka: A Literary Assessment
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Religion
DO - 10.1093/jaarel/lfq062
DA - 2011-03-11
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/traces-of-aunaka-a-literary-assessment-9MqLPA55Ih
SP - 113
EP - 135
VL - 79
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -