374 BEVIEWS

(4) In verse 23 veddnta-vedyo yajnesah is the Arabic language, in which India was
rendered as ' the one whom the Upanisads actually written, operates with two genders
know, the lord of sacrifice'. Another possi- only and simply does not have a neuter gender.
bility might have been noted: ' the lord of In fact, the Arabic text in question here reads
sacrifice, known from the Upanisads' (and 1 ( - t» ~«i i_i_w- "^—lit.: ' A sword does not
intended creative ambivalence here cannot be cut her ', ' her ' referring to (_r_i_JI,' the soul'
ruled out). Cf. Bhavavadgita 15.15c : vedais ca (occurring earlier in the text and rendering
sarvair akam eva vedyo . . . ' That which is to
be known through all the Vedas (i.e. their dehin), which happens to be feminine in
subject-matter) am I '. Arabic.
(5) An oversight may account for a mis- (2) At p. 7, n. 21, Sharma discovers, to his
translation on p. 28 (verse 24) of asvamed- own satisfaction, a connexion with Sankara.
hddhikam punyatn samprdpnoti as ' acquires He is in fact misled by an irrelevant similarity
more merit than (one who performs) sacrifices which he detects between the Sanskrit word
like [sic] the Asvamedha ' (p. 32). Instead it vivaksuh, ' intending to say', in Sankara's
should run : ' . . . than (one who performs) the commentary on Bhagavadgita 15.12, and the
Asvamedha '. English ' to speak accurately '—an expression
TtTVIA GELBLUM used by Sachau to paraphrase al-Biruni's
Arabic expression J-toJI Xs- (lit.: ' upon
investigation ').
ARVIND SHARMA : Studies in ' Alberuni's (3) On p. 10 Sharma, in an attempt to solve
India '. (Studies in Oriental Religions. a problem which actually does not exist,
Vol. 9.) vi, [155] pp. Wiesbaden: conjectures that al-BirOnl may have had a
Otto Harrassowitz, 1983. different reading of Bhagavadgita 2.13:
As indicated by its chapter-titles, this book *dehdnta-prapti instead of dehdntara-prapti. In
contains discussions on four topics: (ch. i) fact, however, the latter phrase is faithfully
' Albiruni and the Bhagavadgita '; (ch. ii) represented in the Arabic text: jl JU^I J i ijJ
' Albiruni on the concept of avatdra in Hin- —lit.: ' is tossed about among the bodies ',
duism '; (ch. iii) ' Albiruni on Hindu xeno- i.e. ' is reborn '.
phobia ' ; (ch. iv) ' Albiriini's use of Qur'anic Sharma's treatment of related Sanskrit
verses '. material likewise leaves much to be desired.
Ever since al-Biruni's India was first pub- It is notably marked by blind reliance on
lished by Edward C. Sachau in 1887, scholars translations and second-hand information.
have been puzzled by the problem posed by Thus for instance, on pp. 135 ff. (in the chapter
the difficulty in identifying some of its alleged entitled, ' Albiruni's use of Qur'anic verses ')
quotations from the Bhagavadgita. The num- are discussed what are known as siddhis
ber of these quotations, left unidentified by (' perfections ' or ' attainments '), namely,
Sachau (in his English translation, London, epiphenomenal manifestations such as extra-
1910, Annotations), was significantly reduced sensory perception of the mystic. Sharma
in 1935 by J. Gonda, who succeeded in tracing appositely observes that ' Albiruni [seems] to
more of these apparently enigmatic quotations be making the case for supernatural powers in
back to the present text of the Bhagavadgita Hinduism more comprehensible (acceptable?)
(in his monograph ' The Javanese version of to his Muslim readers by indicating how it was
the Bhagavadgita', Tidjschrift voor Indische in conformity with the Sufi interpretation of
Tool-, Land- en Volkenkunde, LXXV, 1935, the Qur'an ' (p. 136). Yet, Sharma's own
49 ff.). The bulk (93 pp.) of the book under explanations of the ' eight siddhis ' are culled
review is concerned with just this problem. from a garbled account in an unreliable
That it aspires to deal with it by relying merely popular encyclopedia (B. Walker, The Hindu
on Sachau's English translation of India, world), without recourse to any primary
without recourse to the original Arabic text, is specified source. Such procedure is unhelpful,
a fundamental fault which ex hypothesi renders to say the least, for making the subject more
it uncritical. The consequences often con- comprehensible (let alone acceptable).
stitute a disconcerting travesty of research. Studiously, yet over-determinedly and not
To illustrate: judiciously, Sharma argues with reference to
(1) With reference to al-Biruni's translation Bhagavadgitd 2.23 (see above): ' Al-Biruni
of nainam chindanti sdstrdni in Bhagavadgita says: " no sword can cut it ", whereas the
2.23, Sharma tells us : verse uses the expression iaslrdni which is in
Albiruni says: ' no sword can cut i t ' . . . the plural in form and stands for weapons in
Some modern translations [of the Bhagavad- general rather than a sword in particular'
gita"] use the form ' him ' (enam) because the (p. 11). However, al-BIruni, who admittedly
word dehin used for the embodied soul is differs here from various modern translators
masculine, as is the word dtman, but it is (e.g. Radhakrishnan in India, Zaehner in the
worth noting that while the grammatical West), hardly deserves this censure. For the
gender of dehin or dtman is masculine, the term iaslra (from the root das, ' to cut')
dtman really possesses no physical gender, basically designates a particular type of cutting
as indeed is the case with brahman. Thus in or slashing weapon such as a sword or a knife
this case Albiruni is perhaps closer to the (cf. iastra-karma-krt, ' a surgeon', and the
spirit of the verse than those who are closer cognate Latin castrare ' to cut' and English
to the letter (p. 11). castrate). As such this specific type of weapon
Obviously Arvind Sharma is not cognizant of is distinguished from astra, ' weapons of
the fact that, unlike English (Sachau's ' it'), casting or shooting, missiles etc.'. Cf. Manu
 REVIEWS 375
10.79: iastrdstra-bhrttvarn ksatrasya ' The carry- goddess Earth, oppressed by her burden, is
ing of arms for striking and arms for throwing sinking into the water, and she begged me to
(is prescribed) for the warrior class '. More- bring about a universal destruction for her
over, al-Birfini's rendering of the term sastra sake. Since I do not know how to destroy
in the Bhagavadgitd verse in question is in all these increased beings, anger entered
consonance with the predicate therein: me " . . . Then he restrained his energy
chindanti, ' cut (or: cut down, cleave) '. It is within himself and created periodic creation
further supported by comparison with and dissolution. From him as he restrained
Bhagavadgitd 15.3(6): aivaJttham enam suviru- the fire of his anger there appeared a black
dhamulam asaiiga-sastrena drdhena chittvd woman with red garments and red eyes, and
' having cut down this firmly rooted Asvattha he called her Death and told her to destroy
(sacred fig tree, ficus religiosus) with the everyone.'
hardened axe (sastra, i.e. cutting instrument) of (For detailed analysis and translation of this
non-attachment'. Finally, if sastrdni could and related myths, see W. D. O'Flaherty, The
arguably stand by metaphorical extension for origins of evil in Hindu mythology, Delhi, 1976,
weapons in general—so could the correspond- 228 ff.; index s.v. ' overpopulation ' ; idem,
ing Arabic cJ-~—)l (' sword '). Incidentally, Hindu myths, Harmondsworth, 1975, 38 ff.,
Sharma himself, elsewhere (p. 31), adopts the 315-16). Likewise in Indian tribal mythology
translation of sastra by ' sword ' (re Bhagavad- as recorded by anthropologists ' the notion
gitd 15.3). that if nobody died the world would become
What is perhaps the centrepiece of the book overcrowded and unable to support the
under review may be found in the chapter population is widely distributed' (Verrier
entitled ' Al-BIruni on the concept of avatdra Elwin, Myths of Middle India, Oxford, 1949,
in Hinduism '. Sharma quotes (in toto) here 411; cited by O'Flaherty). As for the antiquity
from Sachau's translation the following of the Indian concern for overcrowded Earth,
passage: a reference in H. Raychaudri's Studies in
Indian antiquities, Calcutta, 1958, 42 (cited by
' The life of the world depends upon sowing Sharma himself, p. 101, n. 19) suggests that it
and procreating. Both processes increase in may be traced back to the Atharvaveda.
the course of time, and this increase is
unlimited, whilst the world is limited . . . Notwithstanding the two available editions
If thus the earth is ruined, or is near to be of the India (London, 1887 ; Hyderabad, 1958),
ruined, by having too many inhabitants, its the two translations thereof (English—London,
ruler . . . sends it a messenger for the purpose 1910; Russian—Tashkent, 1957-63), several
of reducing the too great number . . . ' monographs, as well as the contribution under
(p. 100). review, further pertinent philological research
is needed if improvement of our comprehension
Sharma then proceeds, not without exultation, of the work and its relation to its sources is to
to proclaim that with this ' ecological dimen- be attained.
sion ' al-BIruni ' makes his most original and TTTVIA OELBUJM
perhaps daring contribution to the doctrine of
avatdra', that ' it is almost modern in its
outlook and, if one might say so, neo-
Malthusian . . . its originality and novelty . . .
it shows the kind of thinking, one ventures to MICHAEL HAHN : Nagdrjuna's Ratnd-
suggest, which found its finest expression in vali. Vol. i: the basic texts (Sanskrit,
Islamic culture in Ibn-Khaldun ' (loc. cit.). Tibetan, Chinese). (Indica et Tibetica,
However, an Indian origin for the idea in Bd. 1.) [ii], vi, 208 pp. Bonn : Indica
question is by far more likely. For parallel
ideas, conveyed in mythical fashion, regarding et Tibetica Verlag, 1982.
fear of over-population, or the amoral and
necessary function of death as preventing KONRAD KLAUS : Das Maitrakanya-
overcrowding of the earth, are not unknown kdvaddna (Divydvaddna 38): Sans-
in the Indian tradition itself. Cf. esp. Mahd- krittext und deutsche tlbersetzung. (In-
bhdrata, crit. ed. 12.248.13 ff. (also 1.189.1 ff.; dica et Tibetica, Bd. 2.) [iv], 108 pp.
3. app. 1, no. 16, lines 70-126). An abridged
translation of the myth here reads : Bonn: Indica et Tibetica Verlag,
' At the time of creation, the Creator (lit.: 1983.
Grandfather) produced living beings. They The series Indica et Tibetica, edited by
greatly increased in age and number and, Michael Hahn (Bonn) with the collaboration
moreover, did not die (read: ativa vfddhd of Jens-Uwe Hartmann (Gottingen) and Kon-
bahula na mjias te tatah punah). There was rad Klaus (Marburg), is indeed welcome. It
no space anywhere between creatures ; there provides a focus for the abundant contribution
was no space to breathe, so congested was to Buddhist Sanskrit and Tibetan studies that
the triple world. He began to worry about has been encouraged in Germany by the
destroying (or controlling, samhdra) it, but Nepal-German Project and will doubtless
he could not find a means for accomplishing stimulate still further research and publication.
this destruction . . . a fire arose from his In Bd. 1, Hahn offers new editions of the
anger and began to burn the universe on all Ratnavali of NSgarjuna in Sanskrit and
sides, enveloping heaven and earth in a halo Tibetan, together with a reproduction of the
of flames that killed everything . . . He Chinese version. Even this does not exhaust
said, " I am not angry, nor do I desire that the requirements of critical study of the textual
there should be no creatures. But the transmission. The background of the Chinese