The Snake and the Mongoose : The Emergence of Identity in Early Indian Religion

Since the beginning of modern Indology in the 19th century, the relationship between the early Indian religions of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism has been predicated on a perceived dichotomy between two meta-historical identities: "the Brahmans" (purveyors of the ancient Vedic texts and associated ritual system) and the newer "non-Brahmanical" sramana movements from which the Buddhists and Jains emerged. Textbook and scholarly accounts postulate an opposition between these two groups, citing the 2nd-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian Pata�jali, who is often quoted erroneously as likening them to the proverbial enemies snake and mongoose. Scholars continue to privilege Brahmanical Hindu accounts of early Indian history, and further portray Buddhist and Jain deviations from those accounts as evidence of their opposition to a pre-existing Brahmanism. In The Snake and The Mongoose , Nathan McGovern turns this commonly-accepted model of the origins of the early Indian religions on its head. His book seeks to de-center the Hindu Brahman from our understanding of Indian religion by "taming the snake and the mongoose"--that is, by abandoning the anachronistic distinction between "Brahmanical" and "non-Brahmanical." Instead, McGovern allows the earliest articulations of identity in Indian religion to speak for themselves through a comparative reading of texts preserved by the three major groups that emerged from the social, political, cultural, and religious foment of the late first millennium BCE: the Buddhists and Jains as they represented themselves in their earliest sutras, and the Vedic Brahmans as they represented themselves in their Dharma Sutras. The picture that emerges is not of a fundamental dichotomy between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical, but rather of many different groups who all saw themselves as Brahmanical. Thus, McGovern argues, it was through the contestation between these groups that the distinction between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical--the snake and the mongoose--emerged. Since the beginning of modern Indology in the 19th century, the relationship between the early Indian religions of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism has been predicated on a perceived dichotomy between two meta-historical identities:'the Brahmans'(purveyors of the ancient Vedic texts and associated ritual system) and the newer'non-Brahmanical'sramana movements from which the Buddhists and Jains emerged. Textbook and scholarly accounts postulate an opposition between these two groups, citing the 2nd-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian Patañjali, who is often quoted erroneously as likening them to the proverbial enemies snake and mongoose. Scholars continue to privilege Brahmanical Hindu accounts of early Indian history, and further portray Buddhist and Jain deviations from those accounts as evidence of their opposition to a pre-existing Brahmanism. In The Snake and The Mongoose, Nathan McGovern turns this commonly-accepted model of the origins of the early Indian religions on its head. His book seeks to de-center the Hindu Brahman from our understanding of Indian religion by'taming the snake and the mongoose'--that is, by abandoning the anachronistic distinction between'Brahmanical'and'non-Brahmanical.'Instead, McGovern allows the earliest articulations of identity in Indian religion to speak for themselves through a comparative reading of texts preserved by the three major groups that emerged from the social, political, cultural, and religious foment of the late first millennium BCE: the Buddhists and Jains as they represented themselves in their earliest sutras, and the Vedic Brahmans as they represented themselves in their Dharma Sutras. The picture that emerges is not of a fundamental dichotomy between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical, but rather of many different groups who all saw themselves as Brahmanical. Thus, McGovern argues, it was through the contestation between these groups that the distinction between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical--the snake and the mongoose--emerged. This book turns the commonly accepted model of the origins of the early Indian religions on its head. Since the beginning of modern Indology in the 19th century, the relationship between the major early Indian religions of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism has been based on an assumed dichotomy between two metahistorical identities: “the Brahmans” and the newer “non-Brahmanical” __śramaṇa__ movements. Textbook and scholarly accounts typically purport an “opposition” between these two groups by citing the 2nd century BCE Sanskrit grammarian Patañjali, often stating erroneously that he compared their animosity for one another to that of the snake and the mongoose. This book seeks to de-center the Hindu Brahman from our understanding of Indian religion by “taming the snake and the mongoose”—that is, abandoning the anachronistic distinction between “Brahmanical” and “non-Brahmanical” and letting the earliest articulations of identity in Indian religion speak for themselves on their own terms. It accomplishes this goal through a comparative reading of texts preserved by the three major groups that emerged from the social, political, cultural, and religious foment of the late first millennium BCE: the Buddhists and Jains as they represented themselves in their earliest __sūtra__s, and the Vedic Brahmans as they represented themselves in their Dharma Sūtras. The picture that emerges is not of a fundamental dichotomy between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical, but rather of many different groups who __all__ saw themselves as Brahmanical, and out of whose contestation with one another the distinction between Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical the snake and the mongoose emerged. "[This is the] first scholarly work on early India that abandons the meta-historical assumption of a dichotomy between 'Brahmanical' and 'non-Brahmanical.' [It] analyzes all three major early Indian traditions (Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahmanism), and makes use of all forms of written evidence, including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and Chinese. [It is] useful not only for specialists in early Indian religions, but also teachers of world religions in general, as well as non-academic audiences (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain) whose narratives of identity are affected by the 'Brahmanical' vs. 'non-Brahmanical' distinction." -- Provided by publisher Cover 1 The Snake and the Mongoose 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 14 1. Introduction 16 2. The Snake and the Mongoose at the Horizon of Indian History 54 3. Taming the Snake and the Mongoose of Indian History 80 4. The Brahman as a Celibate Renunciant 100 5. The Brahman as the Head of a Household 148 6. The Emergence of the Snake and the Mongoose 180 7. Losing an Argument by Focusing on Being Right 208 8. Conclusion 232 Notes 240 Bibliography 308 Index 320