Series | Antiquity Studies
Edited book | Wine Cultures
Chapter | The Gandhāric Roots of the Indian Symposion and Sympotic-like Elements in Buddhist Literature
The Gandhāric Roots of the Indian Symposion and Sympotic-like Elements in Buddhist Literature
Abstract
Starting with a recent work by Kenneth G. Zysk “From Symposion to Goṣṭhī: The Adaptation of a Greek Social Custom in Ancient India”, this contribution aims to analyse evidence about the three sympotic elements (alcohol, sex, and intellectual pursuits) in the Gandhāra region. Gandhāra is, indeed, the ideal area in which a métissage of cultures could occur, and an ideal place in which the Greek symposion could at first be accommodated and then later spread. Then, Buddhist literary sources (with a special reference to those in Pāli) will be considered in order to analyse some relevant sympotic-like elements. Most notably, a feast occurring in the Pāli Vinaya, the regulative monastic code of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, will be examined, highlighting its sympotic characteristics. Furthermore, three groups of deities known as karoṭapāṇi ‘Those with cups in hands’, mālādhara ‘Garland-bearers’, and sadāmatta/sadāmada ‘Always euphoric/drunk’ will be discussed. These deities are represented in iconography, well attested in Buddhist literary sources in Sanskrit and Chinese, and even mentioned in Pāli literature. Their sympotic function in Buddhist cosmology as hypostatisations of the three sympotic elements of the symposion will be advanced.
Submitted: Oct. 9, 2023 | Accepted: May 28, 2024 | Published Oct. 8, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Symposium • Vinaya • Pāli • Buddhism • Gandhāra • Buddhist Cosmology
Copyright © 2024 Bryan De Notariis. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-816-3/002
