Ayurveda and Philology: Gangadhar Ray Kaviraj and His Legacy

Wider research context: The Project investigates the philological activity of Gangadhar Ray Kaviraj (1798–1885), who was editor and commentator of one of the foundational Sanskrit works of Ayurveda, the Carakasamhita, The Project explores the interplay between Ayurveda and the Sanskritic culture during the colonial period and is situated in the fields of Ayurveda and South Asian studies.
Objectives: The global aim of the Project is to investigate the history of the Ayurvedic textual tradition during the colonial period by reconstructing Gangadhar’s philological activity, namely – borrowing from Sheldon Pollock – the set of editorial and interpretative practices employed “in making sense of texts”. Furthermore, the Project explores the cultural background of Ayurveda in 19th century South Asia and the legacy of Gangadhar’s philology in the making of modern Ayurveda, with special regard to issues of canon formation and professional identity.
Methods: The Project is based on the study of Sanskrit and Bengali texts, with textual analysis and textual criticism being the key components of the Project’s method. The methodological assumption of the proposed research is that, even if historical documents are scarce (as it is typically the case in South Asia), ideas, practices, and dynamics concerning or surrounding texts can in fact be reconstructed by analysing the texts themselves and the context of their production, and by carefully considering the interplay between different actors of the texts’ transmission and circulation.
Level of originality: While showing the possibilities offered by this kind of analysis as well as its challenges, the Project will for the first time provide (1) a substantial study on forms and uses of philology in 19th and early 20th century South Asia; (2) a textual-based examination of the fortunes of the Sanskrit textual heritage of Ayurveda in the colonial period; and (3) an investigation of the processes of knowledge transmission and knowledge-making connected to such a heritage. In doing so, the Project will also engage in a critical analysis of central concepts used in the field of philology, showing how philological practices in South Asia can and should expand the present canon of the discipline.
Primary researchers involved: The applicant Dr Cristina Pecchia; (Dr) Sudipta Munsi, who will join the project after completing his PhD, scheduled for October 2022; and another researcher at the PhD level.