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Divine Witness

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Abstract

When People were falsely accused, and yet there existed no human means to testify to the truth, to whom did they resort for the final judgment? In ancient India, it was a sort of ordeal (divya), which was inseparable from oath (śapatha) and act of truth (satya-kriyā). Here we present some examples and investigate who appear in these contexts. As a result, we could classify them into (1) mahā−bhuūta (fire, wind, water, etc.), (2) heavenly bodies (sun moon, etc.), (3) inner principles (heart, soul, etc.) and (4) gods (Agni, Vāyu, Indra, Yama, etc.). All these witnesses observe (paś-) the act of a human being, right as well as wrong, either transcendently from above like the sun, or immanently from inside like wind which circulates human body in the form of vital breath.

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Abbreviations

IS:

O. Böhtlingk, Indische Sprüche I-III (Osnabrück Reprint 1966)

MBh:

The Mahābhūrata (Poona Critical Edition)

MS:

Manusmṛti (NSP. 1946)

NS:

The Nāradasmṛti ed., by R.W. Lariviere (Philadelphia 1989)

NSP:

Nirnaya Sagara Press (Bombay)

R:

The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa (Baroda Critical Edition)

YS:

Yājñavalkya-smṛti (NSP. 1949)

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  1. 1-19-1-201 Ishikawa-cho, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 145-0061, Japan

    Minoru Hara

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  1. Minoru Hara
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Hara, M. Divine Witness. J Indian Philos 37, 253–272 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-009-9068-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-009-9068-x

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