When the king does philosophy. The Vedantic writings of Jasvant Singh of Mārvāḍ (1626–1678)

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2022 - 2025 (lopend)
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Abstract

This project aims at shedding light on the intellectual profile of King Jasvant Singh of Marvar (1626–1678), in today’s Rajasthan. My hypothesis is that Jasvant Singh – a prominent political leader – wished to portray himself as a perfect sovereign and that he channeled this ambition in his Vedantic writings, neglected by scholarship to this day. Therefore, I propose a close reading of his six works dealing with Vedanta philosophy in Brajbhasha, a North Indian literary vernacular, flourishing during 17th century. With the examination of Jasvant Singh’s works, I attempt to expand and complicate the canon of sources of Vedanta philosophies. Histories of Indian philosophy generally consider only Sanskrit technical literary genres (sutra, sastra) as sources because of their systematicity. My research challenges these assumptions and seeks to enrich our understanding of early modern Vedantic philosophies through non-conventional works, like dramas, in languages different from Sanskrit. In this sense, it provides insight on the interplay of literary genre and the communication of philosophy. The research will also contribute to discussions about the self-fashioning of a Rajput ruler – conventionally seen as responding to a warrior ethos – and the cultural ties with the Mughal court based on the shared interest in Vedanta.

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