DICSEP 2023 in Dubrovnik

by Olli-Pekka Littunen, Sanne Dokter-Mersch, and Kexin Zheng

Published on September 14, 2023

Members of the PURANA team had the opportunity to present their research in a special panel called “The Reuse and Recontextualization of Purāṇic Material” in the 10th DICSEP (Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas) conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This conference is organized every three years, and is hosted in Zagreb University’s Inter-University Centre in Dubrovnik.

In order of presentation, Sanne Dokter-Mersch spoke about the narrative frame of the first book of the Bhaviṣyapurāṇa, the Brāhmaparvan. She discovered that the text of this frame as it has been published by the Veṅkaṭeśvara Press (1897) is not found in any of the manuscripts that are described in descriptive catalogues or are available online. The manuscripts represent a different narrative frame, with a different text, where the interlocutors initially do not correspond to the interlocutors later in the same chapter. These discrepancies reveal some of the major problems that Purāṇa scholars face. First of all, there is a serious lack of information on which manuscripts the editions by the Veṅkaṭeśvara Press are based; second, at the same time, the text of the printed edition is considered “the” Purāṇa being published; and third, this canonization by print culture brings a manuscript culture to a halt. In order to tackle these challenges, Dokter-Mersch argues for more openness in Purāṇa research on the lack of information in printed editions and for gaining as much information as possible by reading the forewords of these editions; for awareness on the impact presses such as the Veṅkaṭeśvara Press has; and for reviving the Purāṇa by reintroducing their manuscripts.

Olli-Pekka Littunen spoke about the reception history of Matsyapurāṇa passages in a Vārāṇasīmāhātmyasaṃgraha (“compendium of Māhātmyas about Vārāṇasī”) manuscript and three Dharmanibandhas (“digests of dharma”). The examples show how the passages have been used in different ways, sometimes in altered forms (as in the compendium), and sometimes quoted and commented on (as in the digests). He showed how the usage of the Matsyapurāṇa passages is clearly flexible, adapting to and fitting multiple different contexts, and becoming canonized in the more popular sources while approaching near extinction in others. Such flexible usage is indicative of the idea of Purāṇas as a whole being a living tradition.

Kexin Zheng spoke about the discrepancies between the printed edition of the Liṅgapurāṇa and Hemādri’s citations for the mahādānas from the Liṅgapurāṇa. This research showed the importance of Hemādri’s work for the study of the uttarabhāga of the Liṅgapurāṇa – the citations help trace the transmission of the Liṅgapurāṇa. Through comparison, she finds it very likely that the version of the Liṅgapurāṇa Hemādri had access to is different from the extant Liṅgapurāṇa in terms of sectarian bias. Therefore, she appealed to further research on the manuscripts of the Liṅgapurāṇa.

Overall, the atmosphere of the conference was great, and we were able to talk to a lot of academics about our research projects, get useful feedback, and learn about what others in the field are currently working on. The organizers had also arranged for a boat trip, which was a nice break from an otherwise quite intensive schedule of multiple presentations a day. The conference was a success, and we are looking forward to its next edition!