Rule-extension strategies in Ancient India: Ritual, exegetical and linguistic considerations on the tantra- and prasanga-principles

The authors focus their attention on the usage and cultural history of two crucial terms in Sanskrit technical literature, namely tantra and prasaṅga (here translated as ‘centralised joint application’ and ‘automatic involvement’). They belong to a class of devices used to ‘extend’ the validity of a given rule outside its proper domain. Their functioning thus entails an organized spatial dimension which transforms an absolute absence in a specific one. The sources on which this inquiry is based are the most ancient Indian aphoristic treatises on ritual, exegesis and grammar with their first commentaries. A noteworthy outcome of this research is the evidence that a common prehistory and an almost constant mutual influence of these traditions should be postulated for the questioned rules.