Divine Witness

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 a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Indian philosophy 2009-06, Vol.37 (3), p.253-272
Main Author: Hara, Minoru
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asian religions
Bodhisattva
Body/Body Parts
Chastity
Consciousness
Deities
Divinity
Earths Moon
Education
Epic literature
Gods
Hindus
History and sciences of religions
India
Judgment
Natural satellites
Non-Western Philosophy
Oaths
Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion
Religious Studies
Soul
Truth
Varuna
Vedic religions. Hinduism. Jainism. Sikhism
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Summary: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-bhūta (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.
ISSN:0022-1791
1573-0395
DOI:10.1007/s10781-009-9068-x