Hi,
I’ve recently come across the word expression ‘in the grant’ in the following sentence:
'Bhandarkar refers to the commentary of Mālatīmādhava by Jagaddhara in which the vow of the Kāpālika is mentioned as the mahāvrata (p. 128); and he justifies this statement by pointing out that “the ascetics dwelling in the temples of Kapāleśvara in the Nasik district are called in the grant mahāvratins”.
Please could you explain what it could mean?
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Hi Irina,
I have puzzled over this and can’t give a definitive answer. All I can do is offer some suggestions. ‘Grant’ could mean - sect, race, tribe - these are just guesses, I’m afraid.
Alan
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Hi Irina and Alan, could it be a misinterpretation or mistranslation of the word ‘grand’ instead of ‘grant’?
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As I read it - and I could certainly be wrong - the ascetics (mahāvratins) seem to have been granted permission to dwell in the temple and so they were described as living “in the grant”.
I’ve never seen this phrasing before, but I note that in the U.S. there are land-grant colleges that were financed by land originally granted to them by the government.
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Hi,
Thank you very much for your comments. I wonder if the word ‘grant’ can mean ‘privileged’ here?
Maybe @Anglophile could put his two cents in as well?
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Sorry, @Irina_Bol.
Since it has an allusion to the epics I am not able to answer it right away. However, I have forwarded it to a friend of mine, a Sanskrit scholar, who is expected to throw some light on it. If so, I’ll get back to you.
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Thank you, Anglophile!
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Dear Irina
Here goes verbatim what the Sanskrit scholar, who is a professor (doctorate holder), has stated:
“Kapalikas have Ugra Bhairava as their deity and Mahavrata refers to killing a Brahmana.
Mahamamsa refers to human flesh. In Banabhatta’s Harshacharitam, there’s a reference to mahamamsa as a Tantric practice performed. Shaktas in Bengal and Odisha have this practice in remote places, even today.”
“Bhandarkarji might be referring to some grant, land grant from Nasik, where this reference occurs.”
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Hello Anglophile,
Thank you very much for your help. Please convey thanks to your friend who explained the meaning of this expression in detail.
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