Getting into the mind of Medhatithi

The arguments on corporal punishment

Authors

  • Elisa Freschi University of Toronto Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.25456

Keywords:

Sanskrit Jurisprudence, Mīmāṃsā, Dharmaśāstra, Sanskrit Philosophy, Medhātithi, Mānavadharmaśāstra

Abstract

This paper analyses Medhatithi’s discussion of corporal punishment, with special reference to the debate staged in his commentary on MDh 8.318. His arguments are extremely sophisticated, especially because of the application of Mimamsa-influenced reasoning rules. The paper makes implicit steps and unspoken hypotheses explicit and highlights the selection process through which Medhatithi finally selects one solution to the controversy he examines over the others. For some instances of possible candidates: Is analogical reasoning able to provide stronger support than, for example, authoritative statements? What role does inner consistency play? Which criterion wins in case of conflicts among different textual passages? To test the inner-consistency criterion, the paper tackles the issue of corporal punishment as discussed in different contexts and tries to solve the seeming clashes that arise when different texts by Medhatithi are juxtaposed. It concludes by seeing Medhatithi’s commentary on MDh 8.318 as the culmination of a systematisation attempt regarding all cases of corporal punishment as distinctly ordained based on the purpose to be achieved.

Author Biography

  • Elisa Freschi, University of Toronto

    Elisa Freschi works on Sanskrit philosophy, more specifically on epistemology of testimony, philosophy of religion, philosophy of language, and on the reuse of texts in the Sanskrit cosmopolis. She is a convinced upholder of reading Sanskrit philosophical texts within their history and understanding them through a philosophical approach. She works on Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta and on deontic logic and Mīmāṃsā. Most of her publications can be read on Academia, and her thoughts on her blogs (elisafreschi.com or indianphilosophyblog.org).

References

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Published

2023-03-24

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Freschi, E. (2023). Getting into the mind of Medhatithi: The arguments on corporal punishment. Religions of South Asia, 17(1), 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.25456