The background of Indian influence on Mani and its evidence in Šābuhragān

Document Type : Scientific

Author

Department of Culture and Ancient Iranian Languages, Faculty of Persian and Foreign Languages, University of Tabriz, Tabriz-Iran

Abstract

Most scholars who do research on Manichaeism and its founder, Mani, believe that he did not possess suitable knowledge about the Buddha’s teachings, and Mani’s familiarity with Indian schools was limited to only a couple of years of his journey somewhere in the subcontinent. On this premise, those scholars argue that the information regarding Buddha and his teachings provided in the Manichaean texts, is related to the Manichaean society of Great Khorasan, who, due to their vicinity to the Buddhist cultural milieu, have included the religious terminology of Buddhism into Manichaeism. This aforementioned assessment is not acceptable for some reason proposed and discussed in this article: There is notable evidence that shows before travelling to India, Mani was acquainted with Indian schools, especially with Buddhism, so that he made a trip there to complete what he had learned about them in his homeland. Moreover, the Iranian philosophers were obviously aware of Indian knowledge and sciences, inasmuch as meetings of debate have been frequently held in the Shahs’ court between the sages of different schools. According to the spread of Indian teachings in Iran, and the documentation provided by Mani and Manichaean writings, it can be illustrated that before traveling and during the formative years of his principles and revelation, Mani made great use of Indian knowledge and schools; further, in his description of the universe and celestial bodies in Šābuhragān, he was influenced by Indian astronomy and astrology.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abol-ghassemi, M. (2002). Mānī: Ibn al-Nadīm’s account. 2nd ed.: Tahoori. (in Persian)
Asmussen, J. S. (1975). Manichaean literature. New York: Scholars’ Facsimiles and Reprints.
Asmussen, J. S. (1989). Ammō, Mār. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on December 8, 2023. AMMŌ, MĀR – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org)
Bahar, M. & Esmailpour, A. (2015). Manichaean Literature: Karnameh. (in Persian)
Baker-Brian, N. J. (2011). Manichaeism: An ancient faith rediscovered. London: T&T Clark International.
BeDuhn, J. (2015). Parallels between Coptic and Iranian Kephalaia: Goundesh and the King of Turan. In: J. van Ort & E. Thomassen (eds.), Mani at the court of the Persian kings (pp. 52-74). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Bermejo, F. (2009). Primal man, Son of God: from explicit to implicit Christian elements in Manichaeism. In: S. G. Richter & others (eds.), Mani in Dublin (pp 34-46). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Biruni, A. (1983). Tahghigh-e Malelhend. Translated by M. Sadoughi Soha: Institude for cultural studies and research. (in Persian)
Bondahiš. (2006). translated by M. Bahar. 3rd ed.: Toos. (in Persian)
Boyce, M. (1975). A Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian (Acta Iranica 9). Téhéran-Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi.
Carrithers, M. (2009). The Buddha. Translated by Ali-Mahammad Haghshenas. 5th ed.: Tarh-e no. (in Persian)
Cheung, J. (2007). Etymological dictionary of the Iranian verb. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Deeg, M. & Gardner, I. (2009). Indian influence on Mani reconsidered the case of Jainism. International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online). 5 (2), 1-30.
Dilley, P. (2015). Hell exists, and we have seen the place where it is: Rapture and religious competition in Sasanian Iran. In: J. van Ort & E. Thomassen (eds.), Mani at the court of the Persian kings (pp. 211-246). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Gardner, I. (1995). The Kephalaia of the Teacher. Leiden – New York – Köln: Brill.
Gardner, I. (2001). The reconstructing of Mani’s Epistles from three Coptic codices. In: P. Mirecki & J. Beduhn (eds.), The light and the darkness (pp. 93-104). Leiden-Boston-Köln: Brill.
Gardner, I. (2015). The final ten chapters. In: J. van Ort & E. Thomassen (eds.), Mani at the court of the Persian kings (pp. 75-97). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Gardner, I. (2018). Kephalaia. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on December 8, 2023. KEPHALAIA – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org)
Gardner, I. & Lieu S. N. C. (2009). Manichaean texts from the Roman Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hartner, W. (1938). The pseudoplanetary nodes of the moon’s orbit in Hindu and Islamic iconographies. Ars Islamica. 5, (2), 112-154.
Henning, W. B. (1933). Das verbum des Mittelpersischen der Turfanfragmente. ZII 9, 158-253 (sel. pap. I: 65-160).
Henning, W. B. (1948). A Sogdian fragment of the Manichaean cosmogony. BSOAS XII, 306-318.
Jackson, A. V. W. (1932). Researchers in Manichaeism. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kevin Koil, J. (2009). Manichaeism and its legacy. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Klimkeit, H. J. (1993). Gnosis on the silk road: Gnostic texts from Central Asia. San Francisco: Harper.
Kuehn, S. (2016). The eclipse demons Rāhu and Ketu in Islamic astral sciences. In: D. Antonov & O. Khristoforva (eds.),  In Umbra: Demonology as a Semiotic system; АЛЬМАНАХ 5 (pp. 204-235). Moscow: Indrik.
Lieu, S. N. C. (1999). Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East. Leiden-Boston, Köln: Brill.
Manichaean Psalm-Book. (2009). Translated from Coptic to English by C. R. C. Alberry, translared from English to persian by A. Esmailpour. Tehran: Ostoore. (in Persian)
Minu-ye kherad. (1985). Translated by A. Tafazzoli: Toos. (in Persian)
Mirfakhraie, M. (2004). Apostle of Light: Mani and his teachings: Phoenix. (in Persian)
Panaino, A. (2009). Sasanian astronomy and astrology in the contribution of David Pingree. In: Gh. Gnoli & A. Panaino (eds.), Kaid. Studies in history of mathematics, astronomy and astrology in memory of David Pingree (pp. 71-99). Roma: SOR CII.
Panaino, A. (2020). The conceptual image of the planets in ancient Iran and the process of their demonization: Visual materials and models of inclusion and exclusion in Iranian history of knowledge. N.T.M., 28, 359-389.
Pettipiece, T. (2009). Pentadic redaction in the Manichaean Kephalaia. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Pingree, D. (1963). Astronomy and astrology in India and Iran. ISIS, 54, (2), 229-246.
Schweer, T. (2006). Mandala. In: K. von Stuckrad (ed.), translated from the German by R. R. Barr, The Brill dictionary of religion, 3, 1140-1141. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Shaked, S. (1994). Dualism in Transformation. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
Sundermann, W. (1992). Cologne Mani Codex. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on December 8, 2023. COLOGNE MANI CODEX – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org)
Sundermann, W. (1993). Cosmogony and Cosmology in Manicheism. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on December 8, 2023. COSMOGONY AND COSMOLOGY iii. In Manicheism – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org)
Sundermann, W. (2009/a) Manicheism: General survey. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on August 6, 2023. MANICHEISM i. GENERAL SURVEY – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org) 
Sundermann, W. (2009/b). Manicheism: Missionary activity and technique. Encyclopædia Iranica (online). Accessed on August 6, 2023. MANICHEISM v. MISSIONARY ACTIVITY AND TECHNIQ – Encyclopaedia Iranica (iranicaonline.org)
Tagizadeh, S. H. (2004). Mānī-Shenāsī (Mani and Manichaeism). Compiled by I. Afshar: Toos. (in Persian)
Tanaka, K. (2018). Mandala from its genesis to the Kālacakratantra. Boston: Wisdom publications.
Widengren, G. (2005). Mani und der Manichäismus. Translated by N. S. Esfahani. 2nd ed.: Toos. (in Persian)
 
 

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics