The pistil of the renounciant, a fire without flames. Considerations on the symbology of the night jasmine in the Indian world

Authors

  • Gianni Pellegrini Università di Torino

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/1874

Keywords:

Indian asceticism, Renunciation, saṃnyāsa, Night jasmine, pātijāta

Abstract

Although the night jasmine – in Sanskrit pārijāta – is very well-known in the South Asian world, very few scholars have reflected upon its many significances, which go from mythology to medicine. Nevertheless, such a pleasantly fragrant, delicate and immaculate flower evocates several echoes in the Indians’ representative minds. In fact, due to some of its special features, the night jasmine is surely full of symbolism: it blossoms at the evening twilight and falls down at the morning one, its pistil is of an intense ochre colour, etc. In this essay will be analysed some of the peculiarities of the pārijāta flower, which connect it to the ascetic renounciant (saṃnyāsin).

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Author Biography

Gianni Pellegrini, Università di Torino

Gianni Pellegrini is Assistant Professor of Indian Philosophies and Religion, and Sanskrit Language and Literature at the Department of Humanities of the University of Turin. His areas of research are: the pre-modern Advaita Vedānta, the Yoga commentarial tradition, the contemporary situation of Indian schools of thought.

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Published

2016-12-08

Issue

No. 20 (2016)

Section

Movement 1: Sacredness and vegetation / Sacralità e vegetazione

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