On Isomorphous Comparisons in Indian Philosophical and Doctrinal Texts
This article treats a textual technique which is amply represented in Indian philosophical and religious traditions viz. elaborated similes of the intellectual and doctrinal tenets. The earliest examples are encountered in the ancient Upanishads e.g. Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chandogya and Kāṭha. Two semantical types of these similes have been identified. The first one is less consistent and more picturesque being primarily of a rhetorical and aesthetic value. It is to be found in religious and narrative literature (Buddhist Mahayana vaipulya sutras &c). The latter one is that of systematic sophisticated illustrations which are addressed to intellectuals and presuppose scrutiny and perusal. In such cases the similitude details had been developed according to one principle. The similes if this type are a pedagogical textual device.