The first project of the Kalakosa is a lexicon of fundamental concepts of the Indian arts. In consultation with various scholars a list of about 250 terms of concepts has been prepared. The criteria for selecting these terms were based on a survey of their pervasiveness as also their interdisciplinary nature, i.e. terms selected, whereas those limited to a particular field were excluded. The evolution of a concept from its most abstract level to concrete fields of the arts is explored. Each concept is investigated through several disciplines and primary texts. Its extension and radiation in several fields are traced. For example, the most abstract metaphysical concept, such as Brahman, has penetrated the concrete fields of the arts, as Brahmasutra, Brahmasthana in the context of architecture, sculpture or theatre.
The method adopted for the lexicon is based on sifting primary source material in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali. Major texts are perused, quotations relevant to the particular terms are extracted. These quotations are written on cards in Sanskrit (both in Devanagari and Roman Characters) with English translation, giving the shades of meaning as well as contextual notes and/or the relevant commentary. Alongwith the major terms, cognate terms are also included, as well as compounds, synonyms, etc. The quotations are related to the definition of a concept, its first occurrence, important usages, sub-division, etc. Several thousand cards from various Sastras have been collected. A computerised database is being developed on the basis of the cards.
The articles on the terms, written on the basis of the cards, do not claim to give a complete history of the concept, which would not be possible at the present stage of indological research.However, they can show the stages through which a concept has travelled, from the Vedas with their ramifications in the speculative, physical, ritual and mythological/narrative fields, from Buddhist and Jain sources, through Vedangas or ancient sciences, the various Sastras, Puranas, Tantras, Darsanas, etc. till its crystallisation in the different arts. The relation between the conceptual background and the manifestation in the arts will be the main focus of the articles. The arts occupy an intermediate position and hence mediate between metaphysics and physics, between spirituality and science; e.g., a stupa or temple represents a whole metaphysical conception, and at the same time its building required the technical science of architecture and engineering. An interdisciplinary approach is thus indispensable.
The Tantric dictum: Sarvam Sarvatmakam, everything is related to the totality (or: every detail is related to the whole), serves as a kind of magic key to unravel these concepts. As for possible schemes of interpretation, which may be obvious or implicit, the Indian tradition itself offers sufficient categories. The various schemes of two or three levels of understanding reality can be applied here: the Vedic division in Adhibhuta (physical), Adhidaiva (divine) and Adhyatma (human, spiritual); the pervasive conception of the three dimensions of Sthula (gross, physical), Suksma (subtle, psychic) and Para (transcendent); the differentiation in the manifest and the unmanifest (Vyakta, Avyakta and Vyaktavyakta), and others serve as a hermeneutical basis. Depending on the context, the starting point may be physical/scientific or metaphysical/conceptual, but other dimensions are not excluded. Unidimensional or one-sided interpretations are eschewed.
List of Kalatattvakosa Series Books
