Project Overview

This project is an extensive revision of Ram Karan Sharma’s prior research on similies, metaphors, and figures of speech in the context of Sanskrit oral poetry. Dr. Sharma’s earlier book, Elements of Poetry in the Mahābhārata (Second Edition), covers selected books of the Mahābhārata. It is a systematic analysis of similies, metaphors, and figures of speech in Sanskrit epic poetry.

The current project, which began in 2005, is to create a complete concordance of images in the two great epics of India, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata.

The vast size of the combined epics makes computer analysis essential. The keyword files used for the grammatical analysis and lexical parsing of the Sanskrit texts can be downloaded by other researchers for use in their own work. The same keyword strategies can be used to find similar references in any Sanskrit corpus encoded in Unicode transliteration. It is our hope that these keyword files will be of use to the field.

The electronic analysis text files presented here are encoded in Unicode (UTF-8).

Documentation

• Abstract of presentation for 15th World Sanskrit Conference, New Delhi, 9 January 2012 (PDF)
• Full presentation for 15th World Sanskrit Conference, New Delhi, 9 January 2012 (PDF)
• Audio overview of the project by Dr. Sharma, recorded 1 July 2008 (mp3, 11:14, 10.5 MB)
• Overview of oral technique in the epics, recorded 4 February 2009 (mp3, 13:45, 12.9 MB, unedited)
• PowerPoint presentation on this project (given April 24, 2008, at University of California, Berkeley)
• Link to download site for AntConc concordance software by Laurence Anthony
• Link to download site for electronic text files of the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa by John Smith

Semantic extract files: The Gods

1. The Gods (Deva) in general > Keywords | Lines (586 as of v. 4)
2. Indra > Keywords | Lines (907 as of v. 19)
3. Śiva > Keywords | Lines (61 as of v. 6)
4. Viṣṇu > Keywords | Lines (54 as of v. 3)
5. Brahmā > Keywords | Lines (55 as of v. 2)
6. The Aśvins > Keywords | Lines(26 lines as of v. 3)
7. Savitṛ > Keywords | Lines (1 as of v. 1)
8. Mitrāvaruṇā > Keywords | Lines (1 as of v. 1)
9. Kubera > Keywords | Lines (38 as of v. 1)
10, Kārtikeya > Keywords | Lines (20 as of v. 2)
11. Kāma > Keywords | Lines (18 as of v. 2)
12. Yama > Keywords | Lines (348 as of v. 2)

Semantic extract files: The Goddesses

1. Aditi > Keywords | Lines (5 as of v. 1)
2. Umā (see section I.3 on Śiva’s family)
3. Śrī > Keywords | Lines (53 as of v. 1)
4. Ratī > Keywords | Lines (2 as of v. 1)
3. Kiṁnarī and Apsaras > Keywords | Lines (13 as of v. 1)

Semantic extract files: Other Topics

III. Sacrificial Objects (Yajña) > Keywords | Lines (53 as of v. 1)
IV. Fire (Agni) > Keywords | Lines (803 as of v. 6)
V. Sun (Sūrya) > Keywords | Lines (643 as of v. 7)
VI. Moon (Candra) > Keywords | Lines (276 as of v. 3)
VII. Planets (Graha) > Keywords | Lines (38 as of v. 2)
VIII. Comet (Dhūmaketu) > Keywords | Lines (6 as of v. 1)
IX.1. Constellations (Nakṣatra) > Keywords | Lines (26 as of v. 2)
IX.2. Stars (Tārā) > Keywords | Lines (3 as of v. 1)
X. The Earth (Pṛthivī) > Keywords | Lines (18 as of v. 1)

Keywords: Ram Karan Sharma / Sanskrit / Indian epics / Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata / Ramayana and the Mahabharata