Envisioning Voice and the Aphasic Ears

Of Sanskrit Reflective Traditions Today

Dr D Venkat Rao (English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic India
30 October 2025

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary theory; Literary studies: post-colonial literature; Social & cultural history; Oriental & Indian philosophy

This book explores the possibility of using Sanskrit as a basis for rethinking human thought and reflection, challenging the dominance of European intellectual traditions. Sanskrit, with its vast historical spread across Central, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as Europe, offers a unique reflective idiom that contrasts with the European conceptual frameworks that still dominate contemporary thinking in areas such as language, art, reason, justice, and politics. The book argues that European thinkers, despite acknowledging a shared linguistic root with Sanskrit (Indo-European), have followed a very different intellectual path, one that has historically been violent and continues to fuel contemporary conflicts.

In contrast, Sanskrit's long history of coexistence with diverse languages, cultures, and polities offers alternative possibilities for understanding justice and coexistence in today's globalized world. By comparing the reflective traditions of Sanskrit with European philosophical and linguistic categories, the book seeks to demonstrate how Sanskrit offers a more inclusive, less confrontational model for engaging with the world.

The book engages with Sanskrit texts, European philosophers, and language theorists to substantiate its claims. It argues that such a cross-cultural examination, which brings together the reflective traditions of both heritages, is necessary for a new kind of intellectual inquiry—one that moves beyond the entrenched paradigms of European thought and opens up new possibilities for coexistence and understanding.

By: Dr D Venkat Rao (English and Foreign Languages University Hyderabad India)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic India
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 144mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 580g
ISBN: 9789361318405
ISBN 10: 9361318403
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 30 October 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Pre-Facing – Saying: vaachaarambhanam… Acknowledgements Part I Antardisha: Re-Turning Otherwise Chapter 1: Regarding Proximate Directional Hints Chapter 2: Mnemocultural affirmations: the Weave of Smritipatha Samskrutis Part II: Vaa(n)gma(a)ya: In-Essentials of Speech Chapter 3: Anaami Horizons: Intimations from the Ends of Sanskrit Reflective Traditions Chapter 4: Torsioned Ethos: In/Hospitable Sublations of Sanskrit Part III: Vaangmaya: (A)Para-digms of Poiesis Chapter 5: Literary Inquiries Across Cultures Chapter 6: Omphalos of Vaangmaya Part IV: Intimations of Silence Chapter 7: Comprehending Envisionment: Re-Viewing Sarvadarshansangraha Chapter 8: Lokations of Thinking Between the Pagan and European: Deconstructive Justice and Enduring Aporias Chapter 9: Mnemocultures of Silence: Some Anachronistic Soundings Chapter 10: Bruhat-disha: Interfacing Inquiries and Orienting Pathways Index About the Author

D. Venkat Rao teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. His recent work includes India, Europe and the Question of Cultural Difference (2021), Performative Reflections of Indian Traditions: Towards a Liveable Learning (2021), Critical Humanities from India: Contexts, Issues, Futures (2018) and Cultures of Memory in South Asia (2014), and others.