The Asrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Patrick Olivelle's 1993 study from Oxford University Press, is the standard scholarly account of the four traditional life stages in Hindu religious law and of what formal renunciation, sannyasa, actually severs. Olivelle is a leading specialist in Sanskrit dharma literature, and the book's authority rests on close textual work across the relevant legal and ascetic sources. Its limit is that it is a history of the institution as legal and textual category, not a description of how any one living community practices renunciation today. Cite it for the classical framework; a contemporary practice claim needs a source on that specific community.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Patrick Olivelle's The Asrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, published by Oxford University Press in 1993, the top tier reflecting the standard scholarly account of the four traditional life stages in Hindu religious law by a leading specialist in Sanskrit dharma literature, resting on close textual work across the relevant legal and ascetic sources. Its limit is that it is a history of the institution as legal and textual category, not a description of how any one living community practices renunciation today; cite it for the classical framework. NotesThe standard study of the stages of life and of renunciation, including what sannyasa formally severs and why the renunciant stands outside the ritual obligations of ordinary life.
Citation
AuthorPatrick Olivelle
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication Year1993
Source Typeacademic monograph
Claims Backed By This Source (11 claims)
This source backs 11 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Religious Roles & Titles, 3 claims: 1 holds, 2 general references.
- Rituals, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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