Oliver Freiberger, “Gṛhastha in the Śramaṇic Discourse: A Lexical Survey of House Residents in Early Pāli Texts,” in: Gṛhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture, ed. by Patrick Olivelle (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 58–74.
This essay is part of an edited volume that explores the religious conceptualization of “the householder” in ancient India, especially in relation to the omnipresent ascetic movements of the time (Buddhists, Jains, and others). The essay explores and analyzes terms for “householder” in early Buddhist texts and argues that the vocabulary, while seemingly similar to the usage in Brahmin sources, followed a decidedly different agenda.
Oliver Freiberger is Professor of Asian Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Texas.
