Chapter published in:
Humour in the Beginning: Religion, humour and laughter in formative stages of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism
Edited by Roald Dijkstra and Paul van der Velde
[Topics in Humor Research 10] 2022
► pp. 254–270

“Are you really serious?”

The Buddha, the Brahmins and humour in the śramaṇa tradition of India

| Radboud University

Four possible examples of humour, jokes or puns from early India are discussed: two from Buddhism (the Khaggavisāṇa-sutta or ‘Song of the Rhinoceros’ and an example from the sermons of the Buddha on the mythical origin of the Brahmin caste system) and two from the Ṛgveda. It appears that humour quickly loses its value and meaning once the original context is forgotten. What was once maybe intended as a joke or persiflage may soon change into something serious. What was then maybe cynically intended had to be reinterpreted to fit in the authoritative tradition. For recognizing what may have been humorous, we have to reconstruct the original context, meanwhile accepting the influence of changing contexts on the reception of ancient texts.

Keywords: humour and Pāli , Veda , Brahmins, Buddhist origin of the universe, asceticism and erotics
Article outline
  • The Rhinoceros song
  • Ṛśyaśṛṅga, the One-horned ascetic
  • The Buddha, Ambaṭṭha and the origin of the Brahmins
  • The Buddhist origin of the Brahmins, the Aggaññasutta
  • The Brahmins and the śramaṇas, the Keśī hymn (Ṛgveda 10.136)
  • The Brahmins and the frogs (Ṛgveda 7.103)
  • Humour
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Published online: 27 October 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.10.18van
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