© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/24685631-12340077
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Annali, Sezione orientale 79 (2019) 205–235
Where Do Those Beautiful Ladies and Wolf’s
Footprints Lead Us? The Mādhyamikas on Two
Cārvāka/Lokāyata Stanzas
[Part 1 of 3]
Krishna Del Toso
Independent scholar
krishna.deltoso@gmail.com
Abstract
With the present study an analysis in three parts is provided of the Buddhist reception
of two Cārvāka/Lokāyata stanzas, abbreviated as “wolf’s footprint” and the “beautiful
lady”. These stanzas seem to be conceptually related to each other, having the com-
mon aim to emphasize the idea that one should rely only upon what is or can be per-
ceived. Consequently, from here it is concluded that any perspective concerning the
existence of an afterlife or of a moral retribution of our actions, since these things can-
not be directly perceived, should be abandoned. The first part of the article is a study
of the occurrences of the two stanzas in the Buddhist sources, taking into account also
new material, recently discovered, together with a comparison with the Jain sources.
The second and third parts discuss respectively Avalokitavrata’s and Jayānanda’s in-
terpretations of the stanzas, offering also for the first time to the reader a translation
and analysis of their versions of the “wolf ’s footprint” tale, so far studied only from
Jain sources.
Keywords
Cārvakā – Lokāyata – textual analysis – textual reception – Madhyamaka – Jain
…