Eva Orthmann’s lecture “The Persian Śalihotra: the transformation and adaptation of a Sanskrit text in Persian treatises on horses”
Events
Professor Eva Orthmann, director of the Institute of Iranian studies at the University in Göttingen, will deliver a lecture “The Persian Śalihotra: the transformation and adaptation of a Sanskrit text in Persian treatises on horses” within the permanent seminar of the G. Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies in the 201/202 meeting hall of Building S of Ilia State University on October 17.
Annotation
During the period of Islamic rule on the Indian subcontinent, many texts from Indian languages - mostly Sanskrit - were translated into Persian. Among these texts, we find a substantial number of equine treatises. They usually refer to the Śalihotra, written in Sanskrit, a legendary equine treatise that has not survived as a clearly attributable text. Instead, there are several treatises in Sanskrit on horses, some of which are referred to as Śalihotra. The Śalihotra translations usually consist of a part dealing with omens and prognostics and a veterinary part. The translations have been done under different rulers and in geographically different regions.
The earliest of these translations – the Tarjuma-yi Sālōtar – has been done in Gulbarga in 810/1407-1408, in the time of the Bahmanī dynasty. The many copies of this translation feature a wide range of differences and variations. We can distinguish between a long and a short version, but also the copies belonging to each of these broad categories show many variants. Presumably, elements of other horse treatises were successively incorporated into the original version of the translation.
My talk will introduce the Śalihotra translations, and will especially focus on the variants of the text. I will also try to identify the sources of what I consider to be later additions to the original translation.
Information about the speaker
Eva Orthmann is a Professor at the University of Göttingen. Since 2018, she has been the director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Göttingen. In her research, Eva Orthmann’s special interest is in subjects related to the Mughal Empire, history of science, including astral sciences and mathematics, occult sciences, and Indo-Persian transfer of knowledge and culture.
language: English
Time: October 17, 16:00
Location: Ilia State University, 201/202 meeting hall of Building S, Acad. G. Tsereteli Street N3
Attendance is free.
2025