|
An (un)surprising conceptual parallel between Tantric and Vedic practices
of mantra manipulation, and the very latest in computer information
technology--XML, or Extensible Markup Language--provides scholars with
unique new research possibilities. The well-known procedures by which
mantras are selected and extracted for ritual application -- e.g.,
vidhaana -- as well as transposition and intertwining -- e.g., viharaNam --
can be almost directly translated into a powerful new computer tool, called
Extensible Stylesheet Language for Transformations (XSLT) and used on
electronic versions of shrutii. The paper draws upon these functional
parallels to introduce the reader to XML--which is very much like
HTML--and then demonstrate the theory and application of ideas like
viharaNam and vidhaana with electronic texts (full set is included with
technical appendices) from the Rig Veda (specifically RV 3.62). Basic
theory of XML, XSLT and XPath are introduced, explanations and links to
required files and programs (all freeware), and a complete electronic Rig
Veda in XML, with pre-written, adaptable XSLT scripts are included.
|
