Humour in the Beginning

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 inten