Books by Hans T Bakker
Kaundinya’s commentary on the Pasupatasutras is one of the most
innovative religious/philosophi... more Kaundinya’s commentary on the Pasupatasutras is one of the most
innovative religious/philosophical texts of India’s classical age and of paramount importance for understanding the early, formative period of Saivism and of Hinduism in general.
The work as a whole, though of a deeply religious nature, may nevertheless be characterized as a rational and consistent discourse on a (practical) path towards a mystic state in which the (human) self is believed to become equal to God by sharing all His qualities, due to which union (yoga) the distinction between Creator and creature eventually dissolves.
It is hoped that this annotated translation of the first chapter of Kaundinya's commentary may be of some help in reading and understanding the critical Sanskrit text on which it is based and which is given in open access on the Academia page of Peter Bisschop:
https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/PeterBisschop/Drafts.
Aristotle’s Epistemology
HANS T. BAKKER
The Greek philosopher Aristotle continued the tradition ... more Aristotle’s Epistemology
HANS T. BAKKER
The Greek philosopher Aristotle continued the tradition of his predecessors, Socrates, the Sophists, and Plato, who for the first time had made man the centre of philosophical reflection. However, Aristotle did not limit his thought to man alone; man, situated at the top of the Great Chain of Being, is an integral part of the encompassing nature.
In his Treatise on the Soul (De Anima) Aristotle’s argument concerning the soul’s knowledge-generating faculties, in particular the dialogue with his predecessors, resembles in many respects the philosophical debate on the pramāṇas, ‘the valid ways of cognition’, which informed the classical Indian schools of thought. In Aristotle’s De Anima we possess a unique, coherent treatise that deals exhaustively with ‘valid ways of cognition’, a treatise that kept its prominent position until the Scientific Revolution of the 16/17th century.
This book focuses on the concept of the hylomorphic soul and the process by which it actuates cognition, that means it is concerned with Aristotle’s epistemology. From his conception of the soul or psychẽ as the entelexeia of the body arises the ‘noetic problem’. The idea of a human mind, nous, that takes part in a supra-individual, semi-divine world of knowledge (epistẽmẽ) is apparently at odds with the basic principles of Aristotle’s philosophy. When the Philosopher avows that the mind is ‘separable’ in its true realization, the question is how it can still be part of the human soul. It is argued that the so-called ‘susceptible mind’ (νοῦς παθητικός) and its actual operation are two aspects of one and the same nous: the potency of the human mind to accommodate forms or ideas distinguishes it fundamentally from the divine ‘thinking of thinking’, the eternal, immutable state of the celestial mind.
![Research paper thumbnail of [ERC] Holy Ground -Where Art and Text Meet. Studies in the Cultural History of India](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/61549873/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Gonda Indological Studies, Volume: 20, 2019
The 31 selected and revised articles in the volume Holy Ground: Where Art and Text Meet, written ... more The 31 selected and revised articles in the volume Holy Ground: Where Art and Text Meet, written by Hans Bakker between 1986 and 2016, vary from theoretical subjects to historical essays on the classical culture of India. They combine two mainstreams: the Sanskrit textual tradition, including epigraphy, and the material culture as expressed in works of religious art and iconography. The study of text and art in close combination in the actual field where they meet provides a great potential for understanding. The history of holy places is therefore one of the leitmotivs that binds these studies together.
One article, "The Ramtek Inscriptions II", was co-authored by Harunaga Isaacson, two articles, on "Moksadharma 187 and 239–241" and "The Quest for the Pasupata Weapon," by Peter C. Bisschop.
Brill Leiden 2019.
Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-41206-4
E-book ISBN: 978-90-04-41207-1
![Research paper thumbnail of [ERC] The Alkhan. A Hunnic People in South Asia.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/83434043/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Companion to Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia. Sources for their Origin and History., 2020
This book is the first fascicle in a series that is designed as a reader’s Companion to a Sourc... more This book is the first fascicle in a series that is designed as a reader’s Companion to a Sourcebook that presents all written sources with regard to Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia from the 4th to the 6th centuries of the Common Era (edited by Dániel Balogh and published by Barkhuis, Groningen 2020; see also:
https://hu-berlin.academia.edu/D%C3%A1nielBalogh ).
The first fascicle of the Companion Series focuses on the history of Hunnic People in South Asia, where they are known as Hūṇa in Sanskrit literature or Alkhan according to their own coinage. These Alkhan entered the Subcontinent in the 4th century. The fascicle reconstructs the history of the Alkhan kings, Khiṅgila, Toramāṇa, and Mihirakula,
and the impact of their invasion and control of large parts of Northern and Western India on Indian history and culture, in particular on the Gupta Empire.
Published by:
Barkhuis, Groningen 2020.
ISBN: 9789493194007
ISBN: 9789493194557, 2020
This volume is a comprehensive compilation of primary textual sources pertaining to the history o... more This volume is a comprehensive compilation of primary textual sources pertaining to the history of Hunnic peoples in the vast area encompassing Central and South, edited by Dániel Balogh.
Sources in nearly a dozen languages have been carefully selected by scholars with a specialisation in the particular language and relevant research experience. Each excerpt in the chrestomathy is presented in the original language, accompanied by an authoritative translation into a modern European language to make it accessible to specialists of other fields. Many texts are, moreover, accompanied by a commentary highlighting crucial points of interest, problematic issues and connections to the information revealed in other sources. The Sourcebook is the outcome of an interdisciplinary workshop held at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary) in August 2017, organised by the project Beyond Boundaries and funded by the European Research Council. The initial compilation of source texts was selectively presented, analysed and discussed at this workshop, culminating in the present volume, whose publication has also been supported by the ERC. The authors and the editor present the book to the community of scholars and enthusiasts in hopes that, by making pertinent primary sources accessible, it will serve as a solid foundation on which to base future research. The included commentaries are thus not intended to be exhaustive, but to instigate further enquiry. For in-depth discussion of many issues raised here, a Companion series is planned to follow the Sourcebook. The first companion volume, a study of the Alkhan by Hans Bakker, was released simultaneously by Barkhuis, Groningen, and is now also available as an open-access publication: https://www.academia.edu/42187077
Gonda Indological Studies V, 1997
The present book is an essay in which the classical age of India is studied by exploring textual ... more The present book is an essay in which the classical age of India is studied by exploring textual as well as archaeological sources that relate to the kingdom of the Vākāṭakas, the southern neighbours of the Guptas in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
A great number of inscriptions and Hindu sculptures have been discovered and published during the last decades of the 5th century, giving a new dimension to our appreciation of the culture of the Vākāṭakas, who formerly were mainly renowned for the Buddhist monuments in Ajanta. Among the inscriptions the one found in the Kevala Narasimha Temple on the Ramtek Hill (Rāmagiri) deserves special mention as it throws a flood of light on the political history of the Vākāṭakas and their relationship with the Guptas.
This book draws on the new sculptural and epigraphical evidence in presenting a history of the Vākāṭaka kingdom. The (Hindu) sculptures found in the eastern Vākāṭaka realm are brought together for the first time in the illustrated catalogue, their findspots are surveyed, their iconography is studied and their link with Ajanta is pointed out. A scrutiny of contemporaneous Sanskrit texts underpins the sometimes extraordinary iconography of the images;
In combination with the political history of the Vākāṭakas this approach results in a fascinating picture of the (religious) culture of a fourth-fifth century elite of Central India.
Proceedings of the Mansar Conference in the British Museum, 2008
This book contains the Proceedings of the Mansar Conference held in the British museum in 2008
C... more This book contains the Proceedings of the Mansar Conference held in the British museum in 2008
Contents:
Preface, Acknowledgements & Contents
Hans Bakker - Mansar. Pravarasena and his Capital: An Introduction
Martine Kropman - The Seals and Inscriptions from Mansar
Michael Willis - Cosmetics and Goddesses: the Wellsted Collection at the British Museum
Claudine Bautze - Headdresses at Mansar
Peter Bisschop - The Skull on Siva's Head: Some Reflections on a Theme in the Saiva Art of Mansar
Kaoru Nagata - The Problems in the Identifications of Gana-like Images from Mansar: Is it Siva or Gana?
Ellen Raven - Brick Terraces at Ahicchatra and Mansar: A Comparison
Natasja Bosma - The Mansar Sculptures & Ajanta
Walter Spink - Harisena's Unification of the Vakataka Dynasty: its implications for 'post-Vakataka' monuments
Hans Bakker - Mansar and its Eastern Neighbours: Mansar Architecture and the Temples in Nagara and Daksina Kosala
John Siudmak - Brief Note on a Sword Found at Mansar
Bibliography
Papers of the12th World Sanskrit Conference. Held in Helsinki,
Finland 13--18 July, 2003.
Vol. 3.2
The World of the Skandapurāṇa explores the historical, religious and literary environment that ga... more The World of the Skandapurāṇa explores the historical, religious and literary environment that gave rise to the composition and spread of this early Purana text devoted to Siva. It is argued that the text originated in circles of Pasupata ascetics and laymen, probably in Benares, in the second half of the 6th and first half of he 7th centuries. The book describes the political developments in Northern India after the fall of the Gupta Empire until the successor states which arose after the death of king Harsavardhana of Kanauj in the second half of the 7th century. The work consists of two parts. In the first part the historical environment in which this Purāṇa was composed is described. The second part explores six localities in Northern India that play a prominent role in the text. It is richly illustrated and contains a detailed bibliography and index.
Groningen Oriental Studies Supplement, Apr 2014
Skandapurāṇa IIb presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 31-52 from the Skandapurāṇa, with an int... more Skandapurāṇa IIb presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 31-52 from the Skandapurāṇa, with an introduction and English synopsis. The text edited in this volume includes central myths of early Śaivism, such as the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice and Śiva acquiring the bull for his vehicle. Also included is an extensive description of the thirteen hells (Naraka).
The Skandapurana, Volume II A, Adhyayas 26–31.14: The Varanası Cycle. Critical Edition with an Introduction, English Synopsis & Philological and Historical Commentary by Hans T. Bakker & Harunaga Isaacson. Groningen 2004.
The edited text contains a Varanasi Mahatmya. The Introduction presents a history of Benares f... more The edited text contains a Varanasi Mahatmya. The Introduction presents a history of Benares from early days till the 13th century.
The Skandapurāṇa, Volume I. Adhyayas 1--25. Critically Edited with Prolegomena and English Synopsis by R. Adriaensen, H.T. Bakker & H. Isaacson. Groningen 1998.
Groningen Oriental Studies, Supplement , 1998
The Skandapurāṇa offers an unprecedented glimpse into the
development of Śiva worship and his myt... more The Skandapurāṇa offers an unprecedented glimpse into the
development of Śiva worship and his mythology. This Sanskrit
Purāṇa, long considered lost, was known only obliquely from
testimonia in digests of Brahminical customs and social
regulations. Transmitted to us in several palm leaf manuscripts
from Nepal—including the oldest known dated Purāṇa manuscript
(810 CE)—as well as paper manuscripts from North India, now at
last this seminal text for the understanding of Indian religious
traditions is made available in the superb and definitive critical
text edition of the Skandapurāṇa Project.
The edition allows far-reaching new insights into the geographical
expansion of the earliest community of Śiva devotees called the
‘Pāśupatas’ (the name derived from one of Śiva’s many epithets,
Paśupati, ‘Lord of Creatures’) amidst the development of other
religious communities in early India, and especially, the cultivation
of somatic and mental techniques ( yoga), the salutary potential of
pilgrimage to Śiva’s many shrines, as well as the worship of his
iconic emblem ( liṅga), all of which practices were to become
denitive features of the devotional repertoire of medieval—and
today's—Śiva worshippers. The Skandapurāṇa is also a vital
source for the history of the mythology of Viṣṇu and the Goddess.
Firmly grounded in the scholarly methods that are the hallmark of
classical Indology—philology, textual criticism, and the
meticulous study of manuscript sources—the Skandapurāṇa
Critical Text Edition comes with an annotated English synopsis of
this important, rich, but also entertaining text.
‘The Skandapurāṇa, dating in all probability from the seventh
century and preserved in manuscript evidence from Nepal that
postdates its creation by no more than about two centuries,
provides a uniquely clear window into the world of lay Śaiva
devotion and its supporting mythologies during the seminal period
when the Śaiva ascetic orders were moving with the support of the
laity to the centre of Indian religion. The project to produce a
critical edition and analysis of the whole of this rich and lucid text
is among the most important in current Indological research. The
volumes published so far are of very high quality both in the
scholarship of their authors and the interest of their contents. The
completion of the project will be a major landmark in Indological
research.’ -- (Alexis Sanderson) --
The Vakataka Heritage. Indian Culture at the Crossroads. Edited by Hans T. Bakker. Groningen 2004.
AYODHYA
Part I: The history of Ayodhya from th... more AYODHYA
Part I: The history of Ayodhya from the 7th century BC to the middle of the 18th century; its development into a sacred centre with special reference to the Ayodhyamahatmya and to the worship of Rama according to the Agastyasamhita.
Part II: Ayodhyamahatmya. Introduction, edition, and annotation.
Part III: Appendices, concordances, bibliography, indexes, and maps.
Articles by Hans T Bakker
Bulletin de l'Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 2021
The name Prabhākara features in a lapis intaglio seal of unknown provenance, recently published o... more The name Prabhākara features in a lapis intaglio seal of unknown provenance, recently published on the research platform Zenodo, and in a stone inscription of Dattabhaṭa, which was found in Mandasor (Western Malwa), dating from ad 467/68. The article explores the possibility that both pieces of evidence refer to one and the same Ruler (bhūmipati) Prabhākara. According to the inscription, Prabhākara ruled Western Malwa as a feudatory of the Gupta emperor, who at the time was Skandagupta. The commander in chief of Prabhākara's army was Dattabhaṭa, whose mother is described as "the moon of a family of northern kings". It is conjectured that this may refer to a princess of the Hunnic peoples, Kidara or Alkhan, who ruled in the northwest of the Subcontinent in the second half of the 5th century. The seal agrees in style and iconography with similar Hunnic (intaglio) seals. The lapis intaglio is also compared with two other recently discovered seals, one of a Svāmi Koṭeśvara (Devadāruvana) and one sealing of the Goddess Kaṃhāru found in Thanesar. Points of comparison are the trees that feature in all three seals. The article concludes with an argument of the potential historical consequences, if the hypothesis that both Prabhākaras refer to the same person would prove to be correct.
Masters of the Steppe, Archaeopress Publishing, 2020
Around the middle of the 4th century Hunnic peoples, referred to by the Roman historian Ammianus ... more Around the middle of the 4th century Hunnic peoples, referred to by the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus as ‘Chionitae’, were settling in the eastern parts of the Sasanian empire in the region known as Tocharistan and Bactria. Soon thereafter they crossed the Hindu Kush and occupied the area around Kabul. A gold coin of king Kidara found in the Tepe Maranjan hoard (Kabul) indicates that the rule of this Hunnic king and the spread of his power to the south of the Hindu Kush must have taken
place well before AD 388. In the wake of these so-called ‘Kidarite Huns’, another Hunnic people – whose name appears as ‘Alchon’ on their coinage – moved further eastwards and settled in Gandhāra and the Panjab, present-day Pakistan. These nomadic invaders from the central Asian steppes evolved into a formidable threat to both the Sasanian and Gupta empires during the period AD 430–450, a development which has a remarkable parallel in the encroachment of Attila and his Huns upon the Roman empire. In this paper I will try to give coherence to the historic developments in Iran and India at this period. In the second half of the 5th century the Kidarites in the Iranian realm were superseded by yet another Hunnic people who are known as the
Hephthalites. Their expansion facilitated the Alchons in the Indian realm to invade the subcontinent under their king Toramāṇa and establish their rule in northern and western India. To this period belongs an important artefact in the collection of the
British Museum: the famous silver bowl from the Swat valley. It shows four Hunnic princes on a hunting party. Although this bowl has been the subject of several studies, it has gone largely unnoticed that it contains a brief inscription and a new reading of this is proposed here.
Śivadharmāmṛta. Essays on the Śivadharma and its Network, 2021
This article is published in: De Simini, Florinda & Csaba
Kiss (eds.), Śivadharmāmṛta. Essays o... more This article is published in: De Simini, Florinda & Csaba
Kiss (eds.), Śivadharmāmṛta. Essays on the Śivadharma and its Network.
Universita di Napoli. L’Orientale Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo.
The Śivadharma Project. Studies on the History of Śaivism II.
Unior Press, Napoli. pp. 1–17.
The article deals with the rise of early Saivism, Pasupata in particular,
4--7th centuries.
Primary Sources and Asian Pasts, 2020
The composers of the Skandapurana and Bana, the author of the Harsacarita, were actors in and wi... more The composers of the Skandapurana and Bana, the author of the Harsacarita, were actors in and witnesses to the same historical world that existed in northern India from the end of the 6th to the middle of the 7th century. This historical reality became sublimated in both works in two very different ways: on the one hand this world is lifted up to the atemporal realm of the ´Saiva mythological universe in the versified style of the Purana, in which historical details are eschewed as far as possible, and, on the other hand, it is transmuted into a historical novel in the kavya prose style, in which historical reality is glorified and its timeless essence is expressed through symbolism and literary metaphor.
The common ground of Bana’ s Harsacarita and the Skandapurana is found in their nature: they are both idealized, comprehensive, literary imaginations, products of the same mould, the cultural world of North India around ad 600. This, we will argue, may explain the occurrence of interface. In this paper I discuss three instances of this postulated
interface by means of three research questions.
The Routledge Handbook of the State in Premodern India, 2022
This is a preprint of the article that is published as Chapter 9 in:
Kulke, Hermann & B.P. Sah... more This is a preprint of the article that is published as Chapter 9 in:
Kulke, Hermann & B.P. Sahu (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the State in
Premodern India. Routledge, London & New York 2022. pp. 191–207.
Uploads
Books by Hans T Bakker
innovative religious/philosophical texts of India’s classical age and of paramount importance for understanding the early, formative period of Saivism and of Hinduism in general.
The work as a whole, though of a deeply religious nature, may nevertheless be characterized as a rational and consistent discourse on a (practical) path towards a mystic state in which the (human) self is believed to become equal to God by sharing all His qualities, due to which union (yoga) the distinction between Creator and creature eventually dissolves.
It is hoped that this annotated translation of the first chapter of Kaundinya's commentary may be of some help in reading and understanding the critical Sanskrit text on which it is based and which is given in open access on the Academia page of Peter Bisschop:
https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/PeterBisschop/Drafts.
HANS T. BAKKER
The Greek philosopher Aristotle continued the tradition of his predecessors, Socrates, the Sophists, and Plato, who for the first time had made man the centre of philosophical reflection. However, Aristotle did not limit his thought to man alone; man, situated at the top of the Great Chain of Being, is an integral part of the encompassing nature.
In his Treatise on the Soul (De Anima) Aristotle’s argument concerning the soul’s knowledge-generating faculties, in particular the dialogue with his predecessors, resembles in many respects the philosophical debate on the pramāṇas, ‘the valid ways of cognition’, which informed the classical Indian schools of thought. In Aristotle’s De Anima we possess a unique, coherent treatise that deals exhaustively with ‘valid ways of cognition’, a treatise that kept its prominent position until the Scientific Revolution of the 16/17th century.
This book focuses on the concept of the hylomorphic soul and the process by which it actuates cognition, that means it is concerned with Aristotle’s epistemology. From his conception of the soul or psychẽ as the entelexeia of the body arises the ‘noetic problem’. The idea of a human mind, nous, that takes part in a supra-individual, semi-divine world of knowledge (epistẽmẽ) is apparently at odds with the basic principles of Aristotle’s philosophy. When the Philosopher avows that the mind is ‘separable’ in its true realization, the question is how it can still be part of the human soul. It is argued that the so-called ‘susceptible mind’ (νοῦς παθητικός) and its actual operation are two aspects of one and the same nous: the potency of the human mind to accommodate forms or ideas distinguishes it fundamentally from the divine ‘thinking of thinking’, the eternal, immutable state of the celestial mind.
One article, "The Ramtek Inscriptions II", was co-authored by Harunaga Isaacson, two articles, on "Moksadharma 187 and 239–241" and "The Quest for the Pasupata Weapon," by Peter C. Bisschop.
Brill Leiden 2019.
Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-41206-4
E-book ISBN: 978-90-04-41207-1
https://hu-berlin.academia.edu/D%C3%A1nielBalogh ).
The first fascicle of the Companion Series focuses on the history of Hunnic People in South Asia, where they are known as Hūṇa in Sanskrit literature or Alkhan according to their own coinage. These Alkhan entered the Subcontinent in the 4th century. The fascicle reconstructs the history of the Alkhan kings, Khiṅgila, Toramāṇa, and Mihirakula,
and the impact of their invasion and control of large parts of Northern and Western India on Indian history and culture, in particular on the Gupta Empire.
Published by:
Barkhuis, Groningen 2020.
ISBN: 9789493194007
Sources in nearly a dozen languages have been carefully selected by scholars with a specialisation in the particular language and relevant research experience. Each excerpt in the chrestomathy is presented in the original language, accompanied by an authoritative translation into a modern European language to make it accessible to specialists of other fields. Many texts are, moreover, accompanied by a commentary highlighting crucial points of interest, problematic issues and connections to the information revealed in other sources. The Sourcebook is the outcome of an interdisciplinary workshop held at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary) in August 2017, organised by the project Beyond Boundaries and funded by the European Research Council. The initial compilation of source texts was selectively presented, analysed and discussed at this workshop, culminating in the present volume, whose publication has also been supported by the ERC. The authors and the editor present the book to the community of scholars and enthusiasts in hopes that, by making pertinent primary sources accessible, it will serve as a solid foundation on which to base future research. The included commentaries are thus not intended to be exhaustive, but to instigate further enquiry. For in-depth discussion of many issues raised here, a Companion series is planned to follow the Sourcebook. The first companion volume, a study of the Alkhan by Hans Bakker, was released simultaneously by Barkhuis, Groningen, and is now also available as an open-access publication: https://www.academia.edu/42187077
A great number of inscriptions and Hindu sculptures have been discovered and published during the last decades of the 5th century, giving a new dimension to our appreciation of the culture of the Vākāṭakas, who formerly were mainly renowned for the Buddhist monuments in Ajanta. Among the inscriptions the one found in the Kevala Narasimha Temple on the Ramtek Hill (Rāmagiri) deserves special mention as it throws a flood of light on the political history of the Vākāṭakas and their relationship with the Guptas.
This book draws on the new sculptural and epigraphical evidence in presenting a history of the Vākāṭaka kingdom. The (Hindu) sculptures found in the eastern Vākāṭaka realm are brought together for the first time in the illustrated catalogue, their findspots are surveyed, their iconography is studied and their link with Ajanta is pointed out. A scrutiny of contemporaneous Sanskrit texts underpins the sometimes extraordinary iconography of the images;
In combination with the political history of the Vākāṭakas this approach results in a fascinating picture of the (religious) culture of a fourth-fifth century elite of Central India.
Contents:
Preface, Acknowledgements & Contents
Hans Bakker - Mansar. Pravarasena and his Capital: An Introduction
Martine Kropman - The Seals and Inscriptions from Mansar
Michael Willis - Cosmetics and Goddesses: the Wellsted Collection at the British Museum
Claudine Bautze - Headdresses at Mansar
Peter Bisschop - The Skull on Siva's Head: Some Reflections on a Theme in the Saiva Art of Mansar
Kaoru Nagata - The Problems in the Identifications of Gana-like Images from Mansar: Is it Siva or Gana?
Ellen Raven - Brick Terraces at Ahicchatra and Mansar: A Comparison
Natasja Bosma - The Mansar Sculptures & Ajanta
Walter Spink - Harisena's Unification of the Vakataka Dynasty: its implications for 'post-Vakataka' monuments
Hans Bakker - Mansar and its Eastern Neighbours: Mansar Architecture and the Temples in Nagara and Daksina Kosala
John Siudmak - Brief Note on a Sword Found at Mansar
Bibliography
development of Śiva worship and his mythology. This Sanskrit
Purāṇa, long considered lost, was known only obliquely from
testimonia in digests of Brahminical customs and social
regulations. Transmitted to us in several palm leaf manuscripts
from Nepal—including the oldest known dated Purāṇa manuscript
(810 CE)—as well as paper manuscripts from North India, now at
last this seminal text for the understanding of Indian religious
traditions is made available in the superb and definitive critical
text edition of the Skandapurāṇa Project.
The edition allows far-reaching new insights into the geographical
expansion of the earliest community of Śiva devotees called the
‘Pāśupatas’ (the name derived from one of Śiva’s many epithets,
Paśupati, ‘Lord of Creatures’) amidst the development of other
religious communities in early India, and especially, the cultivation
of somatic and mental techniques ( yoga), the salutary potential of
pilgrimage to Śiva’s many shrines, as well as the worship of his
iconic emblem ( liṅga), all of which practices were to become
denitive features of the devotional repertoire of medieval—and
today's—Śiva worshippers. The Skandapurāṇa is also a vital
source for the history of the mythology of Viṣṇu and the Goddess.
Firmly grounded in the scholarly methods that are the hallmark of
classical Indology—philology, textual criticism, and the
meticulous study of manuscript sources—the Skandapurāṇa
Critical Text Edition comes with an annotated English synopsis of
this important, rich, but also entertaining text.
‘The Skandapurāṇa, dating in all probability from the seventh
century and preserved in manuscript evidence from Nepal that
postdates its creation by no more than about two centuries,
provides a uniquely clear window into the world of lay Śaiva
devotion and its supporting mythologies during the seminal period
when the Śaiva ascetic orders were moving with the support of the
laity to the centre of Indian religion. The project to produce a
critical edition and analysis of the whole of this rich and lucid text
is among the most important in current Indological research. The
volumes published so far are of very high quality both in the
scholarship of their authors and the interest of their contents. The
completion of the project will be a major landmark in Indological
research.’ -- (Alexis Sanderson) --
Part I: The history of Ayodhya from the 7th century BC to the middle of the 18th century; its development into a sacred centre with special reference to the Ayodhyamahatmya and to the worship of Rama according to the Agastyasamhita.
Part II: Ayodhyamahatmya. Introduction, edition, and annotation.
Part III: Appendices, concordances, bibliography, indexes, and maps.
Articles by Hans T Bakker
place well before AD 388. In the wake of these so-called ‘Kidarite Huns’, another Hunnic people – whose name appears as ‘Alchon’ on their coinage – moved further eastwards and settled in Gandhāra and the Panjab, present-day Pakistan. These nomadic invaders from the central Asian steppes evolved into a formidable threat to both the Sasanian and Gupta empires during the period AD 430–450, a development which has a remarkable parallel in the encroachment of Attila and his Huns upon the Roman empire. In this paper I will try to give coherence to the historic developments in Iran and India at this period. In the second half of the 5th century the Kidarites in the Iranian realm were superseded by yet another Hunnic people who are known as the
Hephthalites. Their expansion facilitated the Alchons in the Indian realm to invade the subcontinent under their king Toramāṇa and establish their rule in northern and western India. To this period belongs an important artefact in the collection of the
British Museum: the famous silver bowl from the Swat valley. It shows four Hunnic princes on a hunting party. Although this bowl has been the subject of several studies, it has gone largely unnoticed that it contains a brief inscription and a new reading of this is proposed here.
Kiss (eds.), Śivadharmāmṛta. Essays on the Śivadharma and its Network.
Universita di Napoli. L’Orientale Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo.
The Śivadharma Project. Studies on the History of Śaivism II.
Unior Press, Napoli. pp. 1–17.
The article deals with the rise of early Saivism, Pasupata in particular,
4--7th centuries.
The common ground of Bana’ s Harsacarita and the Skandapurana is found in their nature: they are both idealized, comprehensive, literary imaginations, products of the same mould, the cultural world of North India around ad 600. This, we will argue, may explain the occurrence of interface. In this paper I discuss three instances of this postulated
interface by means of three research questions.
Kulke, Hermann & B.P. Sahu (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the State in
Premodern India. Routledge, London & New York 2022. pp. 191–207.