Early Strata of Śaivism in the Kathmandu Valley

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9893229
AutoresNina Mirnig (Austrian Academy of Sciences, autor de correspondencia)
Año2016
Volumen59
Número4
Páginas309-362
Fecha de publicación2016-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaIndo-Iranian Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0019-7246 • E-ISSN: 1572-8536
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15728536-05904001
OpenAlexW2590611410
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas6

The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅga s, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra ) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśupata groups and the elevation of Pashupatinath’s status to that of a national shrine

Agency (philosophy · Archaeology · Art · Buddhism · Geography · Hinduism · Literature · Sanskrit · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Worship · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · History · Philosophy · Religious studies · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies