Upinder Singh
Biographic Data
| ID | 3663033 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Upinder Singh |
| GIVEN NAMES | Upinder |
| FAMILY NAME | Singh |
| SIGNATURE | SINGH U |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Delhi |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 22 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
From the Oxus to the Indus
Book Discussion
Governing the State and the Self
The edicts of the Maurya Emperor Aśoka (c. 268–232 BCE) constitute the first self-representations of imperial power in ancient South Asia. Questioning the usual presuppositions and methodology of historical interpretations of Aśoka's inscriptions, this essay attempts a fresh, detailed analysis of the political philosophy expressed in the edicts, with a special focus on their ideas and arguments regarding the relationship between political power, …
The Power of a Poet
This article emphasises that ideas related to political power in ancient India need to be analysed through a close and nuanced reading of texts in their entirety, in a manner that is sensitive to their genre as well as to the demands of historical inquiry. The specific focus is on Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṁśa, a brilliant and highly influential poetic narrative of the legendary kings of the Ikṣvāku lineage. Apart from its fine literary qualities, the ma…
In the shadow of New Delhi
Exile and Return
The objective of this paper is to highlight the processes that have led to the reinvention of Buddhism and Buddhist sites in modern India. A major aspect of this reinvention is the conversion of members of the Scheduled Castes to Buddhism, a movement especially associated with B. R. Ambedkar. Another important factor is the exile and internationalization of Tibetan Buddhism. These have coalesced with the pervasive visibility of the material remai…
Politics, violence and war in Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra
Arguing for a need to move beyond the dominant concerns of the historiography of early medieval India, this article emphasises the importance of historicising and incorporating the ideas of political theorists into the historical construct of the polity of this period. Its focus is a close textual analysis of Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra, an influential political treatise composed at the advent of the early medieval, which offers a graphic morphology of …
A history of ancient and early medieval India
Developed as a comprehensive introductory work for scholars and students of ancient and early medieval Indian history, this book provides the most exhaustive overview of the subject. Dividing the vast historical expanse from the stone age to the 12th century into broad chronological units, it constructs profiles of various geographical regions of the subcontinent, weaving together and analysing an unparalleled range of literary and archaeological…
Cults and shrines in early historical Mathura (c.200 bc-ad 200)
This paper uses archaeological evidence to identify some of the multiple religious strands and layers that mark the rich cultural landscape of ancient Mathura (in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh). Focusing on the four centuries between c. 200 bc and ad 200, it identifies what can be described in retrospect as an important stage in the early history of popular Hinduism. The paper highlights the importance of the old cults of the goddesses, yaksh…
Amaravati
Amaravati (in modern Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) on the banks of the Krishna River was a major Buddhist centre of ancient India. The history of this stupa-monastery complex spans some seventeen centuries, from its inception in the third century B.C to its demise in the fourteenth century A.D. Once abandoned, nature took its course, and the stupa gradually came to be enveloped in layers of dust and debris which eventually obscured it complete…
Evolution of Kautilya ‘s Arthaśāstra
Sanchi
Exile and Return
The objective of this paper is to highlight the processes that have led to the reinvention of Buddhism and Buddhist sites in modern India. A major aspect of this reinvention is the conversion of members of the Scheduled Castes to Buddhism, a movement especially associated with B. R. Ambedkar. Another important factor is the exile and internationalization of Tibetan Buddhism. These have coalesced with the pervasive visibility of the material remai…
Politics, violence and war in Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra
Arguing for a need to move beyond the dominant concerns of the historiography of early medieval India, this article emphasises the importance of historicising and incorporating the ideas of political theorists into the historical construct of the polity of this period. Its focus is a close textual analysis of Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra, an influential political treatise composed at the advent of the early medieval, which offers a graphic morphology of …
Cults and shrines in early historical Mathura (c.200 bc-ad 200)
This paper uses archaeological evidence to identify some of the multiple religious strands and layers that mark the rich cultural landscape of ancient Mathura (in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh). Focusing on the four centuries between c. 200 bc and ad 200, it identifies what can be described in retrospect as an important stage in the early history of popular Hinduism. The paper highlights the importance of the old cults of the goddesses, yaksh…
Sanchi
Governing the State and the Self
The edicts of the Maurya Emperor Aśoka (c. 268–232 BCE) constitute the first self-representations of imperial power in ancient South Asia. Questioning the usual presuppositions and methodology of historical interpretations of Aśoka's inscriptions, this essay attempts a fresh, detailed analysis of the political philosophy expressed in the edicts, with a special focus on their ideas and arguments regarding the relationship between political power, …
Amaravati
Amaravati (in modern Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) on the banks of the Krishna River was a major Buddhist centre of ancient India. The history of this stupa-monastery complex spans some seventeen centuries, from its inception in the third century B.C to its demise in the fourteenth century A.D. Once abandoned, nature took its course, and the stupa gradually came to be enveloped in layers of dust and debris which eventually obscured it complete…
Sanchi
Evolution of Kautilya ‘s Arthaśāstra
Amaravati
Amaravati (in modern Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) on the banks of the Krishna River was a major Buddhist centre of ancient India. The history of this stupa-monastery complex spans some seventeen centuries, from its inception in the third century B.C to its demise in the fourteenth century A.D. Once abandoned, nature took its course, and the stupa gradually came to be enveloped in layers of dust and debris which eventually obscured it complete…
Cults and shrines in early historical Mathura (c.200 bc-ad 200)
This paper uses archaeological evidence to identify some of the multiple religious strands and layers that mark the rich cultural landscape of ancient Mathura (in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh). Focusing on the four centuries between c. 200 bc and ad 200, it identifies what can be described in retrospect as an important stage in the early history of popular Hinduism. The paper highlights the importance of the old cults of the goddesses, yaksh…
A history of ancient and early medieval India
Developed as a comprehensive introductory work for scholars and students of ancient and early medieval Indian history, this book provides the most exhaustive overview of the subject. Dividing the vast historical expanse from the stone age to the 12th century into broad chronological units, it constructs profiles of various geographical regions of the subcontinent, weaving together and analysing an unparalleled range of literary and archaeological…
In the shadow of New Delhi
Exile and Return
The objective of this paper is to highlight the processes that have led to the reinvention of Buddhism and Buddhist sites in modern India. A major aspect of this reinvention is the conversion of members of the Scheduled Castes to Buddhism, a movement especially associated with B. R. Ambedkar. Another important factor is the exile and internationalization of Tibetan Buddhism. These have coalesced with the pervasive visibility of the material remai…
Politics, violence and war in Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra
Arguing for a need to move beyond the dominant concerns of the historiography of early medieval India, this article emphasises the importance of historicising and incorporating the ideas of political theorists into the historical construct of the polity of this period. Its focus is a close textual analysis of Kāmandaka’s Nītisāra, an influential political treatise composed at the advent of the early medieval, which offers a graphic morphology of …
The Power of a Poet
This article emphasises that ideas related to political power in ancient India need to be analysed through a close and nuanced reading of texts in their entirety, in a manner that is sensitive to their genre as well as to the demands of historical inquiry. The specific focus is on Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṁśa, a brilliant and highly influential poetic narrative of the legendary kings of the Ikṣvāku lineage. Apart from its fine literary qualities, the ma…
Governing the State and the Self
The edicts of the Maurya Emperor Aśoka (c. 268–232 BCE) constitute the first self-representations of imperial power in ancient South Asia. Questioning the usual presuppositions and methodology of historical interpretations of Aśoka's inscriptions, this essay attempts a fresh, detailed analysis of the political philosophy expressed in the edicts, with a special focus on their ideas and arguments regarding the relationship between political power, …
From the Oxus to the Indus
Book Discussion
History (9 works) · History (8 works) · Ancient history (6 works) · Archaeology (6 works) · Indian and Buddhist Studies (6 works) · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Art (4 works)