Benjamin J Fleming
Biographic Data
| ID | 698520 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Benjamin J Fleming |
| GIVEN NAMES | Benjamin J |
| FAMILY NAME | Fleming |
| SIGNATURE | FLEMING B J |
| AFFILIATIONS | California University of Pennsylvania |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
An Independent Śiva Purāṇa and Śiva’s Reverence to the Man-Lion
This article traces the history of a small independent Śiva Purāṇa that has circulated across South Asia for centuries. Rather than focusing on its theological and narrative content alone, this article also focuses on the text’s material manifestation in three distinct time periods: Medieval, Mughal, and Colonial. The first section considers its material and textual history with attention to manuscripts. The second section elucidates the value of…
Renegotiating Sectarian Space through the Realia and Monasteries of Early Medieval Bengal
This article considers the practices about ‘the special dead’ related to the monastery at Pāhāṛpur (‘Hill--town’) in the Rājshāhī region of North--Western Bangladesh. This Early Medieval community was rich in religious diversity from the Gupta to Pāla periods—dense with evidence of Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist activity. There are a number of stūpa structures throughout the grounds for the burial of revered teachers and leaders such that the living c…
Digitizing the University of Pennsylvania's Indic Manuscripts
Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies - Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2018
The Materiality of South Asian Manuscripts from the University of Pennsylvania MS Coll. 390 and the Rāmamālā Library in Bangladesh
Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies - Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2016
Relics,liṅgas, and other auspicious material remains in south asian religions
This article reconsiders sites, practices, and ideas about the physical remains of the special dead in South Asian religions. Questioning the common notion of "relics" as a point of distinction between "Buddhism" and "Hinduism," it explores the constellation of ideas and practices surrounding the remains of gods, demons, people, and animals in South Asian religions. Archaeological and literary evidence for liṅgas, stūpas, and related sites and st…
Making Land Sacred: Inscriptional Evidence for Buddhist Kings and Brahman Priests in Medieval Bengal
In research on premodern South Asia, land-grant inscriptions have typically been mined for historical and geographical data. This article suggests that copperplate land-grant inscriptions may also provide an overlooked source of evidence for ideas about sacred space within and between South Asian religions. It focuses on inscriptions recording the granting of land by Buddhist kings to Brahman priests in medieval Bengal, and it hones in on the lit…
Hindu Hair and Jewish Halakha
This pair of essays reflects upon the unexpected encounter of Hindu and Jewish perspectives in the wake of the prohibition of wigs with human hair from India for use by Jewish women by prominent Haredi (''ultra-orthodox'') legal authorities in May 2004. The rulings sparked distress among Haredi communities in New York, London, and Jerusalem; some women took to the streets to burn their wigs, attracting international media attention. Yet questions…
New copperplate grant of Śrīcandra (no. 8) from Bangladesh
This article is the first publication of the Bogra copperplate, the eighth known land-grant inscription issued by Śrīcandra (r.c. 925-975ce), one of the kings of the Candra dynasty of Bengal. A diplomatic transcription is included, together with an annotated English translation and a critically edited text in Devanāgarī. The inscription describes a gift of land to a Brahmin named Śrīkaradatta Śarman, who probably hails from North Bengal ("Hastipa…
Mapping Sacred Geography in Medieval India: The Case of the Twelve Jyotirliṅgas
The Form and Formlessness of Śiva: TheLingain Indian Art, Mythology, and Pilgrimage1
Thelingais well-known as the dominant emblem of the Hindu god Śiva. This article seeks to provide an accessible survey of the mythology and iconography of thelinga, and the scholarly discussion about them. It considers some of the ancient objects that scholars have identified aslingas, reflecting on the methodological challenges involved in their interpretation. It also considers major narrative, theological, and pilgrimage traditions surrounding…
Mapping Sacred Geography in Medieval India: The Case of the Twelve Jyotirliṅgas
Making Land Sacred: Inscriptional Evidence for Buddhist Kings and Brahman Priests in Medieval Bengal
In research on premodern South Asia, land-grant inscriptions have typically been mined for historical and geographical data. This article suggests that copperplate land-grant inscriptions may also provide an overlooked source of evidence for ideas about sacred space within and between South Asian religions. It focuses on inscriptions recording the granting of land by Buddhist kings to Brahman priests in medieval Bengal, and it hones in on the lit…
Hindu Hair and Jewish Halakha
This pair of essays reflects upon the unexpected encounter of Hindu and Jewish perspectives in the wake of the prohibition of wigs with human hair from India for use by Jewish women by prominent Haredi (''ultra-orthodox'') legal authorities in May 2004. The rulings sparked distress among Haredi communities in New York, London, and Jerusalem; some women took to the streets to burn their wigs, attracting international media attention. Yet questions…
New copperplate grant of Śrīcandra (no. 8) from Bangladesh
This article is the first publication of the Bogra copperplate, the eighth known land-grant inscription issued by Śrīcandra (r.c. 925-975ce), one of the kings of the Candra dynasty of Bengal. A diplomatic transcription is included, together with an annotated English translation and a critically edited text in Devanāgarī. The inscription describes a gift of land to a Brahmin named Śrīkaradatta Śarman, who probably hails from North Bengal ("Hastipa…
The Form and Formlessness of Śiva: TheLingain Indian Art, Mythology, and Pilgrimage1
Thelingais well-known as the dominant emblem of the Hindu god Śiva. This article seeks to provide an accessible survey of the mythology and iconography of thelinga, and the scholarly discussion about them. It considers some of the ancient objects that scholars have identified aslingas, reflecting on the methodological challenges involved in their interpretation. It also considers major narrative, theological, and pilgrimage traditions surrounding…
Mapping Sacred Geography in Medieval India: The Case of the Twelve Jyotirliṅgas
The Form and Formlessness of Śiva: TheLingain Indian Art, Mythology, and Pilgrimage1
Thelingais well-known as the dominant emblem of the Hindu god Śiva. This article seeks to provide an accessible survey of the mythology and iconography of thelinga, and the scholarly discussion about them. It considers some of the ancient objects that scholars have identified aslingas, reflecting on the methodological challenges involved in their interpretation. It also considers major narrative, theological, and pilgrimage traditions surrounding…
New copperplate grant of Śrīcandra (no. 8) from Bangladesh
This article is the first publication of the Bogra copperplate, the eighth known land-grant inscription issued by Śrīcandra (r.c. 925-975ce), one of the kings of the Candra dynasty of Bengal. A diplomatic transcription is included, together with an annotated English translation and a critically edited text in Devanāgarī. The inscription describes a gift of land to a Brahmin named Śrīkaradatta Śarman, who probably hails from North Bengal ("Hastipa…
Hindu Hair and Jewish Halakha
This pair of essays reflects upon the unexpected encounter of Hindu and Jewish perspectives in the wake of the prohibition of wigs with human hair from India for use by Jewish women by prominent Haredi (''ultra-orthodox'') legal authorities in May 2004. The rulings sparked distress among Haredi communities in New York, London, and Jerusalem; some women took to the streets to burn their wigs, attracting international media attention. Yet questions…
Making Land Sacred: Inscriptional Evidence for Buddhist Kings and Brahman Priests in Medieval Bengal
In research on premodern South Asia, land-grant inscriptions have typically been mined for historical and geographical data. This article suggests that copperplate land-grant inscriptions may also provide an overlooked source of evidence for ideas about sacred space within and between South Asian religions. It focuses on inscriptions recording the granting of land by Buddhist kings to Brahman priests in medieval Bengal, and it hones in on the lit…
Relics,liṅgas, and other auspicious material remains in south asian religions
This article reconsiders sites, practices, and ideas about the physical remains of the special dead in South Asian religions. Questioning the common notion of "relics" as a point of distinction between "Buddhism" and "Hinduism," it explores the constellation of ideas and practices surrounding the remains of gods, demons, people, and animals in South Asian religions. Archaeological and literary evidence for liṅgas, stūpas, and related sites and st…
The Materiality of South Asian Manuscripts from the University of Pennsylvania MS Coll. 390 and the Rāmamālā Library in Bangladesh
Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies - Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2016
Digitizing the University of Pennsylvania's Indic Manuscripts
Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies - Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2018
Renegotiating Sectarian Space through the Realia and Monasteries of Early Medieval Bengal
This article considers the practices about ‘the special dead’ related to the monastery at Pāhāṛpur (‘Hill--town’) in the Rājshāhī region of North--Western Bangladesh. This Early Medieval community was rich in religious diversity from the Gupta to Pāla periods—dense with evidence of Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist activity. There are a number of stūpa structures throughout the grounds for the burial of revered teachers and leaders such that the living c…
An Independent Śiva Purāṇa and Śiva’s Reverence to the Man-Lion
This article traces the history of a small independent Śiva Purāṇa that has circulated across South Asia for centuries. Rather than focusing on its theological and narrative content alone, this article also focuses on the text’s material manifestation in three distinct time periods: Medieval, Mughal, and Colonial. The first section considers its material and textual history with attention to manuscripts. The second section elucidates the value of…
History (9 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Ancient history (6 works) · Hinduism (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Art (5 works) · Religious studies (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works)