Śaiva–Buddhist Encounters in Medieval India

Lucas den Boer; Florinda De Simini

doi:10.6093/978-88-6719-323-3

Śaiva–Buddhist Encounters in Medieval India

Authors

Lucas den Boer

University of Naples L'Orieentale

Florinda De Simini

University of Naples L'Orientale

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/978-88-6719-323-3

Keywords:

Śaivism, Buddhism, Medieval India

Synopsis

Publisher: UniorPress

Series: Studies on the History of Śaivism

Pages: 397

Languages: English

Abstract: Śaiva–Buddhist Encounters in Medieval India brings together a group of scholars from across disciplines to explore the dynamic interactions between these two traditions. The contributions examine how Śaivism and Buddhism coexisted, competed, and creatively borrowed from one another—from royal courts and monastic institutions to artistic workshops and literary circles. Drawing on epigraphic, archaeological, art historical, and literary sources, the essays illuminate the fluid boundaries of the medieval religious landscape of South Asia. They trace the layered affiliations of kings and patrons, alongside the shared idioms that shaped poetry, iconography, ritual, and philosophy. Offering a fresh perspective on the history of the subcontinent, this collection is essential reading for anyone engaged in the study of South Asia’s diverse religious past.

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Author Biographies

Lucas den Boer, University of Naples L'Orieentale

Lucas den Boer is a researcher whose interests centre on the history of Indian philosophy, with a particular focus on the social history of Indian thought in the first millennium CE. He has a PhD in South Asian Studies from Leiden University. His latest research project examines the role of Nālandā in the history of philosophy. He is the author of The Jaina Worldview (Routledge, 2023).

Florinda De Simini, University of Naples L'Orientale

Florinda De Simini is associate professor of the History of Ancient and Medieval India at L'Orientale University of Naples. Her research centers on the history of Indian religious traditions through the philological study of textual sources, with a special focus on insititutionalized religion and lay practice. She also studies the transmission of texts within transregional networks, as well as the material, cultural and social aspects connected to the production and transmission of manuscripts in South Asia. She is Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant Project SHIVADHARMA and scientific coordinator for L'Orientale of the ERC Synergy Grant Project DHARMA.