In zwei Bänden werden hiermit die in unselbständiger Form erschienenen Schriften Walter Slajes zur kaschmirischen Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte bis zum Jahr 2019 versammelt. Thematisch behandeln die Beiträge Fragen zur Handschriften- und Realienkunde, Syntax, Literatur sowie zur politischen und Religionsgeschichte und Philosophie. Einen besonderen Schwerpunkt bilden dabei zum einen Slajes grundlegende Arbeiten zum Moksopaya und zur Folgeliteratur, zum anderen seine maßgeblichen Studien zur einheimischen kaschmirischen Historiographie, den Rajataranginis. Der 1. Band enthält neben einem vollständigen Schriftenverzeichnis die Nachdrucke von 16 Aufsätzen aus den Jahren 1989-2006.
This book explores the often-overlooked social and political conditions of Kashmir, particularly the Islamization of the Valley during the early modern period. Recent research has primarily focused on textual sources, especially in religious and philosophical contexts, neglecting the region's social turmoil, disasters, violence, famines, epidemics, and wars that have shaped its history. This narrow focus has contributed to a romanticized image of Kashmir, perpetuating the myth of an idyllic past in a glorious Hindu era before Islam's arrival. The two chapters aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of premodern life in Kashmir. The first chapter addresses the long-standing stereotype of Kashmir as a "Happy Valley," scrutinizing the perception of the Brahmin class as inherently non-violent and pacifist. The second chapter examines the concept of an "idol" (mūrti) from Hindu, Buddhist, and Abrahamic perspectives, contrasting the views of iconoclasts and their victims. It analyzes historical instances of idol destruction in Kashmir, both pre-Islamic and Islamic, and discusses the rationale behind iconoclasm as debated by Hindu and Muslim factions. The chapter concludes with a look at the methods used to desecrate Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, rendering them ineffective for future worship. The title reflects a belief among Hindu Kashmiris that their suffering stems from a curse by Brahmā.
The present volume contains a collection of 10 articles read to the audience of a topic-related panel at the 13th World Sanskrit Conference, held in Edinburgh in July 2006. The papers focus on a variety of aspects of prolegomena composed in Sanskrit by examining them in their different systemic and systematic contexts. Extending beyond sastra in its narrower sense as bodies of (philosophical) knowledge, some of the investigations assembled here concern themselves with preambles to different categories such as Vedic exegesis, poetics, poetry and historiography. From the table of contents: (10 contributions) Edwin Gerow, En archêi ên ho logos – „In the Beginning was the Word“. Chr. Minkowski, Why should we read the Mangala-Verses? P. Balcerowicz, Some Remarks on the Opening Sections in Buddhist and Jaina Epistemological Treatises. Jan E. M. Houben, Doxographic Introductions to the Philosophical Systems: Mallavadin and the Grammarians. Ph. Maas, “Descent with Modification“: The Opening of the Patañjalayogasastra. Silvia D’Intino, Meaningful Mantras. The Introductory Portion of the Rgvedabhasya by Skandasvamin.
