Early Saiva Mythology: a study of the formative period of an integrated religious vision

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Harunaga Isaacson
• Subject Area: Asian Studies ; Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2009 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 105393567

• Final Report Year: 2016

Final Report Abstract

The project made it possible for us to study evidence for the development of Śaiva mythology especially in the pre-Skandapurāņa period. We were able to study inscriptions from the 5th-6th century CE, and a range of textual sources, epic (Mahābārata), Purāņic, court poems and drama, and to shed light on the basis of this evidence on the development of Śaiva mythology, particularly during the period in which Śaivism emerged as the dominant religious current in India. We believe that our results constitute a significant contribution to the understanding of Indian religious history.

Publications

• Śaivism in the Gupta-Vākātaka Age. In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 20 (2010), pp. 477-488
  Peter Bisschop