The World of the Skandapurāṇa

Preface

Table of Contents

Introduction

A TOUR D’HORIZON

Preamble

The geographical and historical perimeter

The cultural framework

The Vaiṣṇava world

The sphere of Goddess worship

The outside world

The heterodox religions and the Sāṃkhya

The Śaiva world

The centre

COMPOSITION AND SPREAD OF THE SKANDAPURĀṆA: A POSSIBLE SCENARIO

I The World of Power The Political Landscape from Skandagupta to Harṣavardhana’s successors

THE TWILIGHT OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE

Hūṇa Attacks and Inner Fragmentation

Skandagupta

Budhagupta

Harivarman

Toramāṇa

The Aulikara rulers of Daśapura, Mandasor

Yaśodharman

Mihirakula

THE MAUKHARIS

The Origin of the Maukhari Dynasty

Harivarman

The Maukharis of the Gayā Region

The Maukharis of Kanauj

Īśvaravarman

Īśānavarman

The Sūlikas

The Andhras

The Gauḍas

A Period of Stability and Cultural Bloom

Śarvavarman and Avantivarman

The Kaumudīmahotsava

Viśākhadatta

A RESHUFFLE OF POWER IN MADHYADEŚA

The Thanesar—Kanauj Axis

Preamble

Sthāneśvara

Mālava

The Mālava—Gauḍa conspiracy

Harṣavardhana’s consecration

Śaśāṅka

THE REIGN OF HARṢAVARDHANA (AD 612—647)

A Literary and a Buddhist Record

Bāṇa’s introduction to the court

Harṣa’s campaigns against Gauḍa

The Establishment of an Empire

The East: Bengal and Orissa

The South: Harṣa’s struggle with the Cālukyas

A looming threat from the West

Foreign Affairs: The empire in the international arena

The ‘Arena of Charitable Offerings’

The end of an epoch

The aftermath: the rise of the Gupta kings of Magadhā

The Skandapurāṇa reaches Nepal

II The World of Culture The Skandapurāṇaits composition and position within the literary and religious landscape

THE PĀŚUPATA MOVEMENT AND THE SKANDAPURĀṆA

The Composition and Transmission of the Skandapurāṇa

The historical time frame

Vārāṇasī

The Pāśupata history as told in SPS 167

The Junvānī Copperplate Inscription of Mahāśivagupta

The Lāguḍi tradition

Diversity and coherence of the Pāśupata movement

The Kāpālikas of Magadhā

The Mahāvrata

THE SKANDAPURĀṆA AND BĀṆA’S HARṢACARITA

Preamble

The Purāṇa in Performance

Bāṇa’s Family Tree and the Foundation of Sthāneśvara

The Myth of Dadhīca

The Abhiṣeka of Skanda and Harṣavardhana

Nīlalohita and Kurukṣetra

Kurukṣetra

Conclusion

THE MYTH OF DAKṢA’S SACRIFICE

Preamble

Bhadreśvara

The initiation of the gods in the Pāśupata vrata

Bhadreśvara: the site

Kubjāmraka

Brahmāvarta

Kanakhala

Conclusion

THE SEVEN BRAHMINS, KING UDAYANA, AND ŚVETA’S STRUGGLE WITH DEATH

The Legend of the Seven Brahmins

Historical evidence

Literary evidence

The seven deer of Kālañjara

Mṛgadhārā

King Udayana

The Kalacuris of Ujjain

Udayana, Vasanta, and the carrier

The Story of Śveta

Śveta in the Skandapurāṅa

The Kalacuris of Kālañjara

The twenty-eight incarnations

The Pāsupatas and Śaivas of the Nīlakaṇṭha Temple complex

Summary

THE MYTH OF TILOTTAMĀ AND MAṆḌALEŚVARA

Maṇḍaleśvarasvāmin and the Skandapurāṅa

The myth of Tilottamā

Muṅḍeśvarī Hill

The inscription of Udayasena, Year 30

The Sites of Muṅḍeśvarī Hill

The Temple of Maṇḍaleśvara

Vinīteśvara

The Tapovana

Nārāyaṇadevakula

Conclusion

GODDESSES FROM THE EAST

In cooperation with Yuko Yokochi

Introduction

Bangarh or Koṭivarṣa: the material evidence

The Damodarpur Copperplate Inscriptions

The Bangarh excavations

Koṭivarṣa in Sanskrit Literature

Vaiṣṇava sources of the Gupta age

Koṭivarṣa and the Skandapurāṇa

The Mātṛtantras or the seven Yāmalas

Later Skandapurāṇa Transmission and the Pāla Kingdom

APPENDIX

The Koṭīvarṣamāhātmya of the Skandapurāṅa

Introduction

Part I (S recension): KoM(S) 1—23

Part I (RA recension): KoM(RA) 1—56

Part II (S & RA recensions): KoM 24—44

References

FIGURES

PLATES

BIBILOGRAPHY

INDEX