Study on Indic philosophy and religion; with a special reference to Nepal.

Cultic Relationships Between Buddhism and Brahmanism in the ‘Last Stronghold’ of Indian Buddhism: An Analysis with Particular Reference to Votive Inscriptions on the Brahmanical Sculptures Donated to Buddhist Religious Centres in Early Medieval Magadha In this article, an attempt has been made to understand the patterns of cultic relationships between Buddhism and Brahmanism through the prism of dedicatory inscriptions on the Brahmanical sculptures donated to Buddhist religious centres in early medieval Magadha. I have looked into the social background of the (...) donors and the expressed motives for donation of such images. I have argued that the Buddhist Sa?gha accepted the donation of Brahmanical sculptures to effect a ma??alic appropriation of Brahmanical cults to Buddhism, though this does not seem to have been how the donors saw it. In the process, it exposed its own flank to a counter-appropriation by Brahmanism. (shrink)

Indian Buddhist monasteries, as institutions in dynamic interactions with other societal institutions, have created a vast functional matrix or were parts thereof. In the past hundred years or so, contours of this matrix have been generally reconstructed with a macro perspective. Now we need to go beyond macro generalizations. We need to analyse individual monasteries in their local and supra-local contexts.