15th Annual Jaina Lecture
19th century Image of an apsarāḥ, Śāntinātha Jaina Mandira, Cūru/Rajasthan (Photo: P.F. 2014)
The Jaina Appropriation and Adaptation of Śaiva Ritual: The Case of Pādliptasūri’s Nirvāṇakalikā
Professor Alexis Sanderson (All Souls, Oxford University)
Date: 19 March 2015Time: 6:00 PM Finishes: 19 March 2015
Time: 9:00 PM Venue: Brunei GalleryRoom: Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre Type of Event: Lecture
Abstract
I shall show that the Nirvāṇakalikā, a published manual for the rituals of image installation (Pratiṣṭhāpaddhati) attributed to Pāllittasūri, covering also daily ritual and the ceremony of initiation, is an adaptation of the Siddhāntasārapaddhati, an unpublished but influential eleventh-century Saiddhāntika Śaiva Paddhati covering the same topics. In addition to demonstrating that there is direct textual dependence here I shall attempt to explain and illustrate how the Jaina author went about adapting his Śaiva source-text through deletions, substitutions, and additions to produce an acceptably Jaina work.
Biography
Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson (b.1948) is a renowned expert on the history of Śaivism and on tantric traditions. After taking undergraduate degrees in Classics and Sanskrit at Balliol College, Oxford, he spent six years in Kashmir studying with the celebrated scholar and Śaiva guru Swami Lakshman Joo. From 1977 to 1992 he was Lecturer in Sanskrit in the University of Oxford, and Fellow of Wolfson College. Since 1992 he has held the Spalding Chair of Eastern Religions and Ethics in the University of Oxford, and is a Fellow of All Souls College.
Registration
This lecture is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register, please click here. The lecture will be followed by a reception in the Brunei Gallery Suite at 19.30.