Female-Authored Buddhist Texts from Uddiyana
In this IIAS Lunch Lecture Dr Ulrich Timme Kragh will give an overview of their lives and writings of six Tantric authoresses from the Swat Valley of Pakistan.
A lecture by IIAS fellow Dr Ulrich Timme Kragh.
Female-authored texts are very rare in the classical and medieval history of South Asia. When looking back over the millenia of premodern Indian history, it is almost as if women's own voices are entirely shut out in the rich orchestration of male voices. Yet, there are a few exceptions. In one such case, from the ninth to the eleventh centuries CE, a number of female Buddhist authors rose to prominence in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, an area that back then was known as Uddiyana. During my Gonda Fellowship at IIAS, I have edited and translated the works of six Tantric authoresses from this locality and I will in this talk provide an overview of their lives and writings.
Every third Wednesday of the month one of the IIAS researchers will present his/her work-in-progress in an informal setting to their colleagues and other interested attendees, followed by a lunch provided by IIAS. These lunch lectures are organized to give the research community the opportunity to freely discuss ongoing research and to exchange thoughts.
Lunch is provided. Please register at a.e.l.van.der.horst@iias.nl