Dynamics of Indic Culture

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About the Book The book begins with new interpretations of various facets of Asoka’s inscriptions, clarification of technical terms like vigada-bhica, or the practice of Vedic rites by the Emperor. Symbolism of the Aurangabad Cave 7, the suppression of Apollo in the Hellenic-Buddhist discord in Swat, the Vedic tradition of mauneya as the Way of Sakyamuni, development of Indic scripts from Brahmi, and the Inscription of King Indravarman of Cambodia whose Preceptor was a direct disciple of Sankarácārya, are expounded. Indological studies in the Netherlands, variations of the Five Buddhas, and Buddhism for the protection of the state are followed by echoes of Lord Krsna's flute in Sufism, Padmasambhava's entire opus on the eastern flank of India from Lanka to Kanchi, thence to Bengal, Nepal and finally to Tibet, and representations of Lord Krsna from Central Asia to Japan are detailed. Etymologies of Bukhara and Samarkand show their rise from Buddhism. The Siddha Kambala was a Kangar Turk. The title of the most popular Avalokitesvarasutra is imprecise in Chinese. Writes for the long life of Empress Wu of China (r.684-705) and Empress Koken of Japan (1.749-758, 764-769), were conducted with a special Kalparaja from Khotan. Its dharani-mantras used on both occasions have been restored from Chinese and Tibetan transliterations. The first light house (akasa-dipa) of Asia was established in Indonesia by the Kundunga dynasty from Kerala. Extracts from Old Javanese Mahabharata and Rāmāyaṇa are an overview of literary creativity in Asian lands. Statues of the Amoghapasa pentad at Candi Jago reveal the continuous contacts of India and Indonesia. Research notes on 41 topics are precise interpretations of long-sought doubts, e.g. Lord Buddha flanked by young Ananda and old Kasyapa in Chinese monasteries is from the Lotus Sutra. At times, Buddhism is a revaluation of prevailing earlier concepts even of the Vedic period. New identifications, resolution of long- sought doubts, new elucidations, and chronological changes (e.g. paper was made in India earlier than in China) open up new vistas of research.

About the Author Prof. Lokesh Chandra is currently the Director of the International Academy of Indian Culture which is a premier research institution for Asian cultures. He has been a Vice-President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research. He is a well-known historian and a renowned scholar of Tibetan, Mongolian and Sino- Japanese Buddhism. He has also served as a member of the Indian Parliament. In 2006 he was recognized with India's Padma Bhushan award.

He is the son of the world-renowed scholar of Oriental Studies and Linguistics Prof. RaghuVira. He was born in 1927, obtained his Master's degree in 1947 from the Punjab University at Lahore, and followed it with a Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy from the State University of Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1950. Starting with an understanding of the most ancient of India's spiritual expression enshrined in the Vedic tradition, he has moved on to the interlocution between India, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, South East Asia, and the Indo-European languages. He has studied over twenty languages of the world. He has to his credit 613 works and text editions.

**Contents and Sample Pages**