Local Biographies in Jain Literary Production
A lecture by Abhishek Jain (IIAS Gonda fellow) organised by the Society of Friends of the Kern Institute (VVIK).
The lecture starts at 15:00 p.m. Amsterdam Time and is followed by drinks.
Please note: this lecture takes place at Matthias de Vrieshof 3 (not at IIAS).
In this lecture, Abhishek Jain aims to illuminate biographical writing (Prabandha) in the Jain literary tradition, dating from the 13th to 16th century and largely written in North and Northwestern India.
Due to the interreligious dialogue found in them, some of the Prabandha texts provide evidence for encounters between Jain authors and Islamic rulers in the Delhi Sultanate. These encounters led to the patronization of several Prabandhas by rulers in the Sultanate and other local kings.
The Prabandhas’ discourse of past events in effect constitutes a historiography of late medieval India. Moreover, Jain authors not only created a unique form of historiography, but were deliverers of a timely teaching: namely, how the Jain ethical doctrines, such as non-violence, compassion, peace, and the effects of good and bad deeds, might be conceived by leaders in the Islamicate cultures of India.
The lecture will be followed by drinks in the basement of Matthias de Vrieshof 3.
The speaker
Abhishek Jain (PhD, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 2021) is currently a Gonda Fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS). The major focus of his research is on classical and modern South Asian languages and literature, literary theory, philosophy, and translation theory.
Organisation
This lecture is organised by the Society of Friends of the Kern Institute (VVIK).
Please see www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2022/08/vvik-lecture-local-biographies-in-jain-literary-production for current information.