A Unique Religious Landscape: Indian-Origin Vocabulary in Om-nāma, a 17th-Century Text in Persian

Om-nāma is a poem written in India in the 17th century. Its author was Banwalidas Wali, a protégé of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh. It is a free adaptation of the much older Sanskrit treatise Yogavāsiṣṭha. However, while deeply rooted in the Indic tradition, Om-nāma extensively uses Islamicate imagery, especially from the realm of Sufism. In this article, we will analyze the terminology of Indic origin in Om-nāma, focusing on forms that interact ininterestingly with Islamicate (Perso-Arabic) vocabulary.