Locating Tradition in the Connected Histories of Space: The Case of Relooking Kashmir Śaivism

Kashmir Śaivism, not Kashmiri Śaivism, is a unique religio-philosophical tradition that emerged in early medieval Kashmir, when, according to the tradition, a compendium of seventy-seven aphorisms, the Śiva Sūtras , was revealed to Ācaryā Vasūgupta (ninth century ce ). This religio-philosophical tradition is different, if not entirely, from the rest of the Śaiva traditions that are still prevalent and practised in South Asia, and is essentially triadic, tantric, monistic and non-dualistic in outlook. The existing scholarly writings on the subject mainly come from Indologists, Sanskritists, Philosophers and scholars of Comparative Religion. The writings of these scholars have essentially addressed the theological and philosophical nuances of the subject, with no effort to investigate its genesis in the various developments that occurred at then trans-regional levels. Thus, the present article endeavours to fill this gap in the existing scholarly writings on the theme and argues that Kashmir Śaivism did not emerge in insularity, but was a response to the wider political, socio-cultural, economic and intellectual connections of the space—Kashmir, which it developed widely from seventh century ce with the Indic mainland. Thus, this article essentially endeavours to investigate the theme from a historical perspective, and the same will be done by critically engaging with the diverse sources—literary and archaeological—through an approach called ‘connected history’.