1st Edition

Women and Monastic Buddhism in Early South Asia Rediscovering the invisible believers

By Garima Kaushik Copyright 2016
298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

This book uses gender as a framework to offer unique insights into the socio-cultural foundations of Buddhism. Moving away from dominant discourses that discuss women as a single monolithic, homogenous category—thus rendering them invisible within the broader religious discourse—this monograph examines their sustained role in the larger context of South Asian Buddhism and reaffirms their agency.... Read more

List of Map and Figures.  List of Plates.  Acknowledgements.  Preface.  List of diacritical marks.  Abbreviations.  Introduction.  1. Sacred Spaces and the Feminine in Buddhism  2. Locating the Bhiksuni: Identifying Nunneries  3. Exploring Women’s Space: Conflict between The Social and the Asocial Worlds  4. Women as Patrons   Conclusion. Bibliography.  Index

Biography

Garima Kaushik is assistant archaeologist in the Chandigarh Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. She has excavated at a number of important historic and protohistoric archeological sites in the country including Sravasti, Dholavira, Govishana and Adi Badri. She has been actively involved in academic as well as field research on early Buddhist historical sites for over 15 years.