Ulrich Timme Kragh
Gonda Fellow, IIAS, Leiden University
The paper will commence with a brief survey of the Buddhist history of the Swat valley in NW Pakistan, which in the late centuries of the first millennium was known as Uddiyana. It will then introduce the writings of seven Buddhist authoresses from Swat, including Sahajavajra, Vajravati Brahmani, Kambalamatrika, Laksmi, Mekhala, Kanakhala, and Dakini Siddharajni. Finally, a few preliminary remarks will be made towards answering the fundamentally important question of the authenticity of the female authorship claim, especially of the five works said to have been composed by Laksmi, the most prolific of the seven writers.
(Presented in the 2012 Chulalongkorn-EFEO International Conference on Buddhist Studies : Imagination, Narrative, and Localization, 6-7 January 2012, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, organized by Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University In conjunction with The Buddhist Studies Group, EFEO)