The Books Sānk and Pātanğal

Noémie Verdon, PhD (2016), Maître assistante (SNFS), Department of South Asian Studies, University of Lausanne, has several academic publications on al-Bīrūnī and on the history of Indian thought. Her latest book Tantrisme, un chemin vers la liberté (L'Harmattan, 2023) is dedicated to a broad audience.

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

Abbreviations and Other Usages



Introduction



1 Cultural Contexts of al-Bīrūnī’s Work and Writings

 1.1 Persian and Islamic Spheres of Influence

 1.2 Al-Bīrūnī’s Visits to al-Hind

 1.3 Elements of Culture of Gandhāra and Panjab

 1.4 Concluding Remarks



2 The Social and Intellectual Contexts

 2.1 Building up Theoretical Knowledge on al-Hind

 2.2 Collaborations and Multiculturalism at Royal Courts

 2.3 Al-Bīrūnī and Indian Scholars

 2.4 The Transmission of Living Traditions

 2.5 Concluding Remarks



3 Al-Bīrūnī’s Translations within the Sāṅkhya-Yoga Traditions

 3.1 Sāṅkhya-Yoga Literature Predating al-Bīrūnī’s Time

 3.2 Tenets of Sāṅkhya and Yoga

 3.3 Authorships and Titles

 3.4 Intersections and Disagreements of the Two Philosophical Systems

 3.5 Concluding Remarks



4 Al-Bīrūnī’s Interpretative Strategies

 4.1 Al-Bīrūnī’s Methods through the Lens of Translation Studies

 4.2 Three Explicit Transformations

 4.3 Al-Bīrūnī’s Reshaping of the Original Texts

 4.4 Al-Bīrūnī’s Transformations of Content

 4.5 Concluding Remarks



5 On the Kitāb Pātanğal and Its Sanskrit Source

 5.1 Scholarship Review

 5.2 The Commentary as an Integrated Part of the Kitāb Pātanğal

 5.3 A Problematic Laudatory Passage

 5.4 Concluding Remarks



6 On the Kitāb Sānk and Its Sanskrit Source

 6.1 Scholarship Review

 6.2 Methodological Considerations

 6.3 Passages of the Kitāb Sānk and the Tradition of the Sāṅkhyakārikā

 6.4 Concluding Remarks



Conclusion



Appendix: Passages Related to the Kitāb Sānk Found in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms as al-Bīrūnī Interpreted Them into Arabic

Bibliography

Index