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.

• AcknowledgementsList of Figures and TablesAbbreviations and Other UsagesIntroduction1 Cultural Contexts of al-Bīrūnī’s Work and Writings1.1 Persian and Islamic Spheres of Influence1.2 Al-Bīrūnī’s Visits to al-Hind1.3 Elements of Culture of Gandhāra and Panjab1.4 Concluding Remarks2 The Social and Intellectual Contexts2.1 Building up Theoretical Knowledge on al-Hind2.2 Collaborations and Multiculturalism at Royal Courts2.3 Al-Bīrūnī and Indian Scholars2.4 The Transmission of Living Traditions2.5 Concluding Remarks3 Al-Bīrūnī’s Translations within the Sāṅkhya-Yoga Traditions3.1 Sāṅkhya-Yoga Literature Predating al-Bīrūnī’s Time3.2 Tenets of Sāṅkhya and Yoga3.3 Authorships and Titles3.4 Intersections and Disagreements of the Two Philosophical Systems3.5 Concluding Remarks4 Al-Bīrūnī’s Interpretative Strategies4.1 Al-Bīrūnī’s Methods through the Lens of Translation Studies4.2 Three Explicit Transformations4.3 Al-Bīrūnī’s Reshaping of the Original Texts4.4 Al-Bīrūnī’s Transformations of Content4.5 Concluding Remarks5 On the Kitāb Pātanğal and Its Sanskrit Source5.1 Scholarship Review5.2 The Commentary as an Integrated Part of the Kitāb Pātanğal5.3 A Problematic Laudatory Passage5.4 Concluding Remarks6 On the Kitāb Sānk and Its Sanskrit Source6.1 Scholarship Review6.2 Methodological Considerations6.3 Passages of the Kitāb Sānk and the Tradition of the Sāṅkhyakārikā6.4 Concluding RemarksConclusionAppendix: Passages Related to the Kitāb Sānk Found in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-HindGlossary of Sanskrit Terms as al-Bīrūnī Interpreted Them into ArabicBibliographyIndex