Dear Harry, Walter, and All,

Andrea Acri has written about this, and I have downloaded the relevant article from his academia.edu page and attach it here.

See p. 578 environ, and Andrea may be right that I (and several others) might be wrong about whether Śaṅkara was known in the Valley around this time.

Food for thought.

As Ever,

John

___________________________________________

John Nemec, Ph.D.

Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies

Department of Religious Studies

323 Gibson Hall, 1540 Jefferson Park Avenue

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA 22904

+1 (434) 924-6716

nemec@virginia.edu

https://virginia.academia.edu/JNemec

Take a look at my new book:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/brahmins-and-kings-9780197791998?cc=us&lang=en&

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 1:12 PM
To: Harry Spier <vasishtha.spier@gmail.com>
Cc: Indology <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Mokṣopāya completed

Dear Harry,

> Was the existence of Śaṅkarācārya and/or his writings known in 10th century Kashmir?

To my knowledge, Śaṅkara played no role in Kashmir at that time. Maṇḍanamiśra was seen as the representative of Advaita Vedānta. Significantly, the Mokṣopāya addresses and quotes Maṇḍana's theory of error (khyāti [Vibhramaviveka]) in Mokṣopāya VI.325.1–10 (the current volume), adopting "Vasiṣṭha's" inclusivistic approach by redefining the ātmakhyāti of the Yogācāra school in his own terms. As so often, he tells a parable to illustrate his point (śilopākhyāna, VI.32511–40).

Regards,

Walter

Am Do., 21. Aug. 2025 um 15:59 Uhr schrieb Harry Spier <vasishtha.spier@gmail.com>:

Dear Walter,

My congratulations also on this impressive accomplishment.

You wrote:

Contrary to a still-prevailing misconception, the 10th-century Mokṣopāya from Kashmir has nothing at all to do with Śaṅkara's Advaitavedānta . . .

Was the existence of Śaṅkarācārya and/or his writings known in 10th century Kashmir?

Thanks,

Harry Spier