Descriptions of otherworldly realms in which human beings reap the fruits of their actions have been a common feature of religious literature since early times. The Śivadharma texts are especially rich in such descriptions, offering varied depictions of the punishments and rewards that await a human being after death. Such depictions, at times very vivid and detailed, provide insights into early Śaiva beliefs and practices but also help us better understand the society that produced the texts.
The first aim of this conference is to get an overview of sections on heavens and hells found in the Śivadharma texts, both in Sanskrit and in their early modern Tamil adaptation. As a further step, we would like to place those depictions in the broader context of South and East Asian religions. By examining textual and visual materials belonging to the Vedic, the Śaiva, the Vaiṣṇava, the Buddhist, and the Jaina traditions, we hope to identify sources and influences of the Śivadharma texts, but also to understand the historical developments of ideas on the afterlife in these cultural domains.
