Reading Śivadharmottara 12 with Yuko Yokochi
On 12 and 13 December 2022, we held a workshop at L’Orientale, Naples, dedicated to reading the final chapter, chapter 12, of the Śivadharmottara. We used an edition prepared by Yuko Yokochi of the Kyoto University. The chapter starts with a Śaiva cosmogony. The participants engaged in stimulated discussions on wide ranging topics discussed there: hells, Śivaloka, Goloka. Especially intriguing to the participants were the discussions on cows in the text. Such emphasis on the importance of the cow in the final chapter, the chapter that generally carries the importance, might hint at the state of Śaivism or of the environment that produced the Śivadharmottara. We look forward to going back to that chapter some time soon.
