The Sanskrit-Old Javanese Tutur Literature from Bali. The Textual Basis of Śaivism in Ancient Indonesia

Abstract

The essay is a survey of the scriptural basis of the Śaiva religion in the ancient Indonesian Archipelago, consisting of texts (Tutur) that represent a corpus of didactic literature contextualising materials of South Asian provenance into a Javano-Balinese linguistic and doctrinal framework. Some among the many hitherto untraced Sanskrit ślokas embedded in the Old Javanese commentary of Tuturs are here shown to have parallels in early Sanskrit Siddhāntatantras. Through the comparison of doctrinal features found in sources of both areas, I argue that the form of Śaivism widespread in the Archipelago seems to be based on an ancient Saiddhāntika scriptural core reflecting an early phase of Śaivism in the Subcontinent.