POETRY AS PRAYER IN THE SANSKRIT HYMNS OF KASHMIR EPZI C

Who decides what should be recognized as knowledge What forces engender knowledge How do certain forms of it acquire precedence over the rest and why Exploring these fundamental questions this book provides an introductory outline of the vast history of knowledge systems under the broad categories of European and nonEuropean specifically Indian. It not only traces ontology and epistemology in spatiotemporal terms but also contextualizes methodological development by comparing Indian and European systems of knowledge and their methods of production as well as techniques ensuring reliability. Knowledge cannot have a history of its own independent of social history. Therefore using a vast array of sources including Greek Prakrit Chinese and Arab texts the book situates the history of knowledge production within the matrix of multiple socioeconomic and politicocultural systems. Further the volume also analyses the process of the rise of science and new science and reviews speculative thoughts about the dynamics of the subatomic microuniverse as well as the mechanics of the galactic macrouniverse.