An important new study describing the historical origins of the tantric movement in early medieval India. Drawing on primary documents from Sanskrit, Prakit, and Bengali, Davidson shows how changes in medieval Indian society led to the rise of the esoteric tradition in India that became the model for Buddhist cultures in China, Tibet, and Japan.
"An exceptional work of stunning research, eloquence, and unusual innovativeness." David Germano.
"Gives us an original and revelatory contribution to the study of Buddhism and Indian religions, one that will surely provoke animated discussion and debate. Buddhist tantrism, the subject of much mystification in the past and at present, is here clearly examined in its early social and historical context for the first time...Indian Esoteric Buddhism begins the necessary task of theoretically and substantively grounding our approaches to scholarship in this endlessly fascinating and puzzling domain, revealing the all-too-human faces of its sages, wizards, and kings." Matthew Kapstein.
"This extraordinary work advances our knowledge of esoteric Buddhism in India by placing it in the broader context of Indian history and culture...required reading for all serious students of medieval Indian religion." Phyllis Granoff.
