The Sun-Worshipping Śākadvīpīya Brāhmaṇas. An Analysis of Their History and Customs from Ancient Times to the Present

The Śākadvīpīya Brāhmaṇas are the main Hindū sun-worshippers in North-India. The aim of the research is to investigate and thematise the Iranian elements in the Śākadvīpīya cult and costumes, taking into account all the primary and secondary sources. The analysis of the Purāṇic texts, in particular the sections from the Sāmba- and the Bhaviṣya-purāṇas, the legend of their migration to India (probably in the first centuries A.D.) and the lexicon contained in them, is fundamental to gathering some information about the Śākadvīpīyas. Moreover, the onomastic study of the late poem Magavyakti by Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Miśra shows that even if there is no clear etymological connection with Old Iranian roots, there is still a strong connection with the modern Iranian world. I briefly discuss the content of other two later poems (Khalavaktracapeṭikā by Rājavallabha Miśra e Sāmvavijaya), the epigraphic evidence, and the mention of the Śākadvīpīyas in Greek sources (cf. Ptolemy) and in Buddhist authors (Abhidharma literature and Bhāvaviveka). The analysis of the documents is enriched with the results of the interviews I carried out among the contemporary communities of Śākadvīpīya Brāhmaṇas in Delhi, Rājasthān (Udaipur, Jodhpur and Bīkāner) and Bihār (Patna). The manifold topic requires manifold proficiencies: first, the knowledge of languages (Sanskrit, but also Avestan, Old Persian, Middle Persian and Bactrian; Prakrits for the onomastic analysis; elementary Hindī for supporting the interaction with modern communities). Moreover, a multidisciplinary approach is employed, which includes the disciplines of philology, onomastics and ethnography.