Diego Loukota Sanclemente

My dissertation explores the 3rd Century collection of Sanskrit novellas Kalpanamanditika Drstantapankti by Kumaralata in order to highlight the intersection between Buddhist faith and socioeconomic ideology in contemporary northwestern India depicted in it. A clear work ethic and the meaning of wealth being constant concerns of the text, I strive to evaluate these Buddhist attitudes towards work and wealth in the context of Indian Buddhism and Indian society. I also consider the historical context of Kumaralata and the larger context of the deurbanization of India, as well as a philological survey of the text in its various versions, and an attempt to place the work in the broader context of ancient Indian literature in terms of language, style, and literary lineage.