Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.108

v2.c13.s3.t2.108

In spite of a very disjointed political history, the city had been reputed as the abode for knowledge since early times. Immensely contributing to the literature, music, art and culture of India, it has been closely linked with ancient Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religious traditions and until today continues to be one of their foremost centres of pilgrimage. Its support for new and radical currents of thought attracted scholars from near and far to this city. It was from the beginning a sacred place linked to Siva, a non-Vedic deity, as well as to the non-Brahamanical Yaksha-Naga cult, all of which were later added in