Introduction

This chapter lays out some of the disciplinary issues that intersect with Translating Wisdom. The study is situated within recent academic literature on Hindu-Muslim interactions, while also addressing some of the challenges associated with the trilingual scope of the project: although Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian were the three truly trans-regional, pan-imperial languages of the Mughal realm, no prior English study has properly attempted to conceptualize the intersecting and simultaneous operation of these three language-bound intellectual cultures, which occupied the same space for centuries within South Asia’s borders. In light of the peculiar difficulties associated with this inquiry, this chapter formulates a method for attempting its research program.