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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism
The Encyclopedia of Hinduism contains over 900 entries
reflecting recent advances in scholarship which have raised new
theoretical and methodological issues as well as identifying new
areas of study which have not been addressed previously. The debate
over the term 'Hinduism' in the light of post-Orientalist critiques
is just one example of how once standard academic frameworks have
been called into question. Entries range from 150-word definitions
of terms and concepts to 5,000-word in-depth investigations of
major topics.
The Encyclopedia covers all aspects of Hinduism but departs from
other works in including more ethnographic and contemporary
material in contrast to an exclusively textual and historical
approach. It includes a broad range of subject matter such as:
historical developments (among them nineteenth and twentieth
century reform and revival); geographical distribution (especially
the diaspora); major and minor movements; philosophies and
theologies; scriptures; deities; temples and sacred sites;
pilgrimages; festivals; rites of passage; worship; religious arts
(sculpture, architecture, music, dance, etc.); religious sciences
(e.g. astrology); biographies of leading figures; local and
regional traditions; caste and untouchability; feminism and women's
religion; nationalism and the Hindu radical right; and new
religious movements. The history of study and the role of important
scholars past and present are also discussed.
Accessibility to all levels of reader has been a priority and no
previous knowledge is assumed. However, the in-depth larger entries
and the design of the work in line with the latest scholarly
advances means that the volume will be of considerable interest to
specialists.
The whole is cross-referenced and bibliographies attach to the
larger entries. There is a full index.
Recent years have seen the emergence of a virulent version of Hindu
communalism and cultural chauvinism on the Indian political scene
and of the groups of xenophobes who have obfuscated and mystified
the notion of Hindu identity and have reinforced its stereotypic
images. This book identifies some of the stereotypes about Hinduism
and shows them to be deeply flawed and having no basis in
historical evidence. It debunks the view that India (called
?Bh?rata?) is timeless, that the first man was born here and that
its people were the authors of the first human civilisation, and
argues that the word ?Bh?rata? in the sense of a country is absent
from the entire Vedic literature and that India as a country
evolved over a long period. The formation of its identity had much
to do with the perceptions of the people who migrated into the
subcontinent at different times, and Indian nationalism developed
mostly as a response to Western imperialism. Contrary to the belief
popularized by the Hindu jingoists, it has been shown that Hinduism
is neither timeless nor monolithic; it is a colonial construct
covering large clusters of religious beliefs and practices and thus
represents almost a baffling plurality of traditions. The
stereotyping of Hinduism as a tolerant religion has also been
contested and massive evidence has been adduced to show that, like
other religions, it was intolerant, gave no space to dissent and
converted members of other faiths. Hindu sects developed ascetic
military orders from the early medieval period onwards and fought
among themselves much before the appearance of Islam on the Indian
scene. The book challenges the sacredness' of cow as a community
identity of the Hindus and shows that the animal has not been all
that sacrosanct and inviolable in the past. A melange of evidence
has been marshalled to show that the killing of the cow for the
Vedic gods was de rigueur much before the arrival in India of
Muslims who are stereotyped as kine killers, that its flesh was
very much a part of the ancient Indian food regimen and dietary
traditions, and continues to remain so even today in some sections
of Hindu society. Even so the Indian religious texts project a
polymorphic image of the cow and show that its story through the
millennia is full of inconsistencies, thus rendering its supposed
holiness elusive, indeed as elusive as Hindu identity itself. Based
on the authors unquestionable grasp of the primary evidence and
written in a riveting style the essays in the book are an antidote
to the Hindu religious fundamentalist mythomania and will certainly
be of value to those interested in the construction of Hinduism and
the politics of Hindu identity in cotemporary India.
A richly diverse collection of classical Indian terms for
expressing the many moods and subtleties of emotional experience
Words for the Heart is a captivating treasury of emotion terms
drawn from some of India's earliest classical languages. Inspired
by the traditional Indian genre of a "treasury"-a wordbook or
anthology of short texts or poems-this collection features 177
jewel-like entries evoking the kinds of phenomena English speakers
have variously referred to as emotions, passions, sentiments,
moods, affects, and dispositions. These entries serve as beautiful
literary and philosophical vignettes that convey the delightful
texture of Indian thought and the sheer multiplicity of
conversations about emotions in Indian texts. An indispensable
reference, Words for the Heart reveals how Indian ways of
interpreting human experience can challenge our assumptions about
emotions and enrich our lives. Brings to light a rich lexicon of
emotion from ancient India Uses the Indian genre of a "treasury,"
or wordbook, to explore the contours of classical Indian thought in
three of the subcontinent's earliest languages-Sanskrit, Pali, and
Prakrit Features 177 alphabetical entries, from abhaya
("fearlessness") to yoga ("the discipline of calm") Draws on a
wealth of literary, religious, and philosophical writings from
classical India Includes synonyms, antonyms, related words, and
suggestions for further reading Invites readers to engage in the
cross-cultural study of emotions Reveals the many different ways of
naming and interpreting human experience
The lesser known and explored of the two pillars of
Hinduism--=a'srama and var.na--=a'srama is the name given to a
system of four distinct and legitimate ways of leading a religious
life: as a celibate student, a married householder, a forest
hermit, and a world renouncer. In this, the first full-length study
of the =a'srama system, Olivelle uncovers its origin and traces its
subsequent history. He examines in depth its relationship to other
institutional and doctrinal aspects of the Brahmanical world and
its position within Brahmanical theology, and assesses its
significance within the history of Indian religion. Throughout, he
argues that the =a'srama system is primarily a theological
construct and that the system and its history should be carefully
distinguished from the socio-religious institutions comprehended by
the system and from their respective histories.
This book is a historical exploration of the social and cultural
processes that led to the rise of the ideology of labor as a
touchstone of Bengali Muslim politics in late colonial India. The
book argues that the tremendous popularity of the Pakistan movement
in Bengal is to be understood not just in terms of
"communalization" of class politics, or even "separatist" demands
of a religious minority living out anxieties of Hindu political
majoritarianism, but in terms of a distinctively modern idea of
Muslim self and culture which gave primacy to production/labor as
the site where religious, moral, ethical as well as economic value
would be anchored. In telling the story of the formation of a
modern Muslim identity, the book presents the conceptual congruence
between Islam and egalitarianism as a distinctively early twentieth
century phenomenon, and the approach can be viewed as key to
explaining the mass appeal of the desire for Pakistan. A novel
contribution to the study of Bengal and Pakistan's origins, the
book will be of interest to researchers studying South Asian
history, the history of colonialism and end of empire, South Asian
studies, including labour studies, Islamic Studies, and Muslim
social and cultural history.
Manu's Code of Law is one of the most important texts in the
Sanskrit canon, indeed one of the most important surviving texts
from any classical civilization. It paints an astoundingly detailed
picture of ancient Indian life-covering everything from the
constitution of the king's cabinet to the price of a ferry trip for
a pregnant woman-and its doctrines have been central to Indian
thought and practice for 2000 years. Despite its importance,
however, until now no one has produced a critical edition of this
text. As a result, for centuries scholars have been forced to
accept clearly inferior editions of Sanskrit texts and to use those
unreliable editions as the basis for constructing the history of
classical India. In this volume, Patrick Olivelle has assembled the
critical text of Manu, including a critical apparatus containing
all the significant manuscript variants, along with a reliable and
readable translation, copious explanatory notes, and a
comprehensive introduction on the structure, content, and
socio-political context of the treatise. The result is an
outstanding scholarly achievement that will be an essential tool
for any serious student of India.
This work describing life in India at the turn of the century
combines descriptions of the Hindu religion and Hindu sociology
with masterful portraits of the intimate lives of the people among
whom the author lived. Among the issues explored are the caste
system, poverty, the mythical origin of the Brahmins, Hindu sects,
ceremonies, religious fasting, morality, the position of women, and
Hindu literature.
Tantric Revisionings presents stimulating new perspectives on Hindu
and Buddhist religion, particularly their Tantric versions, in
India, Tibet or in modern Western societies. Geoffrey Samuel adopts
an historically and textually informed anthropological approach,
seeking to locate and understand religion in its social and
cultural context. The question of the relation between 'popular'
(folk, domestic, village, 'shamanic') religion and elite (literary,
textual, monastic) religion forms a recurring theme through these
studies. Six chapters have not been previously published; the
previously published studies included are in publications which are
difficult to locate outside major specialist libraries.
Reveals the yogic understanding of the power of words and images
(matrika shakti) and explains how to still the mind and reveal the
divinity within.
'Defining Hinduism' focuses on what Hinduism is, what it has been,
and what some have argued it should be. The oldest of the world
religions, Hinduism presents a complex pantheon and system of
beliefs. Far from being unchanging, Hinduism has, like any faith of
duration, evolved in response to changing cultural, political and
ideological demands. The book brings together some of the leading
scholars working on South Asian religions today.
This book offers a detailed study of the oral narrative of Shri
Devnarayan along with the first English translation of this popular
Rajasthani folk narrative. The narrative extolling the deeds of
Lord Devnarayan is performed by itinerant singers during all night
vigils in front of a 9-meter long, elaborately painted cloth scroll
that depicts scenes and characters from the story. Aditya Malik
uses the narrative to explore and ask a range of innovative
questions relevant to the study of Indian folk culture and Hinduism
as a whole: How is orality conceptualized and practiced? What is
the relationship between spoken and visual signs? How do
Devnarayan's devotees create multiple discourses concerning
religion, community, and history within and though the medium of
the narrative? Malik's analysis suggests that the narrative
provides a framework for establishing linkages between different
communities, past and present, spoken word and visual image, as
well as contending religious ideologies. His interpretation is
interspersed with excerpts from interviews with devotees and
singers, other tales and texts, and observations from his field
research that together invoke the worlds created by the narrative.
This book offers new translations of the Tiruppavai and Nacciyar
Tirumoli, composed by the ninth-century Tamil mystic and poetess
Kotai. Two of the most significant compositions by a female mystic,
the Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli give expression to her
powerful experiences through the use of a vibrant and bold
sensuality, in which Visnu is her awesome, mesmerizing, and
sometimes cruel lover. Kotai's poetry is characterized by a
richness of language in which words are imbued with polyvalence and
even the most mundane experiences are infused with the spirit of
the divine. Her Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli are garlands of
words, redolent with meanings waiting to be discovered. Today Kotai
is revered as a goddess, and as a testament to the enduring
relevance of her poetry, her Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli
continue to be celebrated in South Indian ritual, music, dance, and
the visual arts.
This book aims to capture the lyricism, beauty, and power of
Kotai's original works. In addition, detailed notes based on
traditional commentaries, and discussions of the ritual and
performative lives of the Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli
highlight the importance of this ninth-century poet and her two
poems over the past one thousand years.
This introduction to the Madhva school of Vedanta is accessible to
a wide audience with interest in Hinduism, Indian thought and in
the comparative philosophy of religion. Deepak Sarma explores the
philosophical foundations of Madhva Vedanta and then presents
translations of actual debates between the Madhva and Advaita
schools of Vedanta, thus positioning readers at the centre of the
700 year-old controversy between these two schools of Vedanta.
Original texts of Madhvacarya are included in an appendix, in
translation and in Sanskrit.
Bhakti, a term ubiquitous in the religious life of South Asia, has
meanings that shift dramatically according to context and
sentiment. Sometimes translated as "personal devotion," bhakti
nonetheless implies and fosters public interaction. It is often
associated with the marginalized voices of women and lower castes,
yet it has also played a role in perpetuating injustice. Barriers
have been torn down in the name of bhakti, while others have been
built simultaneously. Bhakti and Power provides an accessible entry
into key debates around issues such as these, presenting voices and
vignettes from the sixth century to the present and from many parts
of India's cultural landscape. Written by a wide range of engaged
scholars, this volume showcases one of the most influential
concepts in Indian history-still a major force in the present day.
The Bhagavad Gita, literally "The Song of God," is one of the most
important spiritual and religious texts of the world, and is to
Hindus what the Torah is to Jews, the Bible to Christians, and the
Quran to Moslems. With text, translation, and Sri Aurobindo's
commentary, this is probably the finest translation and commentary
on the Bhagavad Gita that we have seen.
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