"Popular Hinduism is shaped, above all, by worship of a multitude of powerful divine beings--a superabundance indicated by the proverbial total of 330 million gods and goddesses. The fluid relationship between these beings and humans is a central theme of this rich and accessibl…
"Popular Hinduism is shaped, above all, by worship of a multitude of powerful divine beings--a superabundance indicated by the proverbial total of 330 million gods and goddesses. The fluid relationship between these beings and humans is a central theme of this rich and accessibl…
"Popular Hinduism is shaped, above all, by worship of a multitude of powerful divine beings--a superabundance indicated by the proverbial total of 330 million gods and goddesses. The fluid relationship between these beings and humans is a central theme of this rich and accessibl…
This engaging and accessible work provides an introduction to the Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedanta and brings it into discussion with contemporary concerns. Advaita, the non-dual school of Indian philosophy and spirituality associated with Sankara, is often seen as "other-worl…
"This engaging and accessible work provides an introduction to the Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedānta and brings it into discussion with contemporary concerns. Advaita, the non-dual school of Indian philosophy and spirituality associated with Śaṅkara, is often seen as "other-wor…
The great Hindu scripture concerning divine knowledge and devotion takes the form of a talk between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna before a decisive battle in the Indian epic poem, The Mahabharata. This edition features the original Sanskrit and an English translation on facing …
Accompanying CD contains ... "audio pieces to provide examples of the most common kinds of recitation, song and music. ... The pieces are described in the appendix."--Page xi.
The authors present the Dāruvana myth as the basis for three forms of Siva - Bhairava, Bhikṣâṭana, and Naṭarāja.
"Sarah Caldwell chose to embark on an anthropological investigation of an obscure Keralite ritual drama - mutiyettu." "At the heart of the drama is the spirit possession of a male actor by the fearsome warrior goddess Bhadrakali, an incarnation of Kali, in her divine battle with…
"Covering the earliest Sanskrit rulebooks through to the codification of 'Hindu law' in modern times, this interdisciplinary volume examines the interactions between Hinduism and the law. The authors present the major transformations to India's legal system in both the colonial …
The highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship form a major part of what is known as 'Śāktism', and is often considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism and Smārtism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other m…
"Defining Hinduism is concerned not only with what Hinduism is but also with what it has been, and with the history of the religion and of the term "Hinduism." Some of the authors included here make political or ideological claims, so they are also interested in what Hinduism sh…
"Most overviews of Hindu belief and practice follow a history from the ancient Vedas to today. Such approaches privilege Brahmanical traditions and create a sense of Hinduism as a homogenous system and culture, and one which is largely unchanging and based solely on sacred texts…