Steven P. Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326390
- eISBN:
- 9780199870455
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326390.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A thematically organized, annotated anthology of translations from the Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit devotional poetry of the South Indian Srivaisnava philosopher, sectarian preceptor ...
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A thematically organized, annotated anthology of translations from the Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit devotional poetry of the South Indian Srivaisnava philosopher, sectarian preceptor (Acarya), and saint‐poet Venkatanatha or Venkatesha, also known as Vedantadesika (c. 1268‐1369). The poems collected in this volume, composed out of devotion (bhakti) for one particular Hindu god, Vishnu Devanayaka, the “Lord of Gods” at Tiruvahindrapuram, form a microcosm of the saint‐poet's work. They encompass major themes of Vedantadesika's devotional poetics, from the play of divine absence and presence in the world of religious emotions; the “telescoping” of time past and future in the eternal “present” of the poem; love, human vulnerability and the impassible perfected body of god; to the devotional experience of a “beauty that saves” and to the paradoxical coexistence of asymmetry and intimacy of lover and beloved at the heart of the divine‐human encounter. Moreover, these poems form more than a thematic microcosm, but also embrace all three of the poet's working languages—forming a linguistic one as well. Each translated poem forms a chapter in itself, has its own individual short afterword, along with detailed linguistic and thematic notes and commentary. The volume concludes, for comparative reasons, with a translation of Tirumankaiyalvar's luminous cycle of verses for Devanayaka from the Periyatirumoli. As much an argument as an anthology, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of South Asian studies, comparative religion, and Indian literatures.Less
A thematically organized, annotated anthology of translations from the Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit devotional poetry of the South Indian Srivaisnava philosopher, sectarian preceptor (Acarya), and saint‐poet Venkatanatha or Venkatesha, also known as Vedantadesika (c. 1268‐1369). The poems collected in this volume, composed out of devotion (bhakti) for one particular Hindu god, Vishnu Devanayaka, the “Lord of Gods” at Tiruvahindrapuram, form a microcosm of the saint‐poet's work. They encompass major themes of Vedantadesika's devotional poetics, from the play of divine absence and presence in the world of religious emotions; the “telescoping” of time past and future in the eternal “present” of the poem; love, human vulnerability and the impassible perfected body of god; to the devotional experience of a “beauty that saves” and to the paradoxical coexistence of asymmetry and intimacy of lover and beloved at the heart of the divine‐human encounter. Moreover, these poems form more than a thematic microcosm, but also embrace all three of the poet's working languages—forming a linguistic one as well. Each translated poem forms a chapter in itself, has its own individual short afterword, along with detailed linguistic and thematic notes and commentary. The volume concludes, for comparative reasons, with a translation of Tirumankaiyalvar's luminous cycle of verses for Devanayaka from the Periyatirumoli. As much an argument as an anthology, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of South Asian studies, comparative religion, and Indian literatures.
Philip Lutgendorf
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195309225
- eISBN:
- 9780199785391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309225.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
After highlighting the growing role of literacy and the mass-dissemination of standardized texts in popular Hindu practice, this chapter turns to the importance of Hanuman in the Hindi devotional ...
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After highlighting the growing role of literacy and the mass-dissemination of standardized texts in popular Hindu practice, this chapter turns to the importance of Hanuman in the Hindi devotional poetry attributed to the influential 16th-17th century saint-poet Tulsidas, author of the epic Ramcaritmanas and one of the great figures of bhakti literature. It then surveys a body of allegedly esoteric tantra literature that promotes Hanuman's ritual worship as an efficacious, boon-granting deity. Finally, it introduces and discusses the implications of a collection of exuberant late-20th century narratives that construct an elaborate “biography” (or in two cases, an autobiography) of Hanuman, making him the central hero in his own epic-like cycle.Less
After highlighting the growing role of literacy and the mass-dissemination of standardized texts in popular Hindu practice, this chapter turns to the importance of Hanuman in the Hindi devotional poetry attributed to the influential 16th-17th century saint-poet Tulsidas, author of the epic Ramcaritmanas and one of the great figures of bhakti literature. It then surveys a body of allegedly esoteric tantra literature that promotes Hanuman's ritual worship as an efficacious, boon-granting deity. Finally, it introduces and discusses the implications of a collection of exuberant late-20th century narratives that construct an elaborate “biography” (or in two cases, an autobiography) of Hanuman, making him the central hero in his own epic-like cycle.
Heidi R. M. Pauwels
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369908
- eISBN:
- 9780199871322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369908.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the ...
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This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the most important positive role model for women. The case of Radha, Krishna's clandestine lover, seems to challenge some of these norms. The book investigates in how far that holds true today. The focus is on the ways the goddesses cope with love. The first part looks at their falling in love, the way their weddings are arranged, and the significance of the wedding ceremonies. The second part looks at their married life, where they are faced with challenges. They come out of purdah to follow their beloved in hardship, and face the threat from “the other woman” and “the other man.” The book takes the case of Sita as main point of reference, but contrasts with comparable episodes from the stories of Radha or Krishna's other consorts. The goddess as role model for the woman in love is just as relevant today as in the past, as is evident from the popularity of the televised mythological series Ramayan and Shri Krishna directed by Ramanand Sagar, and the many allusions to Sita and Radha in popular culture. The television series and popular recent and classical hit‐movies that use Sita and Radha tropes are analyzed through comparison with the ancient Sanskrit sources (Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana) and medieval vernacular reworkings by devotional poets (Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanddas and Hariram Vyas).Less
This book seeks to understand the major mythological role models that mark the moral landscape of young Hindu women. Generally, the goddess Sita, faithful consort of the god Rama, is regarded as the most important positive role model for women. The case of Radha, Krishna's clandestine lover, seems to challenge some of these norms. The book investigates in how far that holds true today. The focus is on the ways the goddesses cope with love. The first part looks at their falling in love, the way their weddings are arranged, and the significance of the wedding ceremonies. The second part looks at their married life, where they are faced with challenges. They come out of purdah to follow their beloved in hardship, and face the threat from “the other woman” and “the other man.” The book takes the case of Sita as main point of reference, but contrasts with comparable episodes from the stories of Radha or Krishna's other consorts. The goddess as role model for the woman in love is just as relevant today as in the past, as is evident from the popularity of the televised mythological series Ramayan and Shri Krishna directed by Ramanand Sagar, and the many allusions to Sita and Radha in popular culture. The television series and popular recent and classical hit‐movies that use Sita and Radha tropes are analyzed through comparison with the ancient Sanskrit sources (Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana) and medieval vernacular reworkings by devotional poets (Tulsidas, Surdas, Nanddas and Hariram Vyas).
Andy Rotman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195366150
- eISBN:
- 9780199867882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195366150.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 2 explores the contrast between śraddhā and bhakti. While bhakti is portrayed in the Divyāvadāna as a false confidence in divine forces, śraddhā is represented as a mental state that arises ...
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Chapter 2 explores the contrast between śraddhā and bhakti. While bhakti is portrayed in the Divyāvadāna as a false confidence in divine forces, śraddhā is represented as a mental state that arises with regard to trustworthy individuals and with regard to certain “indirect objects” whose truth is professed by those trustworthy individuals. The practice of śraddhā begins with a visual confirmation of the truth of certain objects and phenomena, and it culminates in the making of offerings. This connection between seeing and giving, with śraddhā as the mediator, results in an epistemological and ethical formulation that engages the problem of karmic materialism. The chapter then discusses the idea of a gold standard of the karmic system, a method of conversion between merit and money, and what it means for the Buddhist believer.Less
Chapter 2 explores the contrast between śraddhā and bhakti. While bhakti is portrayed in the Divyāvadāna as a false confidence in divine forces, śraddhā is represented as a mental state that arises with regard to trustworthy individuals and with regard to certain “indirect objects” whose truth is professed by those trustworthy individuals. The practice of śraddhā begins with a visual confirmation of the truth of certain objects and phenomena, and it culminates in the making of offerings. This connection between seeing and giving, with śraddhā as the mediator, results in an epistemological and ethical formulation that engages the problem of karmic materialism. The chapter then discusses the idea of a gold standard of the karmic system, a method of conversion between merit and money, and what it means for the Buddhist believer.
Tony K. Stewart
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195392722
- eISBN:
- 9780199777327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392722.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The Caitanya caritāmṛta opened with the doctrine of the pañca tattva, the theological basis for Caitanya’s descent with his retinue, dhāma, whose individuals were named by the hundreds. To articulate ...
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The Caitanya caritāmṛta opened with the doctrine of the pañca tattva, the theological basis for Caitanya’s descent with his retinue, dhāma, whose individuals were named by the hundreds. To articulate a unified Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community, Kṛṣṇadāsa adopted the metaphor of the tree of bhakti: Caitanya’s gurus the roots, Caitanya the trunk, and four key branches, locating every devotee in Bengal, Orissa, and Vraja. By highlighting prior works, the Caitanya caritāmṛta functioned as commentary on tradition. Kṛṣṇadāsa’s pervasive rhetoric of humility leaves the impression of reportage; yet he proffered privileged readings, inserted theological arguments in Caitanya’s mouth, and expanded stories with previously unknown information. His seemingly passing praise of select devotees and texts impels the reader to never-explicitly-stated conclusions, a technique of indirect assertion by analogy. The resulting acts of inclusion and exclusion gently guide the reader to sanctioned readings, the founding canon. These strategies together constituted a grammar of tradition.Less
The Caitanya caritāmṛta opened with the doctrine of the pañca tattva, the theological basis for Caitanya’s descent with his retinue, dhāma, whose individuals were named by the hundreds. To articulate a unified Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community, Kṛṣṇadāsa adopted the metaphor of the tree of bhakti: Caitanya’s gurus the roots, Caitanya the trunk, and four key branches, locating every devotee in Bengal, Orissa, and Vraja. By highlighting prior works, the Caitanya caritāmṛta functioned as commentary on tradition. Kṛṣṇadāsa’s pervasive rhetoric of humility leaves the impression of reportage; yet he proffered privileged readings, inserted theological arguments in Caitanya’s mouth, and expanded stories with previously unknown information. His seemingly passing praise of select devotees and texts impels the reader to never-explicitly-stated conclusions, a technique of indirect assertion by analogy. The resulting acts of inclusion and exclusion gently guide the reader to sanctioned readings, the founding canon. These strategies together constituted a grammar of tradition.
Steven P. Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326390
- eISBN:
- 9780199870455
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326390.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A thematic introduction to the life and work of Venkatesha (Vedantadesika), with a focus on Venkatesha's sacred biographies and poetry in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit connected to the ...
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A thematic introduction to the life and work of Venkatesha (Vedantadesika), with a focus on Venkatesha's sacred biographies and poetry in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit connected to the Devanayaka Swami temple in Tiruvahindrapuram, Tamil Nadu. Includes a detailed historical introduction to South Indian bhakti literatures that shape Venkatesha's devotional poetics and Srivaisnava sectarian identity in the “age of the Acaryas” after the twelfth century C.E. Introduction also includes a discussion of the sources of Venkatesha's texts, his rootedness ion the cosmopolitan city of Kanchipuram, the thematic structure of the book and the importance of liturgical worship (darsana and puja), the themes of asymmetry and intimacy, and the “telescoping” form of the poems, to Venkatesha's bhakti poetics. Introduction concludes with a detailed section on translation, in theory and practice, pertinent to the author's goal of translating these medieval South Indian poems into contemporary American English verse.Less
A thematic introduction to the life and work of Venkatesha (Vedantadesika), with a focus on Venkatesha's sacred biographies and poetry in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maharashtri Prakrit connected to the Devanayaka Swami temple in Tiruvahindrapuram, Tamil Nadu. Includes a detailed historical introduction to South Indian bhakti literatures that shape Venkatesha's devotional poetics and Srivaisnava sectarian identity in the “age of the Acaryas” after the twelfth century C.E. Introduction also includes a discussion of the sources of Venkatesha's texts, his rootedness ion the cosmopolitan city of Kanchipuram, the thematic structure of the book and the importance of liturgical worship (darsana and puja), the themes of asymmetry and intimacy, and the “telescoping” form of the poems, to Venkatesha's bhakti poetics. Introduction concludes with a detailed section on translation, in theory and practice, pertinent to the author's goal of translating these medieval South Indian poems into contemporary American English verse.
Steven P. Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326390
- eISBN:
- 9780199870455
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326390.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A full translation of Venkatesha's Sanskrit stotra in praise of Vishnu Devanayaka as Krishna, the Gopalavimshati, with detailed thematic afterword and notes. The afterword situates Venkatesha's ...
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A full translation of Venkatesha's Sanskrit stotra in praise of Vishnu Devanayaka as Krishna, the Gopalavimshati, with detailed thematic afterword and notes. The afterword situates Venkatesha's Sanskrit praise‐poem to Krishna in the broader history of Vishnu/Krishna devotion in Tamil South India, where Krishna as such rarely stands alone as an object of praise. In the poetry of the Alvars and Acaryas, particularly in the poems of Antal, there are several sometimes quite vivid references to Krishna, as god‐child and as god‐lover, but always within the larger context of Vishnu and his ten incarnations (avataras). Venkatesha, however, in the Gopalavimshati and in his mahakavyam, the Yadhavabhyudayam, has written quite concretely about Krishna, as Gopala, the Cowherder god loved by the gopis, the cowherd girls; as the prankster child‐god, the Butter‐Thief; as divine Lover, the god of love and the god in love (kami); and also, as the inconceivable godhead, Brahman itself, the ground of being, formless and in essence unknowable, that takes the form of a playful, vulnerable human being. This chapter revisits themes of ecstatic beholding of the body of god, the devotional relish of the big in the little, and passionate religious love (bhakti and kama).Less
A full translation of Venkatesha's Sanskrit stotra in praise of Vishnu Devanayaka as Krishna, the Gopalavimshati, with detailed thematic afterword and notes. The afterword situates Venkatesha's Sanskrit praise‐poem to Krishna in the broader history of Vishnu/Krishna devotion in Tamil South India, where Krishna as such rarely stands alone as an object of praise. In the poetry of the Alvars and Acaryas, particularly in the poems of Antal, there are several sometimes quite vivid references to Krishna, as god‐child and as god‐lover, but always within the larger context of Vishnu and his ten incarnations (avataras). Venkatesha, however, in the Gopalavimshati and in his mahakavyam, the Yadhavabhyudayam, has written quite concretely about Krishna, as Gopala, the Cowherder god loved by the gopis, the cowherd girls; as the prankster child‐god, the Butter‐Thief; as divine Lover, the god of love and the god in love (kami); and also, as the inconceivable godhead, Brahman itself, the ground of being, formless and in essence unknowable, that takes the form of a playful, vulnerable human being. This chapter revisits themes of ecstatic beholding of the body of god, the devotional relish of the big in the little, and passionate religious love (bhakti and kama).
Ariel Glucklich
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314052
- eISBN:
- 9780199871766
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314052.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter looks at the city of Mathura, which lies on the Yamuna, during the period between the Mauryan and Gupta empires. Dominated by the Kushana ruler Kanishka, this period saw the rise of ...
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This chapter looks at the city of Mathura, which lies on the Yamuna, during the period between the Mauryan and Gupta empires. Dominated by the Kushana ruler Kanishka, this period saw the rise of devotional religion focused on Krishna. The religious texts of the period achieved a sophisticated cultural synthesis, best exemplified in the Bhagavad Gita and Manu Smriti.Less
This chapter looks at the city of Mathura, which lies on the Yamuna, during the period between the Mauryan and Gupta empires. Dominated by the Kushana ruler Kanishka, this period saw the rise of devotional religion focused on Krishna. The religious texts of the period achieved a sophisticated cultural synthesis, best exemplified in the Bhagavad Gita and Manu Smriti.
Heidi R. M. Pauwels
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369908
- eISBN:
- 9780199871322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369908.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist ...
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The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist debates. It contrasts the role models of Sita and Radha and counters a monolithic understanding of these goddesses, arguing for a historically nuanced study of how their stories change over time as told in classical Sanskrit sources, the bhakti or devotional tradition, and the popular culture frameworks of television series and movies. Three hypotheses will be tested. First, are bhakti texts in privileging love above duty and celebrating women's subjectivity liberating for women? Second, does the modernity of the medium of television and film result in a more progressive view? Finally, how is the increasing influence of Hindutva in the public sphere reflected on screen? The introduction establishes the methodology of “siting” Sita and Radha, introduces the sources used and outlines the overall organization.Less
The introduction sets up the basic question of the book: when are goddesses as role models potentially empowering or oppressive for women? It situates this question within contemporary feminist debates. It contrasts the role models of Sita and Radha and counters a monolithic understanding of these goddesses, arguing for a historically nuanced study of how their stories change over time as told in classical Sanskrit sources, the bhakti or devotional tradition, and the popular culture frameworks of television series and movies. Three hypotheses will be tested. First, are bhakti texts in privileging love above duty and celebrating women's subjectivity liberating for women? Second, does the modernity of the medium of television and film result in a more progressive view? Finally, how is the increasing influence of Hindutva in the public sphere reflected on screen? The introduction establishes the methodology of “siting” Sita and Radha, introduces the sources used and outlines the overall organization.
Christian Lee Novetzke
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231175807
- eISBN:
- 9780231542418
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175807.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
In thirteenth-century Maharashtra, a new vernacular literature emerged to challenge the hegemony of Sanskrit, a language largely restricted to men of high caste. In a vivid and accessible idiom, this ...
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In thirteenth-century Maharashtra, a new vernacular literature emerged to challenge the hegemony of Sanskrit, a language largely restricted to men of high caste. In a vivid and accessible idiom, this new Marathi literature inaugurated a public debate over the ethics of social difference grounded in the idiom of everyday life. The arguments of vernacular intellectuals pushed the question of social inclusion into ever-wider social realms, spearheading the development of a nascent premodern public sphere that valorized the quotidian world in sociopolitical terms. The Quotidian Revolution examines this pivotal moment of vernacularization in Indian literature, religion, and public life by investigating courtly donative Marathi inscriptions alongside the first extant texts of Marathi literature: the Līlācaritra (1278) and the Jñāneśvarī (1290). Novetzke revisits the influence of Chakradhar (c. 1194), the founder of the Mahanubhav religion, and Jnandev (c. 1271), who became a major figure of the Varkari religion, to observe how these avant-garde and worldly elites pursued a radical intervention into the social questions and ethics of the age. Drawing on political anthropology and contemporary theories of social justice, religion, and the public sphere, The Quotidian Revolution explores the specific circumstances of this new discourse oriented around everyday life and its lasting legacy: widening the space of public debate in a way that presages key aspects of Indian modernity and demLess
In thirteenth-century Maharashtra, a new vernacular literature emerged to challenge the hegemony of Sanskrit, a language largely restricted to men of high caste. In a vivid and accessible idiom, this new Marathi literature inaugurated a public debate over the ethics of social difference grounded in the idiom of everyday life. The arguments of vernacular intellectuals pushed the question of social inclusion into ever-wider social realms, spearheading the development of a nascent premodern public sphere that valorized the quotidian world in sociopolitical terms. The Quotidian Revolution examines this pivotal moment of vernacularization in Indian literature, religion, and public life by investigating courtly donative Marathi inscriptions alongside the first extant texts of Marathi literature: the Līlācaritra (1278) and the Jñāneśvarī (1290). Novetzke revisits the influence of Chakradhar (c. 1194), the founder of the Mahanubhav religion, and Jnandev (c. 1271), who became a major figure of the Varkari religion, to observe how these avant-garde and worldly elites pursued a radical intervention into the social questions and ethics of the age. Drawing on political anthropology and contemporary theories of social justice, religion, and the public sphere, The Quotidian Revolution explores the specific circumstances of this new discourse oriented around everyday life and its lasting legacy: widening the space of public debate in a way that presages key aspects of Indian modernity and dem
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134346
- eISBN:
- 9780199868056
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134346.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative ...
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This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative poets for the goddesses Kālī and Umā that are included in the book; family resemblances — the Śākta Padavali (collected poems to the goddess — a genre of poetry focussed on Kālī and Umā) as bhakti (devotional attitude) poetry; the challenges and choices in designing an anthology; and notes on transliteration, translation, and word definition.Less
This introduction to the book has five sections. These cover discussion of: the pathways to Bengali Hindu Śākta poetry (sources, precedents, and influences); the 164 compositions by 37 representative poets for the goddesses Kālī and Umā that are included in the book; family resemblances — the Śākta Padavali (collected poems to the goddess — a genre of poetry focussed on Kālī and Umā) as bhakti (devotional attitude) poetry; the challenges and choices in designing an anthology; and notes on transliteration, translation, and word definition.
Steven Paul Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195127355
- eISBN:
- 9780199834327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195127358.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
After an opening section that tells the story about Vedåntadeóika's encounter with Vishnu at Tiruvahândrapuram, and the saint‐poet's compositions in honor of that god in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Prakrit, ...
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After an opening section that tells the story about Vedåntadeóika's encounter with Vishnu at Tiruvahândrapuram, and the saint‐poet's compositions in honor of that god in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Prakrit, this introductory chapter summarizes the main themes of the book. First, a overview of Vedåntadeóika, his historical context, his works in Sanskrit, Tamil, Prakrit and maïipravåöa (“jewels” and “coral”, a prose form that combines the Tamil and Sanskrit languages) and significance in his time as a kavi (poet), a “lion among poets and philosophers,” as a “master of all the arts and sciences,” and as a logician/debater/philosopher/poet who synthesized local/regional Tamil with pan‐regional Sanskrit. Other core issues include tensions in Vedåntadesika between the “poet” and “philosopher,” between intellectual and “emotional bhakti” and divine presence and absence, along with “holy seeing” (daróan) and the “body language” used to describe the “beautiful holy bodies” of Vishnu's temple icons in three south Indian shrines. Methodological framework of the study includes a detailed consideration of Sheldon Pollock's theories on Sanskrit cosmopolitanism along with the “vernacular cosmopolitan” in South Asia after 1300, along with John B. Carman's notions of complementary and contrasting polarities and A.K. Ramanujan's theories on varieties of reflexivity in Indian literature, with help from the semiotic theories of Charles Sanders Peirce on “iconic” and “indexical” signs. Introduction concludes with a detailed discussion of textual sources of Vedåntadeóika's Sanskrit and Prakrit stotras and Tamil prabandhams, and a reflection on translation.Less
After an opening section that tells the story about Vedåntadeóika's encounter with Vishnu at Tiruvahândrapuram, and the saint‐poet's compositions in honor of that god in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Prakrit, this introductory chapter summarizes the main themes of the book. First, a overview of Vedåntadeóika, his historical context, his works in Sanskrit, Tamil, Prakrit and maïipravåöa (“jewels” and “coral”, a prose form that combines the Tamil and Sanskrit languages) and significance in his time as a kavi (poet), a “lion among poets and philosophers,” as a “master of all the arts and sciences,” and as a logician/debater/philosopher/poet who synthesized local/regional Tamil with pan‐regional Sanskrit. Other core issues include tensions in Vedåntadesika between the “poet” and “philosopher,” between intellectual and “emotional bhakti” and divine presence and absence, along with “holy seeing” (daróan) and the “body language” used to describe the “beautiful holy bodies” of Vishnu's temple icons in three south Indian shrines. Methodological framework of the study includes a detailed consideration of Sheldon Pollock's theories on Sanskrit cosmopolitanism along with the “vernacular cosmopolitan” in South Asia after 1300, along with John B. Carman's notions of complementary and contrasting polarities and A.K. Ramanujan's theories on varieties of reflexivity in Indian literature, with help from the semiotic theories of Charles Sanders Peirce on “iconic” and “indexical” signs. Introduction concludes with a detailed discussion of textual sources of Vedåntadeóika's Sanskrit and Prakrit stotras and Tamil prabandhams, and a reflection on translation.
Steven Paul Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195127355
- eISBN:
- 9780199834327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195127358.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter focuses on Deóika's three‐fold contribution to South Indian religion and culture: as a philosopher, a theologian, and a poet. It surveys the milieux, both congenial and rival, in which ...
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This chapter focuses on Deóika's three‐fold contribution to South Indian religion and culture: as a philosopher, a theologian, and a poet. It surveys the milieux, both congenial and rival, in which went about his work, the sectarian debates, and the traditional and contemporary assessments of his work and its significance. Chapter One discusses in detail Vedåntadeóika in relationship to the work of Råmånuja and the Vióióìådvaita school of devotional Hinduism; his work in the area of nyåya or systematic logic; his association with the Vaìakalai or “Northern” School of àrâvaióïavism, his maïipravåöa writings and his relationships to the Çcåryas of the Teúkalai or “Southern” School; an account of the Vaìakalai and Teúkalai schisms and their western scholarly interpreters; the importance of two cities, Kåñcâpuram and àrâraígam, in the formation of these two schools and the importance of Kåñcâpuram to Vedåntadeóika's “cosmopolitanism.”The final section focuses on theoretical issues central to the main subject matter of this study — and one of the most neglected areas of Vedåntadeóika's voluminous writings — his devotional poetry. Chapter tackles several key issues in South Indian bhakti literature, from religious devotion and the idea of the vernacular, poetry and commentary, and “viraha‐bhakti” (love in separation) and “emotionalism” in the work of Vedåntadeóika and other Çcåryas.Less
This chapter focuses on Deóika's three‐fold contribution to South Indian religion and culture: as a philosopher, a theologian, and a poet. It surveys the milieux, both congenial and rival, in which went about his work, the sectarian debates, and the traditional and contemporary assessments of his work and its significance. Chapter One discusses in detail Vedåntadeóika in relationship to the work of Råmånuja and the Vióióìådvaita school of devotional Hinduism; his work in the area of nyåya or systematic logic; his association with the Vaìakalai or “Northern” School of àrâvaióïavism, his maïipravåöa writings and his relationships to the Çcåryas of the Teúkalai or “Southern” School; an account of the Vaìakalai and Teúkalai schisms and their western scholarly interpreters; the importance of two cities, Kåñcâpuram and àrâraígam, in the formation of these two schools and the importance of Kåñcâpuram to Vedåntadeóika's “cosmopolitanism.”
The final section focuses on theoretical issues central to the main subject matter of this study — and one of the most neglected areas of Vedåntadeóika's voluminous writings — his devotional poetry. Chapter tackles several key issues in South Indian bhakti literature, from religious devotion and the idea of the vernacular, poetry and commentary, and “viraha‐bhakti” (love in separation) and “emotionalism” in the work of Vedåntadeóika and other Çcåryas.
Steven Paul Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195127355
- eISBN:
- 9780199834327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195127358.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
After a brief survey of the history of vernacular bhakti literature in South India, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists and the Tamil “cosmopolitan vernacular,” this chapter attempts to assess the riches of ...
More
After a brief survey of the history of vernacular bhakti literature in South India, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists and the Tamil “cosmopolitan vernacular,” this chapter attempts to assess the riches of Vedåntadeóika's Tamil writing by looking at a long prabandham, the Meyviratamåúmiyam (“The Splendor of the City of True Vows”), a narrative account of the creator god Brahmå's building of the shrine at Kåñcâ and his grand sacrificial ritual performed for the sake of a vision of “Kaïïaú,” Vishnu‐Krishna, the Lord Varadaråja Perumåö at Kåñcâpuram. Chapter also includes analysis of Vedåntadeóika's maïipravåöa auto‐commentary on this poem (the Attikiri Måhåtmyam), which sheds light on the intimate relationship between poetry and commentary in the work of Vedåntadeóika. In this and in the following chapter, the study attempts to locate Deóika's poetics of devotion by using traditional Dravidian categories of feeling: the puõam, or “external,” “public” realm of heroic discourse, and the akam, or “interior,” “private” realm of love.Creative but careful use of these traditional categories reveals in a way no other mode of analysis can the richness of Vedåntadeóika's devotional vocabulary in Tamil — a richness that also pervades his work in other genres and other languages. A close thematic and philological reading and poetic translation of the Meyviratamåúmiyam reveals this poem as dominated by motifs of the puõam genre, one that emphasizes the royal, “external”/heroic/public, historical, and “majestic” aspects of this form of Vishnu. Vishnu not as lover, but as King.Less
After a brief survey of the history of vernacular bhakti literature in South India, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists and the Tamil “cosmopolitan vernacular,” this chapter attempts to assess the riches of Vedåntadeóika's Tamil writing by looking at a long prabandham, the Meyviratamåúmiyam (“The Splendor of the City of True Vows”), a narrative account of the creator god Brahmå's building of the shrine at Kåñcâ and his grand sacrificial ritual performed for the sake of a vision of “Kaïïaú,” Vishnu‐Krishna, the Lord Varadaråja Perumåö at Kåñcâpuram. Chapter also includes analysis of Vedåntadeóika's maïipravåöa auto‐commentary on this poem (the Attikiri Måhåtmyam), which sheds light on the intimate relationship between poetry and commentary in the work of Vedåntadeóika. In this and in the following chapter, the study attempts to locate Deóika's poetics of devotion by using traditional Dravidian categories of feeling: the puõam, or “external,” “public” realm of heroic discourse, and the akam, or “interior,” “private” realm of love.
Creative but careful use of these traditional categories reveals in a way no other mode of analysis can the richness of Vedåntadeóika's devotional vocabulary in Tamil — a richness that also pervades his work in other genres and other languages. A close thematic and philological reading and poetic translation of the Meyviratamåúmiyam reveals this poem as dominated by motifs of the puõam genre, one that emphasizes the royal, “external”/heroic/public, historical, and “majestic” aspects of this form of Vishnu. Vishnu not as lover, but as King.
Steven Paul Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195127355
- eISBN:
- 9780199834327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195127358.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Chapter Five considers an example of Vedåntadeóika's Sanskrit style by way of his dhyåna‐stotra modelled after the Tamil poem of the Untouchable saint‐poet Tiruppåïåôvår. It focuses on a particular ...
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Chapter Five considers an example of Vedåntadeóika's Sanskrit style by way of his dhyåna‐stotra modelled after the Tamil poem of the Untouchable saint‐poet Tiruppåïåôvår. It focuses on a particular type of poetic writing in Tamil and in Sanskrit, the pådådikeóa anubhava or “limb‐by‐limb” “enjoyment” of the body of God, with related examples from Kålidåsa, the gadyas of Råmånuja and Tantra texts. This focus on the anubhava reveals another facet of Deóika's devotional poetics, from the Sanskrit side, and shows more concretely how his poetic voice compares with that of an Çôvår. The anubhava also reveals the cultic context of so many of Vedåntadeóika's poems: here you have a supreme example of the temple icon viewed devotionally as the living “body of god,” and the successive descriptive form of the poem as a kind of “icon of an icon.” Along with an analysis of these poems, exploration of the themes of bhakti as kåma (desire, passion) and the erotics of “double‐entendre” (óleóålaõkåra), the chapter takes a close look at some commentarial texts, both on Vedåntadeóika and by Vedåntadeóika himself on Tiruppåï's poem.Less
Chapter Five considers an example of Vedåntadeóika's Sanskrit style by way of his dhyåna‐stotra modelled after the Tamil poem of the Untouchable saint‐poet Tiruppåïåôvår. It focuses on a particular type of poetic writing in Tamil and in Sanskrit, the pådådikeóa anubhava or “limb‐by‐limb” “enjoyment” of the body of God, with related examples from Kålidåsa, the gadyas of Råmånuja and Tantra texts. This focus on the anubhava reveals another facet of Deóika's devotional poetics, from the Sanskrit side, and shows more concretely how his poetic voice compares with that of an Çôvår. The anubhava also reveals the cultic context of so many of Vedåntadeóika's poems: here you have a supreme example of the temple icon viewed devotionally as the living “body of god,” and the successive descriptive form of the poem as a kind of “icon of an icon.” Along with an analysis of these poems, exploration of the themes of bhakti as kåma (desire, passion) and the erotics of “double‐entendre” (óleóålaõkåra), the chapter takes a close look at some commentarial texts, both on Vedåntadeóika and by Vedåntadeóika himself on Tiruppåï's poem.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study ...
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The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study combines textual, historical, and anthropological approaches: transformations in the presentation of the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and their poets are charted through historical reconstructions of textual history and augmented, for the modern period, by fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, India, in 1988–90, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. The book has three principal aims: the first is to introduce the life stories and contexts of Śākta poet‐devotees who, though not much known outside Bengal, represent an important three‐hundred year literary and spiritual tradition centered around Hindu goddesses; the second is to provide the material necessary for the Bengali Śākta padas (short poems written according to a particular meter and rhyme) to be noticed, discussed, and recognized within the larger field of bhakti literary studies; and the third is to contribute to a “history of ideas” about Bengali goddesses.Less
The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study combines textual, historical, and anthropological approaches: transformations in the presentation of the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and their poets are charted through historical reconstructions of textual history and augmented, for the modern period, by fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, India, in 1988–90, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. The book has three principal aims: the first is to introduce the life stories and contexts of Śākta poet‐devotees who, though not much known outside Bengal, represent an important three‐hundred year literary and spiritual tradition centered around Hindu goddesses; the second is to provide the material necessary for the Bengali Śākta padas (short poems written according to a particular meter and rhyme) to be noticed, discussed, and recognized within the larger field of bhakti literary studies; and the third is to contribute to a “history of ideas” about Bengali goddesses.
Rachel Fell McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134353
- eISBN:
- 9780199834457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134354.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This concluding chapter has three aims. These are: to recapitulate and comment upon the nuances of the relationship between bhakti (or the devotional attitude) and Tantra as it is expressed in ...
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This concluding chapter has three aims. These are: to recapitulate and comment upon the nuances of the relationship between bhakti (or the devotional attitude) and Tantra as it is expressed in Bengal; to offer some conceptual and theoretical models that may help to explain the rise of this poetry tradition and its (at least partial) success in taming, humanizing, and universalizing Kālī and Umā; and finally to place these softened goddesses of the Bengali Śākta poets in an all‐India context by highlighting similarities and differences between their travels and those of other Hindu and Buddhist deities.Less
This concluding chapter has three aims. These are: to recapitulate and comment upon the nuances of the relationship between bhakti (or the devotional attitude) and Tantra as it is expressed in Bengal; to offer some conceptual and theoretical models that may help to explain the rise of this poetry tradition and its (at least partial) success in taming, humanizing, and universalizing Kālī and Umā; and finally to place these softened goddesses of the Bengali Śākta poets in an all‐India context by highlighting similarities and differences between their travels and those of other Hindu and Buddhist deities.
John E. Cort
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195132342
- eISBN:
- 9780199834112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132343.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The defining ritual activity of the Svetambar Murtipujak Jains of Patan is image‐worship, conducted in temples to images of the Jinas. The chapter gives detailed explanations of both the prescribed ...
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The defining ritual activity of the Svetambar Murtipujak Jains of Patan is image‐worship, conducted in temples to images of the Jinas. The chapter gives detailed explanations of both the prescribed ideals and the actual practice of image‐veneration (caitya‐vandan), the eightfold image‐worship (murti‐puja), and viewing (darsan). To understand the intentions of the worshipers, one must also understand both Jain devotion (bhakti) and Jain theology. The Jains posit that God – the sum total of liberated souls – resides in infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss, and infinite power, but at the same time embodies a total lack of desire that results in his being inactive in the world. Jains therefore understand worship to ”work” through a process of meditative self‐reflection rather than the intervention of a divine being.Less
The defining ritual activity of the Svetambar Murtipujak Jains of Patan is image‐worship, conducted in temples to images of the Jinas. The chapter gives detailed explanations of both the prescribed ideals and the actual practice of image‐veneration (caitya‐vandan), the eightfold image‐worship (murti‐puja), and viewing (darsan). To understand the intentions of the worshipers, one must also understand both Jain devotion (bhakti) and Jain theology. The Jains posit that God – the sum total of liberated souls – resides in infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss, and infinite power, but at the same time embodies a total lack of desire that results in his being inactive in the world. Jains therefore understand worship to ”work” through a process of meditative self‐reflection rather than the intervention of a divine being.
John E. Cort
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195132342
- eISBN:
- 9780199834112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132343.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around ...
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The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around practices designed to reduce the karma that binds them to suffering and rebirth. The mendicants are also teachers of the laity, and so are expected to deliver frequent sermons on religious topics. The mendicants are dependent upon the laity for food, and the gifting of food provides Jain laity the opportunity to increase their meritorious karma (punya) and wear away sinful or demeritorious karma (pap). Jains understand that this process is accentuated if the layperson expresses great devotion (bhakti) to the mendicants, who in return shower their grace upon their lay devotees.Less
The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around practices designed to reduce the karma that binds them to suffering and rebirth. The mendicants are also teachers of the laity, and so are expected to deliver frequent sermons on religious topics. The mendicants are dependent upon the laity for food, and the gifting of food provides Jain laity the opportunity to increase their meritorious karma (punya) and wear away sinful or demeritorious karma (pap). Jains understand that this process is accentuated if the layperson expresses great devotion (bhakti) to the mendicants, who in return shower their grace upon their lay devotees.
Paul Younger
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140446
- eISBN:
- 9780199834907
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140443.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The Ati or “Original” festival of Srirankam brings an ancient festival tradition into the ritual cycle of one of the most sophisticated temple traditions in all of India. The festival image of Visnu ...
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The Ati or “Original” festival of Srirankam brings an ancient festival tradition into the ritual cycle of one of the most sophisticated temple traditions in all of India. The festival image of Visnu used in these celebrations is a fun‐loving potential bridegroom, and on successive days he makes trips out from the temple on an island in the Kaveri River in the four directions. Gradually, a triangular love story emerges because the Cola princess falls (prapatti) in love with him during a visit to her town, and he then has to return to the temple to deal with the angry Goddess whose devotion (pakti or bhakti) he has dishonored and with whom he is to be married the next day. The Goddess and the worshipers eventually learn that the deity is both fully transcendent and free (paratva) and easy of access (saulabhya).Less
The Ati or “Original” festival of Srirankam brings an ancient festival tradition into the ritual cycle of one of the most sophisticated temple traditions in all of India. The festival image of Visnu used in these celebrations is a fun‐loving potential bridegroom, and on successive days he makes trips out from the temple on an island in the Kaveri River in the four directions. Gradually, a triangular love story emerges because the Cola princess falls (prapatti) in love with him during a visit to her town, and he then has to return to the temple to deal with the angry Goddess whose devotion (pakti or bhakti) he has dishonored and with whom he is to be married the next day. The Goddess and the worshipers eventually learn that the deity is both fully transcendent and free (paratva) and easy of access (saulabhya).
