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/9780195309225.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
While surveying textual sources, iconography, and other historical evidence for the development of Hanuman's popular cult, this chapter also interrogates the explanatory narratives that have been ...
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While surveying textual sources, iconography, and other historical evidence for the development of Hanuman's popular cult, this chapter also interrogates the explanatory narratives that have been constructed around this evidence by earlier scholars. After examining attempts to locate Hanuman's origins in pre-Vedic religion or in the Rig Veda, and in the cult of yakshas or earth-spirits, it examines the role of the wind (Hanuman's legendary father) in Ayurveda, and Hanuman's additional kinship with Shiva and Shaivism. It then traces the development of Hanuman's persona over roughly two millennia from the Valmiki Ramayana to the Rama tales in the Puranas, in the literature of Jainism, and in vernacular language epics. Interrogating a recent and influential theory that Hanuman's cult reflects a Hindu response to the excesses of Muslim hegemony, the chapter reexamines three historical periods that often figure in this argument: the late Vijayanagara empire, the early Maratha kingdom, and the “warrior ascetics” of the Ramanandi sadhu order in the late Mughal Empire and early colonial periods. It is argued that the apparent efflorescence of devotion to Hanuman in each of these contexts reflects a more complex range of historical and social factors than has generally been recognized.Less
While surveying textual sources, iconography, and other historical evidence for the development of Hanuman's popular cult, this chapter also interrogates the explanatory narratives that have been constructed around this evidence by earlier scholars. After examining attempts to locate Hanuman's origins in pre-Vedic religion or in the Rig Veda, and in the cult of yakshas or earth-spirits, it examines the role of the wind (Hanuman's legendary father) in Ayurveda, and Hanuman's additional kinship with Shiva and Shaivism. It then traces the development of Hanuman's persona over roughly two millennia from the Valmiki Ramayana to the Rama tales in the Puranas, in the literature of Jainism, and in vernacular language epics. Interrogating a recent and influential theory that Hanuman's cult reflects a Hindu response to the excesses of Muslim hegemony, the chapter reexamines three historical periods that often figure in this argument: the late Vijayanagara empire, the early Maratha kingdom, and the “warrior ascetics” of the Ramanandi sadhu order in the late Mughal Empire and early colonial periods. It is argued that the apparent efflorescence of devotion to Hanuman in each of these contexts reflects a more complex range of historical and social factors than has generally been recognized.
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/9780195309225.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter presents a representative selection of well-known tales and variants that emphasize Hanuman's heroic role both within and outside the conventional Ramayana narrative. Selections include ...
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This chapter presents a representative selection of well-known tales and variants that emphasize Hanuman's heroic role both within and outside the conventional Ramayana narrative. Selections include ancient tales adapted from the Puranas and regional Rama literature, as well as modern folktales and oral narratives. Collectively, these tales add a new installment to the Hindu mythology available in English translation.Less
This chapter presents a representative selection of well-known tales and variants that emphasize Hanuman's heroic role both within and outside the conventional Ramayana narrative. Selections include ancient tales adapted from the Puranas and regional Rama literature, as well as modern folktales and oral narratives. Collectively, these tales add a new installment to the Hindu mythology available in English translation.
Ariel Glucklich
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314052
- eISBN:
- 9780199871766
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314052.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The Strides of Vishnu explores a wide range of topics in Hindu culture and history. Hinduism has often set out to mediate between the practical needs of its many communities and a ...
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The Strides of Vishnu explores a wide range of topics in Hindu culture and history. Hinduism has often set out to mediate between the practical needs of its many communities and a transcendent realm. Illuminating this connection, The Strides of Vishnu focuses not only on religious ideas but also on the various arts and sciences, as well as crafts, politics, technology, and medicine. The book emphasizes core themes that run through the major historical periods of Northern India, beginning with the Vedas and leading up to India's independence. Sophisticated sciences such as geometry, grammar, politics, law, architecture, and biology are discussed within a broad cultural framework. Special attention is devoted to historical, economic, and political developments, including urbanism and empire‐building. The Strides of Vishnu situates religious and philosophical ideas within such broad contexts so religion sheds its abstract and detached reputation. The message of classical and medieval religious masterpieces—including the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, plays of Kalidasa, and many others—comes to life within a broad world‐making agenda. But while the literary masterpieces reflected the work of the cultural elites, The Strides of Vishnu also devotes considerable attention to the work that did not make it into the great texts: women's rituals, magic, alchemy, medicine, and a variety of impressive crafts. The book discusses the stunning mythology of medieval India and provides the methods for interpreting it, along with the vast cosmologies and cosmographies of the Puranas. The Strides of Vishnu is an introductory book on Hindu culture, but while it highlights central religious themes, it explores these within broader historical and cultural contexts. It gives its readers a clear and highly textured overview of a vast and productive civilization.Less
The Strides of Vishnu explores a wide range of topics in Hindu culture and history. Hinduism has often set out to mediate between the practical needs of its many communities and a transcendent realm. Illuminating this connection, The Strides of Vishnu focuses not only on religious ideas but also on the various arts and sciences, as well as crafts, politics, technology, and medicine. The book emphasizes core themes that run through the major historical periods of Northern India, beginning with the Vedas and leading up to India's independence. Sophisticated sciences such as geometry, grammar, politics, law, architecture, and biology are discussed within a broad cultural framework. Special attention is devoted to historical, economic, and political developments, including urbanism and empire‐building. The Strides of Vishnu situates religious and philosophical ideas within such broad contexts so religion sheds its abstract and detached reputation. The message of classical and medieval religious masterpieces—including the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, plays of Kalidasa, and many others—comes to life within a broad world‐making agenda. But while the literary masterpieces reflected the work of the cultural elites, The Strides of Vishnu also devotes considerable attention to the work that did not make it into the great texts: women's rituals, magic, alchemy, medicine, and a variety of impressive crafts. The book discusses the stunning mythology of medieval India and provides the methods for interpreting it, along with the vast cosmologies and cosmographies of the Puranas. The Strides of Vishnu is an introductory book on Hindu culture, but while it highlights central religious themes, it explores these within broader historical and cultural contexts. It gives its readers a clear and highly textured overview of a vast and productive civilization.
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/9780195314052.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter looks at the vast mythological texts called Puranas, with a special focus on the Matsya Purana. The vast cosmological periods (yugas) and the maps of the universe contained in these ...
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This chapter looks at the vast mythological texts called Puranas, with a special focus on the Matsya Purana. The vast cosmological periods (yugas) and the maps of the universe contained in these texts are explained. The chapter also looks at two major pilgrimage centers on the Ganges and explains their religious importance. The politically charged methods of interpreting Hindu mythology are discussed, particularly in reference to the narrative of the churning of the ocean.Less
This chapter looks at the vast mythological texts called Puranas, with a special focus on the Matsya Purana. The vast cosmological periods (yugas) and the maps of the universe contained in these texts are explained. The chapter also looks at two major pilgrimage centers on the Ganges and explains their religious importance. The politically charged methods of interpreting Hindu mythology are discussed, particularly in reference to the narrative of the churning of the ocean.
Eva De Clercq
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195380040
- eISBN:
- 9780199869077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380040.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, World Religions
In “The Great Men of Jainism In Utero,” an overview is provided of the intrauterine lives of the sixty-three heroes of the “Universal History” of the Jains. A central motif in these accounts is a ...
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In “The Great Men of Jainism In Utero,” an overview is provided of the intrauterine lives of the sixty-three heroes of the “Universal History” of the Jains. A central motif in these accounts is a series of prophetic dreams that the mothers experience upon conception. In general, these dreams and other events surrounding the hero’s time in the womb parallel what happens to him in his life beyond the womb. The chapter further examines some similarities in Hinduism and Buddhism.Less
In “The Great Men of Jainism In Utero,” an overview is provided of the intrauterine lives of the sixty-three heroes of the “Universal History” of the Jains. A central motif in these accounts is a series of prophetic dreams that the mothers experience upon conception. In general, these dreams and other events surrounding the hero’s time in the womb parallel what happens to him in his life beyond the womb. The chapter further examines some similarities in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Shailendra Bhandare
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195305326
- eISBN:
- 9780199850884
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305326.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
In the context of the chronological and geographic limits to which this chapter is confined, the main body of literary evidence utilized for historical reconstruction by the exponents of the textual ...
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In the context of the chronological and geographic limits to which this chapter is confined, the main body of literary evidence utilized for historical reconstruction by the exponents of the textual school is a group of semimythical texts called the Purāṇas. From a religious standpoint, they belong to a genre labeled Hindu or Brahmanic literature. There are eighteen Purāṇas traditionally known, but Matysa, Vāyu, Brahmāṇda, and Bhaviṣya Purāṇas are pertinent for a dynastic account of north India during the post-Mauryan period. What they contain is an essentially linear presentation of the historical course in the post-Mauryan period. They are largely unanimous about the succession to the imperial Mauryas—they state that they were succeeded first by the Śuṅgas, then by the Kaṇvas, and last by the Āndhras. As for the focus of the post-Mauryan polity, the Purāṇas name the city of Vidisha as the capital of the Śuṅgas.Less
In the context of the chronological and geographic limits to which this chapter is confined, the main body of literary evidence utilized for historical reconstruction by the exponents of the textual school is a group of semimythical texts called the Purāṇas. From a religious standpoint, they belong to a genre labeled Hindu or Brahmanic literature. There are eighteen Purāṇas traditionally known, but Matysa, Vāyu, Brahmāṇda, and Bhaviṣya Purāṇas are pertinent for a dynastic account of north India during the post-Mauryan period. What they contain is an essentially linear presentation of the historical course in the post-Mauryan period. They are largely unanimous about the succession to the imperial Mauryas—they state that they were succeeded first by the Śuṅgas, then by the Kaṇvas, and last by the Āndhras. As for the focus of the post-Mauryan polity, the Purāṇas name the city of Vidisha as the capital of the Śuṅgas.
Romila Thapar
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195637984
- eISBN:
- 9780199081912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195637984.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter focuses on disagreements between astronomers regarding time calculations. One astronomer rejected the unequal length of the four yugas; Āryabhaṭa in the fifth century AD was singled out ...
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This chapter focuses on disagreements between astronomers regarding time calculations. One astronomer rejected the unequal length of the four yugas; Āryabhaṭa in the fifth century AD was singled out even in later times as having argued in favour of four ages of equal length of 1,080,000 years. A subsequent astronomer, Brahmagupta, disagreed with this and endorsed the alternative figures closer to the cosmological scheme. The cosmography of a flat earth was also rejected in favour of a sphere. In the mid-eighth century, the astronomer Lalla refuted what he found unacceptable in Purāṇic texts. Still later, Vaṭeśvara disagreed with Brahmagupta and supported Āryabhaṭa. There appears to have been some divergence among astronomers as also between them and the authors of the Purāṇas.Less
This chapter focuses on disagreements between astronomers regarding time calculations. One astronomer rejected the unequal length of the four yugas; Āryabhaṭa in the fifth century AD was singled out even in later times as having argued in favour of four ages of equal length of 1,080,000 years. A subsequent astronomer, Brahmagupta, disagreed with this and endorsed the alternative figures closer to the cosmological scheme. The cosmography of a flat earth was also rejected in favour of a sphere. In the mid-eighth century, the astronomer Lalla refuted what he found unacceptable in Purāṇic texts. Still later, Vaṭeśvara disagreed with Brahmagupta and supported Āryabhaṭa. There appears to have been some divergence among astronomers as also between them and the authors of the Purāṇas.
Veena Das
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077404
- eISBN:
- 9780199081172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077404.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
This introductory chapter discusses Hindu caste and ritual. It examines the religious texts in Sanskrit, which serve as relevant sources of information on Indian society. It takes a look at ...
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This introductory chapter discusses Hindu caste and ritual. It examines the religious texts in Sanskrit, which serve as relevant sources of information on Indian society. It takes a look at anthropological research and the formation of a positivist approach, as well as the consequences of defining social reality based on concreteness. It introduces Louis Dumont's writings, where he rejects the dichotomy between behaviour and thought, and insists that an explanatory model cannot be limited to copying observed reality. It then pinpoints the two Sanskrit texts that will be analyzed in detail, namely the Dharmaranya Purana and the Grihya Sutra of Gobhila. The chapter also studies the caste Puranas, who are defined as a class of Sanskrit language that is concerned with the five main themes of creation.Less
This introductory chapter discusses Hindu caste and ritual. It examines the religious texts in Sanskrit, which serve as relevant sources of information on Indian society. It takes a look at anthropological research and the formation of a positivist approach, as well as the consequences of defining social reality based on concreteness. It introduces Louis Dumont's writings, where he rejects the dichotomy between behaviour and thought, and insists that an explanatory model cannot be limited to copying observed reality. It then pinpoints the two Sanskrit texts that will be analyzed in detail, namely the Dharmaranya Purana and the Grihya Sutra of Gobhila. The chapter also studies the caste Puranas, who are defined as a class of Sanskrit language that is concerned with the five main themes of creation.
Romila Thapar
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195637984
- eISBN:
- 9780199081912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195637984.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter discusses constructions of cosmological time in early India. In what has been called the yuga astronomy of the fifth century AD, Indian astronomers calculated that a kalpa — the longest ...
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This chapter discusses constructions of cosmological time in early India. In what has been called the yuga astronomy of the fifth century AD, Indian astronomers calculated that a kalpa — the longest period of time — consisted of 4320 million years. Cosmological time is also described in Manu's Dharmaśāstra and in the Mahābhārata, and is further elaborated upon in the Purāṇas. Concepts of time, integrated with ideas on creation, go into the making of what might be called cosmological time.Less
This chapter discusses constructions of cosmological time in early India. In what has been called the yuga astronomy of the fifth century AD, Indian astronomers calculated that a kalpa — the longest period of time — consisted of 4320 million years. Cosmological time is also described in Manu's Dharmaśāstra and in the Mahābhārata, and is further elaborated upon in the Purāṇas. Concepts of time, integrated with ideas on creation, go into the making of what might be called cosmological time.
Romila Thapar
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195637984
- eISBN:
- 9780199081912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195637984.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter discusses the relationship between myth and history. It has been argued that myths narrate events in primordial, atemporal moments which constitute sacred time, and differ from the ...
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This chapter discusses the relationship between myth and history. It has been argued that myths narrate events in primordial, atemporal moments which constitute sacred time, and differ from the continuous profane time of daily routines. Therefore, by narrating myths profane time is abolished. The question then is whether this was true of the treatment of time in the Purāṇas. Was there at least the suggestion that a differentiation was being perceived between different forms of time and the assessment of past events? Was cosmological time seen as mythic time? Was mythic time segregated from chronological time in narrating the past? Was this segregation seen as a mechanism for separating myth and history?Less
This chapter discusses the relationship between myth and history. It has been argued that myths narrate events in primordial, atemporal moments which constitute sacred time, and differ from the continuous profane time of daily routines. Therefore, by narrating myths profane time is abolished. The question then is whether this was true of the treatment of time in the Purāṇas. Was there at least the suggestion that a differentiation was being perceived between different forms of time and the assessment of past events? Was cosmological time seen as mythic time? Was mythic time segregated from chronological time in narrating the past? Was this segregation seen as a mechanism for separating myth and history?
David L. Haberman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199929177
- eISBN:
- 9780199332960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199929177.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter begins with a consideration of tree worship as a worldwide phenomenon, exploring the sentience of trees in such practices as the worship of oak trees in Europe. The specific worldview ...
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This chapter begins with a consideration of tree worship as a worldwide phenomenon, exploring the sentience of trees in such practices as the worship of oak trees in Europe. The specific worldview that informs much tree worship and makes it so widespread in India is taken up next. The extensive history of Indian thought expresses a major tenet of Hindu religious philosophy: the interconnectedness and sacred nature of all life. The whole world in its myriad of forms springs from and participates in a unified reality, often called Brahman in the Upanishads and Puranas. Importantly, the great variety of embodied forms of divinity include trees. This chapter concludes with an examination of the long history of tree worship (puja) in India. Virtually all sacred trees in India have been considered a kalpa-vriksha, the famous mythological “Wishing-Tree” that yields many kinds of favorable results, both material and spiritual.Less
This chapter begins with a consideration of tree worship as a worldwide phenomenon, exploring the sentience of trees in such practices as the worship of oak trees in Europe. The specific worldview that informs much tree worship and makes it so widespread in India is taken up next. The extensive history of Indian thought expresses a major tenet of Hindu religious philosophy: the interconnectedness and sacred nature of all life. The whole world in its myriad of forms springs from and participates in a unified reality, often called Brahman in the Upanishads and Puranas. Importantly, the great variety of embodied forms of divinity include trees. This chapter concludes with an examination of the long history of tree worship (puja) in India. Virtually all sacred trees in India have been considered a kalpa-vriksha, the famous mythological “Wishing-Tree” that yields many kinds of favorable results, both material and spiritual.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226895130
- eISBN:
- 9780226895154
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226895154.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A yogi's powers of omniscience entail extensions of his person that radiate far beyond the contours of his physical body, into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. In effect, a yogi's mind-body (or ...
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A yogi's powers of omniscience entail extensions of his person that radiate far beyond the contours of his physical body, into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. In effect, a yogi's mind-body (or more properly speaking his consciousness-body) complex becomes virtually coterminus with the limits of the universe. This chapter follows the ways in which the implications of this extension of the person or self came to be applied to the theology, anthropology, cosmology, and soteriology of the Hindu Purānas and Tantras, as well as the scriptures of Buddhist Mahāyāna and Tantra. These new developments appear to follow parallel tracks, with the bodies and powers of yogis and gods being magnified in homologous ways in coeval sources. The four-verse “coda” of the Mahābhārata's yoga chapter offers a novel expansion on the theories of perception and the science of entering foreign bodies. This chapter also examines yogic displays by gods and Buddhas and the deification of yogis.Less
A yogi's powers of omniscience entail extensions of his person that radiate far beyond the contours of his physical body, into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. In effect, a yogi's mind-body (or more properly speaking his consciousness-body) complex becomes virtually coterminus with the limits of the universe. This chapter follows the ways in which the implications of this extension of the person or self came to be applied to the theology, anthropology, cosmology, and soteriology of the Hindu Purānas and Tantras, as well as the scriptures of Buddhist Mahāyāna and Tantra. These new developments appear to follow parallel tracks, with the bodies and powers of yogis and gods being magnified in homologous ways in coeval sources. The four-verse “coda” of the Mahābhārata's yoga chapter offers a novel expansion on the theories of perception and the science of entering foreign bodies. This chapter also examines yogic displays by gods and Buddhas and the deification of yogis.
Sumathi Ramaswamy
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226476575
- eISBN:
- 9780226476742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226476742.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The dissemination of a modern planetary consciousness with the help of the terrestrial globe unleashed complicated processes of adopting, accommodating, deflecting, or rejecting Modern Earth across ...
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The dissemination of a modern planetary consciousness with the help of the terrestrial globe unleashed complicated processes of adopting, accommodating, deflecting, or rejecting Modern Earth across British India. In other words, there was no easy passage of this master object of modernity from Europe to India. Even as late as the 1990s, as key governmental surveys showed, a large number of Indians still claimed that the earth was flat. On the other hand, as the colorful god posters of street art demonstrate, the terrestrial globe is incorporated into the iconography of Hindu gods. Ironically, the ancestral knowledge of the ancient Puranas helps disseminate pedagogic modernity’s planetary consciousness. Yet the Empire of Geography does flourish in its Indian province, although like all empires, it is a messy affair indeed, riven by many counter-flows and insubordinations, and populated by a variety of subjects ranging from diehard foot soldiers to adherents who feign obedience even while harboring many a contrary belief, and outright rebels. The life stories of Serfoji, Anand Masih, and others show there is no single track to the formation of planetary consciousness centered on Modern Earth materialized through an enlightened engagement with its miniaturized and portable proxy, the terrestrial globe.Less
The dissemination of a modern planetary consciousness with the help of the terrestrial globe unleashed complicated processes of adopting, accommodating, deflecting, or rejecting Modern Earth across British India. In other words, there was no easy passage of this master object of modernity from Europe to India. Even as late as the 1990s, as key governmental surveys showed, a large number of Indians still claimed that the earth was flat. On the other hand, as the colorful god posters of street art demonstrate, the terrestrial globe is incorporated into the iconography of Hindu gods. Ironically, the ancestral knowledge of the ancient Puranas helps disseminate pedagogic modernity’s planetary consciousness. Yet the Empire of Geography does flourish in its Indian province, although like all empires, it is a messy affair indeed, riven by many counter-flows and insubordinations, and populated by a variety of subjects ranging from diehard foot soldiers to adherents who feign obedience even while harboring many a contrary belief, and outright rebels. The life stories of Serfoji, Anand Masih, and others show there is no single track to the formation of planetary consciousness centered on Modern Earth materialized through an enlightened engagement with its miniaturized and portable proxy, the terrestrial globe.
Mandakranta Bose
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198767022
- eISBN:
- 9780191821226
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198767022.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism, World Religions
Beginning by recognizing that the idea of female divinity in Hinduism has been a mystery from the inception of Hindu theology, this Introduction proceeds to an overview of the contents of this ...
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Beginning by recognizing that the idea of female divinity in Hinduism has been a mystery from the inception of Hindu theology, this Introduction proceeds to an overview of the contents of this volume. Presenting the chapters, arranged thematically and historically into four related parts, this Introduction shows how Hindu philosophy and worship practices have expounded the idea of the divine feminine by conceptualizing it as a personified goddess at once singular and manifested in multiple forms. Drawing upon a variety of Hindu philosophical traditions, the authors relate the goddess as an abstraction to belief systems that render the goddess as humanized figures. In both formal theology and popular belief, this conception has resulted in an emotional and spiritual closeness to goddesses that continues deeply to influence Hindu social life and its cultural expressions, especially in its impact on the lives of women.Less
Beginning by recognizing that the idea of female divinity in Hinduism has been a mystery from the inception of Hindu theology, this Introduction proceeds to an overview of the contents of this volume. Presenting the chapters, arranged thematically and historically into four related parts, this Introduction shows how Hindu philosophy and worship practices have expounded the idea of the divine feminine by conceptualizing it as a personified goddess at once singular and manifested in multiple forms. Drawing upon a variety of Hindu philosophical traditions, the authors relate the goddess as an abstraction to belief systems that render the goddess as humanized figures. In both formal theology and popular belief, this conception has resulted in an emotional and spiritual closeness to goddesses that continues deeply to influence Hindu social life and its cultural expressions, especially in its impact on the lives of women.
Tracy Pintchman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198767022
- eISBN:
- 9780191821226
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198767022.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism, World Religions
Although Hindus recognize and revere a variety of different, discrete goddesses, they also tend to speak of “The Goddess” as a singular and unifying deity. This chapter focuses on three dimensions of ...
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Although Hindus recognize and revere a variety of different, discrete goddesses, they also tend to speak of “The Goddess” as a singular and unifying deity. This chapter focuses on three dimensions of the Goddess in Hindu traditions, grounding all observations in specific texts and contexts. First, the chapter examines the nature of the Goddess as a cosmogonic/cosmological creative force that creates, sustains, and permeates the universe. Second, it explores the Goddess as a being worthy of devotion who is also manifest as individual goddesses. Finally, it probes the nature of the Goddess as potential role model for human women, who in many contexts are viewed as special manifestations of the Goddess. The chapter looks at major themes in each category and the critical issues that these themes raise.Less
Although Hindus recognize and revere a variety of different, discrete goddesses, they also tend to speak of “The Goddess” as a singular and unifying deity. This chapter focuses on three dimensions of the Goddess in Hindu traditions, grounding all observations in specific texts and contexts. First, the chapter examines the nature of the Goddess as a cosmogonic/cosmological creative force that creates, sustains, and permeates the universe. Second, it explores the Goddess as a being worthy of devotion who is also manifest as individual goddesses. Finally, it probes the nature of the Goddess as potential role model for human women, who in many contexts are viewed as special manifestations of the Goddess. The chapter looks at major themes in each category and the critical issues that these themes raise.
Elizabeth Mary Rohlman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198767022
- eISBN:
- 9780191821226
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198767022.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism, World Religions
The goddess Sarasvatī is no less elusive or powerful than the river Sarasvatī, and it is through her compound role as river, speech, and goddess that she develops into a perplexing deity. Indologists ...
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The goddess Sarasvatī is no less elusive or powerful than the river Sarasvatī, and it is through her compound role as river, speech, and goddess that she develops into a perplexing deity. Indologists have traced the evolution of Sarasvatī through Sanskrit literature, from the river of the Vedas, through her association with the Vedic goddess of speech, Vāc, to her emergence as a deity who is both a river goddess and the goddess of knowledge. Yet, as a figure who is both omnipresent and liminal, determining her place in extra-canonical aspects of Hindu life is a challenging task. Using as a metaphor the river that bears her name, this chapter examines the elusive and sometimes paradoxical position of Sarasvati in the history of Hinduism through the lens of one regional textual tradition devoted to the goddess—the Sarasvatī Purāṇa, a regional Sanskrit sthāla-Purāṇa from medieval Gujarat.Less
The goddess Sarasvatī is no less elusive or powerful than the river Sarasvatī, and it is through her compound role as river, speech, and goddess that she develops into a perplexing deity. Indologists have traced the evolution of Sarasvatī through Sanskrit literature, from the river of the Vedas, through her association with the Vedic goddess of speech, Vāc, to her emergence as a deity who is both a river goddess and the goddess of knowledge. Yet, as a figure who is both omnipresent and liminal, determining her place in extra-canonical aspects of Hindu life is a challenging task. Using as a metaphor the river that bears her name, this chapter examines the elusive and sometimes paradoxical position of Sarasvati in the history of Hinduism through the lens of one regional textual tradition devoted to the goddess—the Sarasvatī Purāṇa, a regional Sanskrit sthāla-Purāṇa from medieval Gujarat.
Donald R. Davis Jr.
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198702603
- eISBN:
- 9780191772276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198702603.003.0026
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter traces the semantic and practical evolution of Hindu religious vows and observances called vrata. The general historical trajectory moves from vratas as the ascetic regimens in Vedic ...
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This chapter traces the semantic and practical evolution of Hindu religious vows and observances called vrata. The general historical trajectory moves from vratas as the ascetic regimens in Vedic texts (especially observed by students), to vratas as the devotional vows of women in favor of a deity. The standard elements of a classical vow in medieval Dharmaśāstra are described, with a focus on the correct intention, procedures, times, and rewards for taking vows. The topic of vows reveals a common interplay within Dharmaśāstra among customary religious and legal practices, external textual traditions (Purāṇas in this case), and existing Dharmaśāstra norms. The history of vows thus provides helpful insight into intellectual, theological, and historical changes within Hindu law, and Hinduism, more generally.Less
This chapter traces the semantic and practical evolution of Hindu religious vows and observances called vrata. The general historical trajectory moves from vratas as the ascetic regimens in Vedic texts (especially observed by students), to vratas as the devotional vows of women in favor of a deity. The standard elements of a classical vow in medieval Dharmaśāstra are described, with a focus on the correct intention, procedures, times, and rewards for taking vows. The topic of vows reveals a common interplay within Dharmaśāstra among customary religious and legal practices, external textual traditions (Purāṇas in this case), and existing Dharmaśāstra norms. The history of vows thus provides helpful insight into intellectual, theological, and historical changes within Hindu law, and Hinduism, more generally.
Donald R. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198702603
- eISBN:
- 9780191772276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198702603.003.0029
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Dharmaśāstra has been received into many Hindu traditions as an influential source of authoritative norms and a touchstone for orthodox or classical Hinduism. This chapter traces points of connection ...
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Dharmaśāstra has been received into many Hindu traditions as an influential source of authoritative norms and a touchstone for orthodox or classical Hinduism. This chapter traces points of connection and difference between Dharmaśāstra and other major Hindu textual traditions, including the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, the Purāṇas, and narrative literature such as the Kathāsaritsāgara and Pañcatantra. The influence of Dharmaśāstra in epigraphical sources and sectarian Hindu traditions is also surveyed. Finally, the reception and use of Dharmaśāstra in both colonial and modern Hindu law is examined in order to understand its diminishing relevance as a direct source of Hindu knowledge and practice.Less
Dharmaśāstra has been received into many Hindu traditions as an influential source of authoritative norms and a touchstone for orthodox or classical Hinduism. This chapter traces points of connection and difference between Dharmaśāstra and other major Hindu textual traditions, including the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, the Purāṇas, and narrative literature such as the Kathāsaritsāgara and Pañcatantra. The influence of Dharmaśāstra in epigraphical sources and sectarian Hindu traditions is also surveyed. Finally, the reception and use of Dharmaśāstra in both colonial and modern Hindu law is examined in order to understand its diminishing relevance as a direct source of Hindu knowledge and practice.
Donald R. Davis Jr. and David Brick
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198702603
- eISBN:
- 9780191772276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198702603.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter examines the development of the Dharmaśāstra tradition in medieval and early modern India and focuses on two genres or styles of textual production: commentaries and digests. The ...
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This chapter examines the development of the Dharmaśāstra tradition in medieval and early modern India and focuses on two genres or styles of textual production: commentaries and digests. The historical factors leading to the creation of each genre are described, along with their nature and purpose. The two genres negotiated a tension between changing sociohistorical conditions and institutions and internal commitments to preserve Hindu law in its ancient form. Commentaries stayed close to their original root-texts and sought to resolve conflicts between them, even as their interpretations also created new norms and justified customary laws. Digests radically expanded the textual scope of Dharmaśāstra by drawing on the huge corpus of Purāṇas, compendia of myth, history, and ritual, in the Hindu tradition.Less
This chapter examines the development of the Dharmaśāstra tradition in medieval and early modern India and focuses on two genres or styles of textual production: commentaries and digests. The historical factors leading to the creation of each genre are described, along with their nature and purpose. The two genres negotiated a tension between changing sociohistorical conditions and institutions and internal commitments to preserve Hindu law in its ancient form. Commentaries stayed close to their original root-texts and sought to resolve conflicts between them, even as their interpretations also created new norms and justified customary laws. Digests radically expanded the textual scope of Dharmaśāstra by drawing on the huge corpus of Purāṇas, compendia of myth, history, and ritual, in the Hindu tradition.
Carl Olson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190225315
- eISBN:
- 9780190225346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190225315.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions, Religious Studies
The major part of this chapter is an examination of the third chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali concerning powers acquired by ascetics. The discussion about various types of powers is expanded ...
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The major part of this chapter is an examination of the third chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali concerning powers acquired by ascetics. The discussion about various types of powers is expanded to include the Pali Buddhist tradition, Mahayana Buddhism, Jainism, Tantra, and Puranic literature. After offering this typology of ascetic powers, this chapter examines the dangers associated with power, its possible loss, and its limitations. Finally, this chapter examines findings in cognitive science and what it suggests about studying ascetic powers in the future. The narrative evidence suggests that ascetics represent a coincidence opposites, suggesting that the ascetic is a paradoxical figure.Less
The major part of this chapter is an examination of the third chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali concerning powers acquired by ascetics. The discussion about various types of powers is expanded to include the Pali Buddhist tradition, Mahayana Buddhism, Jainism, Tantra, and Puranic literature. After offering this typology of ascetic powers, this chapter examines the dangers associated with power, its possible loss, and its limitations. Finally, this chapter examines findings in cognitive science and what it suggests about studying ascetic powers in the future. The narrative evidence suggests that ascetics represent a coincidence opposites, suggesting that the ascetic is a paradoxical figure.
