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Author: Michael Willis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009-04-27
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 0521518741
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Willis examines how gods of early Hinduism came to be established in temples, combining Sanskrit textual evidence with archaeological data.
Author: Michael Willis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2014-11-06
Total Pages: 390
ISBN-13: 9781107460164
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In this groundbreaking study, Michael Willis examines how the gods of early Hinduism came to be established in temples, how their cults were organized, and how the ruling elite supported their worship. Examining the emergence of these key historical developments in the fourth and fifth centuries, Willis combines Sanskrit textual evidence with archaeological data from inscriptions, sculptures, temples, and sacred sites. The centre-piece of this study is Udayagiri in central India, the only surviving imperial site of the Gupta dynasty. Through a judicious use of landscape archaeology and archaeo-astronomy, Willis reconstructs how Udayagiri was connected to the Festival of the Rainy Season and the Royal Consecration. Under Gupta patronage, these rituals were integrated into the cult of Vishnu, a deity regarded as the source of creation and of cosmic time. As special devotees of Vishnu, the Gupta kings used Udayagiri to advertise their unique devotional relationship with him. Through his meticulous study of the site, its sculptures and its inscriptions, Willis shows how the Guptas presented themselves as universal sovereigns and how they advanced new systems of religious patronage that shaped the world of medieval India.
Author: Timothy Insoll
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011-10-27
Total Pages: 1135
ISBN-13: 019923244X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A comprehensive overview, by period and region, of the archaeology of ritual and religion. The coverage is global, and extends from the earliest prehistory to modern times. Written by over sixty renowned specialists, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will also stimulate further research.
Author: Anna Aleksandra Ślączka
Publisher: BRILL
Published: 2007
Total Pages: 429
ISBN-13: 900415843X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book is a thorough study, based on both the textual and archaeological data, of the three important temple consecration rituals of the Hindu tradition.
Author: Ashok Mishra
Publisher: StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd
Published: 2019-08-03
Total Pages: 540
ISBN-13: 9388698134
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The book is journey through 5000 years of evolution of Hinduism, and is outcome of seven years of study to understand the roots of Hinduism. Tracing the genesis of Hinduism to pre-Indus Valley period, the book explains Hindu, Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma, before it takes one through Hinduism’s oldest scriptures - the four Vedas, the four components of each Veda, and what they contain. How all original translations of Vedic texts were done by Western Sanskrit scholars, and why their works have left scope for doubt about the fidelity of translations. The yajnas (yagya) like Ashvamedha, Rajsooya, Vajpeya, etc., about which we only hear on TV serials and talk shows, have been demystified. The reader will be taken aback reading the sheer size and scale of Soma yajna, described step by step, in great detail. Hinduism’s journey to the Age of Reason, the Upanishads, its encounter with Buddhism, and its transformation into idol worshipping society with many gods and a multitude of stories about its millions of gods is lucidly explained. Puranas, what they contain and what was the reason they were created, has been described and explained next. Hinduism's journey to its modern form - idol worship, the modern puja, detailed description of puja and Sanskaras like Vivaha, their detailed description, the meaning of each action and how they are conducted, the gift to the priest, types of idols, their consecration, all are explained to help a reader understand the why and the how of what we do as a Hindu. The book concludes with a discussion of - Do mantras have power? & Do rituals have meaning?
Author: Evangelos Kyriakidis
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
Published: 2007-12-31
Total Pages: 334
ISBN-13: 1938770390
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A wide spectrum of scholars, historians, art historians, anthropologists, students of performance, students of religion, archaeologists, cognitive scientists, and linguists were all asked to think and comment on how ritual can be traced in archaeology and which ways ritual research can go in that discipline. The product is a fairly accurate representation of research on ritual and the archaeology of ritual: scholars from various disciplines, backgrounds and agendas, arguing mostly in the most logical fashion, yet with little agreement between them. So this book should not be seen as presenting one unified attitude towards ritual and its study in archaeology. It should rather be seen as a reflection of what the discourse in the archaeology of ritual is today. The outcome has been extremely thought-provoking, often controversial, but always of extremely high quality.
Author: Timothy Insoll
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2004-04
Total Pages: 203
ISBN-13: 113452644X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book re-examines the definitions of 'religion' and 'ritual' through a range of archaeological examples drawn from around the world and across time. It serves as an introduction to the theory and methodology of the archaeology of religion
Author: Susan Verma Mishra
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-08-05
Total Pages: 251
ISBN-13: 1317194136
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This volume focuses on the religious shrine in western India as an institution of cultural integration in the period spanning 200 BCE to 800 CE. It presents an analysis of religious architecture at multiple levels, both temporal and spatial, and distinguishes it as a ritual instrument that integrates individuals and communities into a cultural fabric. The work shows how these structures emphasise on communication with a host of audiences such as the lay worshipper, the ritual specialist, the royalty and the elite as well as the artisan and the sculptor. It also examines religious imagery, inscriptions, traditional lore and Sanskrit literature. The book will be of special interest to researchers and scholars of ancient Indian history, Hinduism, religious studies, architecture and South Asian studies.
Author: Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →What is a temple? Who built or patronized such structures and why? Temples have always formed a crucial element of the cultural landscape of South Asia. Combining textual analysis, archaeology, and archival research with contemporary anthropology, Archaeology and Text provides a stimulating appraisal of religious life in the past. Through detailed case studies from regions like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bengal, and Orissa, the book examines both the religious architecture of the temples and the cultural practices surrounding them. The essays underscore the importance of the temple in its interaction with diverse interest groups, such as worshippers, ritual specialists, ascetics, patrons, artisans, and others. They also show how temples were not only expressions of political authority but also formed important centres of learning, popular devotion, and pilgrimage. The volume explores the development of bhakti and ascetic traditions in the subcontinent in relation to temples. It investigates the relationship between sacrificial rituals and devotional practices; emergent religious cultures and older traditions; and temples and renouncers. The collection also questions the notion of boundaries surrounding religious traditions underlining the fact that present categories do not fit neatly in those of a bygone era. The introduction provides a succinct account of sacred spaces as they came to be defined in archaeological records from the first millennium BCE onwards.
Author: Katheryn C. Twiss
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2019-11-14
Total Pages: 263
ISBN-13: 1108474292
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Surveys the archaeology of food: its methods and its themes (economics, politics, status, identity, gender, ethnicity, ritual, religion).
