Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791487652
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives by : June McDaniel

Download or read book Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives written by June McDaniel and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the folk religion of India and the role of girls and women within it, author June McDaniel focuses on the brata (vrata) ritual in which moral lessons are taught and goddesses are revealed. Bratas are performed to gain such goals as a healthy family, a good husband, and a happy life. They are also performed so that the performers (bratinis) develop such virtues as devotion, humility, and compassion.This book presents data from fieldwork, along with brata stories, songs, poems, and ritual activities. It discusses Bengali folk religion, offers an example of ritual worship in folk Hinduism, and surveys a variety of bratas. The author analyzes the similarities and differences among these rituals in low-caste village life and in high-caste Hindu tradition, and notes that the development of these rituals involves a form of continuing divine revelation with women as the primary transmitters. Bratas act to maintain traditional Hindu values, but also emphasize the power of women, whose virtues can save their husbands from hell worlds and their families from disasters.

A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses

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Publisher : University of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520375742
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses by : Michael Slouber

Download or read book A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses written by Michael Slouber and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagining the divine as female is rare—even controversial—in most religions. Hinduism, by contrast, preserves a rich and continuous tradition of goddess worship. A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses conveys the diversity of this tradition by bringing together a fresh array of captivating and largely overlooked Hindu goddess tales from different regions. As the first such anthology of goddess narratives in translation, this collection highlights a range of sources from ancient myths to modern lore. The goddesses featured here battle demons, perform miracles, and grant rare Tantric visions to their devotees. Each translation is paired with a short essay that explains the goddess’s historical and social context, elucidating the ways religion adapts to changing times.

Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 023112919X
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal by : Rachel Fell McDermott

Download or read book Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal written by Rachel Fell McDermott and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annually during the months of autumn, Bengal hosts three interlinked festivals to honor its most important goddesses: Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri. While each of these deities possesses a distinct iconography, myth, and character, they are all martial. Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri often demand blood sacrifice as part of their worship and offer material and spiritual benefits to their votaries. Richly represented in straw, clay, paint, and decoration, they are similarly displayed in elaborately festooned temples, thronged by thousands of admirers. The first book to recount the history of these festivals and their revelry, rivalry, and nostalgic power, this volume marks an unprecedented achievement in the mapping of a major public event. Rachel Fell McDermott describes the festivals' origins and growth under British rule. She identifies their iconographic conventions and carnivalesque qualities and their relationship to the fierce, Tantric sides of ritual practice. McDermott confronts controversies over the tradition of blood sacrifice and the status-seekers who compete for symbolic capital. Expanding her narrative, she takes readers beyond Bengal's borders to trace the transformation of the goddesses and their festivals across the world. McDermott's work underscores the role of holidays in cultural memory, specifically the Bengali evocation of an ideal, culturally rich past. Under the thrall of the goddess, the social, political, economic, and religious identity of Bengalis takes shape.

Renowned Goddess of Desire

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190296283
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Renowned Goddess of Desire by : Loriliai Biernacki

Download or read book Renowned Goddess of Desire written by Loriliai Biernacki and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tantra is a family of rituals modeled on those of the Vedas and their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings, and the chanting of his or her mantra. Common variations include visualizing the deity in the act of sexual union with a consort, visualizing oneself as the deity, and "transgressive" acts such as token consumption of meat or alcohol. Most notoriously, non-standard or ritualized sex is sometimes practiced. This accounts for Tantra's negative reputation in some quarters and its reception in the West primarily as a collection of sexual practices. Although some today extol Tantra's liberating qualities, the role of women remains controversial. Traditionally there are two views of women and Tantra. Either the feminine is a metaphor and actual women are altogether absent, or Tantra involves the transgressive use of women's bodies to serve male interests. Loriliai Biernacki presents an alternative view, in which women are revered, worshipped, and considered worthy of spiritual attainment. Her primary sources are a collection of eight relatively modern Tantric texts written in Sanskrit from the 15th through the 18th century. Her analysis of these texts reveals a view of women that is generally positive and empowering. She focuses on four topics: 1) the "Kali Practice," in which women appear not only as objects of reverence but as practitioners and gurus; 2) the Tantric sex rite, especially in the case that, contrary to other Tantric texts, the preference is for wives as ritual consorts; 3) feminine language and the gendered implications of mantra; and 4) images of male violence towards women in tantric myths. Biernacki, by choosing to analyse eight particular Sanskrit texts, argues that within the tradition of Tantra there exists a representation of women in which the female is an authoritative, powerful, equal participant in the Tantric ritual practice.

Learning from Other Religious Traditions

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319761080
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (197 download)

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Book Synopsis Learning from Other Religious Traditions by : Hans Gustafson

Download or read book Learning from Other Religious Traditions written by Hans Gustafson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-16 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together academic scholars from across various religious traditions to reflect on the beauty they find in traditions other than their own. They examine these aspects and reflect on how they inform and constructively assist with rethinking their own religious worldviews and practices. Each scholar investigates the various implications, questions, insights, and challenges that are generated in the process of doing so. Traditions discussed include Ásatrú Heathenism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, LDS Mormon Christianity, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Sikhism, Sufism, Western Buddhism, and Zen Mahāyāna Buddhism. Instead of focusing only or primarily on the theory and practice of interreligious dialogue, this book presents living examples of learning from other religious traditions, identities, and persons.

Zeitschrift für Indologie und Südasienstudien

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Publisher : Helmut Buske Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3967694143
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (676 download)

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Book Synopsis Zeitschrift für Indologie und Südasienstudien by : Hans Harder

Download or read book Zeitschrift für Indologie und Südasienstudien written by Hans Harder and published by Helmut Buske Verlag. This book was released on 2024-03-05 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inhalt: - Gautam Liu: Premchands Hindi: Zur Genese des Standardregisters in der gegenwärtigen Hindi-Prosa - Akanksha Yadav, Vinita Chandra: Conditional Vows: Exchange and Reciprocity between the Deity and Laity in Chaṭh - Arian Hopf: Das Rāmāʾin in der Urdu-Literatur - Benjamin Zachariah: Syed Mujtaba Ali's Unpainted Canvas: The Chacha Stories and a Bengali View of Weimar Germany, c. 1929–1932 - Bipasha Bhattacharya: Two Books on Visva-Bharati - Shruti Krishna Bhat: A Path of Liberation that Fetches Prosperity: Juxtaposing the Śākta View of bhukti-mukti and the Philosophy of Action-Liberation

Understanding Culture and Society in India

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 9811615985
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (116 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Culture and Society in India by : Abha Chauhan

Download or read book Understanding Culture and Society in India written by Abha Chauhan and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-26 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an in-depth account of people’s cultural and religious life in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It brings out the significance of Sufi and deity shrines as alternative places of worship that give meaning and purpose to people’s lives. It includes sites and practices commonly associated with Islam/Sufism and Hinduism as spaces of shared culture. Most of the existing literature of Jammu and Kashmir is on Kashmir focusing mostly on topics such as politics, state, identity, conflict or violence. This book proposes to go beyond these works by delimiting the focus and area of the study to culture, society and religion. It explores the sites of religious pluralism and tolerance in the violence-ridden territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The chapters are mainly based on ethnographic data collected through qualitative methods like observation – participant and non-participant, case studies, in-depth interviews and oral history. The book is of interest to researchers, both faculty and graduate students, in the areas of sociology of religion, social anthropology, religious studies, cultural studies, Sufism, shrines and deity worship in South Asia.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191053228
Total Pages : 501 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice by : Gavin Flood

Download or read book The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice written by Gavin Flood and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion (bhakti), including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over long periods of time. Some of these practices, notably those denoted by the term yoga, are orientated towards salvation from the cycle of reincarnation and go back several thousand years. These practices, borne witness to in ancient texts called Upaniṣads, as well as in other traditions, notably early Buddhism and Jainism, are the subject of this volume in the Oxford History of Hinduism. Practices of meditation are also linked to asceticism (tapas) and its institutional articulation in renunciation (saṃnyăsa). There is a range of practices or disciplines from ascetic fasting to taking a vow (vrata) for a deity in return for a favour. There are also devotional practices that might involve ritual, making an offering to a deity and receiving a blessing, dancing, or visualization of the master (guru). The overall theme—the history of religious practices—might even be seen as being within a broader intellectual trajectory of cultural history. In the substantial introduction by the editor this broad history is sketched, paying particular attention to what we might call the medieval period (post-Gupta) through to modernity when traditions had significantly developed in relation to each other. The chapters in the book chart the history of Hindu practice, paying particular attention to indigenous terms and recognizing indigenous distinctions such as between the ritual life of the householder and the renouncer seeking liberation, between 'inner' practices of and 'external' practices of ritual, and between those desirous of liberation (mumukṣu) and those desirous of pleasure and worldly success (bubhukṣu). This whole range of meditative and devotional practices that have developed in the history of Hinduism are represented in this book.

Contradictory Lives

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199396841
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (993 download)

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Book Synopsis Contradictory Lives by : Lisa I. Knight

Download or read book Contradictory Lives written by Lisa I. Knight and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-10 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this multi-sited ethnographic study, Knight explores the everyday lives of women of the Baul tradition of musical mystics in India and Bangladesh. She demonstrates that Baul women construct a meaningful life as they navigate between conflicting expectations of Bauls to be carefree and of women to be modest.

Studying Hinduism

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134418299
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis Studying Hinduism by : Sushil Mittal

Download or read book Studying Hinduism written by Sushil Mittal and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-01-19 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an indispensable resource for students and researchers wishing to develop a deeper understanding of one of the world's oldest and most multifaceted religious traditions. Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, leading scholars in the field, have brought together a rich variety of perspectives which reflect the current lively state of the field. Studying Hinduism is the result of cooperative work by accomplished specialists in several fields that include anthropology, art, comparative literature, history, philosophy, religious studies, and sociology. Through these complementary and exciting approaches, students will gain a greater understanding of India's culture and traditions, to which Hinduism is integral. The book uses key critical terms and topics as points of entry into the subject, revealing that although Hinduism can be interpreted in sharply contrasting ways and set in widely varying contexts, it is endlessly fascinating and intriguing.

Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195167902
Total Pages : 367 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

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Book Synopsis Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls by : June McDaniel

Download or read book Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls written by June McDaniel and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-08-05 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls', June McDaniel provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. She identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners, tracing these strands through Bengali culture.

Dealing with Deities

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791482006
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Dealing with Deities by : Selva J. Raj

Download or read book Dealing with Deities written by Selva J. Raj and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on original field research, Dealing with Deities explores the practice of taking ritual vows in the lives of ordinary religious practitioners in South Asia. The cornerstone of lay religious activity, vow rituals are adopted by Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs who wish to commit themselves to ritually enacted relationships with sacred figures in order to gain earthly boons and spiritual merit. The contributors to this volume offer a fascinating look at the varieties and complexities of vows and also focus on a unique characteristic of this vow-taking culture, that of resorting to deities and shrines of other religions in defiance of institutional directives and religious boundaries. Richly illustrated, the book explores the creativity of South Asian devotees and their deeply felt convictions that what they require, they can achieve faithfully—and independently—by dealing directly with deities.

Contemporary Hinduism

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317546350
Total Pages : 548 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Contemporary Hinduism by : P. Pratap Kumar

Download or read book Contemporary Hinduism written by P. Pratap Kumar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most overviews of Hindu belief and practice follow a history from the ancient Vedas to today. Such approaches privilege Brahmanical traditions and create a sense of Hinduism as a homogenous system and culture, and one which is largely unchanging and based solely on sacred texts. In reality, modern Hindu faith and culture present an extraordinary range of dynamic beliefs and practices. 'Contemporary Hinduism' aims to capture the full breadth of the Hindu worldview as practised today, both in the sub-continent and the diaspora. Global and regional faith, ritualised and everyday practice, Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical belief, and ascetic and devotional traditions are all discussed. Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with detailed case material and images, whilst key terms are highlighted and explained in a glossary. 'Contemporary Hinduism' presents students with a lively and engaging survey of Hinduism, offering an introduction to the oldest and one of the most complex of world religions.

Mutating Goddesses

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190993251
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Mutating Goddesses by : Saswati Sengupta

Download or read book Mutating Goddesses written by Saswati Sengupta and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mutating Goddesses traces the shifting fortunes of four specific Hindu deities—Manasa, Candi, Sasthi and Laksmi—from the fifteenth century to the present time. It focuses on the goddess-invested tradition of Bengal's Hinduism to argue for a historical evolution/devolution of divinities in tandem with sectarian interests and illumines in the process the knotted correlation of gender, caste and class in the sanctioning of female subjectivities through goddess formation. The critical studies of Hindu goddesses have been dominated by the sastrik perspective deriving from the Sanskrit scriptures authorized by the male Brahman. But there are religious practices and beliefs under the broad rubric of Hinduism that are neither governed by the male Brahman nor articulated in Sanskrit. It is this vibrant laukika archive—considered low from the hegemonic perspective—that Mutating Goddesses explores to realize the politic trafficking between this realm and the sastrik. The book excavates the multiple and layered heritage of the region which includes tribal culture, Buddhism, Tantricism, and so on, as is available in rituals, proverbs, verses, circulating myths, poetic genres and kathas, caste manuals, census records etc to illustrate how tradition is a matter of strategic selection.

Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis

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Publisher : Scarecrow Press
ISBN 13 : 0810880245
Total Pages : 605 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis by : Kunal Chakrabarti

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis written by Kunal Chakrabarti and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2013-08-22 with total page 605 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bengali (Bangla) speaking people are located in the northeastern part of South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and two states of India – West Bengal and Tripura. There are almost 246 million Bengalis at present, which makes them the fifth largest speech community in the world. Despite political and social divisions, they share a common literary and musical culture and several habits of daily existence which impart to them a distinct identity. The Bengalis are known for their political consciousness and cultural accomplishments The Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis provides an overview of the Bengalis across the world from the earliest Chalcolithic cultures to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 750 cross-referenced dictionary entries on politicians, educators and entrepreneurs, leaders of religious and secular institutions, writers, painters, actors and other cultural figures, and more generally, on the economy, education, political parties, religions, women and minorities, literature, art and architecture, music, cinema and other major sectors. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Bengalis.

The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk

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Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231153775
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk by : Justin Thomas McDaniel

Download or read book The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk written by Justin Thomas McDaniel and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on representations of a famous ghost and monk from the late eighteenth century to today, Justin Thomas McDaniel builds a case for interpreting modern Thai Buddhist practice through the movements of these transformative figures. He follows embodiments of the ghost and monk in a variety of genres and media, including biography, drama, ritual, art, liturgy, film, television, and the Internet. Sourcing nuns, monks, laypeople, and royalty, McDaniel shows how relations with these figures have been instrumental in crafting histories and modernities, particularly local conceptions of being "Buddhist," and the formation and transmission of such identities across different venues and technologies.

Invoking Lakshmi

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438433220
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Invoking Lakshmi by : Constantina Rhodes

Download or read book Invoking Lakshmi written by Constantina Rhodes and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2010-09-29 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A multi-faceted portrait of Lakshmi, Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. Includes translations of verses used to invoke this goddess.