Studies On Tantra In Bengal And Eastern India

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Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India

Author : Madhu Khanna
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 9811930228
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (119 download)

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Book Synopsis Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India by : Madhu Khanna

Download or read book Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India written by Madhu Khanna and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-02-20 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the tantric concept of Shakti, or the principal female cosmic entity and her pilgrimage sites. It offers a first-hand view of the multidimensional ways in which Shakti asserted its supremacy over existing Vaishnava and orthodox Brahmanical traditions in post mediaeval Bengal and India. The interdisciplinary chapters pave the way to understanding the intra-textual relationships between philosophical and conceptual ideas in literary texts and their oral transmission. Divided into three thematic sections: Cult Inclusiveness, Śakti Pithas, and the Śākta Philosophy, the book invites readers to explore a contested area of scholarship from unique perspectives, offering rich insights into the nature of negotiations between diverse religious streams. It also urges readers to examine the many innovative approaches and theoretical models on the goddess culture of East India. The book is of interest to students and scholars of religious textual studies, anthropology, pilgrimage studies, comparative religion, Sanskrit and Bengali languages, regional studies, South Asian cultures, goddess traditions and cultural history of mediaeval Bengal.

Tantra in Bengal

Author : Sures Chandra Banerji
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Tantra in Bengal by : Sures Chandra Banerji

Download or read book Tantra in Bengal written by Sures Chandra Banerji and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal

Author : Kathleen Taylor
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136120904
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (361 download)

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Book Synopsis Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal by : Kathleen Taylor

Download or read book Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal written by Kathleen Taylor and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-10-12 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Working with Bengali mentors, especially his close friend A. B. Ghose, Sir John Woodroffe became the pseudonymous orientalist Arthur Avalon, famous for his tantric studies at the beginning of the twentieth century. Best known for The Serpent Power, the book which introduced 'Kundalini Yoga' to the western world, Avalon turned the image of Tantra around, from that of a despised magical and orgiastic cult into a refined philosophy which greatly enhanced the prestige of Hindu thought to later generations of westerners. This biographical study is in two parts. The first focuses on Woodroffe's social identity in Calcutta against the background of colonialism and nationalism - the context in which he 'was' Arthur Avalon. To a very unusual degree for someone with a high position under the empire, Woodroffe the British High Court Judge absorbed the world of the Bengali intellectuals of his time, among whom his popularity was widely attested. His admirers were attracted by his Indian nationalism, to which his tantric studies and supposed learning formed an important adjunct. Woodroffe's friend Ghose, however, was the chief source of the textual knowledge in which the 'orientalist' scholar appeared to be deeply versed. The second part of this study assesses Woodroffe's own relationship to Sanskrit and to the texts, and highlights his very extensive but gifted use of secondary sources and the knowledge of Ghose and other Indian people. It examines the apologetic themes by which he and his collaborators made Tantra first acceptable, then fashionable. Partly because of his mysterious pseudonym, Woodroffe acquired a near legendary status for a time, and remains a fascinating figure. This book is written in a style that should appeal to the general reader as well as to students of Indian religions and early twentieth century Indian history, while being relevant to the ongoing debate about 'orientalism'.

The Power of Tantra

Author : Hugh B. Urban
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857715860
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (577 download)

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Book Synopsis The Power of Tantra by : Hugh B. Urban

Download or read book The Power of Tantra written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2009-10-30 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the West, the varied body of texts and traditions known as Tantra for more than two centuries has had the capacity to scandalize and shock. For European colonizers, Orientalist scholars and Christian missionaries of the Victorian era, Tantra was generally seen as the most degenerate and depraved example of the worst tendencies of the so-called 'Indian mind': a pathological mixture of sensuality and religion that prompted the decline of modern Hinduism. Yet for most contemporary New Age and popular writers, Tantra is celebrated as a much-needed affirmation of physical pleasure and sex: indeed as a 'cult of ecstasy' to counter the perceived hypocritical prudery of many Westerners. In recent years, Tantra has become the focus of a still larger cultural and political debate. In the eyes of many Hindus, much of the western literature on Tantra represents a form of neo-colonialism, which continues to portray India as an exotic, erotic, hyper-sexualized Orient. Which, then, is the 'real' Tantra? Focusing on one of the oldest and most important Tantric traditions, based in Assam, northeast India, Hugh B Urban shows that Tantra is less about optimal sexual pleasure than about harnessing the divine power of the goddess that flows alike through the cosmos, the human body and political society. In a fresh and vital contribution to the field, the author suggests that the 'real' meaning of Tantra lies in helping us rethink not just the history of Indian religions, but also our own modern obsessions with power, sex and the invidious legacies of cultural imperialism.

Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal

Author : Imma Ramos
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351840002
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (518 download)

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Book Synopsis Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal by : Imma Ramos

Download or read book Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal written by Imma Ramos and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the late nineteenth century onwards the concept of Mother India assumed political significance in colonial Bengal. Reacting against British rule, Bengali writers and artists gendered the nation in literature and visual culture in order to inspire patriotism amongst the indigenous population. This book will examine the process by which the Hindu goddess Sati rose to sudden prominence as a personification of the subcontinent and an icon of heroic self-sacrifice. According to a myth of cosmic dismemberment, Sati’s body parts were scattered across South Asia and enshrined as Shakti Pithas, or Seats of Power. These sacred sites were re-imagined as the fragmented body of the motherland in crisis that could provide the basis for an emergent territorial consciousness. The most potent sites were located in eastern India, Kalighat and Tarapith in Bengal, and Kamakhya in Assam. By examining Bengali and colonial responses to these temples and the ritual traditions associated with them, including Tantra and image worship, this book will provide the first comprehensive study of this ancient network of pilgrimage sites in an art historical and political context.

Change, Continuity and Complexity

Author : Jae-Eun Shin
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429831021
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (298 download)

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Book Synopsis Change, Continuity and Complexity by : Jae-Eun Shin

Download or read book Change, Continuity and Complexity written by Jae-Eun Shin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-30 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mah?vidy?s are the representative Tantric feminine pantheon consisting of ten goddesses. It is formed by divergent religious strands and elements: the m?t? and yogin? worship, the cult of K?l? and Tripurasundar?, Vajray?na Buddhism, Jain Vidy?dev?s, ?aiva and Vai??ava faith, ?r?vidy?, the Brahmanical strand of Puranic traditions, etc. This volume is the first attempt to explore the historical process, through which these traditions culminated in the Mah?vidy? cult and the goddesses with different origins and contradictory attributes were brought into a cluster, with special reference to socio-political changes in the lower Ga?g? and Brahmaputra Valley between the 9th and 15th centuries CE. Based on a close analysis of Pur??as, Tantras and inscriptional evidence, and on extensive field research on archaeological remains as well as sacred sites, Jae-Eun Shin discusses the two trajectories of the Mah?vidy?s in eastern ??kta traditions. Each led to the systematization of Da?amah?vidy?s in a specific way: one, as ten manifestations of Durg? upholding dharma in the cosmic dimension, and the other, as ten mandalic goddesses bearing magical powers in the actual sacred site. Their attributes and characteristics have neither been static nor monolithic, and the mode of worship prescribed for them has changed in a dialectical religious process between Brahmanical and Tantric traditions of the region. This is the definitive work for anyone seeking to understand goddess cults of South Asia in general and the history of eastern ??kta traditions in particular. To aid study, the volume includes images, diagrams and maps. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal

Author : Imma Ramos
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1351840010
Total Pages : 147 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (518 download)

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Book Synopsis Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal by : Imma Ramos

Download or read book Pilgrimage and Politics in Colonial Bengal written by Imma Ramos and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reviving Sati's corpse: Mother India tours and Hindutva in the twenty-first century -- Bibliography -- Index

A Genealogy of Devotion

Author : Patton E. Burchett
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231548834
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis A Genealogy of Devotion by : Patton E. Burchett

Download or read book A Genealogy of Devotion written by Patton E. Burchett and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-28 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Patton E. Burchett offers a path-breaking genealogical study of devotional (bhakti) Hinduism that traces its understudied historical relationships with tantra, yoga, and Sufism. Beginning in India’s early medieval “Tantric Age” and reaching to the present day, Burchett focuses his analysis on the crucial shifts of the early modern period, when the rise of bhakti communities in North India transformed the religious landscape in ways that would profoundly affect the shape of modern-day Hinduism. A Genealogy of Devotion illuminates the complex historical factors at play in the growth of bhakti in Sultanate and Mughal India through its pivotal interactions with Indic and Persianate traditions of asceticism, monasticism, politics, and literature. Shedding new light on the importance of Persian culture and popular Sufism in the history of devotional Hinduism, Burchett’s work explores the cultural encounters that reshaped early modern North Indian communities. Focusing on the Rāmānandī bhakti community and the tantric Nāth yogīs, Burchett describes the emergence of a new and Sufi-inflected devotional sensibility—an ethical, emotional, and aesthetic disposition—that was often critical of tantric and yogic religiosity. Early modern North Indian devotional critiques of tantric religiosity, he shows, prefigured colonial-era Orientalist depictions of bhakti as “religion” and tantra as “magic.” Providing a broad historical view of bhakti, tantra, and yoga while simultaneously challenging dominant scholarly conceptions of them, A Genealogy of Devotion offers a bold new narrative of the history of religion in India.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess

Author : Mandakranta Bose
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191079693
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess by : Mandakranta Bose

Download or read book The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess written by Mandakranta Bose and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess provides a critical exposition of the Hindu idea of the divine feminine, or Devī, conceived as a singularity expressed in many forms. With the theological principles examined in the opening chapters, the book proceeds to describe and expound historically how individual manifestations of Devī have been imagined in Hindu religious culture and their impact upon Hindu social life. In this quest the contributors draw upon the history and philosophy of major Hindu ideologies, such as the Purāṇic, Tāntric, and Vaiṣṇava belief systems. A particular distinction of the book is its attention not only to the major goddesses from the earliest period of Hindu religious history but also to goddesses of later origin, in many cases of regional provenance and influence. Viewed through the lens of worship practices, legend, and literature, belief in goddesses is discovered as the formative impulse of much of public and private life. The influence of the goddess culture is especially powerful on women's life, often paradoxically situating women between veneration and subjection. This apparent contradiction arises from the humanization of goddesses while acknowledging their divinity, which is central to Hindu beliefs. In addition to studying the social and theological aspect of the goddess ideology, the contributors take anthropological, sociological, and literary approaches to delineate the emotional force of the goddess figure that claims intense human attachments and shapes personal and communal lives.

Indian Esoteric Buddhism

Author : Ronald M. Davidson
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231126182
Total Pages : 504 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis Indian Esoteric Buddhism by : Ronald M. Davidson

Download or read book Indian Esoteric Buddhism written by Ronald M. Davidson and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking work describes the historical origins of the Tantric movement in early medieval India. Drawing on primary documents--translated into English for the first time from Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Bengali--Davidson shows how changes in medieval Indian society, including economic and patronage crises, a decline in women's participation, and the formation of large monastic orders, led to the rise of the esoteric tradition in India that became the model for Buddhist cultures in China, Tibet, and Japan.

The Economics of Ecstasy

Author : Hugh B. Urban
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198031823
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis The Economics of Ecstasy by : Hugh B. Urban

Download or read book The Economics of Ecstasy written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-11-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study of the Bengali Kartabhaja sect and its place in the broader movement of Tantrism, an Indian religious movement employing purposely shocking sexual language and rituals. Urban looks closely at the relationship between the rise of the Kartabhajas, who flourished at the turn of the 19th century, and the changing economic context of colonial Bengal. Made up of the poor lower classes laboring in the marketplaces and factories of Calcutta, the Kartabhajas represent "the underworld of the imperial city." Urban shows that their esoteric poetry and songs are in fact saturated with the language of the marketplace and the bazaar, which becomes for them the key metaphor used to communicate secret knowledge and mystical teachings.

Tantra

Author : Hugh B. Urban
Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass Publishe
ISBN 13 : 9788120829329
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (293 download)

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Book Synopsis Tantra by : Hugh B. Urban

Download or read book Tantra written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. This book was released on 2012 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (1928) is Professor and Head of the department of Linguistics at Osmania University, Hyderabad. He received a B.A. (Hons.) Degree (1948) in Telugu language and literature at Andhra University Waltair and an M.A. (1955) and Ph.D. (1957) in linguistics from the university of Pennsylvania U.S.A.

The Tantra

Author : Victor M. Fic
Publisher : Abhinav Publications
ISBN 13 : 8170174244
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis The Tantra by : Victor M. Fic

Download or read book The Tantra written by Victor M. Fic and published by Abhinav Publications. This book was released on 2003 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bibliography Index The Tantra Is A Body Of Theories, Techniques And Rituals Developed In India In Antiquity, Which Has Two Fundamental Aspects. The First Aspect Of The Tantra Is The Theory Of Creation, Which Posits That The Universe Has No Beginning And No End, And That All Its Manifestations Are Merely The Projections Of Divine Energy Of Its Creator. The Second Aspect Of The Tantra Is The Belief That The Performance Of Tantrik Techniques And Rituals Facilitates Access To This Divine Energy, Enabling Their Practitioners To Empower Themselves, As Well As Empower Others Associated With Them In The Guru-Disciple Relationship. Thus The Knowledge And Proper Application Of Tantrik Techniques And Rituals Is Believed To Harness The Creator'S Cosmic Energies To The Promotion Of The Mundane As Well As Spiritual Goals Of Their Practitioners. Between The Vii And The Xii Centuries A.D. These Theories, Rituals And Practices Spread To Other Parts Of Asia. In These Parts Their Interaction With Indigenous Traditions Of Shamanism And Other Magical Cults Resulted In Potent Hybrids. These Not Only Served The Personal Needs Of Their Practi- Tioners, But Were Used By The Kings To Summon The Cosmic Forces To Legitimize Their Right And Power To Rule The Ancient Monarchies. Elaborate And Artistically Beautiful Icons Were Developed In Sculpture, Painting, Bronze And Bas-Relief To Portray The Basic Concept Of Tantrik Theories And Various Deities Of The Hindu And Buddhist Pantheons. This Book First Explores The Origin Of The Tantra In India, Its Development And Emergence Of Various Schools Of Hindu And Buddhist Tantrism Over The Centuries. Then It Explores Their Spread From Tantrik Universities In Bihar And Other Centres Of Tantrik Scholarship And Rituals Practised In West Bengal, Orissa And South India At That Time To Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Japan And Indonesia. The Coloured Plates Illustrate The Iconographic Presentation Of The Basic Theories And Concepts Of The Tantra, As Well As Various Deities Associated With The Pantheons Of Hindu And Buddhist Tantrism Drawn From Different Parts Of The World.

Archaeology of Religion in South Asia

Author : Birendra Nath Prasad
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000416739
Total Pages : 770 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Archaeology of Religion in South Asia by : Birendra Nath Prasad

Download or read book Archaeology of Religion in South Asia written by Birendra Nath Prasad and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2021-06-17 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the religious landscape of early medieval (c. AD 600-1200) Bihar and Bengal, poly-religiosity was generally the norm than an exception, which entailed the evolution of complex patterns of inter-religious equations. Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism not only coexisted but also competed for social patronage, forcing them to enter into complex interactions with social institutions and processes. Through an analysis of the published archaeological data, this work explores some aspects of the social history of Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina temples and shrines, and Buddhist stūpas and monasteries in early medieval Bihar and Bengal. This archaeological history of religions questions many ‘established’ textual reconstructions, and enriches our understanding of the complex issue of the decline of Buddhism in this area. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Tantras

Author : Chakravarti
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788186791196
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Tantras by : Chakravarti

Download or read book Tantras written by Chakravarti and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Tantras: What They Stand For; Antiquity Of Tantricism; Tantra Schools; Literature Of The Tantras, Tantric Form Of Worship And Tantric Deities, Kali Worship In Bengal; Cult Of Durga And Durga Worship In Bengal.

Kiss of the Yogini

Author : David Gordon White
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022602783X
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis Kiss of the Yogini by : David Gordon White

Download or read book Kiss of the Yogini written by David Gordon White and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2006-07-07 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For those who wonder what relation actual Tantric practices bear to the "Tantric sex" currently being marketed so successfully in the West, David Gordon White has a simple answer: there is none. Sweeping away centuries of misunderstandings and misrepresentations, White returns to original texts, images, and ritual practices to reconstruct the history of South Asian Tantra from the medieval period to the present day. Kiss of the Yogini focuses on what White identifies as the sole truly distinctive feature of South Asian Tantra: sexualized ritual practices, especially as expressed in the medieval Kaula rites. Such practices centered on the exchange of powerful, transformative sexual fluids between male practitioners and wild female bird and animal spirits known as Yoginis. It was only by "drinking" the sexual fluids of the Yoginis that men could enter the family of the supreme godhead and thereby obtain supernatural powers and transform themselves into gods. By focusing on sexual rituals, White resituates South Asian Tantra, in its precolonial form, at the center of religious, social, and political life, arguing that Tantra was the mainstream, and that in many ways it continues to influence contemporary Hinduism, even if reformist misunderstandings relegate it to a marginal position. Kiss of the Yogini contains White's own translations from over a dozen Tantras that have never before been translated into any European language. It will prove to be the definitive work for persons seeking to understand Tantra and the crucial role it has played in South Asian history, society, culture, and religion.

The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia

Author : Swadhin Sen
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000780759
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia by : Swadhin Sen

Download or read book The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia written by Swadhin Sen and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-11-30 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at the ways in which archaeological methods have been used in debates concerning the early medieval and medieval periods in South Asia. Despite the incorporation and use of archaeological data to corroborate historical narratives, the theories and methods of archaeology are largely ignored in and excluded from the dominating, institutionalized, and hegemonic disciplinary discourses. The volume offers contesting insights, polemical narratives, and new data from archaeological contexts to initiate a debate on many foundational premises of archaeological and historical narratives. It focuses on the much-neglected region of the Eastern Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin as a spatial frame to do this and studies themes such as spatial and temporal scales of concepts and methods, multi-scaler factors and processes of continuity and changes, the settlement archaeology of the alluvial landscape, changing patterns of agrarian transformation, and material cultures, including coins, inscriptions, pottery, and sculptures, in their contexts in sub-regional, regional, and supra-regional intersections. Dedicated to historian Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, this volume presents a crucial and unprecedented intervention in the study of the early medieval and the medieval periods. It will be useful for scholars and researchers of archaeology, ancient history, medieval history, water history, earth sciences, palaeoecology, historical ecology, epigraphy, art history, material culture studies, Indian history, and South Asian studies in general.