The Roots of Tantra

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 079148890X
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis The Roots of Tantra by : Katherine Anne Harper

Download or read book The Roots of Tantra written by Katherine Anne Harper and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the many spiritual traditions born and developed in India, Tantra has been the most difficult to define. Almost everything about it—its major characteristics, its sources, its relationships to other religions, even its practices—are debated among scholars. In addition, Tantrism is not confined to any particular religion, but is a set of beliefs and practices that appears in a variety of religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. This book explores one of the most controversial aspects of Tantra, its sources or roots, specifically in regard to Hinduism. The essays focus on the history and development of Tantra, the art history and archaeology of Tantra, the Vedas and Tantra, and texts and Tantra. Using various disciplinary and methodological approaches, from history to art history and religious studies to textual studies, scholars provide both broad overviews of the beginnings of Tantra and detailed analyses of specific texts, authors, art works, and rituals.

The Dharmasutras

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Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 9780191584237
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (842 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dharmasutras by :

Download or read book The Dharmasutras written by and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 1999-09-02 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dharmasutras are the four surviving works of the ancient Indian expert tradition on the subject of dharma, or the rules of behaviour a community recognizes as binding on its members. Written in a pithy and aphoristic style and representing the culmination of a long tradition of scholarship, the Dharmasutras record intense disputes and divergent views on such subjects as the education of the young and their rites of passage, ritual procedures and religious ceremonies, marriage and marital rights and obligations, dietary restrictions, the right professions for and the proper interaction between different social groups, sins and their expiations, institutions for the pursuit of holiness, king and the administration of justice, crimes and punishments, death and ancestral rites. In short, these unique documents give us a glimpse of how people, especially Brahmin males, were ideally expected to live their lives within an ordered and hierarchically arranged society. In this first English translation of the Dharmasutras for over a century, Patrick Olivelle uses the same lucid and elegant style as in his award-winning translation of the Upanisads and incorporates the most recent scholarship on ancient Indian law, society, and religion. Complex material is helpfully organized, making this the ideal edition for the non-specialist as well as for students of Indian society and religion.

The Alchemical Body

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226894997
Total Pages : 620 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (949 download)

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Book Synopsis The Alchemical Body by : David Gordon White

Download or read book The Alchemical Body written by David Gordon White and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in the fifth century A.D., various Indian mystics began to innovate a body of techniques with which to render themselves immortal. These people called themselves Siddhas, a term formerly reserved for a class of demigods, revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike, who were known to inhabit mountaintops or the atmospheric regions. Over the following five to eight hundred years, three types of Hindu Siddha orders emerged, each with its own specialized body of practice. These were the Siddha Kaula, whose adherents sought bodily immortality through erotico-mystical practices; the Rasa Siddhas, medieval India's alchemists, who sought to transmute their flesh-and-blood bodies into immortal bodies through the ingestion of the mineral equivalents of the sexual fluids of the god Siva and his consort, the Goddess; and the Nath Siddhas, whose practice of hatha yoga projected the sexual and laboratory practices of the Siddha Kaula and Rasa Siddhas upon the internal grid of the subtle body. For India's medieval Siddhas, these three conjoined types of practice led directly to bodily immortality, supernatural powers, and self-divinization; in a word, to the exalted status of the semidivine Siddhas of the older popular cults. In The Alchemical Body, David Gordon White excavates and centers within its broader Indian context this lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas. Working from a body of previously unexplored alchemical sources, he demonstrates for the first time that the medieval disciplines of Hindu alchemy and hatha yoga were practiced by one and the same people, and that they can only be understood when viewed together. Human sexual fluids and the structures of the subtle body aremicrocosmic equivalents of the substances and apparatus manipulated by the alchemist in his laboratory. With these insights, White opens the way to a new and more comprehensive understanding of the entire sweep of medieval Indian mysticism, within the broader context of south Asian Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam. This book is an essential reference for anyone interested in Indian yoga, alchemy, and the medieval beginnings of science.

Greater Magadha

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Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN 13 : 8120835344
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Greater Magadha by : Johannes Bronkhorst

Download or read book Greater Magadha written by Johannes Bronkhorst and published by Motilal Banarsidass. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greater Magadha, roughly the eastern part of the Gangetic plain of northern India, has so far been looked upon as deeply indebted to Brahmanical culture. Religions such as Buddhism and Jainism are thought of as derived, in one way or another, from Vedic religion. This belief is defective in various respects. The book argues for the importance and independence of Greater Magadha as a cultural area until a date close to the beginning of the Common Era. In order to correct the incorrect notions, two types of questions are dealt with: questions pertaining to cultural and religious dependencies, and questions relating to chronology. As a result a modified picture arises that also has a bearing on the further development of Indian culture. The book is arranged in five parts. Part-I describes cultural features of Greater Magadha, under which there are three chapters-The Fundamental Spiritual Ideology, Other Features and Conclusions. Part-II: Brahmanism vis-a-vis Rebirth and Karmic Retribution has three sections- Hesitantly Accepted, Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Ignored or Rejected, and Urban Brahmins. Under section one there are chapters on„ Dharma Sutra, a portion from the Mahabharata and the early Upanisads. Section two features chapters on Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Ignored and Rebirth and Karmic Retribution Rejected. Section three is on urban Brahmins. Part-III dwells on the chronological issues, - linguistic consideration, the Vedic texts known to the early Sanskrit grammarians, to the early Buddhists, some indications in late-Vedic literature, urban versus rural culture, etc. Part-IV is Conclusion, while Part V has useful appendices-The antiquity of the Vedanta philosophy, a Carvaka in the Mahabharata, Vedic texts known to panini, the form of the Rgveda known to Panini, Vedic texts known to Patanjali, Brahmins in the Buddhist canon, Brahmanism in Gandhara and surrounding and Carvakas and the Sabarabhasya

Veda and Torah

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438406959
Total Pages : 784 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Veda and Torah by : Barbara A. Holdrege

Download or read book Veda and Torah written by Barbara A. Holdrege and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enlarges our understanding of the term "scripture" through a comparative study of Veda and Torah.

Sanskrit Drama

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Publisher : Brill Archive
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Sanskrit Drama by : Īndū Shekhar

Download or read book Sanskrit Drama written by Īndū Shekhar and published by Brill Archive. This book was released on 1978-05-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Daily Evening and Morning Offering

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9789004045323
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (453 download)

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Book Synopsis The Daily Evening and Morning Offering by : H. W. Bodewitz

Download or read book The Daily Evening and Morning Offering written by H. W. Bodewitz and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1976 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Idea of Writing

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004217002
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis The Idea of Writing by : Alex de Voogt

Download or read book The Idea of Writing written by Alex de Voogt and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2011-12-09 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Idea of Writing is an exploration of the versatility of writing systems. This volume, the second in a series, is specifically concerned with the problems and possibilities of adapting a writing system to another language. Writing is studied as it is used across linguistic and cultural borders from ancient Egyptian, Cuneiform and Korean writing to Japanese, Kharosthi and Near Eastern scripts. This collection of articles aims to highlight the complexity of writing systems rather than to provide a first introduction. The different academic traditions in which these writing systems have been studied use linguistic, socio-historical and philological approaches that give complementary insights of the complex phenomena.

Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438410204
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument by : David Peter Lawrence

Download or read book Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument written by David Peter Lawrence and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2015-07-29 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument provides a comparative philosophical study of the Pratyabhijña system of the medieval Kashmiri Śaiva thinkers Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta. Beginning with intensive descriptive and prescriptive reflections on the nature of philosophy itself, the book examines the special characteristics of the Pratyabhijña discourse as both philosophical apologetics and spiritual exercise. Lawrence situates the Pratyabhijña speculation within the larger context of Hindu and Buddhist deliberations about the role of interpretation in experience, and gives a groundbreaking exposition of the epistemology and ontology of Shiva's self-recognition. He observes the similarities and differences of the Pratyabhijña with Christian understandings of the divine logos, and argues that the Śaiva philosophy elucidates a cogent way of demonstrating the reality of God against contemporary relativism, deconstructionism and other forms of skepticism.

The "grammar" of Sacrifice

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198705565
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (987 download)

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Book Synopsis The "grammar" of Sacrifice by : Naphtali S. Meshel

Download or read book The "grammar" of Sacrifice written by Naphtali S. Meshel and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on Σ--the idealized sacrificial system represented in the Priestly laws in the Pentateuch--this study demonstrates that a ritual system is describable in terms of a set of concise, unconsciously internalized, generative rules, analogous to the grammar of a natural language.

The Divine Verdict

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9789004092310
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (923 download)

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Book Synopsis The Divine Verdict by : John Gwyn Griffiths

Download or read book The Divine Verdict written by John Gwyn Griffiths and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1991 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theme of divine judgement has often been treated, but usually with a concentration on one it its two main aspects: either that which is seen in the present life and in history or that which is believed to occur only after death. This new study seeks to combine the two aspects. It also tries to cover the whole spectrum of the ancient religions. Special attention is given to Israel, Greece, and Egypt. Israel's neighbours are also considered, and there are discussions of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. In several areas, notably in Egypt and Israel, it is shown that punishment in this life is sometimes presented as a fate that man brings upon himself rather than as one imposed by God, though always against a moral background derived from religion. The origins of judgement after death in the Judaeo-Christian tradition are examined in some detail and elements are traced to Egyptian, Zoroastrian, and Judaic sources.

Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004255893
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran by : Chad Lingwood

Download or read book Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran written by Chad Lingwood and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-12-11 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran Chad Lingwood offers new insights into the political significance of poetry and Sufism at the court of Sulṭān Ya‘qūb (d. 896/1490), leader of the Āq Qoyūnlū. The basis of the study is Salāmān va Absāl, a Persian allegorical romance ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the great Timurid belletrist and Naqshbandi Sufi, dedicated to Ya‘qūb. Lingwood demonstrates that Salāmān va Absāl, which modern critics have dismissed as ‘crude’ and ‘grotesque,’ is a sophisticated work of political and mystical advice for a Muslim ruler. In the process, he challenges received wisdom concerning Jāmī, the Āq Qoyūnlū, and Perso-Islamic advice literature. Significantly, the study illustrates the extent to which Jāmī’s compositions integrated the Timurid and Āq Qoyūnlū realms.

The Indo-European Languages

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Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1317391535
Total Pages : 651 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (173 download)

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Book Synopsis The Indo-European Languages by : Mate Kapović

Download or read book The Indo-European Languages written by Mate Kapović and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-01-20 with total page 651 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New, fully updated edition incorporates the latest research in Indo-European Studies Written by an international team of experts providing a range of views in one volume Revised structure with languages following the order of attestation and new indexes for Proto-Indo-European reconstructed roots/words, Proto-Indo-European vocabulary and specific families/languages indexes (i.e Sanskrit, Latin, Gothic, English) for easier reference.

Ideology and Status of Sanskrit

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004644776
Total Pages : 511 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (46 download)

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Book Synopsis Ideology and Status of Sanskrit by :

Download or read book Ideology and Status of Sanskrit written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-07-31 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present volume is the outcome of a seminar on the Ideology and Status of Sanskrit held in Leiden under the auspices of the International Institute for Asian Studies. The book contains studies of crucial periods and important areas in the history of the Sanskrit language, from the earliest, Vedic and pre-Vedic periods, through the period in which the (restricted) use of Sanskrit spread over practically all of South (including part of Central) and Southeast Asia (sometimes referred to as the period of "Greater India"), up to the recent history of Sanskrit in India. The contributions of this volume are divided into three sections: (1) Origins and Creation of the "Eternal Language"; (2) Transculturation, Vernacularization, Sanskritization; (3) The Sanskrit Tradition: Continuity from the past or Construction from the present?

The Skandapurāṇa III

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004269053
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis The Skandapurāṇa III by : Yuko Yokochi

Download or read book The Skandapurāṇa III written by Yuko Yokochi and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skandapurāṇa III presents a critical edition of the Vindhyavāsinī Cycle (Adhyāyas 34.1-61, 53-69) from the Skandapurāṇa , with an introduction and annotated English synopsis. The work is currently only available in print as an exact reprint done in a smaller book size (15.5 x 23.5 cm) than the first printrun.

The Triumph of the Goddess

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791497771
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis The Triumph of the Goddess by : C. Mackenzie Brown

Download or read book The Triumph of the Goddess written by C. Mackenzie Brown and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1990-08-29 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors of the Devī-Bhāgavata Purāna endeavored to demonstrate the superiority of the Devī over competing masculine deities, and to articulate in new ways the manifold nature of the Goddess. Brown's book sets out to examine how the Purana pursues these ends. The Devī-Bhāgavata employs many ancient myths and motifs from older masculine theologies, incorporating them into a thoroughly "feminized" theological framework. The text also seeks to supplant older "masculine" canonical authorities. Part I of Brown's study explores these strategies by focusing on the Purana's self-conscious endeavor to supersede the famous VaisBhagavata Purana. The Devī-Bhāgavata also re-envisions older mythological traditions about the Goddess, especially those in the first great Sanskritic glorification of the Goddess, the Devi-Mahatmya. Brown shows in Part II how this re-envisioning process transforms the Devī from a primarily martial and erotic goddess into the World-Mother of infinite compassion. Part III examines the Devi Gita, the philosophical climax of the Purana modeled upon the Bhagavad Gita. The Devi Gita, while affirming that ultimate reality is the divine Mother, avows that her highest form as consciousness encompasses all gender, thereby suggesting the final triumph of the Goddess. It is not simply that She is superior to the male gods, but rather that She transcends Her own sexuality without denying it.

Figments and Fragments of Mahayana Buddhism in India

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Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 9780824825485
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (254 download)

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Book Synopsis Figments and Fragments of Mahayana Buddhism in India by : Gregory Schopen

Download or read book Figments and Fragments of Mahayana Buddhism in India written by Gregory Schopen and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In these articles, Gregory Schopen once again displays the erudition and originality that have contributed to a major shift in the way that Indian Buddhism is perceived, understood, and studied.