The Oxford History of Hinduism

The Oxford History of Hinduism PDF Author: Gavin Flood
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019873350X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Book Description
An authoritative collection on the history of Hindu religious practices. Hindu Practice considers traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion, including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over long periods of time.

The Oxford History of Hinduism

The Oxford History of Hinduism PDF Author: Gavin Flood
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019873350X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 501

Get Book Here

Book Description
An authoritative collection on the history of Hindu religious practices. Hindu Practice considers traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion, including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over long periods of time.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice PDF Author: Gavin Flood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191053228
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Book Description
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.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism PDF Author: Torkel Brekke
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192508202
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism focuses on developments resulting from movements within the tradition as well as contact between India and the outside world through both colonialism and globalization. Divided into three parts, part one considers the historical background to modern conceptualizations of Hinduism. Moving away from the reforms of the 19th and early 20th century, part two includes five chapters each presenting key developments and changes in religious practice in modern Hinduism. Part three moves to issues of politics, ethics, and law. This section maps and explains the powerful legal and political contexts created by the modern state--first the colonial government and then the Indian Republic--which have shaped Hinduism in new ways. The last two chapters look at Hinduism outside India focusing on Hinduism in Nepal and the modern Hindu diaspora.

Hindu Law

Hindu Law PDF Author: Patrick Olivelle
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198702604
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
An edited collection on the history of law and legal texts in the Hindu traditions.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess

The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess PDF Author: Mandakranta Bose
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191079693
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
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.

A Dictionary of Hinduism

A Dictionary of Hinduism PDF Author: W. J. Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191726705
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
With almost 2800 entries on all aspects of Hinduism, this is an up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary covering all the major Hindu practices, texts, beliefs, religious sites, and teachers over a period spanning 3500 years. An invaluable first port of call for anyone seeking information about Indian religions and culture.

Hinduism

Hinduism PDF Author: Kim Knott
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198745540
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Hinduism is practised by about 80% of India's population, and by about 30,000,000 people outside India. But how is Hinduism defined, and what basis does the religion have? This work gives concise insights into the central preoccupations of Hinduism.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Law

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Law PDF Author: Patrick Olivelle
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191007099
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
Through pointed studies of important aspects and topics of dharma in Dharmaśāstra, this comprehensive collection shows that the history of Hinduism cannot be written without the history of Hindu law. Part One provides a concise overview of the literary genres in which Dharmasastra was written with attention to chronology and historical developments. This study divides the tradition into its two major historical periods--the origins and formation of the classical texts and the later genres of commentary and digest--in order to provide a thorough, but manageable overview of the textual bases of the tradition. Part Two presents descriptive and historical studies of all the major substantive topics of Dharmasastra. Each chapter offers readers with salest knowledge of the debates, transformations, and fluctcating importance of each topic. Indirectly, readers will also gain insight into the ethos or worldview of religious law in Hinduism, enabling them to get a feel for how dharma authors thought and why. Part Three contains brief studies of the impact and reception of Dharmasastra in other South Asian cultural and textual traditions. Finally, Part Four draws inspiration from "critical terms" in contemporary legal and religious studies to analyze Dharmasastra texts. Contributors offer interpretive views of Dharmasastra that start from hermeneutic and social concerns today.

The Hindus

The Hindus PDF Author: Wendy Doniger
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594202056
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 808

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Book Description
An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions, The Hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. The Hindus brings a fascinating multiplicity of actors and stories to the stage to show how brilliant and creative thinkers have kept Hinduism alive in ways that other scholars have not fully explored. In this unique and authoritative account, debates about Hindu traditions become platforms to consider history as a whole.

Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism

Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism PDF Author: Bjarne Wernicke Olesen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317585224
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the Śākta tantric traditions. The highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship form a major part of what is known as ‘Śāktism’, and is often considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism and Smārtism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other major branches, and the book looks at the texts of the Śākta traditions that constitute the primary sources for gaining insights into the Śākta religious imaginative, ritual practices and history. It provides an historical exploration of distinctive Indian ways of imagining God as Goddess, and surveys the important origins and developments within Śākta history, practice and doctrine in its diversity. Bringing together contributions from some of the foremost scholars in the field of tantric studies, the book provides a platform for the continued research into Hindu goddesses, yoga, and tantra for those interested in understanding the religion and culture in South Asia.