Hindu Arms and Ritual

Hindu Arms and Ritual PDF Author: Robert Elgood
Publisher: Eburon Academic Publishers, Utrecht
ISBN:
Category : Armor
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Most studies of Indian armor have concentrated on Mughal arms from northern India, and there has been no serious study of Hindu arms since the nineteenth century. Robert Elgood seeks to fill this scholarly gap with Hindu Arms and Ritual, a new and richly illustrated study that examines pieces from the Tanjore Palace Armory in south India. Tanjore arms reveal a wealth of information about Hindu warrior society through the intricate and symbolic iconography carved on them. As Elgood shows, inscribed gods, goddesses, and sacred animals and plants infused the weaponry with divine powers of assistance. Drawing on evidence from various sources, such as ancient manuscripts and contemporary art, Elgood also challenges the commonly held opinion that most south Indian arms date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Instead, he argues, many pieces were made during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and are attributable to the Vijayanagara and Nayaka courts. This beautifully illustrated work is an invaluable contribution to the historical study of Indian arms and material culture.

Hindu Arms and Ritual

Hindu Arms and Ritual PDF Author: Robert Elgood
Publisher: Eburon Academic Publishers, Utrecht
ISBN:
Category : Armor
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
Most studies of Indian armor have concentrated on Mughal arms from northern India, and there has been no serious study of Hindu arms since the nineteenth century. Robert Elgood seeks to fill this scholarly gap with Hindu Arms and Ritual, a new and richly illustrated study that examines pieces from the Tanjore Palace Armory in south India. Tanjore arms reveal a wealth of information about Hindu warrior society through the intricate and symbolic iconography carved on them. As Elgood shows, inscribed gods, goddesses, and sacred animals and plants infused the weaponry with divine powers of assistance. Drawing on evidence from various sources, such as ancient manuscripts and contemporary art, Elgood also challenges the commonly held opinion that most south Indian arms date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Instead, he argues, many pieces were made during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and are attributable to the Vijayanagara and Nayaka courts. This beautifully illustrated work is an invaluable contribution to the historical study of Indian arms and material culture.

An Introduction to Indian Arms and Armour

An Introduction to Indian Arms and Armour PDF Author: Hugh Pearce Pearson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780948092572
Category : Armor
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
India is a vast sub-continent, with a complex history and a great array of languages, cultures and religions. This short introduction to one aspect of that great culture is intended merely as an appetiser, and is by no means intended as the last word on any aspect of Indian arms and armour. By 'India' I mean the whole Indian sub-continent rather than any political term. The history which forms a background to the story of Indian arms and armour saw empires rise and fall, but the remarkable constancy in the exquisite weapons used by their defenders and opponents marks Indian arms and armour out as something beyond mere statehood. was the catalyst to all sorts of studies of Indian culture and it is no accident that much of the pioneering work on Indian arms and armour was carried out by English scholars. The most notable of these, and the author of the first serious study of Indian armour and arms, was William Egerton, Lord Egerton of Tatton in Cheshire, whose catalogue of the collection of the Indian Museum in London (a collection now absorbed into the Victoria and Albert Museum) appeared in 1880. Yet despite a few important works in the 20th century, such as Philip Rawson's The Indian Sword and Russell Robinson's Oriental Armour, and new works such as Robert Elgood's Hindu Arms and Ritual in The 21st Century, the scientific study of Indian arms and armour has not advanced to the level, say, of Japanese arms and armour. armour in the Royal Armouries. Almost all the holdings are concentrated in the period from the formation of the Mughal empire in the 16th century to the end of the 19th century when western firearms technology had been widely adopted, and it is hoped that this small publication will help in making an important western collection of Indian armour and arms accessible.

The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and Rituals

The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and Rituals PDF Author: A. Parthasarathy
Publisher: A. Parthasarathy
ISBN: 9381094152
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
A practical text explaining the allegorical significance of gods and goddesses; rituals and festivals; invocations and prayers. It educates a spiritual aspirant with the philosophical aspect of religious practices.

Hindu Rites, Rituals, Customs and Traditions

Hindu Rites, Rituals, Customs and Traditions PDF Author: Prem P. Bhalla
Publisher: Pustak Mahal
ISBN: 812230902X
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Rites, rituals and customs play a major role in the life of every person, irrespective of religious affiliations.Right from the time of birth, till a person's passing away and even after it, rites and rituals follow a Hindu, much like a shadow. This book outlines all these practices from the sunrise to the sunset years. It makes for an enlightening reading for Hindus as well as non-Hindus.

Strong Arms and Drinking Strength

Strong Arms and Drinking Strength PDF Author: Jarrod L. Whitaker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199877149
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Jarrod L. Whitaker examines the ritualized poetic construction of male identity in the Rgveda, India's oldest Sanskrit text, arguing that an important aspect of early Vedic life was the sustained promotion and embodiment of what it means to be a true man. The Rgveda contains over a thousand hymns, addressed primarily to three gods: the deified ritual Fire, Agni; the war god, Indra; and Soma, who is none other than the personification of the sacred beverage sóma. The hymns were sung in day-long fire rituals in which poet-priests prepared the sacred drink to empower Indra. The dominant image of Indra is that of a highly glamorized, violent, and powerful Aryan male; the three gods represent the ideals of manhood. Whitaker finds that the Rgvedic poet-priests employed a fascinating range of poetic and performative strategies--some explicit, others very subtle--to construct their masculine ideology, while justifying it as the most valid way for men to live. Poet-priests naturalized this ideology by encoding it within a man's sense of his body and physical self. Rgvedic ritual rhetoric and practices thus encode specific male roles, especially the role of man as warrior, while embedding these roles in a complex network of social, economic, and political relationships. Strong Arms and Drinking Strength is the first book in English to examine the relationship between Rgvedic gods, ritual practices, and the identities and expectations placed on men in ancient India.

Strong Arms and Drinking Strength : Masculinity, Violence, and the Body in Ancient India

Strong Arms and Drinking Strength : Masculinity, Violence, and the Body in Ancient India PDF Author: Jarrod L. Whitaker Assistant Professor of South Asian Religions Wake Forest University
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199857644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Jarrod L. Whitaker examines the ritualized poetic construction of male identity in the Rgveda, India's oldest Sanskrit text, arguing that an important aspect of early Vedic life was the sustained promotion and embodiment of what it means to be a true man. The Rgveda contains over a thousand hymns, addressed primarily to three gods: the deified ritual Fire, Agni; the war god, Indra; and Soma, who is none other than the personification of the sacred beverage soma. The hymns were sung in day-long fire rituals in which poet-priests prepared the sacred drink to empower Indra. The dominant image of Indra is that of a highly glamorized, violent, and powerful Aryan male; the three gods represent the ideals of manhood. Whitaker finds that the Rgvedic poet-priests employed a fascinating range of poetic and performative strategies--some explicit, others very subtle--to construct their masculine ideology, while justifying it as the most valid way for men to live. Poet-priests naturalized this ideology by encoding it within a man's sense of his body and physical self. Rgvedic ritual rhetoric and practices thus encode specific male roles, especially the role of man as warrior, while embedding these roles in a complex network of social, economic, and political relationships. Strong Arms and Drinking Strength is the first book in English to examine the relationship between Rgvedic gods, ritual practices, and the identities and expectations placed on men in ancient India.

Hindu Rites and Rituals

Hindu Rites and Rituals PDF Author: K V Singh
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 9385890042
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Why is the tulsi considered sacred? What is the significance of namaste? Why do Hindus light a lamp before performing a ritual? Why is it forbidden to sleep facing the south? Why do Hindus chant 'shanti' three times after performing a rite? Millions of Hindus the world over grow up observing rites, rituals and religious practices that lie at the heart of Hinduism, but which they don't know the significance of. Often the age-old customs, whose relevance is lost to modern times, are dismissed as meaningless superstitions. The truth, however, is that these practices reveal the philosophical and scientific approach to life that has characterized Hindu thought since ancient times; it is important to revive their original meanings today. This handy book tells the fascinating stories and explains the science behind the Hindu rites and rituals that we sometimes follow blindly. It is essential reading for anyone interested in India's cultural tradition.

Weapons of the Gods

Weapons of the Gods PDF Author: Devdutt Pattanaik
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 9385990624
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
We are told to follow the path of ahimsa (non-violence), but our devis and devatas are always ready for war. What is the reason for this? How does Shiva hold space and time in the same hands in which he holds his bow Pinak? Who made all these weapons? And what do our scriptures say about using weapons for mass destruction? Devdutt explores the dramatic, fantastic weapons of the gods. From Indra’s Vajra made of bones of a sage, to the bow of Kama, made of sugarcane, butterflies and bees with flowers for arrows, read all about the intricacies of ancient weaponry and their symbolic meaning in this short, sweet read from Devlok.

Rites of the God-King

Rites of the God-King PDF Author: Marko Geslani
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190862882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Rites of the God-King offers a critical revision of mainstream Hinduism from the perspective of the life of a single ritual from medieval India. Drawing theoretical connections to modern ethnographies, it raises questions about the nature of kingship and priesthood, image-worship, and ritual change.

The Book of Hindu Imagery

The Book of Hindu Imagery PDF Author: Eva Rudy Jansen
Publisher: Binkey Kok
ISBN: 9789074597074
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Hinduism is more than a religion; it is a way of life. Its rich and multicoloured history has made the structure of its mythical and philosophical principles into a highly differentiated maze, of which total knowledge is a practical impossibility. This volume cannot offer a complete survey of the meaning of Hinduism. It is an extensive compilation of important deities and their divine manifestations, so that modern students can understand the significance of the Hindu pantheon.