Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
This text provides an exploration of the seven Hindu female deities known as the Saptamatrikas (Seven Mothers). It examines the nature of Saptamatrikas icons, the elements that gave rise to their introduction into the Hindu pantheon, and their religious functions.
The Iconography of the Saptamatrikas
Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
This text provides an exploration of the seven Hindu female deities known as the Saptamatrikas (Seven Mothers). It examines the nature of Saptamatrikas icons, the elements that gave rise to their introduction into the Hindu pantheon, and their religious functions.
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
This text provides an exploration of the seven Hindu female deities known as the Saptamatrikas (Seven Mothers). It examines the nature of Saptamatrikas icons, the elements that gave rise to their introduction into the Hindu pantheon, and their religious functions.
Ganesh
Author: Robert L. Brown
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791406564
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
This book examines the complete Ganesh for the first time. Here is the God in his multiple forms from the different geographical areas in Asia. Particularly important are chapters that deal with his Buddhist and Tantric forms. The controversial question of his origins is also thoroughly discussed.
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791406564
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
This book examines the complete Ganesh for the first time. Here is the God in his multiple forms from the different geographical areas in Asia. Particularly important are chapters that deal with his Buddhist and Tantric forms. The controversial question of his origins is also thoroughly discussed.
Vicissitudes of the Goddess
Author: Sree Padma
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199325030
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Drawing on archaeological, artistic, sculptural and inscriptional sources and participant/observer insights, Sree Padma reconstructs a history of goddess worship in India from ancient times (before the rise of Buddhism and bhakti) to contemporary cults of deified women.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199325030
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Drawing on archaeological, artistic, sculptural and inscriptional sources and participant/observer insights, Sree Padma reconstructs a history of goddess worship in India from ancient times (before the rise of Buddhism and bhakti) to contemporary cults of deified women.
A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses
Author: Michael Slouber
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520375750
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
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.
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520375750
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
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.
Change, Continuity and Complexity
Author: Jae-Eun Shin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429831021
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The Mahāvidyās are the representative Tantric feminine pantheon consisting of ten goddesses. It is formed by divergent religious strands and elements: the mātṛ and yoginī worship, the cult of Kālī and Tripurasundarī, Vajrayāna Buddhism, Jain Vidyādevīs, Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava faith, Śrīvidyā, 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 Mahāvidyā 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 Gaṅgā and Brahmaputra Valley between the 9th and 15th centuries CE. Based on a close analysis of Purāṇas, 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 Mahāvidyās in eastern Śākta traditions. Each led to the systematization of Daśamahāvidyās in a specific way: one, as ten manifestations of Durgā 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 Śākta 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.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429831021
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The Mahāvidyās are the representative Tantric feminine pantheon consisting of ten goddesses. It is formed by divergent religious strands and elements: the mātṛ and yoginī worship, the cult of Kālī and Tripurasundarī, Vajrayāna Buddhism, Jain Vidyādevīs, Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava faith, Śrīvidyā, 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 Mahāvidyā 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 Gaṅgā and Brahmaputra Valley between the 9th and 15th centuries CE. Based on a close analysis of Purāṇas, 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 Mahāvidyās in eastern Śākta traditions. Each led to the systematization of Daśamahāvidyās in a specific way: one, as ten manifestations of Durgā 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 Śākta 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.
Goddesses in World Culture
Author: Patricia Monaghan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313354669
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 973
Book Description
This collection of accessible essays relates the stories of individual goddesses from around the world, exploring their roles in the cultures from which they came, their histories and status today, and the controversies surrounding them. Goddesses in World Culture brings readers the fascinating stories of close to 100 of the world's goddesses, ranging from the immediately recognizable to the obscure. These figures, many of whom derive from ancient cultures and civilizations, serve as points of departure for examining questions that go well beyond the role of women in religion and spirituality to include social organization, environmental awareness, historical developments, and psychological archetypes. Each volume of this groundbreaking set is composed of 20–25 previously unpublished articles written by expert contributors from diverse disciplines. Volume one covers Asia and Africa, volume two covers the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe, and volume three covers Australia and the Americas. Goddesses from cultures often overlooked in texts on religion, such as those of the Australian Aborigines, Korea, Nepal, and the Caribbean, are included here. In addition, the work offers new translations of ancient texts, introduces little-known folklore, and suggests new approaches to contemporary religious practices.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313354669
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 973
Book Description
This collection of accessible essays relates the stories of individual goddesses from around the world, exploring their roles in the cultures from which they came, their histories and status today, and the controversies surrounding them. Goddesses in World Culture brings readers the fascinating stories of close to 100 of the world's goddesses, ranging from the immediately recognizable to the obscure. These figures, many of whom derive from ancient cultures and civilizations, serve as points of departure for examining questions that go well beyond the role of women in religion and spirituality to include social organization, environmental awareness, historical developments, and psychological archetypes. Each volume of this groundbreaking set is composed of 20–25 previously unpublished articles written by expert contributors from diverse disciplines. Volume one covers Asia and Africa, volume two covers the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe, and volume three covers Australia and the Americas. Goddesses from cultures often overlooked in texts on religion, such as those of the Australian Aborigines, Korea, Nepal, and the Caribbean, are included here. In addition, the work offers new translations of ancient texts, introduces little-known folklore, and suggests new approaches to contemporary religious practices.
The Roots of Tantra
Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079148890X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
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.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079148890X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
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.
Meeting God
Author:
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300089059
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
Huyler provides an introduction to the scope of Hindu beliefs and practices, accompanied by his arresting photographs documenting the spirituality of common men and women in India. 200 color illustrations.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300089059
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
Huyler provides an introduction to the scope of Hindu beliefs and practices, accompanied by his arresting photographs documenting the spirituality of common men and women in India. 200 color illustrations.
Kiss of the Yogini
Author: David Gordon White
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022602783X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393
Book Description
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.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022602783X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393
Book Description
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.
Hindu Goddesses
Author: Lynn Foulston
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1802071342
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Explores the diversity of Hindu goddesses and the variety of ways in which they are worshipped. Although they undoubtedly have ancient origins, Hindu goddesses and their worship is still very much a part of the fabric of religious engagement in India today. This book offers an introduction to a complex and often baffling field of study.
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1802071342
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Explores the diversity of Hindu goddesses and the variety of ways in which they are worshipped. Although they undoubtedly have ancient origins, Hindu goddesses and their worship is still very much a part of the fabric of religious engagement in India today. This book offers an introduction to a complex and often baffling field of study.