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An account of the architecture, sculpture, paintings and associated festivals of the great Vaisṇava shrine of Jagannatha at Puri in Orissa, on the east coast of India, together with a new analysis of the origin of the icons of the Triad.
In the Rig-Veda, 10.155.3, there is mention of a Daru (log of wood) floating in the ocean. Vedic prayers have indicated for taking shelter in the Daru. In spite of the fact that Acharya Sayana, the noted commentator on the Vedas, has categorically interpreted the hymn with Jagannath as the Daru floating at the sea shores, some scholars have refuted this interpretation under the argument that the hymn deals with âAlaxmi Stavaâ of Arayi.
This book deals with various aspects of performance in India; especially that related to dance and dance-drama. Rather than being a description of the various dance forms of India, it attempts to discuss the social equations and cultural ideas that a performance attempts to portray. In this sense, a performance is a narrative. At the same time, performances also deal with well-known narratives from the religious traditions of India, often redefining and recounting them in the process of performance. A study of these aspects is important to understand the kind of equations that define these discourses on the performance narratives. Chapter I shows the different forms of dances that are descri...
A pioneering study of the emergence of Buddhist art in southern India, featuring vibrant photography of rare works, many published here for the first time Named for two primary motifs in Buddhist art, the sacred bodhi tree and the protective snake, Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India is the first publication to foreground devotional works produced in the Deccan from 200 BCE to 400 CE. Unlike traditional narratives, which focus on northern India (where the Buddha was born, taught, and died), this groundbreaking book presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south. Long neglected, this is among the earliest surviving bodies of Buddhist art, and among the most sublimely beautiful...
The Cult of Jagannatha: Myths and Rituals offers a new approach to Orissan ethnography. In sharp contrast with dominant explanations, centred on tribal influences and the history of aryan-isation, this book provides extensive evidence on the importance of religious orthodoxy. The transition from the coastal to the inland regions of Orissa is characterised by sharp demographic and sociological discontinuities. Such regional differences are probably a reflection of aryan-isation. Ethnological accounts have most commonly relied on the historical reconstruction of this process. It has been assumed that native communities exercised a decisive influence on the traditions that flourished in the del...
A study of three hundred years of medieval Franciscan history that focuses on martyrdom While hagiographies tell of Christian martyrs who have died in an astonishing number of ways and places, slain by members of many different groups, martyrdom in a Franciscan context generally meant death at Muslim hands; indeed, in Franciscan discourse, "death by Saracen" came to rival or even surpass other definitions of what made a martyr. The centrality of Islam to Franciscan conceptions of martyrdom becomes even more apparent—and problematic—when we realize that many of the martyr narratives were largely invented. Franciscan authors were free to choose the antagonist they wanted, Christopher MacEv...
This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces. They are significant sites for the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and in the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its ...
The book is about lord Jagannatha - the established god of Hindus and His temple at Puri known as Badadeula. The book is for general reading for those interested to know about lord Jagannatha and His temple at Puri and not a historical treatise. Many of the descriptions and anecdotes in it are from the epics, legends and folktales that may or may not have historical relevance. But at the same time, they are interesting facts about lord Jagannatha since ages. The book with the captioned name is divided into four chapters (1) Lord Jagannatha, (2) The Temple - Badadeula, (3) The Festivals of Jagannatha and (4) Mahaprasada. (the food offerings to Jagannatha). The eight annexes deal with (i) Important temples in Puri, (ii) Important mathas (monasteries) in Puri, (iii) Different beshas (costumes/dresses) of Jagannatha, (iv) Important festivals in Badadeula, (v) Fables and facts about Jagannatha,(vi) Invasion on Puri and Badadeula by Afghans and Moguls (vii) Salient facts and figures about Badadeula and Puri and (viii) Places of interest in and around Puri.
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