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ENGLISH

Sovereignty, Power, Control - Politics In The State Of Western India, 1916-1947

by John Edmond Mcleod

332,58€ + 10% CARD

 Between 1916 and 1947 power structures in present-day Gujarat were determined by three political factors: the princes of these states of Western India, the nationalist politicians, and the British paramount power. This book pictures the patterns of interaction between the three agents.The author first defines the interests of the three parties. In several case studies it becomes clear how their relationship was shaped by the typical pursuit of sovereignty by the rulers, power by the politicians, and control by the British. Essential topics such as the princes' right to collect duty on imported goods, the debate over the tiny states in the Gujarat, the British policy towards youthful princes, and the honours system are carefully explored.This thorough study offers the opportunity to gain a clear understanding of the mechanics of political interaction in princely India. This is the first major scholarly contribution to an until now largely ignored field of interest.
ENGLISH

Sangitasiromani - A Medieval Handbook Of Indian Music. Edited With Introduction And Translation

409,43€ + 10% CARD

 The Sangitasiromani, "Crest-jewel of Music", is a major Sanskrit work on Indian musicology, composed in 1428 A.D. by scholars from all parts of India who participated in a musicological congress organized by Sultan Malika Sahi at Kada (near Allahabad). Designed as a standard text-book on music the work summarizes and explains the opinions of older and contemporary authors. It deals with all the aspects of traditional Indian musicology, such as tone-system, scale, melody, rhythm, composition, variation and vocal technique. The complete English translation and the extensive introduction will familiarize the reader with the characteristic Indian concepts of music and the problems of their interpretation.For full information on the author's current projects in the field of Indian music, see www.sarasvatibhavan.com.
ENGLISH

Ramakrsna Paramahamsa - A Psychological Profile

by Narasingha Sil

~~292,83€~~ 263,55€ 10% OFF

 In the entire corpus of Ramakrsna research, carried out mostly by his disciples, devotes, and admirers, only a handful have attempted to analyze his divine reputation. Yet none has examined the Ramakrsna phenomenon fully.This is the first comprehensive psychoanalysis of Ramakrsna's sexuality in general and his androgyny in particular, as well as a critical examination of his sermons samadhis. Instead of the popular paramahamsa there now emerges the less attractive but more authentic profile of an utterly selfish, capricious but highly intelligent spiritual master who elicited awed submission from everybody by his unpredictable and frenzied behaviour.The author asserts that Ramakrsna's spiritual odyssey is better explained as his desperate but successful effort to deal with his emotional and sexual crisis, rather than as the universally acknowledged outcome of a divine teleology. Attempting to distinguish the historical Ramakrsna from the godhead of hagiography, this study offers a challenging debate on mystic phenomenon.
ENGLISH

Essays On The Mahabharata

by Arvind Sharma

294,15€ + 10% CARD

 This book is a classic study of a monumental work, the Mahabharata perhaps the largest epic in world literature. It is an epic study of the epic, on account of the voluminous size it has itself attained, the kaleidoscopic variety of the themes it covers, the great diversity of approaches it canvasses, the wide array of contributions it includes and the high standard of scholarship it achieves.Contributors: Daniel H.H. Ingalls & Daniel H.H. Ingalls Jr; Barbara Stoler Miller; Edwin Gerow; Alf Hiltebeitel; Bimal K. Matilal; A.K. Ramanujan; Klaus Klostermaier; Gary A. Tubb; James L. Fitzgerald; Mary Carroll Smith; Ruth Katz; Indira V. Peterson; Vidyut Aklujkar; Bruce M. Sullivan; David Gitomer; William Sax; C.Z. Minkowski; B.N. Sumitra Bai and Robert J. Zydenos; Victoria Urubshurow and T.R. Singh; M.M. Despande; Braj M. Sinha; and John Dunham.
ENGLISH

Tamil Love Poetry And Poetics

by Takanobu Takahashi

351,13€ + 10% CARD

 It is generally believed in India that works of art are made on the basis of the normative works. The same is true in the case of Tamil literature of South India: especially the case between the oldest grammar and poetics, Tolkappiyam, and the ancient literature (Sangam literature) of the 1st-3rd Century A.D., consisting of about 2400 poems of love and war.This book deals with the relationship between them with special focus on love poetry, investigating a large number of its technical terms concerning their original meanings and historical changes. The ancient love poems had a considerable influence on later literature, such as Bhakti literature, epics, and puranas. This is an indispensable work of reference for Tamil love poetry and is also useful for Tamil and Indian literatures.
ENGLISH

Buddhavacana And Dei Verbum - A Phenomenological And Theological Comparison Of Scriptural Inspiration In The Saddharmapundarika Sutra And In The Christian Tradition

by Michael Fuss

356,43€ + 10% CARD

 Challenged by the teaching of Vatican II about the "seeds of the Word" in non-Christian religions, this book investigates the sacred character of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra and its relation to the fundamental theological category of scriptural inspiration.In applying the methods of modern exegesis, the Sutra in its ingenious composition is disclosed as a religious drama about the inspirational experience of the Buddha. The draft of a theology of inspiration along the guide lines of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum of Vatican II elaborates a 'christology of the Word' as its core, which allows an extension of inspiration in analogical manner to non-Biblical scriptures.The contrast of Christ, the "Word incarnate", and Buddha, the "Inspired One", offers a new contribution to an inter- religious dialogue.
ENGLISH

Text And Authority In The Older Upanisads

by Signe Cohen

233,20€ + 10% CARD

 The Upanisads have often been treated as a unified corpus of religious and philosophical texts, separate from the older Vedic tradition. It is well known that the Upanisads were initially composed and transmitted within specific schools of Vedic recitation, or Sakhas, but the Sakha affiliation of each Upanisad has received very little attention in the scholarly literature. The author offers a new interpretation of the older Upanisads in the light of the Vedic school affiliations of each text. This book argues that issues of textual authority, and in particular the authority of the various Vedic schools, are central in the Upanisads, and that the Upanisads can, on one level, be read as texts about text. While analyzing the theme of textual authority in the Upanisads, the author also outlines a theory of textual criticism as applied to orally transmitted texts that will be of use to textual scholars in other fields as well.
ENGLISH

From Coffee To Tea Cultivation In Ceylon, 1880-1900 - An Economic And Social History

by Roland Wenzlhuemer

261,03€ + 10% CARD

 In the early 1880s a disastrous plant disease diminished the yields of the hitherto flourishing coffee plantation of Ceylon. Coincidentally, world market conditions for coffee were becoming increasingly unfavourable. The combination of these factors brought a swift end to coffee cultivation in the British crown colony and pushed the island into a severe economic crisis.When Ceylon re-emerged from this crisis only a decade later, its economy had been thoroughly transformed and now rested on the large-scale cultivation of tea. This book uses the unprecedented intensity and swiftness of this process to highlight the socioeconomic interconnections and dependencies in tropical export economies in the late nineteenth century and it shows how dramatically Ceylonese society was affected by the economic transformation.
ENGLISH

Western Himalayan Temple Records - State, Pilgrimage, Ritual And Legality In Chamba

by Mahesh Sharma

283,55€ + 10% CARD

 While numerous studies exist on major South-Asian temples, surprisingly little is known about 'minor shrines' and 'lesser states'. Here fifty-five new documents, in a western-Himalayan script and language, and belonging to a small Siddha shrine, redress this remarkable gap in our knowledge. The documents cover a wide spectrum-from revenue grants to those dealing with ritual, pilgrimage, legality and temple-economy-thus building a picture of the relationship between state and shrine, and particularly so for the minor centres: their popularity and relationship with major temples; mundane matters; notices, petitions, and law-suits. It becomes clear how 'lesser states', despite their limited resources, patronized numerous small shrines, along with major temples; and the role played by the Nath-Siddha-ascetics in creating consent-to-rule, acculturation, and constructing hybridity between the Hindu and Tibetan-Buddhist traditions.
ENGLISH

Dharma, Disorder And The Political In Ancient India - The Apaddharmaparvan Of The Mahabharata

by Adam Bowles

287,53€ + 10% CARD

 The Apaddharmaparvan, 'the book on conduct in times of distress', is an important section of the great Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata which, despite its significance for Mahabharata studies and for the history of Indian social and political thought, has received little attention in scholarly literature. This book places the Apaddharmaparvan within its literary and ideological contexts. In so doing it explores the development of a conception of brahmanic kingship morally justifiable within the terms of a debate largely set by various alternative social movements of the period. This book further explores the implications for our understanding of the Mahabharata that follow from the Apaddharmaparvan's presentation as a poetically cohesive unit within itself and within the wider parameters of the Mahabharata.
ENGLISH

Temple Consecration Rituals In Ancient India - Text And Archaeology

by Anna Slaczka

254,40€ + 10% CARD

 As in various other cultures, in the Hindu tradition of the Indian Subcontinent construction rituals accompany the construction of a temple, from the moment of choosing the suitable building site, right to the completion of the entire project. Numerous descriptions in Sanskrit texts on ritual and architecture describe in detail these building consecration ceremonies and reflect the importance attached to these rituals. Surprisingly, this topic has so far not received the attention it deserves given its essential role. Basing herself on both the Sanskrit texts, as well as the archaeological finds, Anna A. Slaczka in this thorough study provides readers with a comprehensive view of the three main temple construction rituals in the Hindu tradition of South and Southeast Asia.
ENGLISH

Sarasvati: Riverine Goddess Of Knowledge - From The Manuscript-Carrying Vina-Player To The Weapon-Wielding Defender Of The Dharma

by Catherine Ludvik

283,55€ + 10% CARD

 This is a fascinating depiction of the transformation of the Indian riverine goddess from the manuscript-carrying vina-player to the Buddhist weapon-wielding defender of the Dharma. Drawing on Sanskrit and Chinese textual sources, as well as Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist art historical representations, this book traces the conceptual and iconographic development of the riverine goddess of knowledge Sarasvati from some time after 1750 B.C.E. to the seventh century C.E. Through the study of Chinese translations of no longer extant Sanskrit versions of the Buddhist Sutra of Golden Light the author sheds light on Sarasvati's interactions with other Indian goddess cults and their impact on one another.
ENGLISH

Building Communities In Gujarat - Architecture And Society During The Twelfth Through Fourteenth Centuries

by Alka Patel

312,70€ + 10% CARD

 The Indo-Islamic architecture subject of this book is not the result of a 'clash of civilizations', but to be seen as innovations of the local architectural tradition, a product of local craft traditions. Alka Patel here brings together two architectural corpora in a careful analysis of the 12th- through 14th-century Islamic ritual buildings of southeastern Sindh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The new social and ritual demands of Islam led local craftspeople to initiate rejuvenation and expansion of their skills and knowledge.Moreover, the commonality of building practices among "religions" led to the intertwining of various Muslim and non-Muslim communities.The work's analysis of epigraphical evidence will be seminal to reorientations of historical methods investigating interactions among socio-religious groups in the region.
ENGLISH

Buddhist History In The Vernacular - The Power Of The Past In Late Medieval Sri Lanka

by Stephen Berkwitz

253,08€ + 10% CARD

 This is a careful study about the power attributed to historical narratives in early medieval Sri Lanka. On the basis of Sinhala histories of the Buddha and his relics this work sheds new light on historiography at work in a vernacular setting. Arguing that historical texts were both ethically and socially constructive, the author demonstrates that narrative representations of the past served the purpose to transform writers, readers, and listeners of history into virtuous persons, and therewith to generate moral communities. Focusing on the thirteenth-century Sinhala Thupavamsa, this book problematizes modern interpretations of Buddhist histories, compares the production of Pali and Sinhala texts, and examines how historical works were directed towards religious ends. A significant contribution to scholarship in Buddhist Studies, Comparative Literature, and Historical Criticism.
ENGLISH

Hayagriva In South India - Complexity And Selectivity Of A Pan-Indian Hindu Deity

by Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

229,23€ + 10% CARD

 This book is about how mythology may be purposively adapted in the service of theology. It does so at the hand of Hayagriva, since the 14th century C.E. revered as a full form of the Supreme Lord Visnu in the local Srivaisnava tradition of South India, but originally a relatively minor pan-Indian deity.Convincingly laying bare the complexity in respect of the pan-Indian images of Hayagriva, it makes clear that there is no single unilinear history of this deity. It subsequently reconstructs the 'Srinivaisnava History' of Hayagriva, and brings out the selectivity involved in borrowing materials from the pan-Indian and local levels.Amidst the incredible complexity encountered here, this study exposes, however, that the emblems and functions of different images show continuity, although a god's status may change according to the sect.
ENGLISH

Dasanami-Samnyasis - The Integration Of Ascetic Lineages Into An Order

by Matthew Clark

321,98€ + 10% CARD

 This book provides an account of the organisation, practices and history of the Dasanami-Samnyasis, one of the largest sects of sadhu-s ('holy men') in South Asia. According to tradition, the sect was founded by the legendary south-Indian philosopher Sankaracarya, whose floruit was most probably around 700CE.While the first three chapters of this book examine the sect's organisation and its various branches, the latter chapters explore its history. This is the first full-length study of the Dasanami-Samnyasis to be published since the 1970s, and will be particularly useful both for students of Hinduism and for readers with a particular interest in the religious history of mediaeval India.
ENGLISH

Archaeology Of Buddhism In The Maldives - Excavation Of A Buddhist Monastery At Kaashidhoo

by Egil Mikkelsen

~~212,00€~~ 190,80€ 10% OFF

 Part of a Buddhist monastery dating to A.D. 200-1500 was excavated between 1996 and 1998 on the island of Kaashidhoo in the Maldives, uncovering extensive ruins and human graves. This book compares the findings with those from monasteries elsewhere in Asia, investigating the spread of cowrie shells, Chinese stoneware and South Asian earthenware. It documents all known Buddhist sites, sculptures and artefacts in the Maldives, presenting new evidence of Buddhist life, religious behaviour, funerary practice, faunal history and trading networks. The book offers a fresh interpretation of the conversion from Buddhism to Islam in the Maldives.
ENGLISH

Compendium Of All Philosophies - The Sarvadarsanasamgraha Translated

~~312,70€~~ 281,43€ 10% OFF

 The Sarvadarsanasamgraha presents sixteen philosophical systems known to its 14th century author. The first and so far only English translation of the whole of the Sarvadarsanasamgraha dates from the nineteenth century, when few of the source texts used by its author were accessible. This new translation will rectify numerous current incorrect interpretations and misunderstandings of the text.
ENGLISH

Breaking The Crown Of Indra - The Pandyas And Their Dynastic Identity In The South Indian Context

by David Pierdominici Leao

~~165,63€~~ 149,07€ 10% OFF

 From the first years of our era up to the 18th century, in between wars, conquests, defeats and stellar political risings: Breaking the Crown of Indra takes you through a long and engaging quest to answer the apparently simple question "Who were the Pandyas?" With the help of epigraphic evidence, literary texts, and temple chronicles never translated before, David Pierdominici Leao reconstructs the evolution of the Pandya royal perception through the different periods of this Tamil kingdom. His study investigates the so-called phenomenon of the "Pandyaness", a concept enriched by different dynastic identities, mythical narratives of deeds and divinised sovereigns.
ENGLISH

Goddesses And Women In The Indic Religious Tradition

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 Goddesses and Women in the Indic Religious Tradition goes beyond the traditional sources that lie at the basis for determining the position of goddesses and women in India. Following the lead of a "hermeneutics of surprise" the book identifies, indeed, surprising new material - and conclusions; for example the analysis of Vedic Srauta ritual. Or by offering surprising conclusions, when the location is obviously one involving women and goddesses, or anthropology discovers that the worship of the Great Goddess temporarily elevates the position of women. Other examples of the effectivity of the "hermeneutics of surprise" are seen when applied to the role of dakinis, Sakti worship, the Marathi Sant tradition,and to Sankara's commentaries.
ENGLISH

Circumambulations In South Asian History - Essays In Honour Of Dirk H.A. Kolff

286,20€ + 10% CARD

 This exciting and thought-provoking volume, written by a small number of outstanding scholars on colonial and medieval Indian history, ethnohistory and the new military history of South Asia forms the best tribute thinkable to one of the leading scholars in the field of Indian History, Professor Dirk Kolff. Focusing on wider geographical as well as on more specific social and military aspects, the first section deals with issues of Islamic and European expansion in South Asia. The second section examines specific medieval topics such as military service and slavery, legitimacy and religious devotion. The third section represents Kolff's interest in colonial history and his more recent excursions into the realms of Subaltern and Cultural Studies.A must for every library.
ENGLISH

Devotion, Religious Authority, And Social Structures In Sindh - Khojas, Vanyos, And Faqirs

by Michel Boivin

~~176,23€~~ 158,61€ 10% OFF

 In a context of rigidification of religious boundaries, especially between Hinduism and Islam, the book argues that many physical and non-physical sites of religious encountering are still at work, both in Pakistan and in India. In India, the Hindu Sindhis worshipped a god, Jhulelal, who is also venerated in Pakistan as a saint. In Sehwan Sharif, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, there are Hindu Sufi masters who initiate Muslims to Sufism. This study is the first to involve both Muslim and Hindu communities in a comparative perspective, and to underscore that the process of constructing communities in South Asia follow the same social pattern, the patrilineal lineage (baradari or khandan). The study is based on an array of sources collected in three continents, such as manuscripts, printed and oral sources, as well as artefacts from material cultures, most of which was never published before.
ENGLISH

Empire, Religion, And Identity - Modern South Asia And The Global Circulation Of Ideas

~~160,33€~~ 144,30€ 10% OFF

 This collection brings together case studies that cover a wide spectrum: from Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina traditions through reformist ventures such as the Brahmos, to issues in modern Islam and Judaism. The first part of the book explores idioms of self-fashioning in global platforms and religious congresses. The second part explicates the nature of movements of such ideas. Cumulatively, they offer fresh and invaluable insights into their histories in modern South Asia against the backdrop of, and in relation to, wider transcultural global flows. Contributors: Soumen Mukherjee, Toshio Akai, Jeffery D. Long, Arpita Mitra, Philip Goldberg, Ankur Barua, Oyndrila Sarkar, Madhuparna Roychowdhury, Navras J. Aafreedi, and Faridah Zaman.
ENGLISH

Attentive Minds: A History Of The Indian Performative Art Of Avadhana From The Origin To Modern Times

by Hermina Cielas

~~184,18€~~ 165,76€ 10% OFF

 From tenth-century South India to twenty-first-century cultural events, from the court assemblies to the public space: Attentive Minds takes you on a journey through the fascinating world of avadhana, a complex and long-living performative art of India whose practitioners showcase highly developed cognitive skills (like attention, ability to multitask, memory) and specialized knowledge. With the help of epigraphic and literary sources and field research, Hermina Cielas reconstructs avadhana's history in its socio-cultural context and provides a detailed systematization of the art. Her multifaceted study investigates the cultural phenomenon scarcely known outside of India. It explores avadhana's multiple forms, from games and puzzles, through a display of mnemonic or motor skills, to multilingual literary feasts.
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