The book consists of a collection of essays on aspects of Tulu oral literature and its cultural and religious context. Taking sung poetic ritual texts from the west coast of South India (coastal Karnataka) as her starting point, the author addresses the relationship between text structure and the social and geographical distribution of particular local and subregional cults; questions of gender and genre, of the correlation between narrative and ritual dramatization especially with respect to death, and of success and failure of rituals in the local perception. One essay studies features of South Indian popular cults in a wider perspective. Two of the nine essays discuss historical material relating to Basel Mission activities in the area and compare texts collected in the 19th century with versions collected by the author in the 1980s. The last paper provides a short synopsis of the author's 1995 German monograph on the topic.

Douglass combines powerful storytelling with meticulous historical research and presents a unique take on the ageless battle between the forces of heaven and hell.

AUSPICIOUS DAY IS AN ANTHOLOGY COMPILED BY SARVAD PUBLICATION COMPILER AVIRA RASTOGI WITH TEAM OF CO-AUTHOR

The Vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. It includes elements such as liturgical material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered to be sacred by the Vedic religion. According to tradition, Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, who arranged the four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas (Collections). There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. The basic Vedic texts are the Samhita “Collections” of the four Vedas: Rig-Veda “Knowledge of the Hymns of Praise”, for recitation. Sama-Veda “Knowledge of the Melodies”, for chanting. Yajur-Veda “Knowledge of the Sacrificial formulas”, for liturgy. Atharva-Veda “Knowledge of the Magic formulas”, named after a kind of group of priests.