This book presents the multi-faceted Hindu deity Dattatreya from his Puranic emergence up to modern times. Dattatreya's Brahmanical portrayal, as well as his even more archaic characterization as a Tantric antinomian figure, combines both Vaisnava Saiva motifs. Over the course of time, Dattatreya has come to embody the roles of the immortal guru, yogin and avatara in a paradigmatic manner. From the sixteenth century Dattatreya's glorious characterization emerged as the incarnation of the trimurti of Brahma, Visnu, and Siva. Although Maharastra is the heartland of Dattatreya devotion, his presence is attested to throughout India and extends beyond the boundaries of Hinduism, being met with in Sufi circles and even in Buddhism and Jainism via Nathism. The scarce attention which most Western scholars of Indian religions have paid to this deity contrasts with its ubiquitousness and social permeability. Devotion to Dattatreya cuts through all social and religious strata of Indian society: among his adepts we find yogis, Brahmans, faqirs, Devi worshippers, untouchables, thieves, and prostitutes. This book explores all primary religious dimensions: myth, doctrine, ritual, philosophy, mysticism, and iconography. The comprehensive result offers a rich fresco of Hindu religion as well as an understanding of Marathi integrative spirituality: precisely this complexity of themes constitutes Dattatreya's uniqueness.

The Volume Presents The First Part Of Vayu Purana And Contains The English Translation Of Chapters 1-61 Comprising The First Two Padas Or Sections Out Of The Total Four Padas In Which The Purana Is Divided. A Scholarly Introduction Highlights The Salient Features Of The Purana.

A well-known Sanskrit drama presented here in a bilingual translation.

Three Hundred Important Combinations is intended to provide knowledge of the Yogas which indicate specific horoscopic trends. All planetary combinations are divided into two groups viz., Yogas and Aristhas or fortunes and misfortunes. It deals with various standing combinations of yogas. The systematised account of all the important yogas is brought out so that it may illustrate practical horoscopes. The book certainly claims credit for being the first to bring together all scattered information and present it systematically.