To scholars in the field, the need for an up-to-date overview of the art of South Asia has been apparent for decades. Although many regional and dynastic genres of Indic art are fairly well understood, the broad, overall representation of India's centuries of splendor has been lacking. The Art of Ancient India is the result of the author's aim to provide such a synthesis. Noted expert Sherman E. Lee has commented: –Not since Coomaraswamyês History of Indian and Indonesian Art (1927) has there been a survey of such completeness.” Indeed, this work restudies and reevaluates every frontier of ancient Indic art _ from its prehistoric roots up to the period of Muslim rule, from the Himalayan north to the tropical south, and from the earliest extant writing through the most modern scholarship on the subject. This dynamic survey-generously complemented with 775 illustrations, including 48 in full color and numerous architectural ground plans, and detailed maps and fine drawings, and further enhanced by its guide to Sanskrit, copious notes, extensive bibliography, and glossary of South Asian art terms-is the most comprehensive and most fully illustrated study of South Asian art available. The works and monuments included in this volume have been selected not only for their artistic merit but also in order to both provide general coverage and include transitional works that furnish the key to an all encompassing view of the art. An outstanding portrayal of ancient Indiaês highest intellectual and technical achievements, this volume is written for many audiences: scholars, for whom it provides an up-to-date background against which to examine their own areas of study; teachers and students of college level, for whom it supplies a complete summary of and a resource for their own deeper investigations into Indic art; and curious readers, for whom it gives a broad-based introduction to this fascinating area of world art.

The South Asia collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, is the most comprehensive in Southeast Asia. Begun in 1993 at the same time as the establishment of the Museum, the collection has grown steadily and is now over 250-object strong. Government grants, loans, donations from committed supporters and a dynamic team made it possible. Although the collections primary focus is south India because of its historical and cultural links with Singapore, it covers various regions and periods of South Asian history.This 288-page volume of detailed catalogue entries approaches the collection thematically weaving a web of interconnections. The catalogue covers a wide spectrum of artefacts from the ancient period to the 20th century, linking the threads of communication and historical development. Themes such as religion, architecture, festivals, rituals and visual and performing arts unveil the cultural richness and diversity of South Asia. Impressive stone sculptures and massive architectural fragments are set alongside exquisite textiles, jewellery and ritual objects.

This revision reflects recent developments and events in India. In particular, a new Part has been added entitled "The Meeting of East and West in India" which contains a new chapter on Mahatma Gandhi. There is also a new chapter on the position of women in Hinduism. In addition to the added chapters, the entire book has been rewritten with many new illustrations and maps. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the Hindu tradition, dealing with the history of Hinduism, the sacred writings of the Hindus, the Hindu worldview, and the specifics of the major branches of Hinduism--Vaisnavism, S aivism, and S aktism. It also focuses on the geographical ties of Hinduism with the land of India, the social order created by Hinduism, and the various systems of Hindu thought. Klostermaier describes the new development of Hinduism in the 19th and 20th centuries, including present-day political Hinduism and the efforts to turn Hinduism into a modern-world religion. A unique feature of this book is its treatment of Hinduism in a topical fashion, rather than by chronological description of the development of Hinduism or by summary of the literature. The complexities of Hindu life and thought are thus made real to the reader. Hindus will recognize it as their own tradition.

Striking images of a certain Indian goddess have been variously referred to as the "shameless woman" the "nude squatting goddess," the "mother goddess," or, because her historical name remains unknown, more than twenty-five names, among them Aditi, Lajjā Gaurī, Renukā, and Nagna Kabambdha. The best-known images of this goddess have a female torso and a lotus flower in place of a head, while her legs are bent up at the knees and drawn up to each side in a position that has been described as one of "giving birth" or "self-display." This type of goddess figure is explained as part of a long, highly sophisticated tradition of expressing fertility and well-being in Indian art. The artists creating images of Lajjā Gaurī drew on various ancient symbols of fortune, fertility, and life-force to communicate her power through their rich heritage of meanings. As these historical-religious symbols and images were constantly reused and reincorporated, they formed a new and enriched religious context. In the process of recycling they became empowered cultural metaphors, visual morphemes in the language of Indian art. Because there are no texts to explain the figure, the study proceeds from the basis of the objects to derive their meaning. Carol Bolon charts the changes in the goddess's form over a period of more than four centuries, including its possible adoption from tribal worship into Hindu temples, and brings a new appreciation of Lajjā Gaurī's rich symbolic meanings and cultural context.