The present book throws new light on the gradual development of the concept of Rudra-Siva in his animal, phallic and human forms, since the days of the Harappa Civilization. It examines how Siva, the composite Aryan-non-Aryan Divinity, was not only admitted but was ultimately crowned with an exalted position in the Brahmanical pantheon; how the bull once identified with the deity, was regulated to the position of a vahana; how phallism was related to Saivism and also how Siva, in his different forms, was represented in early Indian Art and the Art of Further India. The wide range and depth of the author's research fills a vital gap in the subject and his treatment of the entire subject is unique. This methodical study on Siva also contains an exhaustive bibliography.

Na Punyam Na Papam, Na Saukhyam Na Duhkham Na Mantro Na Tirtham, Na Vedam Na Yajna Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivo Ham Beyond Sin And Virtue, Beyond Joy And Sorrow, Beyond Scripture, Ritual And Pilgrimage, And Beyond Familiar Experience. This Is Shiva, In Essence. Once Feared As The Capricious And Terrifying Rudra, Shiva, The Most Un-Brahmanic Of Gods, Has Traditionally Been Shunned By Orthodox Vedic Religion. Although The Shiva We Recognize Today Retains Much Of His Original Contrarian Nature, He Is Firmly Ensconced In Popular Imagination As The Awe-Inspiring Mahadeva, Supreme Lord Of The Universe. In A Unique Attempt To Explore The Varied Planes Of Thought And Belief That Shiva Has Represented Over Millennia, Nilima Chitgopekar Imaginatively Recreates The Defining Moments Of The Great God S Life Through The Eyes Of His Most Intimate Mythological Companions. Vishnu, Sati, Daksha, Parvati And Ganesha Take Turns To Praise, Criticize, Explain, Complain, Sermonize And Rationalize And Through The Prism Of What They Choose To Reveal Of The Shiva They Know, There Emerges The Vision Of A God Who Assimilates In His Person The Most Extreme Contradictions. For Shiva Is As Reclusive As He Is Accessible, As Loved As He Is Feared, And As Fallible As He Is Divine. As The Author Traces The Diverse Threads Of History, Philosophy, Anthropology And Faith That Have Coalesced To Create This Intriguing Deity, She Uncovers The Deeper Truth About Shiva S Unmatched Appeal A Credo Of Simple Devotion To A Unified Godhead, One That Reflects The Eclecticism And Humanity That Form The Very Core Of Hindu Thought.

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.

Crossing the Lines of Caste offers a cultural-historical analysis of the legends of Visvamitra, a sage who is said to have used his ascetic power to change his caste and become a Brahmin. It reveals how and why mythological culture has played an active role in the construction of Brahmin social power for more than three thousand years.

A grand survey of the world’s death and afterlife traditions throughout history • Examines beliefs from many different cultures on the soul, heaven, hell, and reincarnation; instructions for accessing the different worlds of the afterlife; how one may become a god; and how ethics and the afterlife may not be connected • Explores techniques to communicate with the dead, including séance instructions • Includes an extensive bibliography of more than 900 sources from around the world Drawing on death and afterlife traditions from cultures around the world, Mark Mirabello explores the many forms of existence beyond death and each tradition’s instructions to access the afterlife. He examines beliefs on the soul, heaven, hell, and reincarnation and wisdom from Books of the Dead such as the Book of Going Forth by Day from Egypt, the Katha Upanishad from India, the Bardo Thodol from Tibet, the Golden Orphic Tablets from Greece, Lieh Tzu from China, and Heaven and its Wonders and Hell from Things Heard and Seen from 18th-century Europe. Considering the question “What is Death?” Mirabello provides answers from a wide range of ancient and modern thinkers, including scientist Nicholas Maxwell, the seer Emanuel Swedenborg, 1st-century Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, and Greek philosopher Euripides, who opined that we may already be dead and only dreaming we are alive. He explores the trek of the soul through life and death with firsthand accounts of the death journey and notes that what is perceived as death here may actually be life somewhere else. He reveals how, in many traditions, ethics and the afterlife are not connected and how an afterlife is possible even without a god or a soul. Sharing evidence that consciousness is not simply a product of the brain, he offers a strong rebuttal to nihilists, materialists, and the Lokayata philosophical school of India who believe in the “finality” of death. He explains how specters and ghosts are produced and offers techniques to communicate with the dead as well as instructions for an out-of-body experience and the complete procedure for a séance. With an extensive bibliography of more than 900 sources, this guide offers comprehensive information on afterlife beliefs from the vast majority of cultures around the world and throughout history--a veritable “traveler’s guide” to the afterlife.

Illustrations: 24 B/w Illustrations and 2 Maps Description: This book endeavours to signify a way by which the development of religion may be studied within the parameters of a defined geographical and chronological context. Encountering Sivaism has taken cognisance of the evolution of Siva's pantheon through the fluid process of cultural coalescence. The agencies of acculturation include the visual and the literary material. Art is looked at as an index to socio-religious change at macro and micro levels without restricting the study to specific doctrinal-theological developments, the focus has been on the rationale of religious developments in terms of the material mileu.