Archaeology of Hindu Ritual

Willis, Michael D.:
The Archaeology of Hindu Ritual : Temples and the Establishment of the Gods / Michael Willis. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2009. - xiv, 375 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN 978-0-521-51874-1 / 0-521-51874-1
£ 50,00
DDC: 294.5350902

Beschreibung
In this groundbreaking study, Michael Willis examines how the gods of early Hinduism came to be established in temples, how their cults were organized, and how the ruling elite supported their worship. Examining the emergence of these key historical developments in the fourth and fifth centuries, Willis combines Sanskrit textual evidence with archaeological data from inscriptions, sculptures, temples, and sacred sites. The centrepiece of this study is Udayagiri in central India, the only surviving imperial site of the Gupta dynasty. Through a judicious use of landscape archaeology and archaeo-astronomy, Willis reconstructs how Udayagiri was connected to the Festival of the Rainy Season and the Royal Consecration. Through his meticulous study of the site, its sculptures and its inscriptions, Willis shows how the Guptas presented themselves as universal sovereigns and how they advanced new systems of religious patronage that shaped the world of medieval India. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
List of Illustrations. ix
Acknowledgements. xi
List of Abbreviations. xiii
Introduction. 1
1. THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS OF TIME AT UDAYAGIRI. 10
    1.1 Central Ridge and Passage. 12
    1.2 Synopsis of Astronomical Phenomena. 19
    1.3 Application to Udayagiri. 19
    1.4 Viṣṇu’s Four Months of Sleep. 30
    1.5 Narasiṃha. 37
    1.6 Varāha. 41
    1.7 Varāha in Historiographic Perspective. 46
    1.8 Nārāyaṇa, Narasiṃha, Varāha, and Kṣitibhuj. 55
    1.9 Candragupta or Avantivarman? 60
    1.10 Varāha and Kāmandaki. 61
    1.11 Paramabhāgavata, Yajamāna, and Rājasūya. 65
    1.12 Viṣṇupada and Varṣāgama. 73
2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GODS. 79
    2.1 Tāmraśāsana. 81
    2.2 Mahābhārata and Vyāsa. 84
    2.3 Piṣṭapurikā Devī. 88
    2.4 Śvetavarāhasvāmin. 92
    2.5 Nārāyaṇa. 94
    2.6 Pūjā and Pañcamahāyajña. 96
    2.7 From Private Sacrifice to Public Spectacle. 113
    2.8 Person and Property. 122
    2.9 Endowment of the Gods. 125
    2.10 Devānāṃ Sthāpanaṃ: The Establishment of the Gods. 128
    2.11 Bhitrī: King, God, and Temple. 144
    2.12 Rājyatantra: Permanence, Authority, Motivation, and Means. 150
    2.13 Udayagiri: The God, Earth, and Year. 163
3. RITUAL ACTION AND RITUAL ACTORS. 167
    3.1 The Priesthood. 168
    3.2 Purohita. 169
    3.3 Ṛtvij. 182
    3.4 Maitrāyaṇīya, Mānava, and Brāhmaṇas in Gupta Polity. 198
    3.5 Pūrva Mīmāṃsā and Śabara. 207
    3.6 Ācārya. 219
    3.7 Questions and Answers. 233
Appendix I. Serena Fredrick: Astronomy and Udayagiri. 247
Appendix II. John Sutcliffe: Mean Annual Run-off into the Udayagiri Tank. 251
Notes. 253
Bibliography of Key Works Cited. 339
Index. 359

Autor
Michael Willis (*1951) is curator of the early South Asian and Himalayan collections at the British Museum. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University, he is the author of The Temples of Gopaksetra and Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India.

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