Download Free Decoding A Hindu Temple Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Decoding A Hindu Temple and write the review.

Queen Lokamahadevi, the chief wife of the Early Chalukya king Vikramaditya II, began construction of the Virupaksha Temple in approximately 733 at the dynasty's royal consecration site of Pattakadal, in Karnataka, India. As one of the most powerful rulers of the Early Chalukya dynasty, Vikramaditya II controlled territories spread over a vast region of central and southern India. The Virupaksha Temple commemorated his crucial victory over the rival Pallava dynasty to the southeast. Dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and richly adorned with carved images of Shiva, Vishnu, and other deities, the Virupaksha Temple is widely considered one of the most important of the freestanding structures erected during the Chalukya era, and it represents the zenith of temple construction of its period. Although this temple has been studied for more than a century and appears in virtually every textbook on Indian art, its iconographic program has never been fully explored. Decoding a Hindu Temple: Royalty and Religion in the Iconographic Program of the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal interprets the iconographic program of Virupaksha Temple. The work demonstrates that the iconography of the temple is expressive of royal aspirations-both material and spiritual-as well of past successes. Specific imagery that legitimizes the king through references to his genealogy and lineage, his royal marriage, and his conquests and defeats of other rival monarchs are identified, as well as his role in upholding the social order. The temple is understood as the formal "stage" for the king's ceremonial life, a testament to his wealth and authority, and the vehicle through which his reign was sacralized and reified. Overall, the book suggests that through its figurative imagery, the temple's iconography reiterates the world orders of both the physical realm and the cosmos at large. At the same time, the book looks at the issue of female patronage to show that the temple reflected the importance of the role of the queen to the functioning of the kingdom. The book suggests a function of the Hindu temple not previously identified, but likely applicable more generally to monuments throughout ancient India.
The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape explores Hinduism as it was practised in temples across the Indian subcontinent throughout history, highlighting the temple’s significance as a marker of cultural identity. The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape illustrates how careful attention to the Hindu temple, its social history, and cultural landscape allows us to better appreciate how Hinduism has been practised and lived throughout history. The Hindu temple was not merely a place of worship or a static indicator of royal generosity but an institution that involved the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance, and survival. Rather than studying temples as isolated structures, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape thus suggests that we need to examine them in the context of their social base and the sacred microcosms of which they form a part. Through a combination of textual study, archaeological evidence, and insights from contemporary anthropology, the book explores the diverse ways in which devotees, patrons, and visitors have engaged with temples, shrines, and their wider surroundings. Drawing attention to the vibrancy of the Hindu temple in different locales, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape traces the ways in which Hindu notions of sanctity and sacredness were defined and redefined throughout history through the diversity of temple audiences, deities, and rituals. The book thus allows us to form a more accurate picture of Hindu religious life in the past and the central role the temple has played in consolidating Hindu identity. EXPERT ANALYSIS: Author Himanshu Prabha Ray provides authoritative analysis of the Hindu temple, drawing on her expertise as an award-winning Sanskrit scholar, historian, and archeologist. SUPPLEMENTAL STUDY: The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape provides a breadth of educational knowledge as a supplement to both academic coursework and the independent study of Hinduism. With the integration of discussion questions, suggested further reading, a glossary of key terms, and images throughout, The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape offers an accessible introduction to studying the history and significance of Hindu temples. EXPLORE THE SERIES: The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape expands the collection of academic texts developed by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Women in the Hindu World and The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Study Guide are also available in the series.
This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces. They are significant sites for the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and in the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history and Southeast Asian history. Chapters 1, 4 and 5 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
A wonderful guide to the stunning temple architecture of India. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
This volume examines the multifarious dimensions that constitute the workings of the Hindu temple as an architectural and urban built form. Eleven chapters reflect on Hindu temples from multiple standpoints - tracing their elusive evolution from wayside shrines as well as canonization into classical objects; questioning the role of treatises containing their building rules; analyzing their prescribed proportions and orders; examining their presence in, and as, larger sacred habitats and ritua...
In Pakistan's northwest, a sequence of temples built between the sixth and the tenth centuries provides a missing chapter in the evolution of the Hindu temple in South Asia. Combining some elements from Buddhist architecture in Gandharā with the symbolically powerful curvilinear Nāgara tower formulated in the early post-Gupta period, this group stands as an independent school of that pan-Indic form, offering new evidence for its creation and original variations in the four centuries of its existence. Drawing on recent archaeology undertaken by the Pakistan Heritage Society as well as scholarship from the Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture project, this volume finally allows the Salt Range and Indus temples to be integrated with the greater South Asian tradition.