topics: |  religion | hinduism | [manohar | book | svc | 08nov | rs280]

The origins of Hinduism lie in two ancient cultural complexes, the Indus
valley civilization 2500BCE-1500BCE, though its roots are much earlier, and
the Aryan culture which developed during the 2nd m. BCE.  There is some
controversy re the relnship betwn these two cultures.  The tradnl view, still
supported by some scholars, is that the IVC declined, to be repl by the
culture of the Aryans, an Indo-European people originating in the Caucasus
region who migr into S Aaia and spread across the N plains, which throughout
India's long history, have offered no obstacle to invaders or migrants.  The
alternative view is that Aryan culture is a development from the IVC and was
not introduced by outside invaders or migrants; that there is no cultural
disjunction in ancient S As history, but rather a continuity from an early
period.  ...[mixing with the non-Aryan or Dravidian and tribal cultures] The
Aryan culture has provided the 'master narrative', absorbing
and controlling other discourses.

Chapter 8 on the development of the mother goddess (durga) tradition, its
sanskritization through the devimAhatyam (chaNDI purAN), and the
incorporation of various virulent goddesses such as kAli and chAmuNDi into
the pantheon, is a fascinating read, especially for durga-entrenched
cultures like those of Eastern India.

Contents

      List of illustrations
      Acknowledgements
      A note on language and transliteration
      Abbreviations and texts
      Introduction    1
1     Points of departure     5
2     Ancient origins 23
3     Dharma  51
4     Yoga and renunciation   75
5     Narrative traditions and early Vaisnavism       103
6     The love of Visnu       128
7     Saiva and tantric religion      148
8     The Goddess and Sakta traditions        174
9     Hindu ritual    198
10    Hindu theology and philosophy   224
11    Hinduism and the modern world   250
      Notes   274
      Bibliography    305
      Index   329