Religion, Tradition, and Ideology: Pre-colonial South India

Description

This volume discusses the multiple facets, dominant characteristics, and historical trajectories of religious traditions in pre-colonial south India. Examining the linkages between religion and politics, it investigates alternative vernacular traditions, rituals and practices, temple architecture, iconography, and other representational art forms The making of religious tradition : perspectives from pre-colonial south India -- Section 1: Purāṇic religion, bhakti, and religious traditions. From devotion and dissent to dominance : the bhakti of the Tamil Āl̤vārs and Nāyanārs -- Purāṇic religion and the evolution of the Tamil Śaiva tradition -- Śankara and purāṇic religion -- Vaiṣṇava concepts in early Tamil Nadu -- The sacred geography of the Murukan cult -- Section 2: Religion, canon and community. Patikam pāṭuvār : ritual singing as a means of communication in early medieval south India -- Caste and community : oscillating identities in pre-modern south India -- The maṭha : monachism as the base of a parallel authority structure -- Section III: Counter traditions : the śramaṇas. Buddhism in South India : patterns of patronage -- Jainism in Tamil Nadu : a historical overview -- Jainism in Andhra and Karnataka -- The bhakti movement and religious conflict in early medieval Tamil̤akam -- Section IV: Temple as symbol and metaphor. Symbol and metaphor : Temple architecture and iconography in south India -- Iconographic programme and political imagery in early medieval Tamil̤akam : The Rājasimheśvara and the Rājarājeśvara -- Bhāgavata scenes in Pallava and Cōḷa sculptures -- Tañjāvūr, the ceremonial city of the Cōḷas -- The Drāviḍa style of architecture : a historical perspective -- Section V: Ideology and sovereignty. The sovereignty of the divine : the Vaiṣṇava pantheon and temporal power in south India -- Ideology and the state in south India.