Religion in India: A Historical Introduction

period, as occasional reference to it is made in the epic literature.^18 Interestingly, however, even in the conservative Laws o ...

mysticism. This model became even more visible in the post-classical period when we learn of poetesses (e.g., Maha ̄devyakka,Mı ...

to the “vaidika” elites. For “untouchables” it would mean living outside the area of the cities where the “twice-born” lived and ...

Yoga In addition to the disciplines of the householder and the correct preparation and eating of foods, room was left open for m ...

way to maintain the renunciate life even within one’s household or in an urban setting. It was a technique preserved for the dis ...

(svadharma) of the good warrior/king who is faithful to his word (r.ta) and to his duty; it portrayed the ideal of wifely fideli ...

of actual historical figures has been hotly debated, and, if so, when they may have lived is unclear. It is plausible that the M ...

scholars believe the cult of Kr.s.n.a to have had connections to the city of Mathura ̄, a city where Buddhism was also strong, a ...

or conduit of brahmanand sought to evoke an enlightening experience on the part of the “audience.” In that sense, the audience w ...

way of Arabia and the Islamic world. Similarly, the Ja ̄taka Taleswere folk tales and fables purporting to tell anecdotes from B ...

practiced by s ́ilpiswho handed down their traditions from father to son. Architectural texts, which were not written until much ...

at least five notes; each ra ̄gaevoked a particular rasa, each suitable for a particular time of day. The ra ̄gaBhairava (S ́iva ...

were, for example, people living in villages oriented by the agricultural cycle, and tribal peoples only marginally being assimi ...

addition, any number of gods would have been understood to offer protection or preside over particular areas or functions. The n ...

helpful, by way of summary, to outline a comparative frame which indicates how Buddhist communities and brahmanic communities we ...

light and Greco-Roman artistic forms. Buddha gave warrant (varan) to his “ministers,” the bodhisattvas. Iconography Invaidikaset ...

Na ̄ga ̄rjunakonda, for example, one of the earliest medical schools on the subcontinent flourished in the third and fourth cent ...

often expressed by the laity in ways not unlike those of their “vaidika” counterparts, in that it incorporated elements from the ...

schools started making their way via the Silk Route into Central Asia and eventually to China. Not least important, Emperor As ́ ...

Recommended reading On history, culture, ethics Eliade, M. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Princeton: Princeton University Press, ...