Religions of INDIA in Practice

The inaugural volume of Princeton Readings in Religions brings together the work of thirty scholars of the religions of India in a new anthology designed to reshape the ways in which the religious tradition of India are understood. The book contains translations of forty-five works, most of which have never before been available in a Western language. Many of these highlight types of discourse (especially ritual manuals, folktales, and oral narratives) and voices (vernacular, esoteric, domestic, and female) That have not been sufficiently represented in previous anthologies and standard accounts of Indian religions.

The selections are drawn from ancient texts, medieval manuscripts, modern pamphlets, and contemporary fieldwork in rural and urban India. They represent every region in South Asia and include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Muslim materials. Some are written texts reflecting elite concerns, while others are transcriptions of oral narratives told by nonliterate peasants. Some texts are addressed to a public and pan-Indian audience, others to a limited coterie of initiates in an exoteric sect, and still others are intended for a few women gathered in the courtyard for a household ceremony. The editor has reinforced this diversity by arranging the selections within several overarching themes and categories of discourse (hymns, rituals, narratives, and religious interactions), encourages us to make our own connections.

About the Author

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the department of Asian Languages and cultures at the University of Michigan. He is also the editor of: Buddhism in Practice, Religions of Tibet in Practice, Religions of China in Practice; and author of Elaborations on Emptiness: Use of the Heart Sutra.

Princeton Reading in Religions Note on Transliteration
Contents by Traditions
Contributors

Introduction Richard H. Dvis

1. Bengali Song to Kali -Rachel Fell McDermott
2. Kabir -Vinay Dharwadker
3. Poems of Tukaram -Vinay Dharwadker
4. The Litany of Names of Manjusri -Ronald M. Davidson
5. Sikh Hymns to the Divine Name -Hew McLeod
6. Devotional Hymns from the Sanskrit -Guy Leon Beck
7. Tamil Game Songs to Siva -Norman Cutler
8. In Praise of Muhammad Sindhi and Urdu Poems -Ali Asani
9. Baul Songs -Carol Salomon
10. Tamil Songs to God as Child -Paula Richman
    Rites and Instructions

11. The Power of Mantra: A Story of the Five Protectors -Todd T. Lewis
12. Royal Temple Dedications -Michael D. Rabe
13. How to Partake in the Love of Krsna -Neal Delmonico
14. Women's Songs for Auspicious Occasions -Lindsey Harlan
15. The Ocean of Mercury: An Eleventh-Century Alchemical Text -David Gordon White
16. Predicting the Future with Dogs -David Gordon white
17. How to Worship at Siva's Temple -D. Dennis Hudson
18. The Order for Khalsa Initiation -Hew McLeod
19. The Rite of veneration of Jina Images -John E. Cort
20. The Vaisnava Sahajiya Tradition of Medieval Bengal -Glen A. Hayes
21. The Goddess Sasthi Protects Children -Tony K. Stewart
22. Women's Celebration of Muhammad's Birth -Marcia Hermansen
    Remarkable Lives and Edifying Tales

23. The Rescue of two Drunkards -Tony K. Stewart
24. Ecountering the Smallpox Goddess: The Auspicious Song of Sitala -Tony K. Stewart
25. The Wonders of Sri Mastnath -David Gordon White
26. Jain Stories Inspiring Renunciation -Phyllis granoff
27. A Holy woman of Calcutta -June McDaniel
28. Jain Stories of Miraculous Power -Rosalind Lefeber
29. Mother's of Ten Stories -Ann Grodzins Gold
30. The life of Guru Nanak -Hew McLeod
31. The Autobiography of a Female Renouncer -J.E. Llewellyn
32. The Prince with Six Fingers -Kirin Narayan
33. How a Girl Became a Sacred Plant -Kirin Narayan
34. Lives of Sufi Saints -Carl Ernst
35. Conversations of Sufi Saints -Carl Ernst
36. Teaching of Two Punjabi Sufi Poets -Mustansir Mir
    Traditions in Transition and Conflict

37. Asetic Withdrawal or Social Engagement -Patrick Olivelle
38. The Bodhisattva Vajrapani's Subjugation of Siva -Ronald M. Davidson
39. India as Sacred Islamic Land -Carl Ernst
40. The Exemplary Devotion of the "Servant of Hari" -Tony K. Stewart
41. Satya Pir: Muslim Holy Man and Hindu God -Tony K. Stewart
42. Jain Questions and Answers: Who Is God and How Is He Worshiped? -John E. Cort
43. Escoteric Knowledge and the Tradition of the Preceptors -Douglas Renfrew Brooks
44. The Rebuilding of a Hindu Temple -Richard H. Davis
45. The Origin of Linga Worship -Richard H. Davis

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