Hinduism and the Religious Arts

by Heather Elgood

Overview

The cultural manifestation of Hinduism is uniquely complex. In particular, the visual arts associated with the Hindu religion are recognised as being the most complex and rich of any living religion. No serious effort to understand ancient or contemporary Indian culture can be made without a clear understanding of the visual arts and their sources in religious belief and practice. In this book, Heather Elgood provides the best synthesis and critical study of recent scholarship on the topic. She emphasizes the ritual aspect of religious art - with reference to monumental architecture, sculpture and rural arts. Throughout, strong connections are made and explained between the bewildering variety of religious belief and practice in India and the power and richness of ancient and contemporary rural Indian art. This bok will be central to the studies of anyone interested in the social and anthropological roots af artistic creativity, as well as the rites, practices and beliefs of the hundreds of millions of Hindus in the world today. Heather Elgood is a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Sciences, University of London. She is also Director of the SOAS and Christie's Arts pf Asia and Africa programme.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780304707393
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/01/2000
Series:	Religion and the Arts Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Heather Elgood is a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and director of the joint SOAS/Christie's Arts of Asia and Africa program.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	vi
	Acknowledgements	viii
Chapter 1	Introduction	1
Chapter 2	Sacred Imagery	13
Chapter 3	Hindu Deities	44
Chapter 4	Hindu Sacred Architecture	93
Chapter 5	Royal Patronage of the Religious Arts and Its Historical Development and Objectives	135
Chapter 6	Village and Tribal Patrons and Their Religious Arts	187
Chapter 7	Conclusion	227
	Glossary	232
	Bibliography	237
	Index	241

Editorial Reviews

"A useful and easy-to-read introduction to a complex subject aimed largely at educational courses. Students and general readers will be grateful to the author for guiding them through the bewildering apparatus of Hindu religious symbols, ritual practices, sacred texts and mythological icons."
"- Times Higher Education Supplement"

" a very strong case for the need to study visual expressions of Hindu beliefs Elgood s work is a must for academic library collections as well as for historians of religion interested in the unique contributions visual expression can add to an understanding of Hinduism."
Religion and the Arts

From the Publisher

Elgood (Oriental and African studies, U. of London) synthesizes and critiques recent scholarship on the complex and rich visual tradition of India from ancient times to the present. She emphasizes the ritual aspects of religious art, citing examples of monumental architecture, sculpture, and rural arts. Distributed in the US by Continuum. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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