The Festival of Indra
Innovation, Archaism, and Revival in a South Asian Performance
Seiten
2023
State University of New York Press (Verlag)
978-1-4384-9332-9 (ISBN)
State University of New York Press (Verlag)
978-1-4384-9332-9 (ISBN)
Details the textual and performative history of the South Asian festival of Indra and its role in the development of classical Hinduism.
The Festival of Indra details the textual and performative history of an important South Asian festival and its role in the development of classical Hinduism. Drawing on various genres of Sanskrit textual sources—especially the epic Mahābhārata—the book highlights the innovative ways that this annual public festival has supported the stable royal power responsible for the sponsorship of these texts. More than just a textual project, however, the book devotes significant ethnographic attention to the only contemporary performance of this festival that adheres to the classical Sanskrit record: the Indrajatra of Kathmandu, Nepal. Here, Indra's tall pole remains the festival's focal point, though its addition of the royal blessing by Kumari, the "living goddess" of Nepal, and the regular presence of the fierce god Bhairav show several significant ways that ritual agents have re-constructed this festival over the past two thousand years.
The Festival of Indra details the textual and performative history of an important South Asian festival and its role in the development of classical Hinduism. Drawing on various genres of Sanskrit textual sources—especially the epic Mahābhārata—the book highlights the innovative ways that this annual public festival has supported the stable royal power responsible for the sponsorship of these texts. More than just a textual project, however, the book devotes significant ethnographic attention to the only contemporary performance of this festival that adheres to the classical Sanskrit record: the Indrajatra of Kathmandu, Nepal. Here, Indra's tall pole remains the festival's focal point, though its addition of the royal blessing by Kumari, the "living goddess" of Nepal, and the regular presence of the fierce god Bhairav show several significant ways that ritual agents have re-constructed this festival over the past two thousand years.
Michael Baltutis is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Archetypal Indra Festival
1. The Early Medieval Indra Festival
2. The Journey from the Forest
3. Preparing, Entering, and Establishing the City
4. Nepali Chronicles and the Living Goddess Kumari
5. The Construction of the Indra Festival in Nineteenth-Century Kathmandu
6. Sacrificing (to) Bhairav: The Resurrection of a Local Himalayan King
7. Tantra, the Mahābhārata, and the Iconography of Indra
Conclusion: Violence, Politics, Danger, and Ritual Change
Notes
Works Cited
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 05.12.2023 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | SUNY series in Hindu Studies |
| Zusatzinfo | Total Illustrations: 18 |
| Verlagsort | Albany, NY |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 227 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Hinduismus | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-4384-9332-0 / 1438493320 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-4384-9332-9 / 9781438493329 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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