Music Rituals in the Temples of South India
Music Rituals in the Temples of South India

Author: Geetha Rajagopal

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13:

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The book presents a wealth of information on the music rituals in temples at various places in south India. Following visits to a number of temples and based on interviews with temple artistes, the author shows that the musical traditions of temples differ from temple to temple, particularly from Vaishnavite to Shaivite temples. Beginning with the place of music in the Vedas, the book discusses music itself as a form of worship and the role of temples in promoting it. It focuses on the musical contributions of Nayanmars and Alvars whose hymns are sung today as a daily ritual in many temples, and compares their music. It concentrates on both vocal and instrumental music, dance forms as rituals in temples, and music and singing involved in temple festivals. Many interesting inscriptions and sculptures related to dance and music have also been taken up for discussion. In a fascinating attempt, the author has dealt with unique music traditions in some temples of south India like ragas associated with specific temples only and the tradition of nadasvaram playing in Tiruvarur temple. The volume will enthral scholars of Indology, particularly those involved in study of religious art and music traditions.

Music and Temple Ritual in South India
Music and Temple Ritual in South India

Author: William Tallotte

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1000829251

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Music and Temple Ritual in South India: Performing for Śiva documents the musical practices of the periya mēḷam, a South Indian instrumental ensemble of professional musicians who perform during the rituals and festivals of high-caste (Brahmanical) Tamil Hindu temples dedicated to the Pan-Indian god Śiva – an important patron of music since at least the tenth century. It explores the ways in which music and ritual are mutually constitutive, illuminating the cultural logics whereby performing and listening are integral to the kinetic, sensory and affective experiences that enable, shape and stimulate ritual communication in present-day devotional Hinduism. More than a rich and vivid ethnographic description of a local tradition, the book also develops a comprehensive and original analytical model, in which music is understood as both a situated and creative activity, and where the fluid relationship between humans and non-humans, in this case divine beings, is truly taken into consideration.

Hindu Diasporas
Hindu Diasporas

Author: Knut A. Jacobsen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-09-06

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 0192637886

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Hindu Diasporas presents the histories and religious traditions of Hindus with a South Asian ancestral background living outside of South Asia. Hinduism is a global religion with a significant presence in many countries throughout the world. The most important cause of this global expansion is migration. This book presents and analyses the most important of the geographies, migration histories, religious traditions and developments, rituals, places, institutions, and representations of Hinduism in the diasporas, capturing some of the great plurality of Hindu religious traditions. The first part of the book concentrates on the major regions in the world in which Hindu diasporas are found. The main focus is the modern period, but the book discusses also the possibility of premodern Hindu diasporas in Southeast Asia. The second part focuses on specific central themes such as Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta traditions in diasporas, temples, and traditions of sacred sites and pilgrimage outside of South Asia, Hindutva organizations and the diaspora, as well as relations between Hindu diasporas and new followers of Hindu traditions. The chapters in this book show some of the global presence of the Hindu diasporas and some of the dynamic developments in multiple geographical spaces. Analysing specific spaces and themes, the chapters of the book offer a foundation for understanding the Hindu traditions in its most important global diasporic contexts and the dynamic developments around the world.

A History of South India for Children
A History of South India for Children

Author: Pradeep Chakravarthy

Publisher: Hachette India Children's Books

Published: 2024-01-10

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9357319166

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The Kohinoor diamond was once the eye of a Kakatiya deity. The Pandyas are counted among the world's longest ruling dynasties. Sanskrit poets spun mesmerizing verse that could be read in reverse too. Tantalizing Malabar spices flavoured the most lavish ancient Roman banquets. Make your way across south India, exploring its kaleidoscopic past and dazzling heritage, right from its first inhabitants up to the Vijayanagara Empire. Meet its royalty and courtiers, builders and sculptors, poets and authors, traders and merchants, spiritual leaders and devotees, and all the other people who went to make it a top destination of the time. Separated from the north by the Vindhya mountains and surrounded on three sides by water, southern India developed its own unique features - with outstanding rulers, incredible literature, spellbinding architecture, stunning dance forms and delicious food. Written in an easy style, by theme, and peppered with illustrations, photographs and tips for museum or monument visits, this very first history of south India for children (and their families) tells the thrilling and eventful story of the region's proud past.

Sonic Liturgy
Sonic Liturgy

Author: Guy L. Beck

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press

Published: 2012-12-12

Total Pages: 477

ISBN-13: 1611171083

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Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition builds on the foundation of Guy L. Beck's earlier work, which described the theoretical role of sound in Hindu thought. Sonic Liturgy continues the discussion of sound into the realm of Hindu ritual and musical traditions of worship. Beginning with the chanting of the Sama-Veda alongside the fire sacrifices of the ancient Indo-Aryans and with the classical Gandharva music as outlined in the musicological texts of Bharata and Dattila, Beck establishes a historical foundation for an in-depth understanding of the role of music in the early Puja rituals and Indian theater in the vernacular poetry of the Bhakti movements in medieval temple worship of Siva and Vishnu in southern India, and later in the worship of Krishna in the northern Braj region. By surveying a multitude of worship traditions, Beck reveals a continuous template of interwoven ritual and music in Hindu tradition that he terms "sonic liturgy," a structure of religious worship and experience that incorporates sound and music on many levels. In developing the concept and methods for understanding the phenomenon of sonic liturgy, Beck draws from liturgical studies and ritual studies, broadening the dimensions of each, as well as from recent work in the fields of Indian religion and music. As he maps the evolution of sonic liturgy in Hindu culture, Beck shows how, parallel to the development of religious ritual from ancient times to the present, there is a less understood progression of musical form, beginning with Vedic chants of two to three notes to complicated genres of devotional temple music employing ragas with up to a dozen notes. Sonic liturgy in its maturity is manifest as a complex interactive worship experience of the Vaishnava sects, presented here in Beck's final chapters.