The Head Beneath the Altar
The Head Beneath the Altar

Author: Brian Collins

Publisher: MSU Press

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1628950129

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In the beginning, says the ancient Hindu text the Rg Veda, was man. And from man’s sacrifice and dismemberment came the entire world, including the hierarchical ordering of human society. The Head Beneath the Altar is the first book to present a wide-ranging study of Hindu texts read through the lens of René Girard’s mimetic theory of the sacrificial origin of religion and culture. For those interested in Girard and comparative religion, the book also performs a careful reading of Girard’s work, drawing connections between his thought and the work of theorists like Georges Dumézil and Giorgio Agamben. Brian Collins examines the idea of sacrifice from the earliest recorded rituals through the flowering of classical mythology and the ancient Indian institutions of the duel, the oath, and the secret warrior society. He also uncovers implicit and explicit critiques in the tradition, confirming Girard’s intuition that Hinduism offers an alternative anti-sacrificial worldview to the one contained in the gospels.

The Other Rāma
The Other Rāma

Author: Brian Collins

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2020-10-01

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1438480407

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The Other Rāma presents a systematic analysis of the myth cycle of Paraśurāma ("Rāma with the Axe"), an avatára of Viṣṇu best known for decapitating his own mother and annihilating twenty-one generations of the Kṣatriya warrior caste in an extermination campaign frequently referred to as "genocide" by modern scholars. Compared to Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the other human forms of Viṣṇu, Paraśurāma has a much darker reputation, with few temples devoted to him and scant worshippers. He has also attracted far less scholarly attention. But dozens of important castes and clans across the subcontinent claim Paraśurāma as the originator of their bloodline, and his mother, Reṇukā, is worshipped in the form of a severed head throughout South India. Using the tools of comparative mythology and psychoanalysis, Brian Collins identifies three major motifs in the mythology of Paraśurāma: his hybrid status as a Brahmin warrior, his act of matricide, and his bloody one-man war to cleanse the earth of Kṣatriyas. Collins considers a wide variety of representations of the myth, from its origins in the Mahābhārata to contemporary debates online. He also examines Paraśurāma alongside the Wandering Jew of European legend and Psycho's matricidal serial killer Norman Bates. He examines why mythmakers once elevated this transgressive and antisocial figure to the level of an avatāra and why he still holds such fascination for a world that continues to grapple with mass killings and violence against women.

Revelation
Revelation

Author:

Publisher: Canongate Books

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 0857861018

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The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Trapped at the Altar
Trapped at the Altar

Author: Jane Feather

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-07-22

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1476703760

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New York Times bestselling author and “consummate storyteller” (RT Book Reviews) Jane Feather weaves a sizzling series that moves from the remote wilds of southwest England to the turbulent royal court, following a young woman who is forced into marriage in order to unite two families—and discovers a most unexpected passion. Ariadne Carfax has vowed to be with the man she loves, Gabriel Fawcett. There’s just one obstacle. On his deathbed, Ari’s grandfather decrees that she marry her childhood friend Ivor Chalfont, thus forging a powerful alliance between the two warring families. Giving Ari no time to protest, the elders plan her wedding the next day, forcing her to follow through on the nuptials. Though she is fond of Ivor, Ari has no intention of consummating their marriage—until he kindles an intoxicating desire that she can’t ignore. Ivor has loved Ari for years, but he doesn’t want an unwilling wife. He wants Ari to ache with the same irresistible longing he feels. And if that’s the way to woo her into his bed and into their new life, he won’t rest until his new bride surrenders to true love.

Lies at the Altar
Lies at the Altar

Author: Dr. Robin L. Smith

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2006-05-09

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 140138448X

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Psychologist Dr. Robin Smith reveals how to turn vows made at the altar into realistic plans for a long and happy marriage. Dr. Robin Smith advises couples on how to take the wedding vows that were made in earnest and in innocence, to a level where they can be used to build a happy, healthy, satisfying and long-lasting marriage. Lies at the Altar is for couples who are planning marriage, are newly married, or who have been married for years. In Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages, Dr. Robin Smith addresses the unspoken needs, unasked questions, outrageous expectations, and hidden agendas that often linger beneath the surface of the wedding vows and appear later to cause power struggles, suffering, and feelings of hopelessness in marriages. Dr. Smith discusses why it's important to have one's "eyes wide open" in a marriage; how to write true vows to live by; and why it's never too late to rewrite your vows. She illustrates her advice with detailed stories from her own life, as well as from couples that she has counseled. And in her inspiring conclusion, she invites couples to light up their lives by acknowledging each other as individuals, each of whom lights a candle, and who lights a third candle which represents "us". Calling "truth" the secret ingredient of great marriages, Dr. Smith teaches individuals and couples how to find the truth within themselves and their partners, whether they are heading to the altar, suffering in an unhappy marriage, divorced, or simply want to bring more satisfaction and intimacy into their relationship.

Cormyr A Novel
Cormyr A Novel

Author: Ed Greenwood

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Published: 2012-01-17

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0786962070

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The epic historical saga of the most powerful nation in the Forgotten Realms— as told by the world's co-creators Aided and abetted by a powerful family of wizards, the Obarskyr family has ruled Cormyr since its inception one and a half millennia ago. Now, Cormyr's benevolent king, Azoun IV, lies overcome by a deadly malady from which he may not recover. When the vultures begin to circle, hoping to usurp the throne for their own, many question the loyalty of the king’s wizard and advisor, Vangerdahast. It is against this crisis of state that the history of the Forest Kingdom unfolds, relaying the previously untold story of a nation, its rulers, and its wizards.