Ayodhya - City of Faith - Demy Hb -
Ayodhya - City of Faith - Demy Hb -

Author: Valay Singh

Publisher: Rupa

Published: 2017-01-03

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9789388292245

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In one sense, the history of Ayodhya is a microcosm of the history of the north Indian heartland. In another sense, it is a history of the evolution of Vaishnavism in the Hindu consciousness. In a third sense, it stands for the formation and propagation of an aggressive Hindu cultural and religious consciousness that can be traced all the way back to the advent of the East India Company as a military power in north India in the eighteenth century. Over the last two decades or so, a singular fixation on corruption and misgovernance has cloaked the rise of communalism and majoritarianism. In India today, secularism and socialism have become contemptible ideas that many liberals have stopped defending. In this sense Ayodhya has come to stand for ground zero in the battle between secularism and religious fundamentalism in India. One city, many histories.

Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Author: Denise Cush

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 1130

ISBN-13: 1135189781

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The Encyclopedia of Hinduism contains over 900 entries reflecting recent advances in scholarship which have raised new theoretical and methodological issues as well as identifying new areas of study which have not been addressed previously. The debate over the term 'Hinduism' in the light of post-Orientalist critiques is just one example of how once standard academic frameworks have been called into question. Entries range from 150-word definitions of terms and concepts to 5,000-word in-depth investigations of major topics. The Encyclopedia covers all aspects of Hinduism but departs from other works in including more ethnographic and contemporary material in contrast to an exclusively textual and historical approach. It includes a broad range of subject matter such as: historical developments (among them nineteenth and twentieth century reform and revival); geographical distribution (especially the diaspora); major and minor movements; philosophies and theologies; scriptures; deities; temples and sacred sites; pilgrimages; festivals; rites of passage; worship; religious arts (sculpture, architecture, music, dance, etc.); religious sciences (e.g. astrology); biographies of leading figures; local and regional traditions; caste and untouchability; feminism and women's religion; nationalism and the Hindu radical right; and new religious movements. The history of study and the role of important scholars past and present are also discussed. Accessibility to all levels of reader has been a priority and no previous knowledge is assumed. However, the in-depth larger entries and the design of the work in line with the latest scholarly advances means that the volume will be of considerable interest to specialists. The whole is cross-referenced and bibliographies attach to the larger entries. There is a full index.

Ashoka in Ancient India
Ashoka in Ancient India

Author: Nayanjot Lahiri

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2015-08-05

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0674915259

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In the third century BCE, Ashoka ruled an empire encompassing much of modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. During his reign, Buddhism proliferated across the South Asian subcontinent, and future generations of Asians came to see him as the ideal Buddhist king. Disentangling the threads of Ashoka’s life from the knot of legend that surrounds it, Nayanjot Lahiri presents a vivid biography of this extraordinary Indian emperor and deepens our understanding of a legacy that extends beyond the bounds of Ashoka’s lifetime and dominion. At the center of Lahiri’s account is the complex personality of the Maurya dynasty’s third emperor—a strikingly contemplative monarch, at once ambitious and humane, who introduced a unique style of benevolent governance. Ashoka’s edicts, carved into rock faces and stone pillars, reveal an eloquent ruler who, unusually for the time, wished to communicate directly with his people. The voice he projected was personal, speaking candidly about the watershed events in his life and expressing his regrets as well as his wishes to his subjects. Ashoka’s humanity is conveyed most powerfully in his tale of the Battle of Kalinga. Against all conventions of statecraft, he depicts his victory as a tragedy rather than a triumph—a shattering experience that led him to embrace the Buddha’s teachings. Ashoka in Ancient India breathes new life into a towering figure of the ancient world, one who, in the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, “was greater than any king or emperor.”

A Narrative of the Mission Sent by the Governor-general of India to the Court of Ava in 1855
A Narrative of the Mission Sent by the Governor-general of India to the Court of Ava in 1855

Author: Sir Henry Yule

Publisher:

Published: 1858

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13:

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In December 1852, at the conclusion of the second Anglo-Burmese War, the British annexed the southern and coastal regions of Burma (known as Lower Burma). Pagan Min, and later his brother Mindon Min, continued to rule Upper Burma. In 1855, Arthur Phayre, the British commissioner for the annexed territories, visited the court of Ava in Upper Burma as part of an effort to improve relations with Mindon. Henry Yule was secretary to Phayre and accompanied him on the mission. This work, written by Yule, is a modified version of the mission's report, based on Phayre's journals and Yule's own observations and impressions. The work includes detailed maps and drawings, and remains an extraordinarily valuable source for the study of the history, geography, arts, religion, and culture of Burma. A long chapter is devoted to the ruins of the ancient city of Bagan (then known as Pagan) and its temples, as they were found by the mission in 1855.

Archaeology in Practice
Archaeology in Practice

Author: Jane Balme

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2009-02-09

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1405148861

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Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to ArchaeologicalAnalyses offers students in archaeology laboratory courses adetailed and invaluable how-to manual of archaeological methods andprovides insight into the breadth of modern archaeology. Written by specialists of material analyses, whose expertiserepresents a broad geographic range Includes numerous examples of applications of archaeologicaltechniques Organized by material types, such as animal bones, ceramics,stone artifacts, and documentary sources, or by themes, such asdating, ethics, and report writing Written accessibly and amply referenced to provide readers witha guide to further resources on techniques and theirapplications Enlivened by a range of boxed case studies throughout the maintext