Synopses & Reviews
The inaugural volume of Princeton Readings in Religions brings together the work of thirty scholars of the religions of India in a new anthology designed to reshape the ways in which the religious traditions of India are understood. The book contains translations of forty-five works, most of which have never before been available in a Western language. Many of these highlight types of discourse (especially ritual manuals, folktales, and oral narratives) and voices (vernacular, esoteric, domestic, and female) that have not been sufficiently represented in previous anthologies and standard accounts of Indian religions.
The selections are drawn from ancient texts, medieval manuscripts, modern pamphlets, and contemporary fieldwork in rural and urban India. They represent every region in South Asia and include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Muslim materials. Some are written texts reflecting elite concerns, while others are transcriptions of oral narratives told by nonliterate peasants. Some texts are addressed to a public and pan-Indian audience, others to a limited coterie of initiates in an esoteric sect, and still others are intended for a few women gathered in the courtyard for a household ceremony. The editor has reinforced this diversity by arranging the selections within several overarching themes and categories of discourse (hymns, rituals, narratives, and religious interactions), and encourages us to make our own connections.
Review
"The very nature of this anthology suggests that the contemporary student be taught to learn in the context of uncertain borders, of conflicting and of ambiguous worlds. . . . The Religions of India in Practice should be in the hands of every teacher-scholar of religions in India and then in the hands of their students."--The Journal of Asian Studies
Review
"A volume in the valuable series of Princeton Readings in Religion.... [A] most useful set of penetrating studies ... their writers are among the most prominent scholars in the field."--The Journal of Indo-European Studies
Review
The very nature of this anthology suggests that the contemporary student be taught to learn in the context of uncertain borders, of conflicting and of ambiguous worlds. . . . The Religions of India in Practice should be in the hands of every teacher-scholar of religions in India and then in the hands of their students. The Journal of Asian Studies
Review
A volume in the valuable series of Princeton Readings in Religion.... [A] most useful set of penetrating studies ... their writers are among the most prominent scholars in the field. The Journal of Indo-European Studies
Synopsis
The inaugural volume of Princeton Readings in Religions brings together the work of thirty scholars of the religions of India in a new anthology designed to reshape the ways in which the religious traditions of India are understood. The book contains translations of forty-five works, most of which have never before been available in a Western language. Many of these highlight types of discourse (especially ritual manuals, folktales, and oral narratives) and voices (vernacular, esoteric, domestic, and female) that have not been sufficiently represented in previous anthologies and standard accounts of Indian religions.
The selections are drawn from ancient texts, medieval manuscripts, modern pamphlets, and contemporary fieldwork in rural and urban India. They represent every region in South Asia and include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Muslim materials. Some are written texts reflecting elite concerns, while others are transcriptions of oral narratives told by nonliterate peasants. Some texts are addressed to a public and pan-Indian audience, others to a limited coterie of initiates in an esoteric sect, and still others are intended for a few women gathered in the courtyard for a household ceremony. The editor has reinforced this diversity by arranging the selections within several overarching themes and categories of discourse (hymns, rituals, narratives, and religious interactions), and encourages us to make our own connections.
Table of Contents
| Princeton Readings in Religions | |
| Note on Transliteration | |
| Contents by Traditions | |
| Contributors | |
| Introduction | 3 |
1 | Bengali Songs to Kali | 55 |
2 | Kabir | 77 |
3 | Poems of Tukaram | 92 |
4 | The Litany of Names of Manjusri | 104 |
5 | Sikh Hymns to the Divine Name | 126 |
6 | Devotional Hymns from the Sanskrit | 133 |
7 | Tamil Game Songs to Siva | 145 |
8 | In Praise of Muhammad: Sindhi and Urdu Poems | 159 |
9 | Baul Songs | 187 |
10 | Tamil Songs to God as Child | 209 |
11 | The Power of Mantra: A Story of the Five Protectors | 227 |
12 | Royal Temple Dedications | 235 |
13 | How to Partake in the Love of Krsna | 244 |
14 | Women's Songs for Auspicious Occasions | 269 |
15 | The Ocean of Mercury: An Eleventh-Century Alchemical Text | 281 |
16 | Predicting the Future with Dogs | 288 |
17 | How To Worship at Siva's Temple | 304 |
18 | The Order for Khalsa Initiation | 321 |
19 | The Rite of Veneration of Jina Images | 326 |
20 | The Vaisnava Sahajiya Traditions of Medieval Bengal | 333 |
21 | The Goddess Sasthi Protects Children | 352 |
22 | Women's Celebration of Muhammad's Birth | 367 |
23 | The Rescue of Two Drunkards | 375 |
24 | Encountering the Smallpox Goddess: The Auspicious Song of Sitala | 389 |
25 | The Wonders of Sri Mastnath | 399 |
26 | Jain Stories Inspiring Renunciation | 412 |
27 | A Holy Woman of Calcutta | 418 |
28 | Jain Stories of Miraculous Power | 426 |
29 | Mother Ten's Stories | 434 |
30 | The Life of Guru Nanak | 449 |
31 | The Autobiography of a Female Renouncer | 462 |
32 | The Prince with Six Fingers | 473 |
33 | How a Girl Became a Sacred Plant | 487 |
34 | Lives of Sufi Saints | 495 |
35 | Conversations of Sufi Saints | 513 |
36 | Teachings of Two Punjabi Sufi Poets | 518 |
37 | Ascetic Withdrawal or Social Engagement | 533 |
38 | The Bodhisattva Vajrapani's Subjugation of Siva | 547 |
39 | India as a Sacred Islamic Land | 556 |
40 | The Exemplary Devotion of the "Servant of Hari" | 564 |
41 | Satya Pir: Muslim Holy Man and Hindu God | 578 |
42 | Jain Questions and Answers: Who Is God and How Is He Worshiped? | 598 |
43 | Esoteric Knowledge and the Tradition of the Preceptors | 609 |
44 | The Rebuilding of a Hindu Temple | 627 |
45 | The Origin of Linga Worship | 637 |
| Index | 649 |