The Mahotsavavidhi, a twelfth-century Sanskrit text, provides detailed guidelines for a Saiva temple priest in performing a nine-day "great festival" for the god Siva. The author, Aghorasiva, is one of the most esteemed and influential authors in the Saiva Siddhanta school, and his lengthy work on ritual procedures, Kriyakramadyotika, (of which the Mahotsavavidhi is a part), is by all accounts the Agama work most employed by modern temple priests and pious Saivas in their practice of worship. Richard Davis's translation of this important text is the first translation into a European language of any medieval work on temple festivals. Because the text was intended for an expert audience of working twelfth-century priests, Aghorasiva employs a highly technical idiom. For that reason, Davis annotates his translation extensively with explanations and expansions drawn from other Agama works. There have been numerous studies of temple festivals and processions based on ethnographic observations and on recent historical data, but the historical study of this dramatic religious practice during earlier periods has relied on speculation. Davis's groundbreaking volume will provide a new foundation for the study of the history of South Indian temple festivals as a cultural practice.

A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival Aghorasiva's Mahotsavavidhi (South Asia Research)

History

Davis, Richard H.

Asia

Oxford University Press

Book by Davis, Richard H., Davis, James

Tv's Image of the Elderly: A Practical Guide for Change

Politics & Social Sciences

DAVIS, JAMES

Social Sciences

Lexington Books

For many centuries, Hindus have taken it for granted that the religious images they place in temples and home shrines for purposes of worship are alive. Hindu priests bring them to life through a complex ritual "establishment" that invokes the god or goddess into material support. Priests and devotees then maintain the enlivened image as a divine person through ongoing liturgical activity: they must awaken it in the morning, bathe it, dress it, feed it, entertain it, praise it, and eventually put it to bed at night. In this linked series of case studies of Hindu religious objects, Richard Davis argues that in some sense these believers are correct: through ongoing interactions with humans, religious objects are brought to life.
Davis draws largely on reader-response literary theory and anthropological approaches to the study of objects in society in order to trace the biographies of Indian religious images over many centuries. He shows that Hindu priests and worshipers are not the only ones to enliven images. Bringing with them differing religious assumptions, political agendas, and economic motivations, others may animate the very same objects as icons of sovereignty, as polytheistic "idols," as "devils," as potentially lucrative commodities, as objects of sculptural art, or as symbols for a whole range of new meanings never foreseen by the images' makers or original worshipers.

Lives of Indian Images

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Princeton University Press

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping Siva in Medieval India (Princeton Legacy Library)

Saiva liturgy is performed in a world that oscillates: a world permeated by the presence of Siva, where humans live in a condition of bondage and where the highest aim of the soul is to attain liberation from its fetters. In this account of Indian temple ritual, Richard Davis uses medieval Hindu texts to describe the world as it is envisioned by Saiva siddhanta and the way daily worship reflects and acts within that world. He argues that this worship is not simply a set of ritualized gestures, but rather a daily catechism in which the worshiper puts into action all the major themes of Saiva philosophy: the cyclic pattern of cosmic emission and reabsorption, the human path of attaining liberation, the manifestation of divinity in the world, and the proper interrelationship of humanity and god. In re-creating the convictions and intentions of a well-versed worshiper of the twelfth century, Davis moves back and forth between philosophical and ritual texts, demonstrating the fundamental Saiva belief that the capacities of humans to know about the world and to act within it are two inter-related modalities of the unitary power of consciousness.\nOriginally published in 1991.\nThe Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Hinduism

The life and times of India's most famous spiritual and literary masterpiece
The Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the most famous of all Indian scriptures, is universally regarded as one of the world's spiritual and literary masterpieces. Richard Davis tells the story of this venerable and enduring book, from its origins in ancient India to its reception today as a spiritual classic that has been translated into more than seventy-five languages. The Gita opens on the eve of a mighty battle, when the warrior Arjuna is overwhelmed by despair and refuses to fight. He turns to his charioteer, Krishna, who counsels him on why he must. In the dialogue that follows, Arjuna comes to realize that the true battle is for his own soul.
Davis highlights the place of this legendary dialogue in classical Indian culture, and then examines how it has lived on in diverse settings and contexts. He looks at the medieval devotional traditions surrounding the divine character of Krishna and traces how the Gita traveled from India to the West, where it found admirers in such figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Aldous Huxley. Davis explores how Indian nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda used the Gita in their fight against colonial rule, and how contemporary interpreters reanimate and perform this classical work for audiences today.
An essential biography of a timeless masterpiece, this book is an ideal introduction to the Gita and its insights into the struggle for self-mastery that we all must wage.

The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books)

World

Saiva liturgy is performed in a world that oscillates: a world permeated by the presence of Siva, where humans live in a condition of bondage and where the highest aim of the soul is to attain liberation from its fetters. In this account of Indian temple ritual, Richard Davis uses medieval Hindu texts to describe the world as it is envisioned by Saiva siddhanta and the way daily worship reflects and acts within that world. He argues that this worship is not simply a set of ritualized gestures, but rather a daily catechism in which the worshiper puts into action all the major themes of Saiva philosophy: the cyclic pattern of cosmic emission and reabsorption, the human path of attaining liberation, the manifestation of divinity in the world, and the proper interrelationship of humanity and god. In re-creating the convictions and intentions of a well-versed worshiper of the twelfth century, Davis moves back and forth between philosophical and ritual texts, demonstrating the fundamental Saiva belief that the capacities of humans to know about the world and to act within it are two inter-related modalities of the unitary power of consciousness.Originally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Saiva liturgy is performed in a world that oscillates: a world permeated by the presence of Siva, where humans live in a condition of bondage and where the highest aim of the soul is to attain liberation from its fetters. In this account of Indian temple ritual, Richard Davis uses medieval Hindu texts to describe the world as it is envisioned by Saiva siddhanta and the way daily worship reflects and acts within that world. He argues that this worship is not simply a set of ritualized gestures, but rather a daily catechism in which the worshiper puts into action all the major themes of Saiva philosophy: the cyclic pattern of cosmic emission and reabsorption, the human path of attaining liberation, the manifestation of divinity in the world, and the proper interrelationship of humanity and god. In re-creating the convictions and intentions of a well-versed worshiper of the twelfth century, Davis moves back and forth between philosophical and ritual texts, demonstrating the fundamental Saiva belief that the capacities of humans to know about the world and to act within it are two inter-related modalities of the unitary power of consciousness.Originally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

By focusing on traders, missionaries, warriors, and adventurers―the four types of agents who are responsible for globalizing processes― this highly accessible volume brings analytical coherence and clarity to an unwieldy subject matter. In addition to excellent coverage of more familiar topics such as India’s sea trade with Rome, the proselytizing efforts of Ashoka and other Indian kings, or the migration of the Yueh-chih people, Davis adds valuable analyses of story literature, the Ramayana epic, and Buddhist art. Global India circa 100 CE is an entertaining introduction to India’s international interactions and conceptions that will greatly benefit teachers and students of world history as well as ancient Asia.

Global India circa 100 CE (Key Issues in Asian Studies)

Association for Asian Studies

History, it is said, cannot be studied without reflecting on the practice of historians who narrate it. The articles in this volume introduce readers to the writings of four scholars who study the subject of temple desecration in interesting and different ways. They focus on the ways in which historians study the political culture, events, historical narratives, material remains and aesthetic norms of a time very distant from us. Through their focus on the theme of temple desecration, a subject of considerable import in political rhetoric today, these essays also underline how easily history can be subverted to serve narrow, cynical ends. At a time when history has become so important in the making of the nation s identity, the articles in this book invite the readers to pause and reflect on the craft of history, the exciting and engaging conclusions to which it can lead and the worrying ends to which it can also be nudged. Contents: Introduction Sunil Kumar Indian Art Objects as Loot Richard H. Davis Soman tha: Narratives of a History Romila Thapar Temple Desecration in Pre-Modern India Richard Eaton Islam, Iconoclasm and the Early Indian Mosque Finbarr B. Flood Appendix: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee s Address to the Public Meeting at Somnath on October 31, 2001 Select Bibliography

Demolishing Myths or Mosques and Temples?: Readings on History and Temple Desecration in Medieval India

Thapar, Romila

Eaton, Richard M.

Kumar (Editor), Sunil

Flood, Finbarr B.

Three Essays Collective

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Richard H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Davis, Richard H.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Richard H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival Aghorasiva's Mahotsavavidhi (South Asia Research)

Tv's Image of the Elderly: A Practical Guide for Change

Lives of Indian Images

Lives of Indian Images

Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping Siva in Medieval India (Princeton Legacy Library)

The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books)

Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping Siva in Medieval India (Princeton Legacy Library)

Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping Siva in Medieval India (Princeton Legacy Library)

Global India circa 100 CE (Key Issues in Asian Studies)

Demolishing Myths or Mosques and Temples?: Readings on History and Temple Desecration in Medieval India