The Hindu Monastery in South India: Social, Religious, and Artistic Traditions

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Description

Drawing on both textual and archaeological evidence, this study offers an integrated approach to scholarly debates on monasteries and guru relics in South India between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. This study analyzes the role of the guru in the development of Hindu monastic orders, from centers of education to institutions of traditional authority. Focusing on the complex socio-religious context of the whole-body icon, the author analyzes the relic as a nexus of contradictions surrounding sacredness and death.

Reviews

In her praiseworthy work, Nalini Rao integrates archival, archaeological, and textual references to historically ground the contribution of the monastic institutions in Karnataka. With her innovative research, Dr. Rao highlights how the monasteries kept traditional knowledge and practices alive in medieval times. In the wake of cosmopolitan spirituality, this study is timely, not only because it traces the monasteries struggles to keep traditional education vibrant, but also because it traces the historical origins of several contemporary guru movements. -- Sthaneshwar Timalsina, San Diego State University
Nalini Rao skillfully examines three distinct types of maha: those dedicated to the Advaita teachings established by ankarcrya, others devoted to the Viidvaita teachings of Rmnuja, and a third group created in the Dvaita spirit of loving devotion to the family of iva or the many incarnations of Vishnu. She presents the first scholarly analysis of the vndvana, the distinct structure that houses in salt the uncremated remains of a revered teacher whose breath and soul have departed the body. This book is highly recommended as an example of the importance of material culture in understanding religion. -- Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University

Author Bio

Nalini Rao is professor of world art at Soka University of America.