Śiva's saints: the origins of devotion in Kannada according to Harihara's Ragaḷegaḷu
"This book takes a pioneering approach to understanding the origins of the Vīrasaiva / Lingāyata tradition by considering for the first time in English-language scholarship a major collection of hagiographies about the twelfth-century devotees, which was produced very soon after their purported...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
New York, NY
Oxford University Press
[2018]
|
| In: | Year: 2018 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Lingayats
B Harihara, Hampeya / Lingayats B Karnataka / Lingayats / Bhakti / Beginning (Place) |
| RelBib Classification: | BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism |
| Further subjects: | B
Lingayat literature, Kannada
History and criticism
B Harihara, Hampeya Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷegaḷu B Harihara, Hampeya B Lingayats History South Asia B Devotional literature, Kannada History and criticism |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
|
| Summary: | "This book takes a pioneering approach to understanding the origins of the Vīrasaiva / Lingāyata tradition by considering for the first time in English-language scholarship a major collection of hagiographies about the twelfth-century devotees, which was produced very soon after their purported activities. The tradition, which developed over the last eight centuries in the Kannada-speaking region of the Deccan plateau in India, holds a unique place in Hindu society. Its members do not adhere to the hierarchical structures of Brahminical-centered society, and they practice a distinct set of rituals, such as carrying a personal linga (an emblem of the Hindu god Siva) on their body and worshiping it individually (as well as in groups), burying and not cremating their dead, and more"-- "Comprising more than twelve million people and renowned for their resistance to Brahminical values, the Virasaivas are a vibrant and unorthodox religious community with a provocative socio-political voice. The Virasaiva tradition has produced a vast and original body of literature, composed mostly in Kannada, a Dravidian language from south India. Siva's Saints introduces a previously unexplored and central primary work produced in the early thirteenth century, the Ragalegalu. This was the first narrative text written about the incipient devotional tradition dedicated to the god Siva in the Kannada-speaking regions; through stories of the saints, it images the life of this new religious community. The Ragalegalu inaugurated a new era in the production of devotional narratives accessible to wide audiences. Gil Ben-Herut challenges common notions about this tradition in its nascent phases. By closely reading the saints' stories in this text, Siva's Saints takes a more nuanced historical view than commonly-held notions about the egalitarian and iconoclastic nature of the early tradition, arguing instead that early bhakti (devotionalism) in the Kannada-speaking region was less-radical and more accommodating toward traditional religious, social, and political institutions than thought of today. In contrast to the narrowly sectarian and exclusionary vision that shapes later accounts, the Ragalegalu is characterized by an opposite impulse of offering an open invitation to people from all walks of life, and their stories illustrate the richness of their devotional lives. Analysis of this seminal text yields important insights into the role of literary representation of the social and political development of a religious community in a pre-modern and non-Western milieu."-- |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-257) and index |
| ISBN: | 0190878843 |