Gods on Earth: The Management of Religious Experience and Identity in a North Indian Pilgrimage Centre (LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS MONOGRAPHS ON SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY)

This book is the result of the long interest in Hindu pilgrimage which was encouraged during his study of Sanskrit and Hinduism It provided a detailed historical anthropology of Ayodhya, which argues that religious values can reflect political and economic processes. This is Volume 59 of the London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology. I. Ayodhya: Time And Place. Introduction ; Sarayu And The Ghats ; The Presence Of Ram ; The Conjunction Of Time And Place ; Ayodhya In History -- Ii. Problems And Perspectives. The Study Of Meaning ; Hinduism: The Orientalist Perspective ; The Study Of Pilgrimage Centre -- Iii. Devotion And Ascetisicm. Introduction ; Tradition And Identity ; Tyagis ; Nagas ; Rasiks ; Conclusion: The Ramanandis, An Open Category -- Iv. The Sacred As A Profession. Introduction ; The Ideal Brahman As An Ideological Construct ; The Formation Of Professional Identities ; Competition And Violence ; Conclusion: Values And Existence -- V. Conclusion -- Appendix 1. Kanak Bhavan, An Example Of A Temple Built By A Raja -- Appendix 2. Caste Temples -- Appendix 3. Rules And Regulations Of Hanumangarhi -- Glossary. Peter Van Der Veer. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [296]-303.