Gods on Earth: The Management of Religious Experience and Identity in a North Indian Pilgrimage Centre (LSE 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. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Note on transliteration 9 Maps 10 Preface 12 I Ayodhya: Time and Place 18 1 Introduction 18 2 Sarayu and the ghats 26 3 The presence of Ram 35 4 The conjunction of time and place 45 5 Ayodhya in history 51 II Problems and Perspectives 61 1 The study of meaning 61 2 Hinduism: the orientalist perspective 69 3 The study of a pilgrimage centre 75 III Devotion and Ascetisicm 83 1 Introduction 83 2 Tradition and Identity 102 3 Tyagis 124 4 Nagas 147 5 Rasiks 176 6 Conclusion: The Ramanandis, an open category 189 IV The sacred as a profession 200 1 Introduction 200 2 The ideal Brahman as an ideological construct 206 3 The formation of professional identities 228 4 Competition and Violence 258 5 Conclusion: Values and Existence 276 V Conclusion 285 Appendix 1 Kanak Bhavan, an example of a temple built by a raja 290 Appendix 2 Caste temples 292 Appendix 3 Rules and regulations of Hanumangarhi 294 Notes 298 Bibliography 313 Glossary 321 Index 323