Hayagrīva In South India: Complexity And Selectivity Of A Pan-indian Hindu Deity (brill's Indological Library)

This book is about how mythology may be purposively adapted in the service of theology. It does so at the hand of Hayagrīva, since the 14th century C.E. revered as a full form of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu in the local Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition of South India, but originally a relatively minor pan-Indian deity. Convincingly laying bare the complexity in respect of the pan-Indian images of Hayagrīva, it makes clear that there is no single unilinear history of this deity. It subsequently reconstructs the 'Śrīnivaiṣṇava History' of Hayagrīva, and brings out the selectivity involved in borrowing materials from the pan-Indian and local levels. Amidst the incredible complexity encountered here, this study exposes, however, that the emblems and functions of different images show continuity, although a god's status may change according to the sect Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface PART ONE INTRODUCTION Chapter One Tracing the Development of Hayagrīva: From Minor Pan-Indian Deity to Supreme God in the South PART TWO COMPLEXITY IN THE MOTIFS AND PATTERNS OF A HINDU DEITY: HAYAGRĪVA'S STATUS IN THE PAN-INDIAN TRADITION Chapter Two Antecedents of the Horse-headed Figure: The Śruti Texts or the Indigenous Tribes of Assam? Chapter Three Mythic Transformation in the Pan-Indian Tradition: Hayagrīva in the Smṛti Texts Chapter Four Change and Continuity in Hindu Sectarian Traditions: Temple Rituals Concerning Hayagrīva in the Āgamas PART THREE SELECTIVITY IN THE REGIONAL DEPICTIONS OF A PAN-INDIAN DEITY: HAYAGRĪVA IN TAMIL NADU Chapter Five Tamil Devotionalism: Hayagrīva in the Hymns of the Āḻvārs and an Early Śrīvaiṣṇava Ācārya Chapter Six Vedānta Deśika's Hayagrīva Stotra: Topotheism and the Lord of Light and Learning Chapter Seven The Living Tradition at Tiruvahīndrapuram: Topotheism and the Vaṭakalai Worship of Hayagrīva Chapter Eight The Linking of Regional Devotion to Pan-Indian Religion: Five Short Āgamic Ritual Texts on Hayagrīva PART FOUR SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Chapter Nine Myth in the Service of Theology: Selectivity Amid Complexity in the Śrīvaiṣṇava Image and Worship of Hayagrīva Glossary Bibliography Index