The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples : Materiality, Social History and Practice

This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces. They are significant sites for the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and in the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history and Southeast Asian history. Chapters 1, 4 and 5 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of illustrations List of contributors Preface Introduction: Hindu temples: social histories Section I The temple and royalty 1 Introduction to temple and royalty 2 The sacred geography of a medieval capital: Hampi-Vijayanagara – a case study 3 Beyond the king–brahmana–temple paradigm: mapping the socio-cultural landscape of Hindu temples in central India (c. 4th–6th centuries ce) 4 Constructing temple, constructing power: temple reconstruction process in 10th-century Tamil-speaking South with special emphasis on Govindapputtur Section II Temple rituals 5 Introduction to temples and rituals 6 The stepwell as gift of water: Danadharma 7 Medieval food as deity worship: the elaboration of food offerings in Chola-era ritual practice 8 Social history of the western-himalayan temple: rituals and priests Section III Temple as social space 9 Introduction to temple as social space 10 Methods for murals: temple painting in southeastern India 11 Tirthas, temples and the architecture of Hindu pilgrimage 12 Amour and upahāra in the garbha-gṛḥa: the temple as social space in the Kathāsaritsāgara Section IV Temple landscapes 13 Introduction to temple landscapes 14 Temples of Swat: the Śāhi archaeological landscape of Barikot 15 Shared spaces: cultural landscapes and early Hindu temples in peninsular India 16 Sacred spaces and local places: temples and shrines in the religious landscape of Tekkalakota Section V The temple and beyond 17 Introduction to the temple and beyond 18 Movement across the divine threshold in medieval Tamil Nadu: dynamics and interactions in the space of the temple and beyond 19 Monasticism and the Hindu temple 20 Building belonging: Shaiva temple communities in South and Southeast Asia Section VI The colonial interlude 21 Introduction to the colonial interlude 22 Symbiotic sacred spaces: an indexical study of premodern Malabar 23 From the forest to the valley: temple architecture, landscape and history in Goa 24 The afterlife of temples: western India 25 The remaking of Ramtek Hill under the Yadavas and Bhosles of Nagpur Index "This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history, and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces that are significant sites of the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance, and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history, and Southeast Asian history"-- Provided by publisher How and when did the Hindu temple come to be associated with dynasties, rulers and political processes? The chapter traces the beginning of scholarship on the Hindu temple in the late 19th century and its subsequent 'discovery', nomenclature and listing by colonial archaeologists. In their attempt to construct a political history of India based on texts and inscriptions, scholars used temples as tangible symbols to mark the extent of empires and the political achievement of rulers. The colonial discourse on temples thus set the tone for subsequent scholarship and defined the parameters to study the Hindu temple, such that, even in the present-day scholars continue to underscore the relationship between temples, political legitimization and state formation. The current art historical scholarship continues to engage with the aesthetics and the architecture of the temple thus emphasizing the origins and construction of temples. Finally, the chapter explores new paradigms to study temple inscriptions and sculptures to establish their relationship with the communities which use the temple space