Nilima Chitgopekar

This paper is the outcome of an international conference on Yoginis held in Trondeim , Norway. The essay has studied some inscriptions from Madhya Pradesh, India, pertaining to the period c 9th -12th century CE, to locate the presence of Yoginis in epigraphic material .

The author has done an in epth study of the presence of Shivaism in the area of the modern day state of Madhya Pradesh from circa 550 -1200 CE. She has looked at around 300 inscriptions, the Puranas and sculptural antiquities, to reconstruct the history and the salient features of Shivaism. The monograph consists of several plates and tables providing details of the same.

Indian Demonology deals with demonology in Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, epic and Puranic sources. The south Indian tradition of demons is also apparently rich and interesting but has not been referred to, and one may wonder if the use of ’Indian’ in the title is just a trifle misleading. It is asserted in the blurb that Indian demonology has been presented in its entirety on the basis of original materials for the first time. In fact, there have been significant studies in the past on individual ’demons’ such as Asuras and Yaksas, as well as on abstract notions connected with demons. The present book deals at length with myths and legends pertaining to various kinds of celestial, aerial and terrestrial demoniacal beings. The author, N.N. Bhattacharyya does not need any introduction to students of Indian religion, having written tomes on various aspects ranging from Tantrism to Buddhism to ideas regarding rituals. In this monograph, the exhaustive list of demons includes Dasas, Dasyus, Asuras, Daityas, Danavas, Raksasas, Yatudhanas, Vidyadharas, Gandharvas, Yaksas and Mdtrkas, among others. That demon-lore has played a crucial role in different aspects of Indian religions is not in question, but whether this vast array of different beings can be placed under the genera of ’demons’ is open to question. Can this be said to be a case of an injudicious application of Western concepts to the Indian situation? It would have been useful if the author had mentioned the criteria on the basis of which all these beings have been classified as demons, for the list seems somewhat arbitrary. Moreover, should not deities like Rudrawho appear to have certain demoniacal traits in the Rg Veda-be included in the list along with the others? The author attempts to grapple with the problem by stating that there is no clear-cut demarcation between demons and gods, and that

The Shivanandalahari is a text replete with bhakti attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, dated c. eighth century. A text of a hundred verses, it gives us insight as to what the bhakta longs for, what are his expectations and what relationship he has with his chosen deity, that is Shiva. It indicates the myths that were known and popular at that time and how the devotee analyses those myths for his own purposes. In this essay the author has attempted an in depth study of the verses, studying the epithets, the relationships with rival divinities and the position of Shiva himself in the mind of the devotee.

The Shivanandalahari is a text replete with bhakti attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, dated c. eighth century. A text of a hundred verses, it gives us insight as to what the bhakta longs for, what are his expectations and what relationship he has with his chosen deity, that is Shiva. It indicates the myths that were known and popular at that time and how the devotee analyses those myths for his own purposes. In this essay the author has attempted an in depth study of the verses, studying the epithets, the relationships with rival divinities and the position of Shiva himself in the mind of the devotee.

The Shivanandalahari is a text replete with bhakti attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, dated c. eighth century. A text of a hundred verses, it gives us insight as to what the bhakta longs for, what are his expectations and what relationship he has with his chosen deity, that is Shiva. It indicates the myths that were known and popular at that time and how the devotee analyses those myths for his own purposes. In this essay the author has attempted an in depth study of the verses, studying the epithets, the relationships with rival divinities and the position of Shiva himself in the mind of the devotee.

The author has done an in epth study of the presence of Shivaism in the area of the modern day state of Madhya Pradesh from circa 550 -1200 CE. She has looked at around 300 inscriptions, the Puranas and sculptural antiquities, to reconstruct the history and the salient features of Shivaism. The monograph consists of several plates and tables providing details of the same.

Indian Demonology deals with demonology in Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, epic and Puranic sources. The south Indian tradition of demons is also apparently rich and interesting but has not been referred to, and one may wonder if the use of ’Indian’ in the title is just a trifle misleading. It is asserted in the blurb that Indian demonology has been presented in its entirety on the basis of original materials for the first time. In fact, there have been significant studies in the past on individual ’demons’ such as Asuras and Yaksas, as well as on abstract notions connected with demons. The present book deals at length with myths and legends pertaining to various kinds of celestial, aerial and terrestrial demoniacal beings. The author, N.N. Bhattacharyya does not need any introduction to students of Indian religion, having written tomes on various aspects ranging from Tantrism to Buddhism to ideas regarding rituals. In this monograph, the exhaustive list of demons includes Dasas, Dasyus, Asu...

women (even upper-caste women like Rashsundari), without giving up their ’lowliness’, could find in this ’lowliness’ itself a precondition for salvation within the parameters of the Vaishnav faith. The paradoxes allowed them this space within Vaishnavism. For Rashsundari, it is this cherished space that also becomes the locus of her act of transgression. Sarkar’s thesis seems to me to be very interesting, particularly because it is able to capture the complexities of and tensions within the solitary enterprise for literacy that Rashsundari undertook. Her explorations are specific to Rashsundari’s social-historical context. At the same time, Sarkar avoids falling into the trap of regarding religious tradition as a totally autonomous and unbreachable category. Her analysis of the text strikes the right balance.

Hindu Images and their Worship with Special Reference to Vaisnavism: A Philosophical–Theological Inquiry, by Julius J. Lipner. Abingdon: Routledge, 2017. 260pp. £120 (hb), £36.99 (pb). ISBN: 978-1-138-29113-3 (hb), ISBN: 978-0-367-42706-1 (pb).

This paper is the outcome of an international conference on Yoginis held in Trondeim , Norway. The essay has studied some inscriptions from Madhya Pradesh, India, pertaining to the period c 9th -12th century CE, to locate the presence of Yoginis in epigraphic material .

In this introductory essay I have attempted to give a synoptic view of the study of goddesses, within  the framework of gender in the Indic world.  This book is compulsory reading for the undergraduate students of Dellhi University, who study 'Gender and History'.

The book endeavours  to signify a way by  which the development of religion may be studied  within the parametres of a context. It takes cognizance of the evolution of Siva's pantheon  through the fluid processes of cultural coalescence . The agencies of acculturation include the visual and the literary material . Art is looked  at as an index to socio- religio  change at  macro and the micro level  without restricting the study to specific doctrinal and theological developments , the focus has been on the rationale of religious developments in terms of the material milieu.

This small book was one of my earlier  attempts to bring a complex divinity,  close to those,  who would like to understand just a little more than from the lens of faith.  It was a part of a series  and I hope it has tackled  nuances in a comprehensive manner , for all.

N i l i m a C h i t g o p e k a r THE RELUCTANT FAMILY MAN RELUCTANT FAMILY MAN THE N i l i m a C h i t g o p e k a r SHIVA-THE ONE IN WHOM THE ASCETIC AND THE HOUSEHOLDER MERGE He's the destroyer of evil, the pervasive one in whom all things lie. He is brilliant, terrifying, wild and beneficent. He is both an ascetic and a householder, both a yogi and a guru. He encompasses the masculine and the feminine, the powerful and the graceful, the Tandava and the Laasya, the darkness and the light, the divine and the human. What can we learn from this bundle of contradictions, this dreadlocked yogi? How does he manage the devotions and duties of father, husband and man of the house, and the demands and supplications of a clamorous cosmos? In The Reluctant Family Man, Nilima Chitgopekar uses the life and personality of Shiva-his self-awareness, his marriage, his balance, his detachment, his contentment-to derive lessons that readers can practically apply to their own lives. With chapters broken down into distinct frames of analysis, she defines concepts of Shaivism and interprets their application in everyday life. Cover illustration © Shutterstock Cover design by Devangana Dash Non-fictioǹ TBC

The book in which this essay appears and which I have edited is no longer avaialble, I believe. Happily,  has been made compulsory reading,  two years back,  for students of Delhi University who are studying the paper on Gender. ( BA Honours course) in History . I have two other published works on the  Yoginis.