Hinduism and the Religious Arts

Description

The cultural manifestation of Hinduism is complex. In particular, the visual arts associated with the Hindu religion are recognized as being the most complex and rich of any living religion. No serious effort to understand ancient or contemporary Indian culture can be made without a clear understanding of the visual arts and their sources in religious belief and practice. In this book, Healther Elgood provides a synthesis and critical study of recent scholarship on the subject. She emphasizes the ritual aspect of religious art - with reference to monumental architecture, sculpture and rural arts. Throughout, connections are made and explained between the variety of religious belief and practice in India and the power and richness of ancient and contemporary rural Indian art.

Heather Elgood is a lecturer at SOAS, University of London and director of the joint SOAS/Christie's Arts of Asia and Africa program.

"A useful and easy-to-read introduction to a complex subject aimed largely at educational courses. Students and general readers will be grateful to the author for guiding them through the bewildering apparatus of Hindu religious symbols, ritual practices, sacred texts and mythological icons." - Times Higher Education Supplement "...a very strong case for the need to study visual expressions of Hindu beliefs ...Elgood's work is a must for academic library collections as well as for historians of religion interested in the unique contributions visual expression can add to an understanding of Hinduism." --Religion and the Arts