The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Hinduism

by Flood, Gavin

• ISBN13: 9781119144861
• ISBN10: 1119144868
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2022-05-23
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

An accessible and up-to-date survey of scholarly thinking about Hinduism, perfect for courses on Hinduism or world religions

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism examines the historical trajectories that have led to the modern religion of Hinduism. Covering main themes such as philosophy, practice, society, and science, this comprehensive volume brings together a variety of approaches and perspectives in Hindu Studies to help readers better appreciate the richness, complexity, and diversity of Hinduism. Essays by acknowledged experts in the field present historical accounts of all major traditions, analyze key texts, engage with Hindu theology and philosophy, address contemporary questions of colonialism and identity, and more. Throughout the text, the authors highlight the links, common threads, and issues that reoccur in the history of Hinduism.

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of the Companion incorporates the most recent scholarship and reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism. New chapters examine the Goddess tradition, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism and inter-religious comparison, Hindu philosophy, and Indian astronomy, medicine, language, and mathematics. This edition places further emphasis on the importance of region-specific studies in analyzing Hinduism, discusses important theoretical issues, and offers fresh perspectives on current discourse in Hindu society and politics.

• Provides a thorough overview of major texts, their histories, and the traditions that preserve them
• Describes the major textual traditions in Sanskrit with examples in different Indian vernacular languages
• Addresses major issues and contemporary debates about the nature and study of Hinduism
• Discusses the importance of systematic, rational thinking in Indian sciences, philosophy, and theology
• Examines key socio-political themes in Hinduism that are of particular relevance to the modern world

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Second Edition is an excellent text for undergraduate courses on Hinduism in Religious Studies and Philosophy departments, and an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in Hindu Studies.

Author Biography

Gavin Flood, FBA is Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at Oxford University, Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall. He is the author of Religion and the Philosophy of Life and many other publications.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors x

About the Editor xii

Preface to the First Edition and Acknowledgements xiii

Preface to the Second Edition xv

Introduction: Establishing the Boundaries xvi
Gavin Flood

Part I Theoretical Issues 1

1 Colonialism and the Construction of Hinduism 3
Gauri Viswanathan

2 Orientalism and Hinduism 21
David Smith

Part II Text and Tradition 37

The Sanskrit Textual Traditions 39

3 Vedas and Upaniṣads 41
Michael Witzel

4 The Dharmaśāstras 69
Ludo Rocher

5 The Sanskrit Epics 81
John Brockington

6 The Purāṇas 92
Freda Matchett

7 The Bhagavad Gītā: Genesis of the Text, Its Messages, and Its Impact on the Mahābhārata and on Indian Religions and Philosophy 105
Mislav Je?ić

Textual Traditions in Regional Languages 129

8 Tamil Hindu Literature 131
Norman Cutler

9 The Literature of Hinduism in Malayalam 143
Rich Freeman

10 North Indian Hindi Devotional Literature 163
Nancy M. Martin

Major Historical Developments 179

11 The Śaiva Traditions 181
Gavin Flood

12 History of Vaiṣṇava Traditions: An Esquisse 209
Gérard Colas

13 Hinduism and the Goddess: Śākta Traditions 245
Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen

14 The Householder Tradition in Hindu Society 275
T.N. Madan

15 The Renouncer Tradition 290
Patrick Olivelle

Regional Traditions 305

16 The Teyyam Tradition of Kerala 307
Rich Freeman

17 The Month of Kārtik and Women's Ritual Devotions to Krishna in Benares 323
Tracy Pintchman

18 Hindu Diasporas and Gods on the Move: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage in Hindu Europe 338
Knut A. Jacobsen

Part III Systematic Thought 353

The Indian Sciences 355

19 Introduction 357
Frits Staal

20 The Science of Language 359
Frits Staal

21 Indian Mathematics 370
Takao Hayashi

22 Calendar, Astrology, and Astronomy 384
Michio Yano

23 The Science of Medicine 399
Dominik Wujastyk

Philosophy and Theology 415

24 The Classical Worldview: Early Foundations of Hindu Philosophy 417
Jessica Frazier

25 Hinduism and the Proper Work of Reason 448
Jonardon Ganeri

26 Restoring "Hindu Theology" as a Category in Indian Intellectual Discourse 479
Francis Clooney SJ

27 Mantra 505
André Padoux

28 Realism and Non-Realism in Indian Philosophy 517
Ionut Moise

29 Hinduism Compared 536
Reid B. Locklin

Part IV Society, Politics, and Nation 551

30 On the Relationship between Caste and Hinduism 553
Declan Quigley

31 Modernity, Reform, and Revival 565
Dermot Killingley

32 The Goddess and the Nation: Subterfuges of Antiquity, the Cunning of Modernity 580
Sumathi Ramaswamy

33 Gender in a Devotional Universe 595
Vasudha Narayanan

Index 612