| Edition |
First Edition
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| Publication |
Mumbai, Franco-Indian Research Pvt. Ltd., 2022.
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| Description |
17+205 pagesDelux Hard Bound
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| Summary/Abstract |
The lead paper in the book makes the case that the famous temple at Modhera was dedicated to a complex, synthetic divinity, that blends into himself the Sun god as well as Siva: a divinity known as Märtanda-Bhairava.
Refusing to see through the blinkers of iconographical canons, The author interprets several themes in Art, for example the triple forms of Hinduism's holiest river in the Descent of Ganga sculptures as illustrating her epithet "Tripathaga", the river that flows in heaven, on the earth, and in the netherworld - sanctifying the three worlds. Or again, in the paper on Soma, the reader witnesses the sacred Vedic plant as it "grows" up to be a god, then takes his place as the guardian of the northern quarter of Space.
As each chapter develops, it is like a lyrical, musical experience, as though the nuances of a Raga were unfolding before you.
Author's concern for the repatriation of smuggled Art is reflected in three papers, including those on Bharhut and Atru: he played a key role in their repatriation.
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| Contents |
1) To What God Shall We Render Homage in the Temple at Modhera?
2
) The Case of the Clandestine Cargo:
Or, Atru's Amorous Couples
3) The Case for Devata Mahäkokä from Bharhut
4) Bhim ki Chauri, An Aulikara Shrine at Mukandara
5)
The Mandasor Silk Weavers' Inscription of
Circa 437/473 CE and Temples of the Aulikaras
6)
Ganga Tripathaga
7) Acyantadhaja Jogi: The Hermit with the Banner of Siva as "Acintya"
8)
An Image of the Sun God as "Bhayillasvämin" from Bhilsa
9) The Three Strides of Visnu for His "Brother" Indra
10) The Colophon of a Devimähätmya of Saka 1638/1717 A.D, in the Shimla Museum
11) Soma: Sapling that Sprouted in the Himalayas, Then Grew up to be the Guardian God of the North
12) The Goddess Stala, with Siva as "Stalesvara", on the Chandrabhaga's Tirtha at Jhalrapatan
13) Scholar-emperor and a Funerary Temple:
Eleventh Century Bhojpur
14) India's Plundered Heritage
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| Standard Number |
978-81-950781-5-8 Complementary.
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