Reciting the Goddess

Narratives of Place and the Making of Hinduism in Nepal

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Hinduism
Cover of the book Reciting the Goddess by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz ISBN: 9780190844554
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: March 1, 2018
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
ISBN: 9780190844554
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: March 1, 2018
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Reciting the Goddess presents the first critical study of the Svasthanivratakatha (SVK), a sixteenth-century Hindu narrative textual tradition. The extensive SVK manuscript tradition offers a rare opportunity to observe the making of a specific, distinct Hindu religious tradition. Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz argues that the SVK serves as a lens through which we can observe the creation of modern 'Hinduism' in the Himalayas, as the text both mirrored and informed key moments in the self-conscious creation of Nepal as the 'world's only Hindu kingdom' in the late medieval and early modern period. Birkenholtz mines the literary historiography that is contained within the SVK text itself, chronicling the text's literary and narrative development as well as the development of the Svasthani goddess tradition. She outlines the process whereby the SVK gradually transformed into a Purana text, and became a critical source for Nepali Hindu belief and identity. She also examines the elusive character of the goddess Svasthani whose identity is tied to the pan-Hindu goddess tradition, and the representation of women in the SVK and the ways in which the text influenced local and regional debates on the ideal of Hindu womanhood. Reciting the Goddess presents Nepal's celebrated SVK as a micro-level illustration of the powerful ways in which people, place, and literature intersect to produce new ideas and concepts of identity and place, even in a historically non-literate culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Reciting the Goddess presents the first critical study of the Svasthanivratakatha (SVK), a sixteenth-century Hindu narrative textual tradition. The extensive SVK manuscript tradition offers a rare opportunity to observe the making of a specific, distinct Hindu religious tradition. Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz argues that the SVK serves as a lens through which we can observe the creation of modern 'Hinduism' in the Himalayas, as the text both mirrored and informed key moments in the self-conscious creation of Nepal as the 'world's only Hindu kingdom' in the late medieval and early modern period. Birkenholtz mines the literary historiography that is contained within the SVK text itself, chronicling the text's literary and narrative development as well as the development of the Svasthani goddess tradition. She outlines the process whereby the SVK gradually transformed into a Purana text, and became a critical source for Nepali Hindu belief and identity. She also examines the elusive character of the goddess Svasthani whose identity is tied to the pan-Hindu goddess tradition, and the representation of women in the SVK and the ways in which the text influenced local and regional debates on the ideal of Hindu womanhood. Reciting the Goddess presents Nepal's celebrated SVK as a micro-level illustration of the powerful ways in which people, place, and literature intersect to produce new ideas and concepts of identity and place, even in a historically non-literate culture.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Inside the Muslim Brotherhood by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book The Race for Paradise by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Coexistence by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book The Oxford Companion to Canadian History by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Women and Elective Office by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book On Sympathetic Grounds by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book The Internet and Young Learners - Primary Resource Books for Teachers by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book What Is Natural? by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book The Singer's Guide to German Diction by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book The Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Networked Publics and Digital Contention by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
Cover of the book Motor City Music by Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy