Items related to Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism...
Can a text be used either to validate or to invalidate contemporary understandings? Texts may be deemed 'sacred', but sacred to whom? Do conflicting understandings matter? Is it appropriate to try to offer a resolution? For Hindus and non-Hindus, in India and beyond, Valmiki is the poet-saint who composed the epic Rà mà yaõa. Yet for a vocal community of dalits (once called 'untouchables'), within and outside India, Valmiki is God. How then does one explain the popular story that he started out as an ignorant and violent bandit, attacking and killing travellers for material gain? And what happens when these two accounts, Valmiki as God and Valmiki as villain, are held simultaneously by two different religious groups, both contemporary, and both vocal? This situation came to a head with controversial demonstrations by the Valmiki community in Britain in 2000, giving rise to some searching questions which Julia Leslie now seeks to address. Exploring the relationship between sacred text and religious meaning, Leslie presents a critical, text-historical study of the figure of Valmiki drawing on the sacred texts traditionally attributed to him: the Và lmãki Rà mà yaõa and the Yogavà siùñha Rà mà yaõa, both in Sanskrit. While identifying and examining the various strands of popular stories concerning Valmiki, Leslie disentangles the earliest evidence for him from the narrative threads of passing centuries, and considers the implications of that process. This ground-breaking analysis, illustrated with paintings of Valmiki, makes a unique contribution both to our understanding of the interlocking beliefs of many religious communities and to a greater awareness of the problematic relationship between sacred text and contemporary religious meaning. Invaluable to students of both the study of religions and South Asian studies, this book will also be of interest to Indian communities in the diaspora seeking to understand their roots, including (but not exclusively) the Valmikis.
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- PublisherRoutledge
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0754634310
- ISBN 13 9780754634317
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages262
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki Leslie, Julia
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Softcover. Stiff pictorial paper wraps with white lettering. Title page not dated. Copyright page dated 2003. 241 pages. In very good condition. Covers are clean and glossy; one small crease along far edge of front cover, almost unnoticeable. Rear bottom corner has been bumped, just slightly. Binding is strong. Pages are free of marks or tears throughout. A very good, clean copy, with very minimal shelf-wear. Seller Inventory # 17-2135
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki
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Ashgate Publishing Limited
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0754634310
ISBN 13: 9780754634317
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki
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Book Description Condition: Good. Your purchase helps support Sri Lankan Children's Charity 'The Rainbow Centre'. Ex-library, so some stamps and wear, but in good overall condition. Our donations to The Rainbow Centre have helped provide an education and a safe haven to hundreds of children who live in appalling conditions. Seller Inventory # Z1-EE-011-00288
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Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki
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Book Description Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,500grams, ISBN:9780754634317. Seller Inventory # 9536848
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