| Ascetics and Brahmins: Studies in Ideologies and Institutions Contributor(s): Olivelle, Patrick (Author) |
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ISBN: 0857284320 ISBN-13: 9780857284327 Publisher: Anthem Press OUR PRICE: $109.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: December 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Hinduism - General |
| Dewey: 294.544 |
| Series: Cultural, Historical and Textual Studies of Religions |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.2" W x 9.1" (1.40 lbs) 328 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Hindu |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This volume brings together papers on Indian ascetical institutions and ideologies published by Patrick Olivelle over a span of about thirty years. Asceticism represents a major strand in the religious and cultural history of India, providing some of the most creative elements within Indian religions and philosophies. Most of the major religions, such as Buddhism and Jainism, and religious philosophies both within these new religions and in the Brahmanical tradition, were created by world-renouncing ascetics. Yet ascetical institutions and ideologies developed in a creative tension with other religious institutions that stressed the centrality of family, procreation and society. It is this tension that has articulated many of the central features of Indian religion and culture. The papers collected in this volume seek to locate Indian ascetical traditions within their historical, political and ideological contexts. |