Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir (AAR Religion in Translation)

Synopsis

Historically, Kashmir was one of the most dynamic and influential centers of Sanskrit learning and literary production in South Asia. In Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir, Hamsa Stainton investigates the close connection between poetry and prayer in South Asia by studying the history of Sanskrit hymns of praise (stotras) in Kashmir. The book provides a broad introduction to the history and general features of the stotra genre, and it charts the course of these literary hymns in Kashmir from the eighth century to the present. In particular, it offers the first major study in any European language of the Stutikusum=añjali, an important work of religious literature dedicated to the god 'Siva and one of the only extant witnesses to the trajectory of Sanskrit literary culture in fourteenth-century Kashmir. The book also contributes to the study of 'Saivism by examining the ways in which 'Saiva poets have integrated the traditions of Sanskrit literature and poetics, theology (especially non-dualism), and 'Saiva worship and devotion. It substantiates the diverse configurations of 'Saiva bhakti expressed and explored in these literary hymns and the challenges they present for standard interpretations of Hindu bhakti. More broadly, this study of stotras from Kashmir offers new perspectives on the history and vitality of prayer in South Asia and its complex relationships to poetry and poetics.

Copyright:

2019

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780190889821

Related ISBNs:

9780190889814, 9780190889838

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Date of Addition:

12/17/22

Copyrighted By:

N/A

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Poetry, Art and Architecture, Literature and Fiction, Religion and Spirituality

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.