Dissertations / Theses: 'Hindu temples'

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Buchanan, Susan Locher. "Calukya temples : history and iconography /." The Ohio State University, 1985. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148725912521883.

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Holt, Amy-Ruth. "Shiva's divine play art and literature at a South Indian Temple /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1196129102.

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Smythies, Adrian Greville. "The architecture and iconography of the Hindu temple in Eads, Tennessee." Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2006. http://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2006m/smythies.pdf.

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Shaw, Richard. "Iconography of Siddhas on south Indian temples." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.340652.

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McCann, Gillian. "A case study of five Hindu temples in southern Ontario." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1995. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ45856.pdf.

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Dwyer, Johanna H. "The formal religious nurture in two Hindu temples in Leicester." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34087.

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Vedagiri, Anu. "Five Narasimha temples in Andhra Pradesh and their function as a religious collective." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1092749968.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
Document formatted into pages; contains xix, 216 p. Includes bibliographical references. Abstract available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2009 Aug. 17.

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Kim, Bo-Young. "Indefinite boundaries reconsidering the relationship between Borobudur and Loro Jonggrong in Central Java /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1467888511&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Shankar, Bindu S. "Dance imagery in South Indian Temples: study of the 108-karana sculptures." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1079459926.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
Document formatted into pages; contains 355 p. Includes bibliographical references. Abstract available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2009 March 16.

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Ramaswami, Siri. "Dance sculpture as a visual motif of the sacred and the secular: a comparative study of the BelurCennakesava and the Halebidu Hoysalesvara temples." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2000. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31240926.

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Datta-Ray, Mohini. "Monumentalizing Tantra : the multiple identities of the Haṃseśvarī Devī Temple and the Bansberia Zamīndāri." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=112331.

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This thesis examines the complex interplay between colonial modernity and Sakta (goddess-centered) devotion in the context of an elite family of zamindars (landholders) in Bengal. One consequence of colonialism in Bengal was the efflorescence of overt Sakta religiosity among Bengal's elite. Religious practice, supposedly "protected" by the colonial order, became the site where indigenous elites expressed political will and, to an extent, resisted foreign domination. I argue that the zamindars of Bansberia in the Hugli district of Bengal were creative agents, engaging and resisting the various cultural ruptures represented by colonial rule in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Employing analyses of archival material, contemporary ethnography, and architectural style, this thesis is an ethnohistory of a modern zamindari-kingdom that locates its political voice in an emblematic Sakta-Tantric temple. It demonstrates the powerful relationship between religion and politics in colonial Bengal and discusses the implications of this strong association in the contemporary context.

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Sbeghen, Jo-Anne Maree. "An analysis of the sculpture of Candi Sukuh in Central Java : its meanings and religious functions 1437-1443 C.E. / Jo-Anne Maree Sbeghen." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2004. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe18558.pdf.

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Cummings, Cathleen Ann. "A study of the Iconographic program of the Lokesvara (Virupaksa) Temple, Pattadakal." The Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1158176390.

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Orr, Leslie C. "Hindu temple women of the Chola period in south India." Thesis, McGill University, 1993. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=41248.

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This study examines the situation and activities of Hindu temple women (devadasis) in the 9th-13th centuries, as revealed in Tamil inscriptions. These temple women, unlike their male counterparts or the devadasis of more recent times, were not primarily identified as temple servants, with professional expertise or ritual responsibilities, but were instead defined with reference to a particular status, predicated on relationship with a temple. This relationship was secured through the donations that temple women made to temples. In the course of the Chola period, the status of "temple woman" became increasingly well-defined and the numbers of temple women increased, while other types of women disappeared from public view. Temple women's strengthening links with--but marginal positions in--the temple are analyzed in this study with reference to the changes that occurred during this period in the structure of the temple and in the temple's position within the social environment.

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Patel, Sudhir V. "Sacred geometry in chess and the design of the Hindu temple." Kansas State University, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/36061.

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Branfoot, Crispin Peter Carre. "The Nayak Temple complex : architecture and ritual in Southern Tamilnadu 1550-1700." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.298287.

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Adhikary, Gajendra. "History and management of the old hindu temple establishment in the district of Kamrup." Thesis, University of Gauhati, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1566.

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Moodie, Deonnie Gai. "Contesting Kālīghāṭ: Discursive Productions of a Hindu Temple in Colonial and Contemporary Kolkata." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11457.

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This dissertation is an analysis of discursive productions of Kālīghāṭ, a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kālī in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. It is the most famous temple in what was once the capital of the British Empire in India and what is now India's third largest city. Kālīghāṭ has a reputation for being ancient, powerful, corrupt, and dirty. This dissertation aims to discover how and why these are the adjectives most often used to describe this temple. While there are many stories that can be told about a place, and many words that can be used to characterize it, these four dominate the public discourse on Kālīghāṭ. I demonstrate in these pages that these ideas about Kālīghāṭ are not discoveries made about the site, but are instead creations of it that have been produced at certain times, according to certain discursive practices, toward certain ends.

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Garde, Niranjan Anil. "The meaning of the Hindu temple for the North Indian community in Vancouver." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/46613.

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This research study asks how the North Indian community in Vancouver gives meaning to its Hindu temple. It examines how community identity is expressed through the built environment of the temple. In order to understand the meaning attributed to the Hindu temple by the North Indian community, I undertook an ethnographic case study of a Hindu temple in the city of Surrey, Greater Vancouver Region. The study is also a personal journey through which I have come to understand the built environment as an expression of identity. The research study claims that the meaning of the built environment is related to how one perceives it – which depends on one’s values, which in turn, are related to the context. Such a study offers an important contribution to knowledge about how North Indians use their temples in a diasporic context. It also suggests that the study of this kind of architecture is dependent on the community’s perceptions and meanings.

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Dobia, Brenda. "Śakti Yātrā locating power, questioning desire : a women's pilgrimage to the temple of Kāmākhyā /." View thesis, 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/32785.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2008.
A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, Centre for Cultural Research, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographies.

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Nye, Malory. "'A place for our Gods' : the construction of a Hindu temple community in Edinburgh." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/20069.

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This is an examination of the various ways in which Hindu religious traditions are being adapted and reinterpreted by people of Indian descent, now living in Edinburgh. It looks in particular at the development of worship in the context of an Edinburgh Hindu temple (Mandir), and how those involved in the temple project are constructing the notions of 'community' and 'Hinduism' around themselves. The Hindu population of approximately one thousand are divided into various groups and factions - particularly in terms of regional identity (mainly Panjabi and Gujarati) and migration history (approximately half were once resident in East Africa). Two communal institutions attempt to work across these lines of division - the temple, and a cultural organisation called the Edinburgh Indian Association. As they are an 'ethnic' minority group, it is important to consider the means by which religious and cultural ideas are being produced through interaction between Hindus and white Scots. Although principles of boundary maintenance and reactive ethnicity are useful for understanding these processes, it is also important to consider that notions of ethnic identity are often an area of intense creativity, and such creativity is as much the result of relationships within an 'ethnic' group as those between such groups. Edinburgh Hindus are reacting as much against each other as against white Scottish society. The presence of the Mandir is helping to produce several important changes within this population. Firstly, it is one of the main areas where this sense of ethnic identity is being developed. Secondly, it is a major social arena, in which the different groups and factions choose to gather together, and by doing so it encourages (and helps to construct) a sense of community. Thirdly, the notion of what it means to be a Hindu - and also of what 'Hinduism' actually is - is having to undergo rather considerable modification to accommodate the coming together of these different regional traditions. In fact, the notion that there is such a thing as 'Hinduism' is not without problems, since there are strong arguments to make that in India itself the various 'Hindu' religious traditions are not variations on a common religion, but actually distinct religions. At the same time, however, the notion that Hinduism is a unification of these diverse systems has a strong appeal to many Hindus, and has been used as the basis for several important reformist movements - such as Arya Samaj and Swaminarayan, as well as the 'counter-reformist' version of Hinduism called Sanatan Dharrn. These three traditions have been very important within the various Hindu diasporas, particularly in East Africa, and indirectly have had a strong influence in Edinburgh. However, to understand the role of Hinduism within the Edinburgh Mandir, it is also necessary to understand both the history of the temple project and of the community that is based around it. This is discussed with reference to the present day structures and organisation of the temple, the plans for the future, and the political relations between the temple leaders. This also provides the background for understanding the forms of worship that are being developed at the temple meetings. The main religious gathering - called a satsang - is first described, and then discussed with reference to how it is used as a forum in which the different regional Hindu traditions can come together without being too radically compromised. This is particularly because of the symbolic nature of these types of worship, which allow for multiple meanings and understandings within a common ritual form. This use of temple worship as an arena for divergent religious traditions is part of a process in which the temple congregation is becoming identified as a community, and at the same time this community is becoming identified with the wider concept of the 'Hindu community'. This construction is 'imagined' to a large degree by external agencies, it is also becoming an important symbolic idea (again with multiple meanings) for most Hindus living in Edinburgh. These processes of ideological construction are occurring at the same time as the physical construction of the temple building. That is, as the shape of the building is designed and constructed, the community itself - along with the notion of Hinduism - are also being created out of divergent elements. Although the temple building will one day be complete and concrete, the construction of the notions of Hinduism and community can never be complete, they are always fluid and indefinite.

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Back, Carina. "Hindu-Tempel in Deutschland : eine Untersuchung tamilisch-hinduistischer Strukturen in der Diaspora /." Marburg : Tectum-Verl, 2007. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=3022262&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

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Tanaka, Masakazu. "Sacrifice and divine power : Hindu temple rituals and village festivals in a fishing village, Sri Lanka." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.590653.

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Mahendiran, Suraba. "What are the perceptions of Sri Lankan Tamil clients accessing a mental health service in a Hindu temple?" Thesis, University of Surrey, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.576168.

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Claveyrolas, Mathieu. "L’atmosphère de Sankat Mocan : quand le temple prend vie ou l'expérience de l'univers hindou." Paris 10, 2001. http://www.theses.fr/2001PA100066.

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Cette thèse est une monographie du temple de Sarikat Mocan, dédié au dieu-singe Hanumân, à Bénarès (Inde du Nord). Il s'agit de rendre compte des modalités de construction de la religiosité à travers l'étude de l'atmosphère du temple. L'atmosphère que l'art a les moyens de transcrire et que se contentent de décrire les observateurs pour donner à voir, celle que les dévots incitent à ressentir, doit se concevoir comme une construction locale efficace. Etudier le temple à travers son atmosphère, c'est décentrer l'étude de la religiosité en amont du rite et la replacer dans le contexte émotionnel représentatif de la bhakti hindoue. Le temple est le lieu de la certitude. L'atmosphère est un outil considérant les preuves que le dévot reçoit de l'indéniable présence divine dans le temple et rendant compte des modalités et des régularités dans la construction de la religiosité. L'atmosphère est un processus dynamique à la croisée des chemins de la rationalisation systématique de l'espace et de la dimension individuelle et spontanée de la dévotion hindoue, entre communication explicite et intentionnelle avec le divin et « bruit de fond » au pouvoir évocateur. Le temple est une totalité. A ne considérer que sa raison d'être rituelle, on ampute le temple d'une partie conséquente de son espace, de ses acteurs et de sa signification. Là où le rite est une expérience de communion avec le divin, l'espace du temple se prête aussi à une expérience de cohabitation avec le divin qui se traduit dans le temple par des activités quotidiennes. Le temple est ce lieu qui assure la communication permanente entre hommes et dieux. Venir au temple, c'est s'offrir l'expérience de l'âge d'or hindou. L'atmosphère, cocktail d'éléments divers, est le produit d'une construction locale et dynamique caractéristique de deux modalités-clefs du rapport hindou au divin dans le temple : la quotidienneté et l'expérience émotionnelle
This is a monography of Sankat Mocan, a temple dedicated to the monkey-god Hanumân, in Banaras (North India). It deals with the construction of religiosity through the study of the atmosphere of the temple. The atmosphere may be faithfully conveyed by art. It is often described by observers as an invitation to "come and take a peek". But the atmosphere that devotees incite you to feel as you enter the temple must be understood as a local and effective construction. Apprehending the temple through its atmosphere means starting with what comes before the rite and putting the religiosity back in the emotional context of the hindu bhakti. The temple is the place of certainty. The atmosphere is functional, because the devotee finds there proofs of the undeniable divine presence and because of the role it plays in the construction of religiosity. The atmosphere is a dynamic process at the crossroads of the systematic rationalization of the temple space, and of the individual and spontaneous hindu devotion. It lies between explicit and intentional communication with the divine and that "background noise" with its evocative power. The temple is a totality within itself. If the ritual raison d'être is the only thing considered, the temple is stripped of an important part of its space, of its participants and of its meaning. Not only is it a place of communion with the divine, but the space of the temple also offers an experience of cohabitation with the divine that extends to everyday activities. The temple is the place which makes the permanent communication between men and gods possible. Coming to the temple is treating oneself to the experience of the hindu Golden Age. The atmosphere, a cocktail of various elements, is the product of a local and dynamic construction that characterizes two key-modes of the hindu relationship with the divine in the temple : everyday life and emotional experience

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Wessels-Mevissen, Corinna. "The gods of the directions in Ancient India : origin and early development in art and literature, until c. 1000 A.D. /." Berlin : D. Reimer, 2001. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb38867430t.

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Texte remanié de: Ph.D.. Titre de soutenance : The formation and early development of the brahmanical group of directional guardian deities in Indian art, until c. 1000 A.D.
Bibliogr. p. 117-127. Index.

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Singh, Simboonath. "The social construction of a collective Indian ethno-religious identity in a context of ethnic diversity, a case study of an Indo-Caribbean Hindu temple in Toronto." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ28060.pdf.

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Kuchuk, Nika. "From the Temple to the Witch’s Coven: Journeying West with Kali Ma, Fierce Goddess of Transformation. A Study of Contemporary Kali Worship in North America: Syncretism, Sacred Relationships, and the Gendered Divine." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/23711.

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This thesis explores the cult and mythos of the goddess Kali both in her Eastern and Western contexts, comparing and contrasting them in order to gain a better understanding of the Western appropriations of Kali within feminist goddess spirituality. Utilizing a variety of methods, including ethnographic research conducted at Kali temples in California, this research is aimed at providing an entry into the lived contemporary tradition of the Western Kali within goddess spirituality circles, focusing on embodied experience, devotion, ritual, and syncretic practices. Kali, a fierce Indian goddess, is often seen in the Hindu context as a central manifestation of the all encompassing Mother Goddess (Mahadevi, Devi, Shakti, etc), and therefore is a particularly engaging example of contemporary Western appropriation of religious and cultural symbols and narratives. This thesis contributes to understanding Kali in her new North American domain, as well as serving as a case study of the shifting religious landscape in the West.

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Loud, John Alden. "The Dīkṣitars of Chidambaram a community of ritual specialists in a South Indian Temple /." 1990. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/23063646.html.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1990.
Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 260-265).

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Kaligotla, Subhashini. "Shiva's Waterfront Temples: Reimagining the Sacred Architecture of India's Deccan Region." Thesis, 2015. https://doi.org/10.7916/D8GB23KF.

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This dissertation examines Deccan India’s earliest surviving stone constructions, which were founded during the 6th through the 8th centuries CE and are known for their unparalleled formal eclecticism. Whereas past scholarship explains their heterogeneous formal character as an organic outcome of the Deccan’s “borderland” location between north India and south India, my study challenges the very conceptualization of the Deccan temple within a binary taxonomy that recognizes only northern and southern temple types. Rejecting the passivity implied by the borderland metaphor, I emphasize the role of human agents—particularly architects and makers—in establishing a dialectic between the north Indian and the south Indian architectural systems in the Deccan’s built worlds and built spaces. Secondly, by adopting the Deccan temple cluster as an analytical category in its own right, the present work contributes to the still developing field of landscape studies of the premodern Deccan. I read traditional art-historical evidence—the built environment, sculpture, and stone and copperplate inscriptions—alongside discursive treatments of landscape cultures and phenomenological and experiential perspectives. As a result, I am able to present hitherto unexamined aspects of the cluster’s spatial arrangement: the interrelationships between structures and the ways those relationships influence ritual and processional movements, as well as the symbolic, locative, and organizing role played by water bodies. The project therefore reimagines the Deccan’s sacred centers not as conglomerations of disjointed monuments but as integrated environments in which built structures interact with, and engage, natural elements, and vice versa.

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Burton, Adrian P. "Temples, texts, and taxes: the Bhagavad-gita and the politico-religious identity of the Caitanya sect." Phd thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/8755.

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The Sarartha-varsini is an orthodox Guariya vaisnava commentary on the Bhagavad-gita. This research project aimed to use the text of the Sarartha-varsini as the starting point for an investigation into the Gauriya sect around the time of its composition. The project began by establishing a scholarly edition of the text with the aid of extant manuscripts and available printed editions. A critical edition and translation of the first three chapters are presented in the appendix. As the project progressed, interesting archival material surfaced, and the relationship of the sect with the state of Amber/Jaipur became the focus. The role of Gauriya religious dignitaries in religious debate in Jaipur was investigated, and the issue of sectarian affiliation emerged as an issue for which the text if the Sarartha-varsini was particularly illuminating. Joseph O’Connell and Klaus Klostermaier had done fine academic research on works by the same author and had even touched on this work. Nevertheless, a large amount of groundwork remained to be done to ascertain basic issues such as names, dates, claims of authorship, and other biographical details. Section One and Two of this dissertation review previous scholarship and tradition on these issues and provide new insights from textual analysis and archival investigation. With regard to the politico-religious milieu in Rajasthan, V.S. Bhatnagar, Monika Horstman and Irfan Habib had already performed significant archival research and published extremely useful findings. My study therefore greatly assisted in this area, and this dissertation was able to build on the very solid foundation established by these fine scholars. This study contains reference to many archival documents already published by them, and it introduces a good deal of previously unpublished archival records. Of particular interest are the new records regarding the influence of Visvanatha Cakravarti, Krnadeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, and Baladeva Vidyabhusana. Section Three combines old and new material to create for the first time a ‘historical’ snapshot of these Gauriya dignitaries and the politico-religious issues of their times. The analysis of the sectarian influences on the text of the Sarartha-varsini (Section 4) brings together the historical issues of the era and the edited text. This section provides clear empirical analysis on the sectarian affiliation of the sect in matters of doctrine. The textual evidence clearly indicates that the Gauriya-Madhva affiliation was merely an ‘official’ stance. Evidence from the text points to a much stronger doctrinal allegiance to Sridhara Swami and the Bhagavata-purana. The Bhagavad-gita commentary has provided an invaluable common platform from which to compare the Gauriya sect with other established sects and important commentators.

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Cantelo, Brenda. "The symbolism of the Hindu temple : a study in the Mānasāra." 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1993/15439.

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Dobia, Brenda, University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, and Centre for Cultural Research. "Śakti Yātrā : locating power, questioning desire : a women's pilgrimage to the temple of Kāmākhyā." 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/32785.

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The temple of the Goddess Kamakhya in Assam is the pre-eminent site of Hindu Goddess worship. It is revered as the yoni pītha, the place where the generative organ of the Goddess is worshipped. This thesis, centred on Kamakhya, explores the Hindu tradition of Goddess worship, Saktism, and both the possibilities and contradictions it presents for women. The research was undertaken from a feminist standpoint and employed a framework that was collaborative, cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary. Six women co-researchers from India, the U.S. and Australia took part in a pilgrimage that simultaneously explored the Kamakhya site, its history, symbols, myths and customs, alongside our own personal understandings of Saktism and its role in women’s spiritual empowerment. Our aim, in the face of contradictory evidence about the impact of Goddess traditions on the status of Hindu women, was to try to bridge cultural differences of interpretation and develop feminist readings of what may be enabling for women. The thesis establishes the basis of our collective fascination with Sakti, which denotes both the Goddess and the cosmic power she personifies. Through a combination of narrative, exposition of Indian sources and critical cultural analysis, I present our deliberations on the rich tapestry of themes we encountered. From the outset the thesis problematises the cross-cultural encounter and continues this frame throughout. The voices of the principal co-researchers emerge as they co-constitute the research, its methods and its implementation. Their central role is confirmed as the inquiry proceeds. Following the path of my preliminary encounters with the Goddess and with the co-researchers, pilgrimage is established as a traditional means of encountering the Goddess and, in the form we constructed, as a key experiential dimension of the research. In the encounter with Kamakhya, her dual persona as Mother Goddess and Goddess of Love is elaborated. The meanings and origins of both these aspects, their integration through the concept of srsti cosmic creation, and the implications for women of their associated practices of worship are explored at length. Finally, in light of the pilgrimage, I re-consider conjunctions between Saktism, feminist perspectives on women’s empowerment and theological horizons.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Dobia, Brenda. "Sakti Yatra : locating power, questioning desire : a women's pilgrimage to the temple of Kamakhya." Thesis, 2008. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:29498.

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The temple of the Goddess Kāmākhyā a in Assam is the pre-eminent site of Hindu Goddess worship. It is revered as the yoni pīṭha, the place where the generative organ of the Goddess is worshipped. This thesis, centred on Kāmākhyā a, explores the Hindu tradition of Goddess worship, Śāktism, and both the possibilities and contradictions it presents for women. The research was undertaken from a feminist standpoint and employed a framework that was collaborative, cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary. Six women co-researchers from India, the U.S. and Australia took part in a pilgrimage that simultaneously explored the Kāmākhyā a site, its history, symbols, myths and customs, alongside our own personal understandings of Śāktism and its role in women’s spiritual empowerment. Our aim, in the face of contradictory evidence about the impact of Goddess traditions on the status of Hindu women, was to try to bridge cultural differences of interpretation and develop feminist readings of what may be enabling for women. The thesis establishes the basis of our collective fascination with Śakti, which denotes both the Goddess and the cosmic power she personifies. Through a combination of narrative, exposition of Indian sources and critical cultural analysis, I present our deliberations on the rich tapestry of themes we encountered. From the outset the thesis problematises the cross-cultural encounter and continues this frame throughout. The voices of the principal co-researchers emerge as they co-constitute the research, its methods and its implementation. Their central role is confirmed as the inquiry proceeds. Following the path of my preliminary encounters with the Goddess and with the co-researchers, pilgrimage is established as a traditional means of encountering the Goddess and, in the form we constructed, as a key experiential dimension of the research. In the encounter with Kāmākhyā a, her dual persona as Mother Goddess and Goddess of Love is elaborated. The meanings and origins of both these aspects, their integration through the concept of sŗșṭi, cosmic creation, and the implications for women of their associated practices of worship are explored at length. Finally, in light of the pilgrimage, I re-consider conjunctions between Śāktism, feminist perspectives on women’s empowerment and theological horizons.

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Levin, Cecelia. "Rāmāyaṇa at Loro Jonggrang Indian Antecedents and Javanese impetus /." 1999. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/43438682.html.

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36

Schneibel, Jeffrey A. "The construction of Jagannath /." 2000. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:9990588.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hindu temples'

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