Abstract / Description of output
The survival of the cosmos is said to depend upon proper performance of the complex daily liturgy in large Hindu temples. This paper describes such daily worship in the Murukan temple at Kalugumalai, South India. After considering the significance of the principal stages — unction, decoration, food-offering, and lamp-showing — in the pūja rite which forms the basis of worship in Saivite temples, it seeks to understand this liturgy with reference to Hindu metaphysics, iconography and mythology, and notions of divine sovereignty. It is argued that such multithematic analyses, which combine ethnographic and indological approaches, are essential for understanding contemporary Hindu practice
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 239-260 |
Journal | Culture and Religion |
Volume | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2001 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- South India
- Tamil Nadu
- Hinduism
- temples
- Murukan
- worship
- cosmology