Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India / Edition 3

by Diana L. Eck

Overview

The role of the visual is essential to Hindu tradition and culture, but many attempts to understand India's divine images have been laden with misperceptions. Darsan, a Sanskrit word that means "seeing," is an aid to our vision, a book of ideas to help us read, think, and look at Hindu images with appreciation and imagination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231112659
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	11/17/1998
Series:	Translations from the Asian Classics Series
Edition description:	third edition
Pages:	97
Sales rank:	875,597
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.97(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Diana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, and director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, is the editor of On Common Ground: World Religions in America, a multimedia CD-ROM (Columbia).

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Seeing the Sacred
A. Darsan
B. The Visible India
C. Film Images
D. The Image of God
E. The Polytheistic Imagination
The Nature of the Hindu Images
A. The Aniconic and the Iconic Images
B. The Ritual Uses of the Images
C. Creation and Consecration of Images
D. Festivals and Images
Image, Temple, and Pilgrimage
A. The Temple and the Image
B. Image and Pilgrimage
Afterword: Seeing the Divine Image in America
A. America's Murtis and Temples
B. Sri Lakshmi Temple: The Process of Divine Embodiment
Notes
Appendix I. Bibliography
Appendix II. Note on Pronunciation
Appendix III. Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

An explanation of temple worship and the use of Deity images. Darsan will give the Hindu deeper insight into the practices of his own religion, provide explanations for non-Hindu friends, and convey useful konowledge to his children.

Hinduism Today

Simply one of the best short introductions to Hinduism available. . . . Belongs in every religionist´s and South Asianist´s library. . . . Enthusiastically recommended as required for undergraduate courses on the Hindu tradition.

Religious Studies Review