In this Book
- Bringing the Gods to Mind: Mantra and Ritual in Early Indian Sacrifice
- Book
- 2005
- Published by: University of California Press
summary
This elegantly written book introduces a new perspective on Indic religious history by rethinking the role of mantra in Vedic ritual. In Bringing the Gods to Mind, Laurie Patton takes a new look at mantra as "performed poetry" and in five case studies draws a portrait of early Indian sacrifice that moves beyond the well-worn categories of "magic" and "magico-religious" thought in Vedic sacrifice. Treating Vedic mantra as a sophisticated form of artistic composition, she develops the idea of metonymy, or associational thought, as a major motivator for the use of mantra in sacrificial performance. Filling a long-standing gap in our understanding, her book provides a history of the Indian interpretive imagination and a study of the mental creativity and hermeneutic sophistication of Vedic religion.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-xii
- Abbreviations
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- Part One: The Theories
- Part Two: The Case Studies
- 4. Fire, Light, and Ingesting over Time
- pp. 91-116
- 5. The Vedic “Other”: Spoilers of Success
- pp. 117-141
- 6. A History of the Quest for Mental Power
- pp. 142-151
- 7. The Poetics of Paths: Mantras of Journeys
- pp. 152-167
- Conclusions: Laughter and the Creeper Mantra
- pp. 182-196
- Bibliography
- pp. 249-274
- Index Locorum
- pp. 275-280
- Index Nominum
- pp. 281-282
- General Index
- pp. 283-289
Additional Information
ISBN
9780520930889
Related ISBN(s)
9780520240872
MARC Record
OCLC
60312564
Pages
304
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No