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The Buddhist Visnu : religious transformation, politics, and culture / John Clifford Holt.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Columbia University Press, 2004.Description: 1 online resource (xii, 441 pages) : illustrationsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780231508148
  • 023150814X
  • 0231133227
  • 9780231133227
  • 0231133235
  • 9780231133234
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Buddhist Visnu.DDC classification:
  • 294.3/095493 22
LOC classification:
  • BQ372 .H62 2004eb
Other classification:
  • online - EBSCO
Online resources:
Contents:
Preface; Part I; Introduction: The Historical and Theoretical Problems; 1 The "Hindu Buddha" and the "Buddhist Visnu"; 2 "Unceasing Waves": Brahmanical and Hindu Influences on Medieval Sinhala Buddhist Culture in Sri Lanka; 3 The Sandalwood Image: Upulvan Deviyo and the Origins of the Visnu Cult in Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka; 4 Transformed Deity: The "Buddhist Visnu" in Sinhala Literature and Liturgy; Part II; Introduction: The Cult of Visnu in Buddhist Sri Lanka; 5 Seeking Protection: Cultic Life at the Udarata Visnu Devalayas.
6 The Valiyak Mangalya: The Curative Powers of the Mala Raja7 Legacies of the "Buddhist Visnu": Myth and Cult at the Alutnuvara Devalaya; 8 Minister of Defense? The Politics of Deification in Contemporary Sri Lanka; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index of Place Names; Indext of Texts (Translated or Cited); Subject Index; Map.
Summary: John Holt's groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Visnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. Holt argues that political agendas and social forces, as much as doctrinal concerns, have shaped the shifting patterns of the veneration of Visnu in Sri Lanka. Holt begins with a comparative look at the assimilation of the Buddha in Hinduism. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. Offering analyses of texts, many.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 411-420) and indexes.

Print version record.

Preface; Part I; Introduction: The Historical and Theoretical Problems; 1 The "Hindu Buddha" and the "Buddhist Visnu"; 2 "Unceasing Waves": Brahmanical and Hindu Influences on Medieval Sinhala Buddhist Culture in Sri Lanka; 3 The Sandalwood Image: Upulvan Deviyo and the Origins of the Visnu Cult in Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka; 4 Transformed Deity: The "Buddhist Visnu" in Sinhala Literature and Liturgy; Part II; Introduction: The Cult of Visnu in Buddhist Sri Lanka; 5 Seeking Protection: Cultic Life at the Udarata Visnu Devalayas.

6 The Valiyak Mangalya: The Curative Powers of the Mala Raja7 Legacies of the "Buddhist Visnu": Myth and Cult at the Alutnuvara Devalaya; 8 Minister of Defense? The Politics of Deification in Contemporary Sri Lanka; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index of Place Names; Indext of Texts (Translated or Cited); Subject Index; Map.

John Holt's groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Visnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. Holt argues that political agendas and social forces, as much as doctrinal concerns, have shaped the shifting patterns of the veneration of Visnu in Sri Lanka. Holt begins with a comparative look at the assimilation of the Buddha in Hinduism. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. Offering analyses of texts, many.

In English.