• Scope and Objective of the Course
• Required Books
• Syllabus
• Course Evaluation

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This course is an exploration of the multi-faceted aspects of temple-based Hinduism within the historical and cultural contexts of India. The Temple Hinduism course has two over-arching objectives. First, the course examines the different layers of meaning and symbolism of the Hindu temple, which serves as a mandala, a tirtha, and a devalaya. We will explore the relationship of these layers of meanings in the context of sacred geography, mythology of deities, temple aesthetics, and the pilgrimage landscape of India.

Second, the course raises questions pertaining to the role of temple-based Hinduism in strengthening the polytheistic traditions of classical India and for the cultural unity of contemporary India. These questions are: How did temple-based Hinduism promote the development of different theistic traditions in ancient India? How did royal patronage for the building of temple cities contribute to the formation of the pilgrimage landscape of India? What role does the temple play in the public religious life of Hindu society today? How, and to what extent, does the temple culture contribute to the cultural unity of modern India?

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GWU Book Store in Marvin Centee.

• George Michell, The Hindu Temple.
• Diana Eck, Banaras: City of Light.
• Diana Eck, Darsan, Seeing the Divine Image in India.
• Cornelia Dimmitt and J.A.B. Van Buitenen, trans. Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas.
• David Haberman, Journey through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna.

Reading Materials on Gelman Library Reserve.
Books

• Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple.
• Alain Danielou, Hindu Polytheism.
• Thomas Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition.
• Joseph W. Elder, Chapters in Indian Civilization.
• Kathleen Erndl, Victory to the Mother.
• Joseph Kitagawa, The Religious Traditions of Asia.
• David Shulman, Tamil Temple Myths.
• Joanne P. Waghorne and Norman Cutler, Eds. Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone.
• William Harman, The Sacred Marriage of a Hindu Goddess.
• Stephen Huyler, Meeting God.
• Paul Younger, The Home of Dancing Sivan.
• Kapila Vatsyayan, Concepts of Space, Ancient and Modern.
• Nandita Krishna, Balaji – Venkateswara, Lord of Tirumala Tirupati (Personal Copy).
• Bardwell Smith and Holly Reynolds, Eds. The City As A Sacred Center.
• Peter van der Veer, Religious Nationalism.
• David Ludden, Ed. Contesting the Nation. Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India.
• John Fritz et al., Where Kings and Gods Meet: The Royal Centre at Vijayanagara, India.

Journal Articles.

• Appadurai, A. and Breckenridge, C. 1976. The South Indian Temple: Authority, Honour and Redistribution, Contributions to Indian Sociology (NS), 10(2): 187-211.
• Pramod Chandra, South Asian Peoples, Arts of, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, (1974) 15: 223-245.
• Diana Eck, India’s Tirthas: Crossings in Sacred Geography, History of Religions, (1981) 20: 323-44.

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1. Temples in the Historical and Cultural Contexts of India

Readings

• *Alf Hiltebeitel, "Hinduism" in ed. Joseph Kitagawa, The Religious Traditions of Asia, pp.3-40
• George Michell, Hindu Temple, pp. 20-48.

2. Hindu Polytheism: Mythology and Religion of Gods and Goddesses

Readings

• Thomas Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, (religion of Epics & Puranas), pp. 87-126.
• Alain Danielou, Hindu Polytheism, (Vishnu incarnations) pp.164-181.
• Dimmitt and Van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology, chapter 3 (Krishna); chapter 4 (Shiva mythology); and chapter 5 (Great Goddess myths).

3. Hindu Temple: Form, Meaning and Symbolism

A Tirtha, the “divine crossing between heaven and earth”.
The “axis of access”.

• W.G. Doty, Mythography, Chapter 7, “Structuralism and Structural Patterns of Myths and Rituals”.
• Mircea Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return, Chapter 1, “Archetypes and Repetition”.

Readings

• Michell, The Hindu Temple, (temple symbolism) pp. 20-22 and 61-76.
• *Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, tirtha and temple, Vol. 1, pp. 3-7; mountain and cavern, Vol. 1, pp. 161-175; temple as Cosmic Purusa, Vol. 2, Part VIII, pp. 357-361.
• *Shulman, Tamil Temple Myths, chapter 2, pp. 40-55 (shrine as the center).
• *Meister, “The Hindu Temple, Axis of Access,” in Kapila Vatsyayan, Concepts of Space, Ancient and Modern.

4. The Science of Temple Building and The Art History

Readings

• Michell, The Hindu Temple, (temple building), pp. 78-85; for temple styles, pp. 86-93 and 131-155.
• *Pramod Chandra, “South Asian Peoples, Arts of,” in Encyclopaedia Britannica, (1974) 15: 223-245.

5. Image Making and Worship Practices

Readings

• Diana Eck, Darsan, Chapters 1-2.
• *Courtright, "On This Holy Day in My Humble Way: Aspects of Puja" in Waghorne & Cutler, Eds. Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone.
• *Vasudha Narayanan, “Arcavatara: On Earth as He is in Heaven,”in eds. J.P. Waghorne & N. Cutler, Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone, pp. 52-67.

February 24 (weekend): Temple Visit to Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Bowie, MD

6. Temples as Pilgrimage Tirthas

1. Regular attendance in class. Students are expected to participate in an active and thoughtful way (10% of the course grade).
2. Two short essays (5 pages, 30% of the course grade). A few suggestive topics for the essays :
   • Image from a book or a sculpture from the Sackler Gallery Collection.
   • Temple symbolism/style or Issues related to Temple Religion.
   • Pilgrimage site or Pilgrimage Journey.
   • Temples in Maryland/Virginia (Field research essay on one of the area temples: Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Bowie and Durga Temple, Fairfax and Mangala Mandir (Olney).
3. March 28: Mid-Term Exam. This will focus on the materials covered to this point in the course. Format: short essays, descriptive definitions, slide identifications (30% of the course grade).
4. May 7-15: Final Exam. This will be a three-hour exam, which includes one long essay, short questions and a one-hour section of slide-based identifications (30% of the course grade).
5. Note all of the above requirements must be met for a passing grade to be received.

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