The Hindu Temple: Deification of EroticismInner Traditions / Bear & Co, 2001 - 130 pagina's Danielou's masterpiece on the erotic nature of the sacred symbolism of the Hindu temple. • Includes stunning photographs from the major temple complexes of India. • By Alain Danielou, one of the greatest authorities on Hinduism. Ancient Indian architectural treatises state that a temple lacking erotic imagery would be ineffective and maleficent. The erotic statues and representations that cover the outer and inner walls of the Hindu temple serve both a magical and an instructional purpose. Through the power of the yantras--the magical diagrams created by the placement of the erotic imagery--the architect made the temple a faithful reflection of the divine. At the same time this imagery educated the faithful about the fundamental aspects of the Hindu religion, wherein the union of opposites in the sexual act is the perfect image of the creative principle, and erotic enjoyment is a reflection of divine bliss. Alain Danielou's masterpiece on the Hindu temple, now translated for the first time into English, provides a stunningly illustrated tour of the major temple complexes of India. The erotic sculptures that cover the walls of these temples are not merely symbolic portrayals of voluptuous acts but serve as profound reminders that man is closest to the divine during the instant of sexual transcendence. |
Inhoudsopgave
The Nature of the World | 7 |
The Cults of the Phallus and of the Mother | 11 |
The Divine Image | 13 |
Temples Dwellings of the Gods | 17 |
Sacred Places | 18 |
Temple Position and Orientation in the City | 20 |
The Temple Ground and Preliminary Rites | 23 |
The Architect | 27 |
The Origin of Temple Forms | 67 |
Architectural Treatises | 70 |
Revealing the Divine Mind | 71 |
The Images of the Gods | 72 |
Iconographic Canons | 76 |
Clothing | 78 |
The Ritual of Caressing Nyasa | 80 |
The Three Gods | 83 |
The Germ of the Temple | 29 |
The Plan of the Temple | 31 |
Yantras | 35 |
The PlanPerson Vastu Purusha | 37 |
Erotic Representations | 40 |
The Building of the Temple | 44 |
The Sanctuary Garbha Griha | 47 |
The Mountain and the Cavern Shikhara and Garbha Griha | 49 |
The Fruit or Celestial Crown Amalaka | 53 |
The Door of the Sanctuary | 55 |
The Vestibule Mandapa | 56 |
The Face of the Renowned Kirtimukha | 59 |
The Incarnate Word Virala | 63 |
The Sacred Swan or Goose Hamsa | 64 |
A World Apart | 65 |
Coupling Mithuna | 84 |
Representations of Shiva | 87 |
The Linga Shivas Phallic Emblem | 91 |
The Power of Nature Shardula | 95 |
Apsaras and Gandkarvas | 96 |
The Four Meanings of Life | 99 |
Ethics and Sexuality | 107 |
The Ties of Nature and Liberation | 114 |
Sexual and Erotic Education | 117 |
Note on the Text and Illustrations | 120 |
Bibliography | 121 |
Biographical Notes | 124 |
126 | |
Veelvoorkomende woorden en zinsdelen
10th century C.E. according Agni Agni Purana Alain Daniélou amalaka Apsaras architect architecture aspect beauty Bhuvaneshvar body Brahma brahman Burnier called central India century C.E. Temples Cloarec Top corresponds cosmic creation cult dance dedicated to Shiva deities diagram Divine Eroticism Divine Mind Revealing door Dwellings elements energy erotic evoke existence female garbha griha Gods Temples Hindu temple human Ishana Kama Sutra Karnataka Khajuraho Kirtimukha Konarak Krishna linga living located Madurai magical male mandapa Mithuna Nancy Yeilding Bottom nature phallic phallus Photograph by Ehud Photograph by Jacques Photograph by Nancy places pleasure postures Prakriti principle Purana represented Revealing the Divine rites ritual sacred sanctuary sculptures sexual Shaivism Shaivite Shakti Shardula shikhara Shilpa Shilpa Shastra Shiva Skanda Sperling subtle symbol Temple dedicated Temple of Mukteshvara Top inset treatises Upanishad various Vastu Shastra vastu-purusha Vijayanagar Vishnu Vishvanatha Vittala Temple voluptuousness woman worship yantra Yoga Yogi
Populaire passages
Pagina 1 - Shaivism is characterized by worship of the principle of life, whose symbol is the phallus; by the cult and...
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