Axel Michaels is Professor of Classical Indology in the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidelberg.

• Preface ; Acknowledgements ; Abbreviations ; Plates and Figures ; Pronunciation of Indian Words ; Introduction ; Part I: Framing ; 1. The Beginning of Rituals ; 1.1 The Solemn Intention (samkalpa) ; 1.2 Greeting and Ritualized Greeting (namaskara) ; Conclusion ; Part II: Formality ; 2. Repetitive Rules (vidhi) ; 2.1 The Grammar of Rituals ; 2.2 A Preliminary "Grammar" of Newar Life-cycle Rituals ; 2.3 Rituals in Handbooks (paddhati) ; 3. Agency in Ritual ; 3.1 Ritual Competency (adhikara) ; 3.2 Atonements for Ritual Mishaps (prayascitta) ; 3.3 The Comic Side of Ritual Formality ; 4. Performed and Played Rituals (lila) ; 4.1 Music and Ritual Music ; 4.2 Dance and Ritual Dance ; 4.3 Emotions and Ritual Emotions ; Conclusion ; Part III: Modality ; 5. Individualized and Domestic Rituals (samskara) ; 5.1 The Boy's Initiation ; 5.2 The Girl's Initiation ; 5.3 The Marriage ; 5.4 Death Rituals and Redemption ; 6. Collective and Public Rituals ; 6.1 Temple Festivals (utsava) ; 6.2 Vows (vrata) ; 6.3 Pilgrimages and Processions (yatra) ; 7. Transcendence in Rituals ; 7.1 The Vedic Sacrifice (yajna) ; 7.2 The Fire Sacrifice (homa) ; 7.3 Worship and Prayer (puja) ; 7.4 E-darshan and Cyber-puja ; Conclusion ; Part IV: Meaning ; 8. Meaning and Function ; 8.1 The Cultural Studies Approach ; 8.2 The Cognitive Sciences approach ; 9. The Purvamimamsa Theory of Ritual Efficacy ; Conclusion ; Part V: The Hindu Path of Ritual-Summary ; Appendix: Automatic Detection of Ritual Structures ; Glossary ; References

Michaels's book is a positive contribution to ritual studies and to the study of Hindu ritual within the larger conversation of ritual theory. The ethno-Indological approach taken by Michaels is, furthermore, an innovative and rewarding method for the study of Hindu ritual, particularly as these two fieldsethnography and Indologyhave sometimes been seen as at odds with each other.