Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions

Knut A. Jacobsen is Professor in the History of Religions at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is author and editor of around thirty books and numerous articles and is the founding editor in chief of the six volume Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2009-2014).Mikael Aktor is Associate Professor of Study of Religions at University of Southern Denmark. His publications include Ritualisation and Segregation: The Untouchability Complex in Indian dharma literature with special reference to Parāśarasmṛti and Parāśaramādhavīya (2008).Kristina Myrvold is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the Department of Cultural Studies, Linnaeus University, Sweden. She has published several articles on Sikh practices in Sweden and in India, and is the editor of publications such as Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices Among European Sikhs (with Knut A. Jacobsen, 2013).

• Chapter 1: The Śivaliṅga Between Artifact and Nature: The Ghṛṣṇeśvaraliṅga in Varanasi and the Bāṇaliṅgas from the Narmada RiverChapter 2: Jhāṅkīs: "Living Images" as Objects of Worship in Himachal PradeshChapter 3: The Material Culture of Sāṃkhya: Kapila as Object of WorshipChapter 4: Yantras as Objects of Worship in Hindu and Tantric TraditionsMateriality, Aesthetics, and PracticeChapter 5: Wheel of the Liberated: Jain Siddhacakras, Past and PresentChapter 6: Object of Worship as a Free Choice: Viṭhobā (god), Dñyāneśvar (saint), the Dñyāneśvarī (book), or Samādhī (grave)? Chapter 7: Architectural Heritage and Modern Rituals: The Ahmad Shah Bahmani Mausoleum between Old Political Concerns and New Religious PerceptionsChapter 8: Lāl Beg Underground: The Passing of an "Untouchable" GodChapter 9: Making the Book a Living Guru: Ritual Practices Among Contemporary SikhsChapter 10: Worshipping the Sword: The Practice of Śāstar Pūjā in the Sikh Warrior TraditionChapter 11: Rites of Reverence, Ways of Worship: The Bodhi Tree in Bodhgayā as a Material Object and Focus of Devotion