Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion

Fabrizio M. Ferrari is Professor of Indology and South Asian Religions in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Chester. Thomas Dahnhardt is Assistant Professor in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures in the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

• Introduction Fabrizio M. Ferrari and Thomas Dahnhardt Section 1: Nature, Landscape, Devotion 1. A Modern Kalpavrk?a: Sathya Sai Baba and the Wish-fulfilling Tree Antonio Rigopoulos, Ca'Foscari University of Venice 2. "Pagoda Tree": Plants and Other Foliate Motifs on Indian Coins through History Shailendra Bhandare, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford 3. Divine Flora, Divine Love: The Place of Natural Scenery in the Ultimate Vision of Krsna Bhakti Graham M. Schweig, Christopher Newport University, USA Section 2: Devotion, Ecology, Ritual 4. Perfumed Islam: The Culture of Scent at the Nizamuddin Basti Mikko Viitamaki, University of Helsinki 5. The Bodhi Tree and Other Plants in the Pali Tipi?aka Antonella S. Comba, University of Turin 6. Wood, Water, and Waste: Material Aspects of Mortuary Practices in South Asia Albertina Nugteren, Tilburg University, The Netherlands Section 3: Ritual, Power, Myth 7. The Herbal Arsenal and Fetid Food: The Power of Plants in Early Tantric Exorcism Rituals Michael Slouber, Western Washington University, USA 8. Tree-Hugger: The Samavedic Rite of the Audumbari Finnian M.M. Gerety, Brown University and Harvard University Section 4: Myth, Food, Nature 9. Caryota Urens: From Vegetable Manifestation of God to Sacred Tree of the Lanjia Saoras Stefano Beggiora, Ca'Foscari University of Venice 10. Rice and Rice Culture. Cultivation and Worship of a Divine Plant in Western Odisha Uwe Skoda, Aarhus University, Denmark 11. Agriculture, Floriculture and Botanical Knowledge in a Middle Bengali Text Fabrizio M. Ferrari