New Books Network
Hindu Studies
Hindu Studies November 30, 2020

Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies

Suzanne Newcombe and Karen O'Brien-Kop

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (Routledge, 2020) is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource, which frames and contextualises the rapidly expanding fields that explore yoga and meditative techniques. The book …

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South Asian Studies November 27, 2020

Citizenship in a Caste Polity

Religion, Language and Belonging in Goa

Jason Keith Fernandes

Hosted by Ali Mohsin
In the mid-1980s, Goa witnessed mass demonstrations, violent protests and political mobilising, following which Konkani was declared the official language of the Goan territory. However, Konkani was recognised only in …
Hindu Studies November 27, 2020

The Bhagavad-Gītā

A Critical Introduction

Ithamar Theodor

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Ithamar Theodor's The Bhagavad-Gītā: A Critical Introduction (Routledge, 2020) is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one of the most read texts in South Asia. The Bhagavad-gītā is at its …
South Asian Studies November 25, 2020

Caste Matters

Suraj Yengde

Hosted by Preethi Ramaprasad
“India is not yet a nation. It is still in an improvisational mode like a jazz band that needs to perform repeatedly together in order to uplift every voice in …
Religion November 25, 2020

Peace Love Yoga

The Politics of Global Spirituality

Andrea Jain

Hosted by Lindsey Jackson
In Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality (Oxford University Press, 2020), Andrea Jain examines the interconnectedness between global spirituality and neoliberal capitalism through an examination of the global …
Hindu Studies November 18, 2020

Bollywood Horrors

Religion, Violence and Cinematic Fears in India

Ellen Goldberg, Aditi Sen and Brian Collins

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Bollywood Horrors: Religion, Violence and Cinematic Fears in India (Bloomsbury, 2020) is a multi-faceted and wide-ranging collection that examines cinematic representations of real-life horror, the religious aspects of horror imagery …
South Asian Studies November 6, 2020

Gandhi and Rajchandra

The Making of the Mahatma

Uma Majmudar

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
This book traces the little-known yet unparalleled influence of Shrimad Rajchandra, Jain zaveri (jeweller)-cum-spiritual seeker, on Mahatma Gandhi. In examining original Gujarati writings of both Gandhi and Rajchandra, Majmudar explores …
Architecture November 3, 2020

The Contemporary Hindu Temple

Fragments for a History

Annapurna Garimella

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Contemporary Hindu temples raise aesthetic, economic, political and philosophical questions about the role of architecture in making a place for the sacred in society. This book presents the Hindu temple …
South Asian Studies October 26, 2020

The Authority of Female Speech in Indian Goddess Traditions

Anway Mukhopadhyay

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Contemporary debates on “mansplaining” foreground the authority enjoyed by male speech, and highlight the way it projects listening as the responsibility of the dominated, and speech as the privilege of …
South Asian Studies October 16, 2020

Heroic Shāktism

The Cult of Durgā in Ancient Indian Kingship

Bihani Sarkar

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Heroic Saktism is the belief that a good king and a true warrior must worship the goddess Durga, the form and substance of kingship. This belief formed the bedrock of …
South Asian Studies October 15, 2020

Vicissitudes of the Goddess

Reconstructions of the Gramadevata in India's Religious Traditions

Sree Padma

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
In Vicissitudes of the Goddess: Reconstructions of the Gramadevata in India's Religious Traditions (Oxford UP, 2013), Padma (Bowdoin College) focuses on two types of Gramadevatas or goddesses: deified women and …
Folklore October 13, 2020

A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses

Tales of the Feminine Divine from India and Beyond

Michael Slouber

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Michael Slouber's new book A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses: Tales of the Feminine Divine from India and Beyond (University of California Press, 2021) surveys the diversity of India's feminine divine …
South Asian Studies October 12, 2020

Devi Mahatmyam

The Glory of the Goddess

Tim Bruce

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Today I talked to Tim Bruce, narrator of Devi Mahatmyam: The Glory of the Goddess (Raconteurs Audio LLP, 2020). For millions worldwide, the Devi Mahatmyam is of central spiritual importance …
South Asian Studies October 9, 2020

Contemplative Studies in Hinduism

Meditation, Devotion, Prayer, and Worship

Rita D. Sherma and Purushottama Bilimoria

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
What counts as contemplative practices in Hinduism? What can Hindu Studies offer Contemplative Studies as a discipline? Contemplative Studies in Hinduism: Meditation, Devotion, Prayer, and Worship (Routledge, 2020), edited by …
South Asian Studies October 5, 2020

Gandhi's Thought and Liberal Democracy

Sanjay Lal

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Is religion indispensable to public life? What can Gandhi’s thought contribute to the modern state? With an intense focus on both the depth and practicality of Mahatma Gandhi's political and …
Hindu Studies October 2, 2020

Rabbi on the Ganges

A Jewish-Hindu Encounter

Alan Brill

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
How do Judaism and Hinduism compare as religions? Beyond the academic merits of comparative religion, what can adherents to one of these faiths gain by learning about the other? Alan …
South Asian Studies September 29, 2020

Temples of Modernity

Nationalism, Hinduism, and Transhumanism in South Indian Science

Robert M. Geraci

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
What is the relationship between science, religion and technology in Hinduism? We speak with Robert M. Geraci about his research into religious ideas and practices in Indian science and engineering …
Gender Studies September 22, 2020

Absent Mother God of the West

A Kali Lover's Journey into Christianity and Judaism

Neela Bhattacharya Saxena

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
In Absent Mother God of the West: A Kali Lover's Journey into Christianity and Judaism (Rowman, 2015) Neela Bhattacharya Saxena draws on her personal religious experiences and devotion to the …
South Asian Studies September 15, 2020

Controversial Reasoning in Indian Philosophy

Major Texts and Arguments on Arthâpatti

Malcolm Keating

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
How do we know what we know? The most prominent means of knowledge for Indian philosophers are direct perception (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna) and authority (śabda). Then there is the much …
South Asian Studies August 28, 2020

The Jewel of Annual Astrology

A Translation of Balabhadra's Hāyanaratna

Martin Gansten

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
We speak with Martin Gansten on his groundbreaking edition and translation of Balabhadra's Hāyanaratna (1649), the first-ever scholarly volume on Sanskritized Perso-Arabic (Tājika) astrology. The Jewel of Annual Astrology (A …