Lopez, Donald S. Jr. : University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and
Cultures at the University of Michigan.
Review
"The very nature of this anthology suggests that the contemporary student be taught to learn in the context
of uncertain borders, of conflicting and of ambiguous worlds. . . . The Religions of India in Practice should be
in the hands of every teacherscholar of religions in India and then in the hands of their students."
--The Journal of Asian Studies
"A volume in the valuable series of Princeton Readings in Religion.... [A] most useful set of penetrating
studies ... their writers are among the most prominent scholars in the field."
--The Journal of IndoEuropean Studies
From the Publisher's Web Site, June, 2002
Summary
The inaugural volume of Princeton Readings in Religions brings together the work of thirty scholars of the religions
of India in a new anthology designed to reshape the ways in which the religious traditions of India are understood.
The book contains translations of forty-five works, most of which have never before been available in a Western
language. Many of these highlight types of discourse (especially ritual manuals, folktales, and oral narratives)
and voices (vernacular, esoteric, domestic, and female) that have not been sufficiently represented in previous
anthologies and standard accounts of Indian religions. The selections are drawn from ancient texts, medieval manuscripts,
modern pamphlets, and contemporary fieldwork in rural and urban India.
Table of Contents
Princeton Readings in Religions
Note on Transliteration
Contents by Traditions
Contributors
Introduction
1 Bengali Songs to Kali
2 Kabir
3 Poems of Tukaram
4 The Litany of Names of Manjusri
5 Sikh Hymns to the Divine Name
6 Devotional Hymns from the Sanskrit
7 Tamil Game Songs to Siva
8 In Praise of Muhammad: Sindhi and Urdu Poems
9 Baul Songs
10 Tamil Songs to God as Child
11 The Power of Mantra: A Story of the Five Protectors
12 Royal Temple Dedications
13 How to Partake in the Love of Krsna
14 Women's Songs for Auspicious Occasions
15 The Ocean of Mercury: An Eleventh-Century Alchemical Text
16 Predicting the Future with Dogs
17 How To Worship at Siva's Temple
18 The Order for Khalsa Initiation
19 The Rite of Veneration of Jina Images
20 The Vaisnava Sahajiya Traditions of Medieval Bengal
21 The Goddess Sasthi Protects Children
22 Women's Celebration of Muhammad's Birth
23 The Rescue of Two Drunkards
24 Encountering the Smallpox Goddess: The Auspicious Song of Sitala
25 The Wonders of Sri Mastnath
26 Jain Stories Inspiring Renunciation
27 A Holy Woman of Calcutta
28 Jain Stories of Miraculous Power
29 Mother Ten's Stories
30 The Life of Guru Nanak
31 The Autobiography of a Female Renouncer
32 The Prince with Six Fingers
33 How a Girl Became a Sacred Plant
34 Lives of Sufi Saints
35 Conversations of Sufi Saints
36 Teachings of Two Punjabi Sufi Poets
37 Ascetic Withdrawal or Social Engagement
38 The Bodhisattva Vajrapani's Subjugation of Siva
39 India as a Sacred Islamic Land
40 The Exemplary Devotion of the "Servant of Hari"
41 Satya Pir: Muslim Holy Man and Hindu God
42 Jain Questions and Answers: Who Is God and How Is He Worshiped?
43 Esoteric Knowledge and the Tradition of the Preceptors
44 The Rebuilding of a Hindu Temple
45 The Origin of Linga Worship
