1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910816618503321

Autore

Mann Richard D

Titolo

The rise of Mahāsena [[electronic resource] ] : the transformation of Skanda-Karttikeya in North India from the Kuṣāṇa to Gupta empires / / by Richard D. Mann

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden ; ; Boston, : Brill, 2012

ISBN

1-283-35684-8

9786613356840

90-04-21886-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (296 p.)

Collana

Brill's Indological library, , 0925-2916 ; ; v. 39

Disciplina

294.5/2113

Soggetti

Kārttikeya (Hindu deity) - Cult - India, North - History

Hinduism - India, North - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Revision of the author's Ph. D. dissertation.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Theories Related to the Origins of Skanda -- The Early Traditions of Skanda-Kārttikeya from Epic, Medical and Ritual Sources -- The Emergence of the Senāpati: The Narrative Conversion of the Warrior and Graha -- The Birth of Skanda-Kārttikeya in the Śalyaparvan, Anuśāsanaparvan and Rāmāyaṇa -- Coins, Statuary and Skanda-Kārttikeya: The Earliest Depictions -- Skanda-Kārttikeya on Kuṣāṇa Coinage and Gandhāra Statuary -- Developments in Skanda-Kārttikeya’s Cult between the Empires -- The Kumārasaṃbhava and Purāṇic Accounts of Skanda-Kārttikeya -- The Material Culture of Skanda-Kārttikeya in the Gupta Empire -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index -- Plates.

Sommario/riassunto

This book studies the early development of Skanda-Kārttikeya’s Hindu cult from its earliest textual and material sources to the end of the Gupta Empire in the north of India. The text argues that Skanda’s early ‘popular’ cult is found in Graha and Mātṛ traditions oriented towards appeasing potentially dangerous spirits. Once propitiated, however, Skanda and his Grahas/ Mātṛs could become fierce protectors of their followers. During the Kuṣāṇa and Gupta empires, this tradition gains the attention of rulers, who transform the deity’s protective cult into



one focused on the ruler’s military prowess and right to rule. Once detached from his former popular traditions the deity’s cult begins to falter in the north as it becomes increasingly focused on elite agendas.