1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910820892003321

Autore

Denton Lynn Teskey <1949-1995.>

Titolo

Female ascetics in Hinduism / / Lynn Teskey Denton ; [edited by Steven Collins]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Albany, : State University of New York Press, c2004

ISBN

0-7914-8462-9

1-4237-3956-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (229 p.)

Collana

SUNY series in Hindu studies

Altri autori (Persone)

CollinsSteven <1951->

Disciplina

294.5/447082

Soggetti

Hindu women - Religious life - India - Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

Asceticism - Hinduism

Ascetics - India - Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

Hindu monastic and religious life - India - Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-207) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Intro -- Female Ascetics in Hinduism -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1. The Religious Life of Woman-as-householder -- 2. The Woman Who Is Not a Householder: Widowhood, Unmarriageability, and Female Asceticism -- 3. Unity and Diversity I: Basic Terminology -- 4. Unity and Diversity II: Sectarian Affiliation, Spiritual Path, and Ascetic Mode -- 5. Socioreligious Aspects of Female Asceticism in Varanasi -- 6. Sainthood, Society, and Transcendence: Legends and Poetry of Women Saints -- Notes -- INTRODUCTION -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Glossary of Hindu and Sanskrit Terms -- Bibliography -- Supplemental Bibliography by Meena Khandelwal -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.

Sommario/riassunto

Female Ascetics in Hinduism provides a vivid account of the lives of women renouncers—women who renounce the world to live ascetic spiritual lives—in India. The author approaches the study of female asceticism by focusing on features of two dharmas, two religiously defined ways of life: that of woman-as-householder and that of the ascetic, who, for various reasons, falls outside the realm of



householdership. The result of fieldwork conducted in Varanasi (Benares), the book explores renouncers' social and personal backgrounds, their institutions, and their ways of life. Offering a first-hand look at and an insightful analysis of this little-known world, this highly readable book will be indispensable to those interested in female asceticism in the Hindu tradition and women's spiritual lives around the world.