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About the Book:
The temple is the focus for all aspects of everyday life in
the Hindu community-religious, cultural, educational and social. It played many
roles in society as place of worship, centre of learning, store house of state
property, meeting place, court of justice, promoter of fine arts, etc. The temple
also served as an agency for easier and more efficient extraction of surplus
from the peasants in the agrarian economy and this contributed to the extension
of agriculture. In the course of such extension the temples speed up the process
of disintegration of tribal society and its reorganization as a caste society.
In the newly formed caste society, the temple served as an integrating player
linking the high and low in service. The temples maintained the morality of
the society and religious faith of the people. The temples of medieval south
India had been a great strengthening factor in keeping the people united and
played a vital role as the centre of all social activities. The temples had
given employment to a lot of people, as they needed people for the construction,
maintenance and day to day function. They also employed the architects for the
construction of temples, the artisans for the art and craft activities, sculptors
and many servants for the engaging in various activities of the temple. The
temples were also a place of religious conversation and musical discussions.
All these have facilitated the propagation of religion, music, dance and other
fine arts in the society.
This edited volume contains 20 articles covers different aspects of South Indian
Temple and Society, which include the following facets like: Power and Legitimacy
of Medieval South Indian Temples; Role of Religion in the Chola State and Society;
Science behind Temple Worship; Cultural Aspects of Hindu Temples; Administrators
and other Functionaries of the Hindu Temples; Temple Women; Socio-political
Dimension of Early Kerala Temples; Religious Endowments; Role of Temple in Agrarian
Expansions; Socio-cultural Facets of Vijayanagar Temples; Social Customs and
Festivals in the Temple Art of Vijayanagar-Nayak Period; Early Buddhist Temples
in East Coast of South India; Folk Traditions of South India and other social
and historical related aspects. The strength of this edited volume spotlight
on the wide ranges of aspects on the subject as well as projections of the learned
scholars on the theme of this book. It is hoped that the readers would be immensely
benefitted from the learned exposition of temple institutions as a centre of
all social, economic and cultural activities.
Contents:
Introduction
Power and Legitimacy of Medieval South Indian Temples in the Society * Chidambaram
Temple: Tracing the Role of Religion in the Chola State and Society * Science
Behind Temple Worship * Cultural Aspects of Hindu Temples in Medieval Tamil
Country * The Medieval Tamil Society and Temple Management * Administrators,
Artisans and Servants: Temple’s Functionaries in Medieval South India
* Temple and Earning Women in Medieval South India * Territories of the Divine:
Temple Sanketams and Their Socio-political Dimensions in Early Kerala Society
* Temple and Religious Endowments during the Pandyas * Horizontal Expansion
of Temple Institutions and its Role to the Agrarian Changes: Study on Early
Medieval South India * The Socio-cultural Facet of Temples with Reference to
Vijayanagara Period * Social Customs and Festivals in the Temple Art of the
Vijayanagara-Nayak Period in Tamilnadu * The Renowned Inscriptions of Sri Ninra
Narayana Perumal Temple at Thiruttangal: A Historical Cram * Early Buddhist
Temples in the East Coast of South India * Religious Status of Paraiyas in Medieval
Hindu Tamilagam * Discourses on Policies of ‘Withdrawal’, ‘Non-Intervention’
and ‘Protection’ : A Colonial State’s Perspective on Hindu
Religious Institutions in Madras Presidency * Migration: An Aspect of the Burden
of Taxation under the Cholas * Villupattu Tradition: A Performing Art of Propitiation
of Deities in Kanyakumari District * The Origins of Social Insurance for the
Labouring Classes * Palm-Leaf Manuscripts of Tamil Nadu: A Panoramic View
About the Editor:
Dr. K. Mavali Rajan is presently working as Assistant Professor
in the Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, Visva-Bharati
(A Central University), Santiniketan, West Bengal. He obtained his M.A., M.Phil.,
Ph.D. degree with specialization of medieval South Indian History from the School
of Historical Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu and also got his
Master of Tourism Management degree further from the same university. He has
also completed a course on Epigraphy from the Archeological Department of Tamil
Nadu government in 2000. He started his academic career as a Guest Lecturer
in History and served five years in various Government Arts colleges of Tamil
Nadu. He has to his credit of a book namely “Medieval Tamil Society and
Agrarian Slavery” which has published from Kolkata in 2014. He is associated
with many notable historical associations of the Indian History Congress, South
Indian History Congress, Tamil Nadu History Congress, and the Institute of Historical
Studies. He is also associated with the editorial board of the Journal of Social
Science and Humanity Researches, International Journal of Cotemporary Research
in Social Science, the International Journal of Social Science Review and the
Research Journal ‘Nilam’ and he is also an Associate editor of the
International Journal of Kamata Anusandhan. He specializes in various aspects
of socio-economic history of early India and History of ancient and medieval
South India. His various research works has been published in several reputed
journals of national and international.
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