Code: 04537135

Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat

Name: Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat
Brand: Oxford University Press Inc
SKU: 04537135
Price: 54.80 EUR
Availability: InStock

by Neelima Shukla-Bhatt

Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 2015
More about this

54.80 €

In stock at our supplier
Shipping in 15 - 20 days

Add to wishlist

Tottenham Hotspur - 100 Facts
6.25 € -28 %
Buy
The Last Witness: The Protean Explosion: The Protean Explosion
10.99 € -2 %
Buy
Simpel, 1 DVD, 1 DVD-Video
10.69 €
Buy
China in the Xi Jinping Era
153.72 €
Buy
Conjunction Fallacy
40.36 € -7 %
Buy
L. L. L. Catalogue of Engravings of Some Distinguished British Jurists and a Few Other Noted Men
28.66 €
Buy

Give this book as a present today

Order book and choose Gift Order.
We will send you book gift voucher at once. You can give it out to anyone.
Book will be send to donee, nothing more to care about.

Book gift voucher sample Read more

You get 137 loyalty points

Book synopsis

Neelima Shukla-Bhatt offers an illuminating study of Narsinha Mehta, one of the most renowned saint-poets of medieval India and the most celebrated bhakti (devotion) poet from Gujarat, whose songs and sacred biography formed a vital source of moral inspiration for Gandhi. Exploring manuscripts, medieval texts, Gandhi's more obscure writings, and performances in multiple religious and non-religious contexts, including modern popular media, Shukla-Bhatt shows that the songs and sacred narratives associated with the saint-poet have been sculpted by performers and audiences into a popular source of moral inspiration. Drawing on the Indian concept of bhakti-rasa (devotion as nectar), Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat reveals that the sustained popularity of the songs and narratives over five centuries, often across religious boundaries and now beyond devotional contexts in modern media, is the result of their combination of inclusive religious messages and aesthetic appeal in performance. Taking as an example Gandhi's perception of the songs and stories as vital cultural resources for social reconstruction, the book suggests that when religion acquires the form of popular culture, it becomes a widely accessible platform for communication among diverse groups. Shukla-Bhatt expands upon the scholarship on the embodied and public dimension of bhakti through detailed analysis of multiple public venues of performance and commentary, including YouTube videos. This study provides a vivid picture of the Narasinha tradition, and will be a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the power of religious performative traditions in popular media.