Monastic Wanderers

Nath Yogi Ascetics in Modern South Asia
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-03-265261-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 376 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 694 g

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nath Yogis (known also as the Yogis with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradaya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnath, known for his strong link to Hatha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nath sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings worn by the fully initiated Yogis) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering Yogis and the monastic settlements.

The Nath monasteries belong to two categories: the pañcayati maths, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the niji maths, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiatives

The book gives a detailed account of two pañcayati monasteries, the Kadri Math of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Math of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three niji maths: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bouillier, Veronique

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Alternative Glaubensformen Moderne Kulte & Sekten
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction,

PART I: NATH YOGIS’ IDENTITY

Nine Naths and Eightyfours Siddhas, Gorakhnath, Gorakhnath’s Textual Corpus, Hatha Yoga, Legends and Powers, Deities, Gorakhnath as God, The Goddess, Bhairav, 2. Belonging to the Sampradaya, Initiations, Last Rites, Sect Organization, The Panths, The Mahasabha, 3. Wandering Ascetics

PART II: COLLECTIVE MONASTERIES

The Kadri Math: History, Mangalore- the Town and its Temples, A Reading of the Legend of Parasuram: Manjunath’s Appearance, The Kadali Mañjunatha Mahatmyam, Mañjunath Temple and its History, The Tenth Century statues: Buddhist or Shaivite?, Lokesvara: A Transitional God, Kadri or Kadali Van: The Plantain Forest- the Goddess Mangaladevi and the Nath Anchorage, Historical Hypothesis, The Kadri Monastery in Modern Times, The Monastic Structure, 5. Kadri Raja’s Enthronement, Simhastha Kumbh Mela: Tryambakeshvar, The Selection of the Raja, The Cult of the Patradevata: The Making of a Community, The Ascetic Pilgrimage, The enthronement of the Kadri Raja, The Arrival of the Jhundi, The Vittal Monastery, The Consecration or Pattabhisek, Adhikar- Entitlement: Enthronement and Coronation, Parting with the Patradevata, Comparison with other Consecration Rituals, Comparison with other Nath Monasteries, Other Monastic Investitures, Installation Ceremonies of the Kings Another Model: The Consecration of a Spiritual Master, Back in Kadri: An Original Synthesis, 6. Caughera Math (Dang Valley, Nepal): Legends of Foundation, Yogis and Kings, Caughera Monastery: The Place, The Legends of Ratannath, Ratan’s Initiation: Local Roots, Nath Legitimation: Ratannath as Kanipa, Ratannath, Ratan Baba, Hajji Ratan, Ratannath’s Travels as Narrated in Caughera, Ratan and Goga Pir: A Samadhi in Gogamedhi, Hajji Ratan of Bhatinda, Ratan al-Hindi: Muslim Polemical Accounts, Back to Caughera: Hindu and Muslims, 7. The Yogis in the Kingdom: Ritual Services

Über Autor(innen)

Véronique Bouillier is a social anthropologist at the CNRS (Paris). Looking first at the social organization and history of Shaivite ascetic castes in Nepal, she turned to the study of monastic structures, as implemented by the Nath Yogi sect in Nepal and in India, and devoted two books as well as several articles both in French and English to the interface between asceticism and society.