Religion, tradition, and ideology : pre-colonial South India / by R. Champakalakshmi

INTRODUCTION: The making of a religious tradition: perspectives from pre-colonial South India -- SECTION I: PURANIC RELIGION, BHAKTI, AND RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS: From devotion and dissent to dominance: the Bhakti of the Tamil Alvars and Nayanars -- Puranic religion and the evolution of the Tamil Saiva tradition -- Sankara and Puranic religion --Vaisnava concepts in early Tamil Nadu -- The sacred geography of the Murukan cult -- SECTION II: RELIGION, CANON, AND COMMUNITY: Patikam Patuvar: ritual singing as a means of communication in early medieval South India -- Caste and community: oscillating identities in pre-modern South India -- The Matha: monachism as the base of a parallel authority structure -- SECTION III: COUNTER TRADITIONS: THE SRAMANAS: Buddhism in South India: patterns of patronage -- Jainism in Tamil Nadu: a historical overview -- Jainism in Andhra and Karnataka -- The Bhakti movement and religious conflict in early medieval Tamilakam -- SECTION IV: TEMPLE AS SYMBOL AND METAPHOR: Symbol and metaphor: temple architecture and iconography in South India -- Iconographic programme and political imagery in early medieval Tamilakam: the Rajasimhesvara and the Rajarajesvara -- Bhagavata scenes in Pallava and Cola sculptures -- Tanjavur, the ceremonial city of the colas -- The Dravida style of architecture: a historical perspective -- SECTION V: IDEOLOGY AND SOVEREIGNTY: The sovereignty of the Devine: the Vaisnava pantheon and temporal power in South India -- Ideology and the state in South India