The Bhāgavata Purāna

This book brings together some of the most highly regarded scholars on the subject and cohesively provides an entry into the main themes of the Bhagavata Purana. Moreover, it does so by drawing on materials from comparative religion, theology, history, anthropology, and ethnomusicology. -- Cynthia Ann Humes, Claremont McKenna College The Bhagavata Purana gathers a superb group of contemporary scholars who bring a new dimension of appreciation for this religious masterpiece of Vaisnava Hinduism. Their essays plumb its unique devotional intensity and metaphysical subtlety. The vast narratives of the Bhagavata Purana reveal a luxuriant universe in which the divine and created worlds interpenetrate and in which Krishna is portrayed as a God truly to be loved with 'whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.' The text's special genius heightens devotional intensity to Krishna while presenting profound theological discourse. No wonder Hinduism in all its varieties cannot be understood without first understanding the Bhagavata Purana. Ravi M. Gupta and Kenneth R. Valpey are to be thanked for gathering these important contributions to its scholarship. -- Daniel P. Sheridan, Saint Joseph's College of Maine

The Bhāgavata Purāna is a versatile Hindu sacred text containing more than 14,000 Sanskrit verses. Finding its present form around the tenth century C.E., the work inspired several major north Indian devotional traditions as well as schools of dance and drama, and continues to permeate popular Hindu art and ritual in both India and the diaspora.A vibrant example of living literature, the Bhagavata Purana is a versatile Hindu sacred text written in Sanskrit verse. Finding its present form by the tenth century C.E., the work inspired several major north Indian devotional (bhakti) traditions as well as schools of dance and drama, and continues to permeate popular Hindu art and ritual in both India and the diaspora. Introducing the Bhagavata Purana's key themes while also examining its extensive influence on Hindu thought and practice, this collection conducts the first multidimensional reading of the entire text. Each essay focuses on a key theme of the Bhagavata Purana and its subsequent presence in Hindu theology, performing arts, ritual recitation, and commentary. The authors consider the relationship between the sacred text and the divine image, the text's metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings, its shaping of Indian culture, and its ongoing relevance to contemporary Indian concerns.