Death and Life-Giving Waters: Cremation, caste, and cosmogony in karmic traditions

Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Preface
Table of Contents
List of figures
Introduction
Part 1: Cremating Death – Creating Life
Chapter 1: Cremations, kings, and katto
Chapter 2: Sacrifices of kings – Constructions of castes and cosmos
Chapter 3: Meditation upon death and digestion of the dead
Chapter 4: Paradoxes of purity and pollution
Part 2: The Sisters Kali and Ganga
Chapter 5: “I am on my dharma, but Kali is on my karma”
Chapter 6: Castes without Brahmans
Chapter 7: Water burials of Mother Goddesses
Chapter 8: Hindus in a Muslim World
Part 3: Reality, Materiality, and Spirituality
Chapter 9: River and rain – Waters of life and death
Chapter 10: The hydrological circle – Cosmos and copulation
Chapter 11: Myth and materiality – Mind in matter
Chapter 12: Shivaratri, sadhus, and sewage
Chapter 13: Status and flesh – Conceptualising corpses
Part 4: Archaeology of Water-Worlds
Chapter 14: Pashupatinath as living traditions and cultural heritage
Chapter 15: Rebirth and water in ancient Greece and India
Chapter 16: Exposure, purity, and Zoroastrianism
Chapter 17: Religious syncretism at Taxila
Conclusion
Appendixes and Literature
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Literature