3 Review(s)

The present work, a revised, re-set and expanded edition of the 1978 classic presents 27 articles contributed by research scholars of established merit. It deals with a comparatively less studied aspect of Indian culture, namely, the role and significance of regional Hindu traditions that emerged at the beginning of the early medieval period out of an interaction of elements of classical Hinduism with autochthonous local religious practices and beliefs. Among the regional traditions the cult of Jagannatha in Odisha is most interesting because of its archaic character as well as uninterrupted development until today. The cult is verily a culture and the backbone of Odishan identity.