The Head Beneath the Altar

Hindu Mythology and the Critique of Sacrifice

Brian Collins (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

320 Seiten

2014
Michigan State University Press (Verlag)
978-1-61186-116-7 (ISBN)

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In the beginning, says the ancient Hindu text the Rg Veda, was man. And from man’s sacrifice and dismemberment came the entire world, including the hierarchical ordering of human society. The Head Beneath the Altar is the first book to present a wide-ranging study of Hindu texts read through the lens of René Girard’s mimetic theory of the sacrificial origin of religion and culture. For those interested in Girard and comparative religion, the book also performs a careful reading of Girard’s work, drawing connections between his thought and the work of theorists like Georges Dumézil and Giorgio Agamben. Brian Collins examines the idea of sacrifice from the earliest recorded rituals through the flowering of classical mythology and the ancient Indian institutions of the duel, the oath, and the secret warrior society. He also uncovers implicit and explicit critiques in the tradition, confirming Girard’s intuition that Hinduism offers an alternative anti-sacrificial worldview to the one contained in the gospels.

Brian Collins holds the Drs. Ram and Sushila Gawande Chair in Indian Religion and Philosophy at Ohio University.

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Rivalries Priests and Kings, Oaths and Duels Epic Variations on a Mimetic Theme Meaning: The Secret Heart of the Sacred Yajñānta: The End of Sacrifice Notes Bibliography Index

Reihe/Serie	Studies in Violence, Mimesis & Culture
Verlagsort	East Lansing, MI
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Hinduismus
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	1-61186-116-0 / 1611861160
ISBN-13	978-1-61186-116-7 / 9781611861167
Zustand	Neuware