Book : The Worship of Mahaganapati According to Nityotsava

The Worship of Mahaganapati

According to Nityotsava by Buhnemann, Gudrun 29 cm., pp. xlii+156, col. pl. 18, b/w 22, US$ 32.05 or Rs. 1250

(The present study contributes to an understanding of the aims of Tantric puja, which is intentionally hidden from the common man, and about which many strange notions prevails both in India and the West. As an example of regular Tantric puja practice it presents, with an elaborate introduction and commentary, the Sanskrit text (in English transliteration) and English translation of the second chapter of the Nityotsava.

This text was written in 1745 A.D. by Jagannatha Pandita alias Umanandanatha, a Maharastrian Brahmin and disciple of Bhaskararaya Makhindra. It is one of the best known and most respected works of the Srividya school of Hindu Tantrism, a school which is still alive today.

The deity worshipped in this ritual is Mahaganapati, a ten-armed form of Ganesa with consort, who is worshipped mainly in Maharastra and South India. The book presents illustrations of different acts of the puja ritual and the ritual gestures (mudra) employed in it.

Gudrun Buhnemann is a Prof. at the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.

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