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The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns

The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns THE SACRED GEOGRAPHY OF THE TAMIL SHAIVITE HYMNS* BY GEORGE W. SPENCER Northern Illinois University Revitalization movements, past and present, have become subjects of special interest to both historians and social scientists. Nativistic, mil- lennarian, messianic, and other kind of revitalization movements have provided scholars with useful data for the study of political, social and religious change, as well as what might be called "cultural crises" 1). Hinduism has experienced many such revitalization movements, in response to the internal development of Indian society or to the external challenges of invading peoples and alien faiths. We need only remind ourselves of the many syncretic Hindu cults which have de- veloped as a result of challenges posed to the Hindu social order by Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, in order to recognize the remarkable capacity of Hinduism for self-renewal. Among the most interesting revitalization movements to have devel- oped within Hinduism are the various cults of bhakti devotionalism, with their simple but impassioned messages and their implied egali- tarian bias. In particular, Tamil devotionalism has long been a subject of interest to students of Indian religious history. But the recent de- velopment of scholarly interest in modern Indian regionalism and its http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Numen Brill

The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns

Numen , Volume 17 (3): 232 – Jan 1, 1970

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1970 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0029-5973
eISSN
1568-5276
DOI
10.1163/156852770X00063
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

THE SACRED GEOGRAPHY OF THE TAMIL SHAIVITE HYMNS* BY GEORGE W. SPENCER Northern Illinois University Revitalization movements, past and present, have become subjects of special interest to both historians and social scientists. Nativistic, mil- lennarian, messianic, and other kind of revitalization movements have provided scholars with useful data for the study of political, social and religious change, as well as what might be called "cultural crises" 1). Hinduism has experienced many such revitalization movements, in response to the internal development of Indian society or to the external challenges of invading peoples and alien faiths. We need only remind ourselves of the many syncretic Hindu cults which have de- veloped as a result of challenges posed to the Hindu social order by Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, in order to recognize the remarkable capacity of Hinduism for self-renewal. Among the most interesting revitalization movements to have devel- oped within Hinduism are the various cults of bhakti devotionalism, with their simple but impassioned messages and their implied egali- tarian bias. In particular, Tamil devotionalism has long been a subject of interest to students of Indian religious history. But the recent de- velopment of scholarly interest in modern Indian regionalism and its

Journal

NumenBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1970

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