Author Description

This introduction to the main Hindu deities is illustrated with 65 delightful, delicate Indian miniature paintings from the last century. Hindu life and belief is rooted in a mythology of gods and goddesses. The origins and adventures of the members of the pantheon are the source of Hindu philosophy, religious practice and social behaviour. It is an ancient, vast and varied mythology, which has changed across historical eras and geographical regions. Deities have their origins in different cultures that have gradually coalesced and, across time, the gods themselves have undergone vast shifts in role and importance. The myths, and the divinities themselves, embrace all aspects of experience: creation and destruction, benevolence and terror, love and rage. The mythology works at many levels: sometimes combined with local folk beliefs it provides simple personifications of natural phenomena, teaches moral lessons, explains the creation of the universe; at the other extreme it offers sophisticated theories of matter, energy, time and space. Here, a concise introduction outlines the development of Hindu religion and culture in India, while the commentary to each of the paintings introduces the god or goddess depicted. The miniature paintings illustrating this book come from the Oriental Manuscripts Collection in the Institute of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg.