This book is a combined revised reprint of two books by the late Sanmugam Arumugam. The two books are Ancient Hindu Temples of Sri Lanka, Second Edition 1982, and More Hindu Temples of Sri Lanka, 1991. These two books have long been out of print. Ancient Hindu Temples describes 52 Temples, including the oldest Hindu Temple still existing in Sri Lanka which is Siva Devale No. 2 in Polonnaruva. More Hindu Temples goes on to describe 54 additional temples, some ancient and some relatively recent. Many of the temples are illustrated by photographs. The contents of both of the above books have been merged in this single Volume. Sanmugam Arumugam was a Chartered Civil Engineer and a graduate of Kings College, London. He worked in the Irrigation Department in Sri Lanka for 32 years, retiring as a Deputy Director in 1965. He then worked as a Director of the Water Resources Board for six years. He was President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka in 1966-67. He was the author of several technical papers and books including the monumental 461 page book, Water Resources of Ceylon 1969, which remains a standard reference resource on the subject to this day. After his retirement he turned his attention to writing about Hindu Temples. Apart from the two books reprinted in this volume, his published works include The Lord of Thiruketheeswaram, 1980, Koneswaram 1986, Lombok and its Temples 1990, and Stone Sculptures in Colombo Hindu Temple 1990. His final work was Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon 1997, which includes the profiles of over 775 Ceylon Tamils. He passed away in the year 2000, at the age of 94 years, working on his word processor right up to the very end.

This travel and pilgrimage guidebook is meant primarily for Buddhists or those interested in Buddhism who wish to explore Sri Lanka’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the island, the author weaves together archaeological findings, art history and the stories and legends of the Buddhist tradition to bring to life thirty-three places of religious significance.

An accessible and up-to-date survey of scholarly thinking about Hinduism, perfect for courses on Hinduism or world religions The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism examines the historical trajectories that have led to the modern religion of Hinduism. Covering main themes such as philosophy, practice, society, and science, this comprehensive volume brings together a variety of approaches and perspectives in Hindu Studies to help readers better appreciate the richness, complexity, and diversity of Hinduism. Essays by acknowledged experts in the field present historical accounts of all major traditions, analyze key texts, engage with Hindu theology and philosophy, address contemporary questions of colonialism and identity, and more. Throughout the text, the authors highlight the links, common threads, and issues that reoccur in the history of Hinduism. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of the Companion incorporates the most recent scholarship and reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism. New chapters examine the Goddess tradition, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism and inter-religious comparison, Hindu philosophy, and Indian astronomy, medicine, language, and mathematics. This edition places further emphasis on the importance of region-specific studies in analyzing Hinduism, discusses important theoretical issues, and offers fresh perspectives on current discourse in Hindu society and politics. Provides a thorough overview of major texts, their histories, and the traditions that preserve them Describes the major textual traditions in Sanskrit with examples in different Indian vernacular languages Addresses major issues and contemporary debates about the nature and study of Hinduism Discusses the importance of systematic, rational thinking in Indian sciences, philosophy, and theology Examines key socio-political themes in Hinduism that are of particular relevance to the modern world The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Second Edition is an excellent text for undergraduate courses on Hinduism in Religious Studies and Philosophy departments, and an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in Hindu Studies.

Hinduism, the Truth is not a sect of a faith or a man-made religion. The Cosmic Truth of Hinduism is non denominational and universal and its founder is unknown. However, ancient Rishis and Saints have nurtured and revived it into what it is today. Hinduisms basic concept is unique with its link to Cosmic Energy , its traditions and culture is also linked to nature. A diagram explaining the distribution of Cosmic energy is explained, is given in this book. Lord Shiva is the Cosmic dancer. It is depicted that Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva is in charge of evolution, for easy understanding by the people. This book deals with speculations about the origin of Hinduism and its association with nature. The design and energy of the Hindu temple and how the energy is associated with the power of Yantras, and Chakras in the human body, mantras and their connection with sound waves, Solar system, and Time. Idol / Deity worship and rituals etc. The book covers the five Ishwarams temples of Shiva, Sakthi, Karthigeya, Vishnu, Kannagi in Sri Lanka, worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. Hinduism had its origin in the Indus valley civilization. The word Hindu is derived from the Indus river and dates back to over 5,000 years or more. This book also touches the link between the Hinduism and Buddhism. Kannagi (Pathini) and her worship by Sri Lankan Tamils and Singhalese is also explained in the book.

This volume seeks to answer the question of how the Buddhist monks in today's Sri Lanka—given Buddhism's traditionally nonviolent philosophy—are able to participate in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils.

This inderdisciplinary inquiry seeks to uncover how Buddhism was expressed during the waning years of indigenous political power in Asia's oldest continuing Buddhist culture. It focuses on King Kirti Sri Rajasinha and how he successfully revised Sinhalese Theravada Buddhism.

Handbook of Hinduism in Europe portrays and analyses how Hindu traditions have expanded across the continent, and presents the main Hindu communities, religious groups, forms, practices and teachings. The Handbook does this in two parts, Part One covers historical and thematic topics which are of importance for understanding Hinduism in Europe as a whole and Part Two has chapters on Hindu traditions in every country in Europe. Hindu traditions have a long history of interaction with Europe, but the developments during the last fifty years represent a new phase. Globalization and increased ease of communication have led to the presence of a great plurality of Hindu traditions. Hinduism has become one of the major religions in Europe and is present in every country of the continent.

Space is dynamic, political and a cause of conflict. It bears the weight of human dreams and fears. Conflict is caused not only by spatial exclusivism but also by an inclusivism that seeks harmony through subordinating the particularity of the Other to the world view of the majority. This book uses the lens of space to examine inter-religious and inter-communal conflict in colonial and post-colonial Sri Lanka, demonstrating that the colonial can shed light on the post-colonial, particularly on post-war developments, post-May 2009, when Buddhist symbolism was controversially developed in the former, largely non-Buddhist, war zones. Using the concepts of exclusivism and inclusivist subordination, the book analyses the different imaginaries or world views that were present in colonial and post-1948 Sri Lanka, with particular reference to the ethnic or religious Other, and how these were expressed in space, influenced one another and engendered conflict. The book’s use of insights from human geography, peace studies and secular iterations of the theology of religions breaks new ground, as does its narrative technique, which prioritizes voices from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the author’s fieldwork and personal observation in the twenty first. Through utilizing past and contemporary reflections on lived experience, informed by diverse religious world views, the book offers new insights into Sri Lanka’s past and present. It will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of colonial and postcolonial studies; war and peace studies; security studies; religious studies; the study of religion; Buddhist Studies, mission studies, South Asian and Sri Lankan studies.

"A history-making manual,interreligious study and names list, with stories by Westerners who entered Hinduism and Hindus who deepened their faith"--Cove

At the pilgrimage site of Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, a footprint is embedded atop the mountain summit. Buddhists hold that it was left by the Buddha, Hindus say Lord Siva, and Muslims and Christians identify it with Adam, the first man. The Sri Lankan state, for its part, often uses the Peak as a prop to convey a harmonious image of religious pluralism, despite increasing Buddhist hegemony. How should the diversity of this place be understood historically and managed practically? Considering the varied heritage of this sacred site, Alexander McKinley develops a new account of pluralism based in political ecology, representing the full array of actors and issues on the mountain. From its diverse people to rare species to deep geology, the Peak exemplifies a planetary pluralism that recognizes a multiplicity of beings while accepting competition and disorder. Taking a place-based approach, McKinley casts the mountain as an actor, exploring how its rocks, forests, and waters promote pilgrimage, inspire storytelling, and make ethical demands on human communities. Combining history and ethnography while furnishing original translations of sources from Pali, Sinhala, and Tamil, this multidisciplinary and stylistically innovative book shows how religious traditions share literal common ground in their reverence for the mountain.