University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Research
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      Ardhanārīśvara in Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu : a case study

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      LAGACE-THESIS.pdf (2.753Mb)
      Date
      2016-04-18
      Author
      Lagace, Philip
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      There has been a persistent tendency in the study of religion to emphasize its textual and historical elements, at the expense of ritual, practice, and custom. This trend is evident in the available academic works concerning the androgynous Hindu deity, Ardhanārīśvara. Scholarship largely overlooks Ardhanārīśvara in living context, including information about dedicated sites of worship. To attend to this gap, this project explores Ardhanārīśvara in Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, as it is home to a hilltop temple wherein Ardhanārīśvara is the presiding deity. An analysis of my fieldwork observations and impressions yields two types of contributions. The first relates to areas of previous scholastic focus; new information is provided on Ardhanārīśvara iconography, mythological narratives, and regarding interpretations of the figure. The second type of contribution involves unexplored content, including information on the aforementioned site of worship and the place of Ardhanārīśvara in ritual within this context. Additionally, the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of this thesis stress understanding observable phenomena as dynamic. This led to astute observations regarding Ardhanārīśvara that also go delineated. These provisions reaffirm the significance of those areas identified as overlooked in the study of religion and provide a more robust treatment of the figure.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      Religion and Culture
      Program
      Religion and Culture
      Supervisor
      Sinha, Braj
      Committee
      Vargo, Lisa; Keyworth, George; Shantz, Susan
      Copyright Date
      March 2016
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2016-03-2500
      Subject
      Ardhanārīśvara, Tiruchengode, Hinduism
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy