The power of the Nath Yogis : yogic charisma, political influence and social authority / edited by Daniela Bevilacqua and Eloisa Stuparich.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bevilacqua, Daniela, editor.

Stuparich, Eloisa, editor.

Series:

Religion and society in Asia.

Religion and society in Asia

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nātha sect--History.

Nātha sect.

Nātha sect--Social aspects.

Nātha sect--Political aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2022.

Summary:

The volume collects a series of contributions that help reconstruct the recent history of the Nath tradition, highlighting important moments of self-reinterpretation in the <i>sampradaya's</i> interaction with different social milieus. The leitmotif tying together the selection of articles is the authors' explorations of the overlap between religious authority and political power. For example, in which ways do the Naths' hagiographical claim of possessing yogic charisma (often construed as supernatural powers, <i>siddhis</i>) translate into mundane expressions of socio-political power? And how does it morph into the authority to reinterpret and recreate particular traditions? The articles approach different aspects of the recent history of the Nath <i>sampradaya</i>, spanning from stories of yogis guiding kings in the petty principalities of the eighteenth century to gurus who sought prominence in the transnational environments of the twentieth century; examining some Nath lineages and institutions under the British Raj, in the history of Nepal, and in contemporary India.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Table of Contents

Foreword

Note on Transliterations

Introduction

1 Current Research on Nāth Yogīs . Further Directions

2 Powerful Yogīs . The Successful Quest for Siddhis and Power

3 Kingly Corruption and Ascetic Sovereignty in the Telugu Account of the Nine Nāths

4 In Siddhis and State . Transformations of Power in Twentieth-Century Gorakhpur Temple Publications

5 The Search for the Jugi Caste in Pre-Colonial Bengal

6 Back When We Were Brahmins . Historical and Caste Critique Among Bengali Householder Nāths

7 Shades of Power . The Nāth Yogīs in Nepal

8 Yogī, Paṇḍit, and Rāṣṭra-Bhakta . Some Reconstructions of Yogī Naraharināth’s Religious Career

9 The Evocative Partnerships of a Monastic Nāth Temple in Contemporary Rajasthan

10 Towards a Nāth Re-Appropriation of Haṭha-Yoga

Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Nov 2022).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-003-70741-6

90-485-5245-1

9781003707417

OCLC:

1344536889