Amazon.com: The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms: George Michell: Books

Product Description

For more than 1500 years, from the Indian subcontinent to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, the temple has embodied and symbolized the Hindu worldview at its deepest level and inspired the greatest architectural and artistic achievements in Hindu Asia. In The Hindu Temple, considered the standard introduction to the subject, George Michell explains the cultural, religious, and architectural significance of the temple. He illustrates his points with a profusion of photographs, building plans, and drawings of architectural details, making the book a useful guide for travelers to Asia as well as an illuminating text for students of architecture, religion, and Asian civilizations.

Michell's discussion of the meaning and forms of the temple in Hindu society encompasses the awe-inspiring rock-cut temples at Ellora and Elephanta, the soaring superstructures and extraordinary sexual exhibitionism of the sculptures at Khajuraho, and the colossal mortuary temple of Angkor Vat, as well as the tiny iconic shrines that many Hindus wear around their necks and the simple shrines found under trees or near ponds.

About the Author

George Michell is the author of Architecture of the Islamic World, Brick Temples of Bengal, and The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume I. A native of Australia, he earned a Ph.D. in Indian archeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London.

Product Details

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (September 15, 1988)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0226532305
ISBN-13: 978-0226532301
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
For over two thousand years much of Asia has been dominated by Indian Hinduism as a religious, social and political force. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ambulatory passageway, pierced stone windows, moulded plinth, projecting niches, arched motifs, horizontal mouldings, square sanctuary, minor shrines, attendant figures, figural art, temple style, columned hall, aquatic monsters, miniature shrines, temple architecture, northern style, arched forms, sacred architecture, stylistic evolution, temple plan

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hindu Asia, South-East Asia, Early Chalukya, Angkor Vat, Banteay Srei, Angkor Thom, Great Lord, Sambor Prei Kuk, Vaital Deul

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 14 books:

The Art of India by Calambur Sivaramamurti in Back Matter
Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization by Heinrich Robert Zimmer in Back Matter
Dictionary of Hindu Architecture by Prasanna Kumar Acharya in Back Matter
Hindu Mandir (Where We Worship) by Angela Wood on page 80
North America (Countries: Faces and Places) by Bob Temple in Front Matter

See all 14 books this book cites

13 books cite this book:

Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India by Morna Livingston in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
A Comparative Sociology of World Religions: Virtuosi, Priests, and Popular Religion by Stephen Sharot in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound (Studies in Comparative Religion) by Guy L. Beck in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Eight Words for the Study of Expressive Culture by Burt Feintuch on page 196
Material Culture : by Henry Glassie in Back Matter

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	77% buy the item featured on this page: The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $19.80
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4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the philosophy student, October 10, 2001

By	Beth "Crazy, Dancing White Woman" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This book is great for those who want an in depth look at Hindu philosophy and the place of temples within it. It's a bit scanty on cultural practices and rituals - that is not the book's aim. It does a wonderful job of explaining things so that a Westerner (like me) can understand. It is, however, a very heavy book. It is certainly not light bed time reading like a National Geographic would be. :)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The classic text on the subject, October 16, 2005

By	Marleigh Grayer Ryan (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Michell is an extremely careful and conscientious chronicler of this difficult, dense subject. He writes unusually well - absolutely clear English - and makes his way through a wide array of topics. Invaluable to the student of the subject.

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