Pursuing Death: Philosophy and Practice of Voluntary Termination of Life

$65.70

$73.00

In stock

Free & Quick Delivery Worldwide

Pursuing Death widens the canvas of enquiry on the Jaina practices of voluntary termination of life, identified with terms such as Santara, Sallekhana, Samadhi, Sanyasana, Aradhana, Bhaktapratyakhyana, Panchapada, Prayopagamana, Ingini, etc. This volume undertakes an in-depth study of both the philosophy and the practice of death, as revealed in a wide variety of texts written in Prakrit, Sanskrit, Kannada as well as a vast body of historical records, dated between the third century BCE and nineteenth century CE.

The citation for the National Award of the Indian History Congress, conferred on this volume at the Fifty-fourth Annual Session (1993), states, ‘Pursuing Death by Professor S. Settar presents the theory and practice of voluntary termination of life in historical perspective, it illumines the problems with the help of Jaina philosophical writings, historical archaeology, art history and socioeconomic history.The methodology is new and a whole new area has been opened up in Indian historical studies.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR S. Settar

S. Settar was Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (1996-9), served as Professor, Department of History and Archaeology (1971-96) and as the Director, Institute of Indian Art History (1978-95), Karnatak University, Dharwad. Among his well-known publications are The Hosyala Temples (2 vols.), Inviting Death, Pursuing Death, Sravana Belgola, Hampi: a Medieval Metropolis, Hoysala Sculptures in the National Museum, Copenhagen. He has edited several volumes of which those relating to the fields of archaeology are: Archaeological Survey of Mysore:P Annual Reports: A Study (3 vols.) and Memorial Stones: A Study of Their Origin, Significance and Variety (in collaboration with G.-D. Sontheimer). Since 1995 he has been collaborating with a team of scholars on the ABIA South and Southeast Asian Art and Archaeology Index project as the chief of Indian section and as the editor for South Asia.