David N. Lorenzen
Showing all 7 books
An exploration of the history, religion, and folklore of the Naths, a Hindu lineage known for Hatha yoga practice.
This book provides a remarkable range of information on the history, religion, and folklore of the Nath Yogis. A Hindu lineage prominent in North India since the eleventh century, Naths are well-known as adepts of Hatha yoga and alchemical practices said to increase longevity. Long a heterogeneous group, some Naths are ascetics and some are ...
Every religious movement is, to some degree, a social movement. Some such movements might exhibit the social, economic, and political components in a dominant manner. In other movements such worldly aims may be less evident. In this important volume, David Lorenzen addresses a range of debates regarding religious movements in the medieval and early modern periods and presents the views of several scholars on each debate. Eleven key essays debate how the religious ...
Since the publication of the first edition of The Kapalikas and Kalamukhas in 1972, this work has remained the basic source on these two important Saivite religious sects that flourished in early medieval India. The book also contains a solid summary of the history and doctrines of the Pasupatas, the sect from which the Kalamukhas arose. This new edition includes two new appendices which describe the epigraphical and literary discoveries relevant to these sects ...
Who Invented Hinduism? Presents ten masterly essays on the history of religious movements and ideologies in India by the eminent scholar of religious studies, David N Lorenzen. Stretching from a discussion on the role of religion, skin colour and language in distinguishing between the Aryas and the Dasas, to a study of the ways in which contact between Hindus, on the one hand, and Muslims and Christians, on the other, changed the nature of the Hindu religion, the ...