Popular Religion and Ascetic Practices: New Studies on Mahima Dharma

This volume brings together new research by Indian and German scholars on Mahima Dharma of Orissa. It combines anthropological insights, historical research and textual analyses to offer a wide variety of perspectives on this popular yet relatively unknown religion: perspectives which have taken shape in field experience in Orissa and research in Germany. Starting with an essay by Anncharlott Eschmann, whose pioneering work in the last century had kindled academic interest in the Dharma, this book blends current investigations of different hues and textures in order to provide a nuanced and detailed account of this multi-dimensional religious order in the different phases of its evolution. Apart from diverse assessments of the life and works of the radical poet Bhima Bhoi, it also includes translations from his important works of Bhima Bhoi and Biswanath Baba, crucial records of the archives and unpublished letters and photos of Eschmann. Needless to say, this volume will cater to a readership interested in the anthropology, sociology, philosophy and history of religions but also to people who are attached to the land of Orissa, its rich culture and the Dharma itself.