Sons of Siva

The cults of Ganesa and Karttikeya have been dealt with by competent scholars ever since serious studies on Indian religion, art and iconography began but still the need for a proper systematization of existing knowledge on the subject has been acutely felt in recent years. This is largely because of the regional and chronological aspects of the studies made. This book is a modest attempt at fulfilling this need. This seeks to summarise the existing state of our knowledge on the religious cults of the two famous sons of Siva in Hindu mythology and tries to shed fresh light on some of the problems associated with the subject. Largely drawing from literary and archaeological sources of pan-Indian nature the book weaves together a coherent picture of the complex development of the veneration of two of the significant strands in popular Hinduism. In short the analysis attempted here relates to religious history, mythology, art and iconography.