Saiva liturgy is performed in a world that oscillates: a world permeated by the presence of Siva, where humans live in a condition of bondage and where the highest aim of the soul is to attain liberation from its fetters. In this account of Indian temple ritual, Richard Davis uses medieval Hindu texts to describe the world as it is envisioned by Saiva siddhanta and the way daily worship reflects that world and acts within it. He argues that this worship is not simply a set of ritualized gestures, but rather a daily catechism in which the worshipper puts into action all the major themes of cosmic Saiva philosophy, the cyclic pattern of emission and reabsorption, the human path of attaining liberation, the manifestation of divinity in the world, and the proper interrelationship of humanity and god. Focusing on temple ritual, a form of worship that has been at the heart of Hindu, religious practice for nearly two millennia, Davis’s work fills a major gap in the field of Indian religions.
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