Bringing the Gods to Mind: Mantra and Ritual in Early Indian Sacrifice

by Laurie L. Patton

This elegantly written book introduces a new perspective on Indic religious history by rethinking the role of mantra in Vedic ritual. In Bringing the Gods to Mind, Laurie Patton takes a new look at mantra as "performed poetry" and in five case studies draws a portrait of early Indian sacrifice that moves beyond the well-worn categories of "magic" and "magico-religious" thought in Vedic sacrifice. Treating Vedic mantra as a sophisticated form of artistic composition, she develops the idea of metonymy, or associational thought, as a major motivator for the use of mantra in sacrificial performance. Filling a long-standing gap in our understanding, her book provides a history of the Indian interpretive imagination and a study of the mental creativity and hermeneutic sophistication of Vedic religion.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520240871
• ISBN13: 9780520240872
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"