The Cult of Draupadi, Volume 2: On Hindu Ritual and the GoddessThis is the first volume of a projected three-volume work on the little-known South Indian folk cult of the goddess Draupadi and on the classical epic, the Mahabharata, that the cult brings to life in mythic, ritual, and dramatic forms. Draupadi, the chief heroine of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, takes on many unexpected guises in her Tamil cult, but her dimensions as a folk goddess remain rooted in a rich interpretive vision of the great epic. By examining the ways that the cult of Draupadi commingles traditions about the goddess and the epic, Alf Hiltebeitel shows the cult to be singularly representative of the inner tensions and working dynamics of popular devotional Hinduism. |
Contents
New 1990 fieldwork sites and other major temples | 4 |
mentioned in the text | 5 |
dramas sponsors and icons | 19 |
The Ritual Cycle and the Temple Icons | 35 |
The Tindivanam 1981 festival in outline | 36 |
Offering Sprouts | 53 |
Flag Hoisting and Tying of Kāppu | 79 |
Posts Altars and Demon Devotees | 117 |
Patukalam alternatives at Mankalam and Mēlaccēri | 328 |
Death and Revival | 339 |
Thighs and Hair | 381 |
Effigies and Forts | 399 |
The destruction of the fort at Chinna Salem and Salem | 404 |
Timiti the Firewalk | 439 |
Closures | 475 |
Appendix Śrī Tiraupatātēvi Māņmiyam The Glorification | 483 |
Arjunas Artifacts | 208 |
Aravans Battlefield Sacrifice to Kāli | 285 |
Kūttāṇṭavar and Draupadi cult ritual parallels | 301 |
Pațukalam Sequences | 320 |
Abbreviations | 491 |
| 515 | |
| 532 | |
Common terms and phrases
Abhimanyu akkinikampam alaku Andhra Aravan Aravān's Arjuna arrow Aśvamedha Babb Bāṇeśvar battle battlefield bhaktas Bhima Biardeau 1989b blood Brahman buffalo ceremonies chap chapter chariot Chinna Salem core area Dasarā death deities demon Dharma Dharma gājan District drama Drau Draupadi cult Draupadi festivals Draupadi temple Durgā Duryodhana effigy epic fire firepit firewalk flag hoisting flagstaff Frasca Gingee goat goddess hair tying head hero Hiltebeitel 1988a ibid impalement kalappali Kālī kaṇāccāri kāppu karakam Karuppur Kauravas Kerala Kṛṣṇa Lausen lingam Madras Mahābhārata Mankalam margosa Mēlaccēri Muttāl Rāvuttan myth navadhānya offered Pandavas pāratiyār paṭukalam performed plate pole Pondicherry Pōrmannan Pōta Rāju Põttu Pōttu Rāja processional icon pūcāri pūjā R. M. Sarkar represent revival rice rites sacrifice śami sanctum Sanskrit Śiva Śiva's South Arcot sprouts sword symbolism Taluk Tamil tapas Tarabout Thanjavur area thigh Tindivanam tion tree turmeric Vanniyars variations Vedic village Vīrapattiran weapons wooden Young Pañcapāṇḍavas yupa