Cave of My Ancestors - Vishwakarma and the Artisans of Ellora

"As a little girl in Bombay, Kirin Narayan was enchanted by the stories her father would tell about the ancient, rock-cut cave temples at Ellora, which he claimed had been made by their ancestors. Over the course of her life, Narayan never forgot those stories, and she eventually came to be interested in learning more about the caves, and, specifically, the Vishwakarma cave temple, named after the Hindu craftsman deity. Immersing herself in work by archaeologists, art historians, Buddhologists, Indologists, and Sanskritists, Narayan set out to answer the question of how this cave, which contains the figure of the Buddha flanked by two smaller Bodhisattvas, came to be venerated as the "Vishwakarma cave." The resulting book, Cave of My Ancestors, represents the perfect marriage of Narayan's gift for research and gift for writing. It is at once a work of scholarship, a detective story, and a memoir, ably leading us as readers through centuries of history, reflecting on the marvels of making, and offering a sensitive meditation on devotion, wonder, and all that connects us to place, family, the past, and the divine"--

About the author

Kirin Narayan is emerita professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. She is the author of several books, including My Family and Other Saints, Everyday Creativity, and Alive in the Writing, all published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product details

• Authors: Kirin Narayan, Narayan Kirin
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.09.2024
• EAN: 9780226835297
• ISBN: 978-0-226-83529-7
• No. of pages: 272
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Ethnic Studies, Asia, HISTORY / Asia / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Social and cultural anthropology, Asian History, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity