With the great processions of the gods, images splendidly adorned in jewelry and flower garlands, who move out of the temples and through the streets of the community, Hindu temple festivals have been the most dramatic manifestations of public religiosity in southern India over many centuries up to the present day. They are occasions when ritual, dance, music, and the ephemeral arts of adornment all work to focus the collective devotion of the community onto Siva and the other deities. The Mahotsavavidhi of the eminent Saiva preceptor Aghorasiva, completed in 1157 c.e., provides detailed step‐ ... More

With the great processions of the gods, images splendidly adorned in jewelry and flower garlands, who move out of the temples and through the streets of the community, Hindu temple festivals have been the most dramatic manifestations of public religiosity in southern India over many centuries up to the present day. They are occasions when ritual, dance, music, and the ephemeral arts of adornment all work to focus the collective devotion of the community onto Siva and the other deities. The Mahotsavavidhi of the eminent Saiva preceptor Aghorasiva, completed in 1157 c.e., provides detailed step‐by‐step guidance for a Hindu priest conducting such a nine‐day festival in medieval India. This annotated rendering of Aghorasiva's twelfth‐century work is the first extensive translation of a medieval work on Hindu temple festivals into a European language. It opens a window into the early development and underlying religious meanings of the Hindu temple festival. A priest himself, Aghorasiva wrote for other priests, and his work is a technical manual. In this translation, detailed notes explain the underlying practices that Aghorasiva takes for granted. A lengthy introduction situates the text in its historical setting of the Chola period, and addresses key topics of the text.