| ashu |
Posted
on 19-Mar-02 01:42 AM
THE ROYAL NEPAL ACADEMY
Kamaladi, Kathmandu
and
SAI SOUTH ASIA INSTITUTE
Heidelberg University, Kathmandu Branch
We feel honoured to announce the following talk (with slides) by
Prof. Katherine Anne Harper
The Warring Shaktis
A Paradigm for Gupta Conquests
When?
Monday, March 25, 2002, 4 p.m.
Where?
Royal Nepal Academy, Kamaladi: Library Hall
Outline of the presentation:
The subject of this presentation is the Saptamatrikas or 'Seven Mothers' of Hinduism. Based on Tantric premises, they also came to be known as the Seven Shaktis, conceived as the absolute power of various Hindu gods. The Saptamatrikas emerged into the mainstream of Hindu religion as Tantric deities and were sanctioned as part of the orthodox Hindu system no later than the beginning of the fifth century AD.
The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate that the Saptamatrikas' acceptance into the orthodox Hindu pantheon was the result of notions of kingship as established by Gupta sovereigns; the Saptamatrikas evolved into religio-political symbols that ensured the success for the king's imperial program to establish rajadharma or 'righteous rule' in territories controlled for centuries by foreign invaders.
Prof. Katherine Anne Harper completed her Ph.D. in 1977 in the Art History and Archaeology of South Asia. The following years of teaching and research mainly focussed on two major topics: Arts and Goddess traditions. She is currently an Associate Professor of Asian Art History at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, USA. She came to Nepal for further research on a Fulbright-supported project titled "Celebrating the Living Goddess in India and Nepal".
All interested are cordially invited to attend the presentation Opportunity for questions and discussion will be given – Snacks will be served
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For further information, address changes etc. please contact us at:
The Royal Nepal Academy (Dr. Ram Dayal Rakesh) Phone 231 791, Fax 221 175
SAI (Marianna Kropf) Phone/Fax 271 018; e-mail: saiktm@mos.com.np
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