The rise of Mahāsena : the transformation of Skanda-Karttikeya in North India from the Kuṣāṇa to Gupta empires / / by Richard D. Mann.

• Superior document: Brill's Indological library, v. 39
• Author: Mann, Richard D.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Indological library ; v. 39.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (296 p.)
• Notes: Revision of the author's Ph. D. dissertation.

This book studies the early development of Skanda-Kārttikeya’s Hindu cult from its earliest textual and material sources to the end of the Gupta Empire in the north of India. The text argues that Skanda’s early ‘popular’ cult is found in Graha and Mātṛ traditions oriented towards appeasing potentially dangerous spirits. Once propitiated, however, Skanda and his Grahas/ Mātṛs could become fierce protectors of their followers. During the Kuṣāṇa and Gupta empires, this tradition gains the attention of rulers, who transform the deity’s protective cult into one focused on the ruler’s military prowess and right to rule. Once detached from his former popular traditions the deity’s cult begins to falter in the north as it becomes increasingly focused on elite agendas.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Theories Related to the Origins of Skanda -- The Early Traditions of Skanda-Kārttikeya from Epic, Medical and Ritual Sources -- The Emergence of the Senāpati: The Narrative Conversion of the Warrior and Graha -- The Birth of Skanda-Kārttikeya in the Śalyaparvan, Anuśāsanaparvan and Rāmāyaṇa -- Coins, Statuary and Skanda-Kārttikeya: The Earliest Depictions -- Skanda-Kārttikeya on Kuṣāṇa Coinage and Gandhāra Statuary -- Developments in Skanda-Kārttikeya’s Cult between the Empires -- The Kumārasaṃbhava and Purāṇic Accounts of Skanda-Kārttikeya -- The Material Culture of Skanda-Kārttikeya in the Gupta Empire -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index -- Plates.