Visual Culture: Darshan in the Modern World
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Source Publication
A Cultural History of Hinduism, Vol. 6: In the Age of Independence
Publication Date
2024
Editor
Amanda Lucia and Maya Warrier
Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic Publishing
City
London
First Page
139
Last Page
155
Department
Religious Studies
Description
Darshan is the reciprocal exchange of glances between the devotee and the deity. This visual worship is central to Hinduism, and in its most classical formulation, it takes place between the divine mūrti (icon) that is housed within a Hindu temple located in a pilgrimage center and the visiting pilgrim who has traveled there to see and be seen by the icon and to prostrate before it seeking its blessing. This chapter focuses on the practice of darshan in the modern, post-colonial context. It provides an introduction to the range of visual media used by Hindus for darshan today, with examples drawn from the author's fieldwork stays in India. It then provides an overview of several major debates that have emerged out of modern darshanic practices and a consideration of what those teach us about post-colonial Hindu identity.
Recommended Citation
McLain, Karline, "Visual Culture: Darshan in the Modern World" (2024). Faculty Contributions to Books. 305.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_books/305