About Book
Varanasi, the abode of Lord Siva has also embraced other sects including Vaisnavism. If Siva is Nataraja or Natesa, Krsna is known as Natavara dancing with gopis. There are traditions which reveal that Kashi was once a Vaisnava stronghold. In the medieval period many Vaisnava saints from different quarters thronged to Varanasi to preach and popularise their faith. The book projects the Vaisnava contribution to Varanasi in literature, sculptural and other artistic renderings, visual and performing arts, temples, festivals and ceremonies.
About Author
Prof. R.C. Sharma headed important Museums of the country like Government Museum, Mathura; State Museum, Lucknow; Indian Museum, Kolkata and finally, the National Museum, New Delhi as the Director General, and Vice-Chancellor, National Museum Institute. He also served the Banaras Hindu University as the Director, Bharat Kala Bhavan and Professor of Indian Art and Museology. Presently, he is the Honorary Director/ Acarya of Jnana-Pravaha - Centre for Cultural Studies and Research, Varanasi. Besides authoring several books and editing journals and bulletins in the field of early Indian art, he has contributed a large number of papers published in India and abroad. Dr. Pranati Ghosal is a promising scholar in the field of Sanskrit and Vedic studies and engaged in the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Varanasi Branch. She has contributed brilliant papers in different seminars and co-edited five issues of the Annual Research Bulletin and twelve proceedings of Jnana-Pravaha. Her important publications are Prasnavali and Lifestyle of the Vedic People. Besides the present volume, the two authors have co-edited impressive books on Buddhism and Gandhara Art, Interaction Between Brahmanical and Buddhist Art, Jaina Contribution to Varanasi and Sakta Contribution to Varanasi.