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The Introduction will discuss secondary writings on temples as a place for public worship of the deity which is done through several daily, monthly and annual rituals performed in different spaces in the temple complex. Moving away from the ethnographic and textual studies of Hindu rituals which focus on contemporary ritual praxis, this chapter examines temple rituals in a historical context within the different spaces in the temple precinct such as the various tanks, courtyards and mandapas. The chapter also examines the changing context of temple rituals by studying the materiality of temple spaces and argues how the temple complex itself was organized and renovated to accommodate the varied rituals. The chapter will finally explore how through the practice of rituals the temple is embedded in its surrounding cultural landscape.

How and when did the Hindu temple come to be associated with dynasties, rulers and political processes? The chapter traces the beginning of scholarship on the Hindu temple in the late 19th century and its subsequent ‘discovery’, nomenclature and listing by colonial archaeologists. In their attempt to construct a political history of India based on texts and inscriptions, scholars used temples as tangible symbols to mark the extent of empires and the political achievement of rulers. The colonial discourse on temples thus set the tone for subsequent scholarship and defined the parameters to study the Hindu temple, such that, even in the present-day scholars continue to underscore the relationship between temples, political legitimization and state formation. The current art historical scholarship continues to engage with the aesthetics and the architecture of the temple thus emphasizing the origins and construction of temples. Finally, the chapter explores new paradigms to study temple inscriptions and sculptures to establish their relationship with the communities which use the temple space.

The chapter discusses the shift in the focus of the Archaeological Survey of India from excavation and documentation to preservation and conservation of sites and artefacts. The chapter then highlights the fate of two private collections from Bihar: the images in the Bodh Gaya Mahant’s compound and those which belonged to AM Broadley’s Bihar Museum. In the process of rediscovery while some images continued to be worshipped, a large number of these were moved into museums. The scene of actions moves to the newly constituted Museums such as the Patna Museum and the Nalanda Museum and investigates how the narratives of display, cataloguing and nomenclature presented a visual archive which codified the parameters within which religious images came to be viewed.

This handbook is a comprehensive study of the archaeology, social history and the cultural landscape of the Hindu temple. Perhaps the most recognizable of the material forms of Hinduism, temples are lived, dynamic spaces. They are significant sites for the creation of cultural heritage, both in the past and in the present. Drawing on historiographical surveys and in-depth case studies, the volume centres the material form of the Hindu temple as an entry point to study its many adaptations and transformations from the early centuries CE to the 20th century. It highlights the vibrancy and dynamism of the shrine in different locales and studies the active participation of the community for its establishment, maintenance and survival. The illustrated handbook takes a unique approach by focusing on the social base of the temple rather than its aesthetics or chronological linear development. It fills a significant gap in the study of Hinduism and will be an indispensable resource for scholars of archaeology, Hinduism, Indian history, religious studies, museum studies, South Asian history and Southeast Asian history.