Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Tracy Pintchman -- Note -- References -- 1. The Icon of Yoga: Patañjali as Nāgarāja in Modern Yoga -- Introduction -- Patañjali and the Modern Yoga Traditions -- The Krishnamacharya Tradition and the Icon of Patañjali -- Patañjali and the Nāga Traditions -- The Many Faces of Patañjali -- The Link to the Temple Tradition -- The Icon of Patañjali: Past and Present -- Patañjali as Nāgarāja in Contemporary Yoga -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 2. God's Eyes: The Manufacture, Installation, and Experience of External Eyes on Jain Icons -- The Production of External Eyes -- External Eyes in History -- Critique 1: Conservation -- Critique 2: Aesthetics -- Critique 3: Theology -- The External Eye in the Jain Devotional Gaze -- Concluding Observations -- Notes -- References -- Classical and Liturgical Sources -- Modern Sources -- 3. North Indian Materialities of Jesus -- Introduction -- The Mission -- Jesus as Guru -- Jesus as Child -- The Ashram -- Jesus as Contemplative -- Jesus as Charismatic -- The Cathedral -- Jesus as Archetype -- Jesus as Hero -- Conclusion -- References -- 4. Celebrating Materiality: Garbo, a Festival Image of the Goddess in Gujarat -- Introduction -- Garbo in the Traditional Context -- Garbo, the Image -- Garbo, the Song -- Garbo, the Dance -- Organized Garbā Events -- Garbo in Secular Contexts -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Garbā Anthologies -- 5. The Goddess's Shaligrams -- The Parashakthi Temple: A Brief History of its Founding -- Matter/Materiality at the Parashakthi Temple -- What is a Shaligram? -- The Shaligrams of the Parashakthi Temple -- Constructing Theologies of Matter -- Notes -- References -- Websites -- Print Sources -- 6. The Camphor Flame in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

Precious, Exotic, White, and Cool: The Career of a Raw Material -- The Uses of Camphor in Premodern South Asia -- Japanese Colonies, Celluloid, and Chemistry -- Conclusion: From Borneo to Tamil Nadu, via New Jersey -- Notes -- References -- 7. Metal Hands, Cotton Threads, and Color Flags: Materializing Islamic Devotion in South India -- Introduction -- Severed Heads Speak Out: Displaying Metal Hands and Heads in a Public Ritual -- Red and Yellow Sacred Threads: The Transmission of Islamic Knowledge and Ritual Practices -- Rags, Flags, and Cradles: Bringing a Wish to Fulfillment -- Debating Materiality in Living Islam and Sufism -- Notes -- References -- 8. Monastic Matters: Bowls, Robes, and the Middle Way in South Asian Theravāda Buddhism -- Robes and the Middle Way -- Robes: Introduction -- The Kaṭhina Ritual -- The Purposes of the Robes -- Other Important Rules Regarding Robes and Their Significance -- The Bowl, Alms-food, and the Middle Way -- The Bowl: Introduction -- The Ritual of Alms-Begging -- The Benefits of Almsgiving -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 9. Letting Holy Water and Coconuts Speak for Themselves: Tamil Catholicism and the Work of Selva Raj -- Materiality in Lay Tamil Catholicism: Identity and Interreligious Exchange -- A View of Materiality from Above: Clerical Ambivalence and Orchestration -- Smashing Coconuts and Clashing Theologies -- Notes -- References -- List of Contributors -- Index.