This thesis is a comparative study that focuses on the writings of an Oxford-trained Indian Christian theologian, priest and Bishop named A.J. Appasamy (1891-1975), and his theological interaction with the texts and tradition of the Srivaiṣṇava reformer Rāmānuja (1017-1137). For my doctrinal focus I have chosen to explore Appasamy’s four-fold Johannine application of the ‘Body of God’ analogy - the ‘Universe’, ‘Incarnation’, ‘Eucharist’ and ‘Church’ being his four divine embodiments. Post-Independence, Appasamy faced criticisms from expatriate theologians who described his theological project as ‘bold heresies’, a ‘synthesis of Christianity and Vedanta’ that has ‘shifted the axis’ from Christianity to ‘Hindu religion’. By following the leads in Appasamy writings back to his devotional tradition, I argue that such charges are, in fact, baseless and that his application of the analogy is rooted, rather, in the sacramental theology of his own Anglican tradition. To do so I demonstrate how his views on divine embodiment closely reflect the theological developments that took place in the first half of the last century between the time of Charles Gore and William Temple. Methodologically, I am arguing for the need to understand theological discourse as being semiotically and traditionally situated, embedded in mythic narrative and embodied in ritual practice. In doing so, however, I further argue that just as Appasamy’s detractors have failed to read him in the context of his devotional tradition, so, too, has Appasamy done with Rāmānuja. By reading Rāmānuja more as a Vedāntic philosophical theologian than as a sectarian practitioner, he has abstracted the Ācārya from his tradition - a tradition that is undoubtedly temple-based. On this basis I challenge Appasamy’s use of Rāmānuja’s terms and propose what I believe to be a better reading of John’s Gospel for future comparative interaction with the Srivaiṣṇava tradition.

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This thesis examines why the cult of the sovereign goddess was considered important for the expression of royal power in mediaeval India. In literature and ritual, the goddess was conceptualized as the sovereign of heaven and earth. Her cult was heroic because it was primarily a cult of warriors: a good hero was one who worshipped the goddess for great powers, foremost among them being sovereignty. Certain ritual practices of the cult such as self-mutilation formed the criteria for a warrior- worshipper’s heroism. By assessing the available epigraphical, literary, scriptural and anthropological material, I will attempt to show that the association between Indic kingship and the cult’s belief-systems, also referred to as heroic Śāktism, was indeed an ancient one. Tracing its roots to non-Aryan religion, the cult of the sovereign goddess became a vital part of the Sanskritic kingdom, particularly from the latter half of the 6th c., when tribal kingdoms began to elevate themselves on the political map. One of the hallmarks of the cult, responsible for its pan-Indic popularity, was its syncretic nature: besides outcastes, its followers were from a number of sects. The goddess at its centre had no fixed identity but was formed of various personalities. The more public and well-attested of these was the martial goddess Durgā/Caṇḍī/Caṇḍikā, although other goddesses were also worshipped as her other aspects. In all these aspects the sovereign goddess was believed to grant the power of the king and the community. This idea was evoked in the mediaeval Indic world in an array of symbols: sacred statues, ritually empowered swords and insignia put on display for all to see, legends circulated throughout the kingdom, festivals where the sacred might of the realm was ritually reinforced. By assessing these symbols, I will attempt to show the vibrant forms whereby the connection of the cult with power was manifested in the mediaeval period.

This thesis contains a critical edition and annotated translation of the Khecarīvidyā of Ādinātha, an early haṭhayogic text which describes the physical practice of khecarīmudrā. 31 witnesses have been collated to establish the critical edition. The notes to the translation adduce parallels in other works and draw on Ballāla's Bṛhatkhecarīprakāśa commentary and ethnographic data to explain the text. The first introductory chapter examines the relationships between the different sources used to establish the critical edition. An analysis of the development of the text concludes that its compiler(s) took a chapter describing the vidyā (mantra) of the deity Khecarī from a larger text to form the framework for the verses describing the physical practice. At this stage the text preserved the Kaula orientation of the original work and included verses in praise of madirā, alcohol. By the time that the text achieved its greatest fame as an authority on the haṭhayogic practice of khecarīmudrā most of its Kaula features had been expunged so as not to offend orthodox practitioners of haṭhayoga and a short fourth chapter on magical herbs had been added. The second introductory chapter concerns the physical practice. It starts by examining textual evidence in the Pali canon and Sanskrit works for practices similar to the haṭhayogic khecarīmudrā before the time of composition of the Khecarīvidyā and then discusses the non-physical khecarīmudrās described in tantric works. There follows a discussion of how these different features combined in the khecarīmudrā of the Khecarīvidyā. Then a survey of descriptions of khecarīmudrā in other haṭhayogic works shows how the haṭhayogic corpus encompasses various differnt approaches to yogic practice. After an examination of the practice of khecarīmudrā in India today the chapter concludes by showing the haṭhayogic khecarīmudrā has generally been the preserve of unorthodox ascetics. In the third introductory chapter are described the 27 manuscripts used to establish the critical edition, the citations and borrowings of the text in other works, and the ethnographic sources. The appendices include a full collation of all the witnesses of the Khecarīvidyā, critical editions of chapters from the Matsyendrasaṃhitā and Haṭharatnāvalī helpful in understanding the Khecarīvidyā, and a list of all the works cited in the Bṛhatkhecarīprakāśa.

The assertion that the Mahābhārata (MBh) narrative is innately incapable of achieving a conclusion has attained the status of a disciplinary truism in the epic’s study. My thesis challenges this prevalent assumption by proposing an un-investigated path of inquiry into the philological, historical, literary and semantic aspects of the epic. The thesis discusses the ending of the MBh, the Svargārohaṇa parvan (SĀ) by exploring several trajectories: the study of the SĀ in epic scholarship; its reception in the later tradition in Sanskrit literature; and finally, the problematic aspects of the SĀ and its relation to the rest of the narrative. It first points out that in comparison to other MBh episodes, the SĀ has been received with significant disregard or suppression in the literature commenting on the epic. Second, it characterizes the nature of the suppression of the SĀ in each of the three literary strands commenting on the MBh (epic scholarship, Sanskrit adaptations and theoretical discourses). It argues that all of these considerations, which are external to the MBh, have tended, in various modes, to suppress, ignore or overlook the importance of the SĀ. The thesis then proceeds to argue that on the most significant and internal level of the text itself, the SĀ is intrinsically consistent with the rest of the MBh narrative, and that this makes it thematically integral to the text as a whole. This argument derives from the importance with which this study addresses the moment of the condemnation of dharma in the SĀ, and is furthered by a philological and semantic study, as well as textual analyses of the multiple occurrences of the Sanskrit verb garh throughout the MBh. The use of this verb by the epic protagonist, Yudhiṣṭhira, in condemning his father, Dharma, at the last scenes of the SĀ comprises a key moment that bears significant and myriad implications upon the understanding of this pivotal concept (dharma), to which the entire epic is devoted.

The goal of this study was to assess how child welfare services are conceptualized and viewed by Canadian young adults with heritage from the Indian Subcontinent. Five second-generation young adults with heritage from the Indian Sub-continent were interviewed about their thoughts, attitudes, and opinions toward the Children’s Aid Societies when they were youths, and also currently. Findings showed that lack of awareness around the function of CAS, observations of negative CAS-community interactions, and overt/subvert whiteness in the system all contributed to participants not trusting CASs during their childhood and teenage years. Participants felt that the CAS systems are designed for the white population and not for children and youth of South Asian descent. Reflecting back on when they were youths, instead of viewing CASs as a source of support or help in times of family trouble, participants indicated that they and their parents would seek support from trusted friends, family, or community members. Now young adults themselves, and envisioning having their own families in the future, participants said that if needed they would access the same friend, family and community supports rather than approaching a CAS. That being said, participants expressed that they would be open to accessing CAS services but that this would be a last resort given their perception that the CAS is not designed for them or their community. Participants expressed a desire to be able to access CAS services, but not until CAS deal with their own whiteness. In addition to being less Eurocentric, participants also recommended a number of changes CAS make so that they better serve communities with Indian Sub Continent heritage, these include increased community engagement, information campaigns, increased presence of workers/foster families from South Asian communities). / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The Roman festival of the Lupercalia is one of the most discussed issues in the field of pre-Christian Roman religion. Hardly a year goes by without an article on the subject appearing in a major Classics journal. But the festival presents a range of issues that individual articles cannot address. This thesis is an attempt to present a modern analysis of the phenomenon of the Lupercalia as a whole, including literary, archaeological and historical evidence on the subject. The first section presents the ancient sources on the Lupercalia, and is divided into five chapters, each analysing a particular aspect of the festival: fertility, purification, the importance of the wolf and the foundation myth, the mythology of Arcadian origins, and Caesar's involvement with the Lupercalia of 44 BC. The second section places the Lupercalia in a wider context, discussing the festival's topography and the course of the running Luperci, its relationship to other lustration rituals, and its position in the Roman calendar, ending with an appraisal of the changes it underwent in late Antiquity. The third section employs methods from linguistics, anthropology and comparative religion to show that the Lupercalia involved a ritual of initiation, which was also reflected in the Roman foundation myth. The central chapter of this section discusses the methodology used in comparative Indo-European mythology, and offers a case study that parallels the god of the festival (Faunus) with Rudra of Vedic Hinduism. The last chapter considers other parallels with Indian religion, especially the relationship between flamen and brahmin. The thesis challenges a number of established theories on the subject and offers new evidence to show that the festival has Indo-European origins, but also that it played an important role throughout Roman history.

This master's thesis sets out to interpret relations of India and Bangladesh and the course of their foreign policies in the light of geographical, geopolitical, demographic, and other realities and new paradigms, which determine forming of their mutual relations. The aim of this thesis is to highlight the geostrategic significance of Bangladesh for India and for the development of the surrounding region. This thesis also portrays the historical role of India in the emergence of Bangladesh and their relations since 1971 until today. It also deals with the key areas of Indian foreign and security policy towards Bangladesh, including economic cooperation, cooperation in the area of defence, legal and illegal migration, local and regional connectivity, energy, and water management. Given the topicality of the subject matter, this thesis draws information primarily from official documents published by governmental agencies, research institutes and think tanks, as well as from publicly accessible agreements, memorandums, arrangements, joint statements, press releases and other reliable sources. To a limited extent, it also sources Indian, Bangladeshi, and other media. Keywords: India, Bangladesh, India-Bangladesh Relations, South Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Neighbourhood First Policy, Foreign Policy

Stable isotope ratios in rainwater and water vapor act as a tracers of the hydrological cycle. The data on stable isotopic composition in rainwater and water vapor are limited due to the lack of observational studies across the Indian subcontinent and over the ocean. These present day observations are important database to deduce the paleo-climatic condition from geological archives. In majority of the cases, isotopic records are translated into physical factors with the present background knowledge where relationships with physical variables are well established. In case of tropical region, the primary controlling factor identified behind the stable isotopic variations is the amount of rainfall. However recent observations contradict such relationships challenging the role of amount effect and identified source moisture effect on stable isotope ratios in rainwater at Indian stations. The thesis investigated the amount effect relationship of isotopes at seasonal time scales. The long period observation covering 4 years, where daily time interval rainwater samples collected were used for our study. We used two different station locations; Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore, where monsoonal rainfall is received for Southwest and Northeast periods. The role of mesoscale and synoptic convection and rainout along the transport pathways were found responsible for the isotopic variance. The role of moisture source regions, rainout over the advection pathways, high rainfall producing systems such as depression and cyclones, and continental recycling of water on rainwater and water isotopes ratios were major findings of the thesis work which are detailed in the chapters. Upon knowing the atmospheric and oceanic condition at the moisture source region based on satellite data and reanalysis data set we modeled our observations using the governing equations of isotope fractionation and well accepted Rayliegh’s distillation model. The observations on rainwater and water vapor isotope ratios in oceanic region are extremely limited due to difficulties in conducting sampling. Water vapor and rainwater observations over the Southern Ocean during the expedition of 2013 and estimation of the moisture recycling across the latitudes over the oceanic regions is a novel work in this thesis.

Over the past thirty years, academic dialogues on the relationships between the sciences and religions have flourished, albeit primarily within Judeo-Christian historical, theological and philosophical contexts. Can a Hindu tradition be brought into this dialogue? The Bhagavata Purana is one of the most well-known sacred texts of India, and biology, Darwinism in particular, has become one of the most spirited areas of the science and religion dialogue in academia, as well as in the popular media. This thesis examines the possibility, scope and foundational topics involved in a dialogue between Vaisnava-Hindu theology as found in the Bhāgavata, and the theoretical, philosophical and theological issues surrounding contemporary biology. To examine the possibility and scope of a Bhāgavata-science dialogue, I focus on the theological, ontological, epistemological and teleological presuppositions that each tradition bring to the study of nature, outlining the similarities and differences in their approaches. I establish the grounds for further discussion through a comparative analysis of terms such as "consciousness," "knowledge" and "goal of knowledge" as they appear in the Bhagavata and noteworthy Darwinian texts. My argument is that although prima facie the two traditions appear different in their philosophical, scientific and theological approaches, there are a number of areas of common interest and parallels, especially in their epistemologies and teleologies. In the case of genuine differences, such as their views on the ontology of consciousness, I demonstrate the possibility of reconciliation. Clarifying the conceptual differences, establishing parallels and demonstrating areas of common interests opens the possibility and widens the scope for further dialogue.