Ancient India

living traditions

Sushma Jansari, Sureshkumar Muthukumaran

$99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

British Museum Press
22 July 2025

Exhibition catalogues & specific collections; History

Explores ancient India (c. 200 BCE-600 CE) through three of its major religions -Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism - to illuminate how they reflect political power, artistic innovation and changes in peoples' daily lives.

Ancient India was a dynamic, cosmopolitan centre of creativity. The visual traditions of its major indigenous religions were closely interrelated, reflecting political power, changes in peoples' daily lives and artistic innovation. Exported beyond the Indian subcontinent in antiquity, these three major religions - Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism - are living traditions and their devotional works of art impact on the daily life of billions of people across the world.

This major new publication traces the development of religious imagery from around 200 BCE, when it focused on the depiction of nature spirits, to 600 CE, by which time devotional images of Jain, Buddhist and Hindu deities and teachers had taken definitive shape. Moving from symbolic to human form, such imagery employed attributes, divine attendants and animal vehicles that are still recognised across the world today and are found across the global diaspora. Examples of these ancient images are found not only across South Asia, but also in Central, East and Southeast Asia - and they transformed the religious landscape of these regions too.

The authors explore fascinating topics such as the first devotional images of the twenty-four jinas (enlightened Jain teachers); the transformation from symbolic depictions of the Buddha to those that showed him in bodily form for the first time; and the formalisation of divine representations and devotional sculpture in Hindu traditions. This beautifully illustrated book reveals the ancient roots of the images and depictions of these world religions that many will find familiar today.

By: Sushma Jansari, Sureshkumar Muthukumaran
Imprint: British Museum Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 250mm, Width: 230mm,
Weight: 1.720kg
ISBN: 9780714124995
ISBN 10: 0714124990
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 22 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Sushma Jansari is Tabor Foundation Curator of the South Asia Collections at the British Museum, and Curator of the exhibition Ancient India: living traditions. Sureshkumar Muthukumaran is a Lecturer in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore.