Tue. 30^th Nov., 2021
16:15-17:45 Hrs.

CATS, Building 4010,
Room no. 06, (010.00.06)

This is a hybrid event.

Online
━ ZOOM Link
Meeting ID: 832 6480 4133
Passcode: 737844

Poster

Abteilungskolloquium (WiSe 2021/22) | Colloquium (Winter Semester 2021/22)

▍ Terror and Grace: Saturn Worship in India Across the Ages

Dr. Ofer Peres
(Minerva Fellow)

Horoscopic astrology has been an integral (and popular) part of everyday life in the Indian peninsula from its first appearance, around the second century CE. While the Indian astrological practice resembles its parallels around the globe, here an additional development took place. The astrological notions entered the religious sphere, and the planets have become part of the local pantheon, mythology, and temple worship. This talk examines the integration of the planetary deities into mainstream Hinduism. I will mainly focus on the worship of Saturn, the most fearsome planet, which obtains growing popularity in contemporary South Asia. Through an examination of textual evidence, I will delineate the possible cultural and religious mechanisms that enabled the transition in Saturn’s status from a minor astrological divinity to a dominant God.

Dr. Ofer Peres is a scholar of South Asian religions and literature. His main fields of interest are Vedic myth and ritual, purāṇic Hinduism, south Indian bhakti traditions, and early modern Tamil Śaivism. In his research, he examines the functions of textual adaptations and translations, and their role in cultural and religious transitions. As a Minerva Fellow at the South Asia Institute, Dr. Peres will be working on his research project: “Contesting Realities: Narrative Adaptation as Ideological Discourse in Medieval India.” In addition, he will be pursuing another project, entitled “The Rise of the Dark Planet: The Early-Modern Origins of the Cult of Saturn in South Asia.”