The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram
"Dennis Hudson's multidimensional 'decoding' of the 'Emperor's Palace' temple of Lord Vishnu in Kanchipuram is remarkable. He enables us to visualize a three-dimensional vision of God and God's cosmic body in which the central square of the temple symbolizes horizontally a cosmic day and night, and the four levels represent vertically God's transformations in creation and redemption... Dennis Hudson's crowning achievement, almost completed before his death, has been skillfully edited by Margaret Case. It is a gift to his many friends and to all readers who seek a deeper level of understanding of a central Hindu tradition of theology and worship." --John B. Carman, author ofThe Theology of Ramanuja: An Essay in Interreligious UnderstandingandMajesty and Meekness: A Comparative Study of Contrast and Harmony in the Concept of God"In his insightful analysis of the relationship between an eighth-century sacred poem and a Pallava temple, both of which celebrate Vishnu and the temple's royal patron, Dennis Hudson has compelled the monument to reveal its mysteries. Never again will one be able to read temple sculptures as a simple celebration of myth. An interpretive tour de force!" --Vidya Dehejia, author ofThe Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India"The Body of Godis a magnum opus in every sense -- the product of decades of thought and research; huge in its physical and mental bulk; and a new sort of fulcrum for balancing architectural and textual studies in India. It is a daring work. If Hudson is right, the magnificent and mysterious temple of Vaikuntha Perumal affords a vision of how the Bhagavata tradition -- the worship of Vishnu -- stayed vibrant over the course of centuries, through its intellectual sophistication and its engagement with royal power. Fittingly, Hudson's findings have already had an impact on how that temple is revered today." --John Stratton Hawley, Professor of Religion, Barnard College, Columbia University and author ofThree Bhakti Voicesand, forthcoming,The Memory of Love