ABSTRACT
Among the numerous objects of worship found in the context of Hindu religions, there are images intended to represent gods and goddesses. The immense variety of such images, or mūrtis as they are commonly called in India, is due not only to the great diversity of deities which lend themselves to depiction in a number of forms, but also to the wide range of materials from which they are made. Especially valued materials are precious metals, rare stones, and granites, but images may also be fashioned from all kinds of less valuable substances, even from easily perishable ones such as paper and earth. Icons of Hindu deities are for the most part man-made and frequently depict the god or goddess in question in an anthropomorphic form, unlike aniconic representations, which do not attempt any human likeness and are often thought to have emerged by themselves. A special type of “man-made” images, which show divine beings in human form, actually uses human bodies. Representations of this type are the topic of this chapter. They may be encountered in religious dramas but also in a special performative genre not connected with the stage. Both forms are known as jhāṅkīs.
