nAma

[Annette Wilke]

>Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:25:01 +0200
>To: indology-request at liverpool.ac.uk
>From: Annette Wilke <wilke at theol.unibe.ch>
>Subject: nAma
>
>Dear Indologists,
>
>I am presently working on Divine Names in Hinduism and I am interested in
some informations concerning the topic:
>
>1) Do also folk deities have (sahasra)nAmAvalis or even nAmastotras? (I
know only a vast number of examples of litanies to the deities of the
pancAyatana-group)
>
>2) Modern gurus often do have litanies with 108 or 1000 names (such as
Chinmaya, Ramana Maharshi, Amma). Is it a modern practice or do you know
litanies to historical saints?
>
>3) Which editions and translations are available of nAmasiddhAnta-sources,
especially those of the saints of the Kaveri-delta/Tanjavur (SadAshiva
Brahmendra, Bodhendra, SadgurusamI). Is LaxmIdhara's BhagavannAmakaumudI
edited or even translated?
>
>4) Is there a traditional codex of the japa-formulas of Vishnu, RAma,
Krishna and synonyms (To my knowledge there seems to be no restriction, but
rather dependence on certain sampradAyas, initiated by gurus) 
>
>5) Is it still a common practice to give a secret name to a child? (In
interviews I got the impression that the practice is rather outdated)
>
>Thanks indeed for all informations and suggestions.
>Yours, Annette Wilke
>
================================================================================
Dr. Annette Wilke
University of Berne
Institute for the Science of Religions
Lerchenweg 36
CH-3000 Bern 9
Tel.: 031 / 631 35 81  Fax.: 031 / 631 35 51