Krishna--widely venerated and adored in the Hindu tradition--is a deity of many aspects. An ancient manifestation of the Supreme God Vishnu, or the Godhead itself, Krishna is the bringer of Yoga philosophy and the creator of the universe, the destroyer of evil tyrants, and the hero of the epic Mahabharata. He is also described in classical Sanskrit texts as having human characteristics and enjoying very human pursuits: Krishna is the butter thief, cowherd, philanderer, and flute player. Yet even these playful depictions are based upon descriptions found in the Sanskrit canon, and mostly...

The Hindu world is permeated by sound: drums, bells, gongs, cymbals, conches, flutes, and an array of vocalizations play a central role in worship. Guy L. Beck contends that the traditional Western focus on Hinduism's visual component has often been at the expense of the religion's most important feature-its emphasis on sound. In Sonic Theology Beck addresses this longstanding imbalance, contending that Hinduism is essentially a sonic theology. Beck argues that sound participates at every level of the Hindu cosmos. Comparing the centrality of sound in Hindu theology to its place in other...

Beck presents a collection of 108 songs from the Radhavallabha tradition, a major North Indian bhakti tradition dating from the 16th century. He analyzes each song, discussing its rhythmic characteristics and its melodic structure within the raga system of classical Indian music, and he provides the verbal text for each song with a faithful translation into English.