Holy madness : portraits of tantric siddhas / Rob Linrothe, editor ; with essays by Debra Diamond [and others] ; with contributions by Kathryn Selig Brown, Caron Smith.

Catalog of an exhibition to be held at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, Feb. 11-Sept. 3, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 439-445) and index.

Majāsiddha stories -- The tavern customer -- The weaver -- The preoccupied woman -- Essays -- Historical and textual issues -- Case studies in Himalayan siddha art -- Case studies in Indian siddha art -- Catalog.

[N.B. Siddha (Sanskrit: सिद्ध siddha; "perfected one")]

This is a groundbreaking examination of the art and legends of some of the most colourful figures in South Asian & Himalayan culture. With contributions from ten prominent world scholars, it provides both an exhaustive survey of the Mahasiddhas in art, as well as essays on all associated themes: iconographic, canonical, literary, historical, sociological and anthropological. The Mahasiddhas were instrumental in transmitting tantric Buddhism to the Himalayan region in the 7th to 11th centuries, and their stories are imbued with mysticism, magic and miraculous events within a context of idiosyncratic, eccentric behaviour. They are seen as being possessed of the great wisdom that emerges from direct religious epiphany. The enduring appeal of these saints and their lives is expressed in vivid and entertaining poetry in prose, as well as in the beautiful painting and sculpture that continues to the present day. This book offers a comprehensive catalogue of the wonderful eulogies to the Mahasiddhas, textual and visual, from world collections, as well as those in situ. Its value lies not only in its extensive nature and the sheer beauty of the photography and reproduction, but also in the fact that it presents some complete series or cycles for the first time, drawn together from disparate collections.--Publisher note/