Contents: Preface. Introduction: Saivism, religion, culture, system. Text and translation of Ajitamahatantra. Vol. I. Patala I-XVIII: 1. The descent of Tantra-s. 2. The nature of Siva. 3. The process of birth of the Linga. 4. The process of characterising the Linga. 5. The process of collecting stones etc. 6. Description of sites. 7. The rite of ploughing. 8. The process of worshipping the site-spirit. 9. The process of installing the gnomon. 10. The process of placing the first bricks. 11. The rules concerning the temple-base. 12. The process of characterizing the temple. 13. The rules concerning the wall-base. 14. The characteristics of the pillars etc. 15. The process of placing the head-bricks. 16. The characteristics of the pedestal. 17. The process of the innermost deposit. 18. The process of installation of the Linga.

Vol. II. Patala XIX-XXXV: 19. The process of ablutions. 20. The process of worship. 21. The process of fire ritual. 22. The process of preparing the auxiliaries of worship. 23. The process of waving lights. 24. The process of illumination. 25. The process of the daily festival. 26. The process of characterising mudra-s. 27. The process of the great festival. 28. The process of the swing-festival. 29. The process of the bathing ceremony. 30. The process of the special worship. 31. The process of the milk ablution. 32. The process of heaping up substances on the Linga. 33. The process of the ablution of clarified butter. 34. The process of the cool ablution. 35. The process of the offering of sprouts.

Vol. III. Patala XXXVI-LXVI: 36. The process of characterising icons. 37. The process of characterising of pavilions. 38. The process of characterising of compounds. 39. The rule about the entourage-shrines. 40. The process of installation of icons. 41. The process of installation of icons with the Goddess. 42. The process of installation of Siva with Visnu and Brahman. 43. The process of installation with Uma, Sri, Visnu. 44. The process of installation of half-hari. 45. The process of installation of Ardhanarisvara. 46. The process of installation of the lord of bulls. 47. The process of installation of Brahman. 48. The process of installation of the mothers. 49. The process of installation of Vinayaka. 50. The process of installation of Skanda. 51. The process of installation of Candesa. 52. The process of installation of Jyestha. 53. The process of installation of Durga. 54. The process of installation of Surya. 55. The process of installation of Ksetrapala. 56. The process of installation of the surrounding deities. 57. The process of installation of Visnu. 58. The process of installation of Sarasvati. 59. The process of installation of the trident. 60. The process of installation of the tower deities. 61. The process of installation of Golaka etc. 62. The process of installation of a devotee. 63. The process of installation of a devotee. 64. The process of installation and festival of Sastr. 65. The installation of the seven Kanya-s. 66. The installation of Kanyaka-Paramesvari.

Vol. IV. Patala LXVII-LXXXIX: 67. The process of the spring festival. 68. The process of the light-festival of Krttika-s. 69. The process of the Sraddha festival. 70. The bath festival. 71. The process of Gauri festival. 72. The process of offering of firstlings. 73. The process of worship of Siva with kala-s. 74. The process of worship of the enjoying aspect (of Sakti). 75. The process of donation of a bull. 76. The process of circumambulation and salutation. 77. The process of Diksa. 78. The characterisation of the Acarya. 79. The process of the five cow-products. 80. The process of the five ambrosias. 81. The process of the construction of the temple-car. 82. The process of ordeals. 83. The pacification of portents. 84. The process of renovation. 85. The process of sprinkling. 86. The process of installation of Linga's socle. 87. The process of atonement of faults. 88. The process of purification of the Arcaka. 89. The purification of places. Glossary of substances. Index of half-stanzas.

Vol. V. Abbreviations. List of illustrations.

"The Hindu temple is the seat of a full culture including material commodities and services, arts ranging from cooking and flower decoration, to music and philosophy. To conceive, build, organise, manage, maintain such a privileged site of culture an authentic and well-thought out theory and guidance is required. Sanskrit Agamic literature plays this role. The Saiva religion is based on a set of twenty-eight Tantra-s. The Ajita-mahatantra is the fifth in a traditional list, a lengthy text, which invites the reader to approach the Saiva religion in a form, which probably goes back to the Cola period and is definitely located in Tamilnadu. In eighty-nine chapters, it offers a systematic account of the installation of Linga starting from the selection of the stone and construction of the temple to the great ceremony of installation of the deity. Thereafter it deals extensively with the daily worship, festivals and occasional rituals, with iconography, subsidiary rituals, as well as the rites of atonement of faults and failures. The present publication in five volumes is the second revised critical edition with English translation and annotation. Wherever possible, descriptions have been illustrated with theoretical drawings or photographs of actual monuments and icons." (jacket)