The Divine Player: A Study of Krsna Lila

The divine player attempts to analyze the relationship between play and

religion in the context of Hinduism. It focuses primarily on the youthful

god Krsna. The first part part of the book surveys the role of play among

the gods and concludes that play seems to be an intrinsic part of the

divine in Hinduism. The second part of the book investigates the role of

play in religious cult, again focusing on the various Krsna cults. This

section concludes that, although playful themes pervade man’s religious

activity in devotion to Krsna, cultiic activity may not be reduced to play,

as some scholars have suggested. The final section of the book points to

examples of divine and cultic play in non-Hindu traditions.

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