Includes bibliographical references (pages 411-420) and indexes.
Contents
Historical and theoretical problems -- "Hindu Buddha" and the "Buddhist Visnu" -- "Unceasing waves": Brahmanical and Hindu influences on Medieval Sinhala Buddhist culture in Sri Lanka -- Sandalwood image: Upulvan Deviyo and the origins of the Visnu Cult in Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka -- Transformed deity : the "Buddhist Visnu" in Sinhala literature and liturgy -- Cult of Visnu in Buddhist Sri Lanka -- Seeking protection: cultic life and the Udarata Visnu Devalayas -- Valiyak Mangalya: the curative powers in the Mala Raja -- Legacies of the "Buddhist Visnu": myth and cult at the Alutnuvara Devalaya -- Mininster of defense? The policies of deification in contemporary Sri Lanka.
