Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Līlā

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

  • 21 Accesses

The term līlā means play, sport, or dalliance. It describes the activity of the classical Hindu deities. It is especially an important notion in Hindu devotional religion. Because divine beings are complete in their natures, they need and desire nothing. However, they continue to act. Why do they continue to act? It is possible to intellectually and emotionally understand the further actions of these complete and perfect beings by the notion of līlā(play). The superfluous actions of divine beings are forms of play, suggesting that their actions are purposeless, spontaneous, devoid of intention, and non-pragmatic. In other words, the deities do not intend to accomplish anything by acting. They are simply free to play. Human beings are not as fortunate as deities because humans are compelled to work to support themselves, their immediate and extended families, and their society. Work is not fun or pleasurable; it is more akin to drudgery that leads to boredom and unhappiness. In...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Coomaraswamy AK (1942) Līlā. J Am Orient Soc 61:98–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Hawley JS (1979) Thief of butter. Hist Relig 18(3):203–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hawley JS (1981) At play with Krishna: pilgrimage drama from Brindavan. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hein N (1972) The miracle plays of Mathura. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  5. Kinsley DR (1975) The sword and the flute: Kālī and Kṛṣṇa: dark visions of the terrible and the sublime in Hindu mythology. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kinsley DR (1979) The divine player: a study of Kṛṣṇa Līlā. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  7. Schwartz SL (2004) Rasa: performing the divine in India. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Religious Studies, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, USA

    Carl Olson

Authors
  1. Carl Olson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl Olson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Olson, C. (2018). Līlā. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_87-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_87-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation