ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to express my gratitude towards Shri Sabhanayaka and Shri Shivakamasundari for all Their Grace.

I would further like to thank my family, and all other relatives who have always encouraged and supported me in various ways. Especially also those great souls and great scholars from among the Deekshithars whose knowledge has stood at the origin of my quest.

A also owe a lot of thanks to friends and students who have supported my search for the Indian Sphinx in various ways, material and otherwise.

I also thank Jim Collins for the kind permission to include his photo "Burmese Sphinx, guarding a prayer station at the Shwedagon Paya, Yangon, Myanmar", published on 'Flickr'.

And I thank Anne Heitzer and Heiner Damm for the permission to use their photo of the thepnorasi from the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.