THE HINDU WORLD ....

A well-chosen spread of articles by a galaxy of outstanding scholars on the main topics within the Iiindu traditions-it al/ adds up to the most cxciting as well as infimnative gUIde yet.

(John Brockington, Profcssor of Sanskrit. Thc University of Edinburgh)

The Hil/du World is the most authoritativc and up-to-date single volume on Hinduism ;l\ailable today. In t\veilly-four chapters, written by leading international scholars, it rrovides a comprehensive and critical guide to the various I iteratures, traditions. and practices of Hinduism. Ideally tailored as an introduction to kcy topics in Hinduism and for usc as a definitive reference source, the book offers fresh insights into many aspects of Hindu life that arc organized under six headings: Oral Teachings and Textual Traditions, Theistic and Devotional Movements. Cosmic Order and Human Goals, Social Action and Social Structure. Vital in Persons and in Places, and Linguistic and Philosophic Analysis.

The Hil1du rForM contains new research that de tines the current study of Hinduism. It rdlects upon the impact of recent poststructuralist approaches while emphasizing HlI1duism's classical heritage and everyday customs in ways that will be familiar to Hindus themselves. Exploring the enonnous diversity of Hinduism's multidimensional culture WIllie considering its status as a category for analysis, the book achieves a distinctive creative balance between scholarly "outsider" perspectives, and the beliefs and \alues of practicing Hindus.

Contributors: Surmder M. Bhardwaj, francis X. Clooney, Madhav M. Deshpande, Kathleen :VI. ErndL James L. Fitzgerald, Gavin Flood, Robert P. Goldman, Sally J. Sutherland Goldman. John A. Grimes, Alf Hiltebeitel, Barbara A. Holdrege, Walter O. Kaelber, R. S. Khare. Dennot Killingley, Randy Kloetzli, Klaus K. Klostermaier, Julius Lipner. James Lochtefeld. David N. Lorenzen, Mary McGee. McKim Marriott, Vasudha Narayanan, Laurie L. Patton, Velcheru Narayana Rao, Hartmut Seharfe, Tony K. Stewart. Hennan W. Tull, and Susan S. Wadley.

Sushil Mittal is Assistant Professor of Religion at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is founding editor of the International Journal ol Hindu Studies. Gene Thursby is Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He is author of The Sikhs (1992), and a member oflhe editorial boards of the Internatiol1al J01lrnal o/Hindll Studies and iVova Religio.

THE ROUTLEDGE WORLDS

The Routledge Worlds are widely acclaimed one or two volume thematic SUf\ey~ of key historical periods and cultures, Each is made up of specially written, original pieces by an international team of the leading experts in the field, The Routledge Worlds are ideal refer­ence works that bring their subjects to lifc and provide both a comprchensi\e o\cf\ic\\ and a real flavour of the newest research in the area,

THE GREEK WORLD Edirt'd hI' ,~llt()11 PO\\'c!/

THE ROMAN WORLD Edilt'd hr John Wacha

THF BIBLICAL \VORLD Edlled 11.1' John BartOli

THF. F.ARLY CHRISTIAN WORLD Edilal Philip FEsler

THE CELTIC WOR LD Edited Aft'randa Green

THE MEDIEVAL \VORLD Edited h1' Pela Lmehall (Ind Jallel L. :Velsol1

THE REFORMATION WORLD Edited Ill' Alldrell' Peltt'!!,rt'e

THE ENLIGHTENMENT WORLD Edited hr Marlin Fit:::patnck. Pcter JOlles, Christa Kllelhmlf'and lain ;",lcCa/mall

THE HINDU WORl.D Edited 11.1' Sushil Milla/ and Gelle Thul'sh1'

, .

Forthcoming

THE EGYPTIAN WORLD Edited Wilkll1so/l

THE BABYLONIAN WORLD Edited bl' Gll'enc/oi1n Leick

THE VIKING WORLD Edited b1' Ste!<!n Brink and ,Veil Price

THE RENAISSANCE WORLD Edited hI John Jefji-ies Martin

TH

Sushi]

CONTENTS --­ .•.

Nole Oil Il'allslilt'raticlll

COllrri/)[llors

ix x

BhUmika ,)'lIshil Miflal and Gent' T/llIrsbl'

PART I: I?\TRODUCING THE HI?\DU \VORLD

On Hinduism and Hinduisms: The ,yay of the banyan Julius Lipller

9

PART II: ORAL TEACHINGS A?\D TEXTUAL TRADITIONS

2 Veda and Upanisad Laurie L Patton

3 Mahabharata James L Fit::.gerald

4 Ramayarya Rohert p, Goldmall and Salh' J Slither/and Goldman

5 Purarya Velcheru Naramna Rao

37

S'")_L

75

97

PART III: THEISTIC AND DEVOTIONAL MOVEMENTS

6 Saiva Gavin Flood

7 Sakta Kathleell ivl. Erndl

8 Vai~ryava Francis X, Clooney and TOllY K Slerrarf

9 Bhakti David N Lorel/::.el1

119

140

162

185

Vll

ConTents -

PART IV: COSMIC ORDER AND HUMAN GOALS

10 Dhanna Barbara A, Holdrege

11 Artha Hartmut Schmfe

12 Kama Dermot Killinglev

13 Mok~a Klaus K. Klostermaier

213

249

264

288

PART V: SOCIAL ACTION AND SOCIAL STRUCTLRE

14 Karma Herman W, Tull

15 Sarpskara Marv ;\lcGI!I!

16 Varna and Jati AkKim Marriott

17 Asrama Walter 0. Kaelha

309

332

357

3R3

PART VI: VITALITY IN PERSO"iS AND IN PLACES

18 Anna R, S, Khare

19 Grama Susan S. Wadle\'

20 Alaya VaslIdha Narayanan

21 Tirtha 5;urinder ;\4, Bhardwaj alld .fames G, Locllfe/e!d

407

429

446

4711

PART VII: Lli\GUISTIC AND PHILOSOPHIC ANALYSIS

22 Bhasa l'vladhal' AI Deshpande

23 Darsana .fohn A, Grimes

24 Kala Randv Kluef:::1i and A I/Hilfebeitel

505

531

553

References cited Index

587 627

VllI

NOTE

',\ ;,;: ha \ .:, 111 g.:n.:ral. ,':~::llag.:'" Although ;:I.:r". \\.: u~.: carlla ; \,;,;:r1llm of tho,;e u' '.:.:n angliCized 111 fc <x1Jard translill'rall'1 ··,.,:n;,;:" arc gl\';,;:n III II , ..,h rlace,; arc made ":.I;d tr~lIblItcraled fc :~.l:1~lIl;,;:ral(:d rOm),;.

'~,c':r -tandard transli

IALS

213

249

264

288

'TURE

309

332

357

383

CES

407

429

446

478

LYSIS

505

531

553

587 627

NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION --- .•.

We have, in general, adhered to the standard transliteration system for each of the Indic languages, Although Indic languages make no distinction between uppercase and lowercase letters, we use capitals to indicate proper names and titles; all other Indic terms, with the exception of those used as adjectives, arc italicized and not capitalized. Terms that have been anglicized in form or have come into English usage are neveliheless given in their standard transliterated fonns, with diacritics karma, p(/~l~lifa, and yoga), Modem plaee­names arc given in their current transliterated fonm, but without diacritics, If references to such places are made in a literary or historical context, however, they are given in their stan­dard transliterated fonns. with diacritics, Modem proper names arc given in their current transliterated fonns. but without diacnties, All premodern proper names, however, are in their standard transliterated t<mns with diacritics,

IX

CONTRIBUTORS -- .•.

Surinder M. Bhardwaj is Professor in the Department of Geography. Kent State University.

Francis X. Clooney. S..I .. is Professor in the Department of Theology. Boston College.

Madhav M. Deshpande is Professor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cul!ures. University of Michigan.

Kathleen M. Erndl is Assoeiatc Professor in the Department of Religion. Florida State University_

James L. Fitzgerald is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. University of Tennessee.

Gavin Flood is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. University of Stirling.

Robert P. Goldman is Professor in the Depmtment of South and Southeast Asian Studies. University of California. Berkeley.

Sally J. Sutherland Goldman is Lecturer in the Department or South and Southeast Asian Studies. University of California. Berkeley.

John A. Grimes is at Kodaikanallnternational School. Tamilnadu. India.

Aif Hiltebeitcl is Professor in the Department of Religion. George Washington University.

Barbara A. Holdrege is Associate Professor in the Department of Religiolls Studies. University of California. Santa Barbara.

Walter O. Kaelber is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Wagner College.

R. S. Khare is Professor in the Department of Anthropology. University of Virginia.

Dermot Killingley. now retired. was Reader in the Department of Religious Studies. University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Randy Kloetzli is an Independent Scholar.

x

J.lme-- c. Lochtefei

{)-,n id '\. Lorenzen '. ~:. \.:.:"

\'a~ \teGee I~ Dcc

\Ic .... im \tarriott I~ ' .. :·-.,c', C,)llc~c. l:

'u-.hil \1ittall~ .-\~~ "~.!~:','n t nl\er~ll~.

\ ;1·..udha ,arayana

Laurie L Patton b

\ deheru '\ara~an: \-:.1. l l11\cr,ny ,)1"

tlartmut ScharfI.' j.

.. :urc'. l.i11\ ersll~

1on~ ..... Stewart -,~,'lm.i SUIC tnl\

(;ene Thu rsby I ~

; '~IJ,I

Herman \\. Tull I'

'u-.an S. Wadley I:

Igraphy. Kent State

y. Boston College

~uages and Cultures.

Iigion. Florida State

udies. University of

1 \ er~ity of Stirling.

hL'ast Asian Studies.

Juth and Southeast

dla.

:orge Washington

Religious Studies.

I Religion, Wagner

lt~ of Virginia.

Rei igious Studies,

Contributors

Klaus K. Klostermaier is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religion, University of Manitoba.

Julius Lipner is Professor in the Faculty of Divinity. University of Cambridge.

,lames G. Lochtefeld is Associate Professor in the Department of Religion. Carthage College.

David N. Lorenzen is Professor in the Centro de Estudios de Asia y Africa. EI Colegio de Mexico.

Mary McGee is Dean of Students in the School of General Studies. Columbia University.

McKim Marriott is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology and in Social Sciences College. University of Chicago.

Sushil :Vlittal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, James Madison University.

Vasudha Narayanan is Professor in the Department of Religion, University of Florida.

Laurie L. Patton is Professor in the Department of Religion. Emory University.

Velcheru Narayana Rao is Professor in the Department of and Cultures of Asia. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hartmut Scharfe is Professor Emeritus in the Department or East Asian Languages and Cultures. University of California. Los Angeles.

Tony K. Stewart is Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, N0I1h Carolina StatL' University.

Gene Thursby is Associate Professor in the Department of Religion, University or Florida.

Herman W. Tull is Lecturer in the Department of Classics, Princeton University.

Susan S. Wadley is Professor in the Department of Anthropology. Syracuse University.

Xl

BHUMIKA .•.

Sushi! Mittal and Gene Thursby

T he Hindu Tfbrld is a contribution to a series of books on great cultures of the world. Compare The Greek World (1995) edited by Anton Powell, an earlier volume in the

series and another large book like this one that brings together previously unpublished work by authors who arc engaged in academic teaching and research. We follow Powell in organizing the work of our contributors by general themes that functIon as plausible entry points for inquiry into the Hindu world but do not pretend to reveal a deep structure or irreducible essence of the "world" that is retrieved, reconstmcted, and represented from a number of perspectives, However, we depart from PoweIrs procedure by assigning to each of our contributors a single noun or adjcctive derived from the Sanskrit language as the topic for their chapter. Where he proposed to bring together "some of the most influ­cntial new approaches used by analysts of Grcek history" we propose to show that even a limited lexicon can open into a distinctive "world" of human possibilitics generated in a culture that deserves to be designated as classical.

The "classical" world of Hindu culture could be regarded as an ideal type~-,a simplified model, a schematization, or an approximation that serves as a learning resource for inter­mediate students and general readers as well as a point of departure for further empirical studies. We understand it to include a range of roles and functions, teachings and texts, ideas and images, and places in the Indian subcontinent, each invested with authority and power and each contributing to a characteristic configuration of a major civilization and its modcs of signification and significance. Among the several languages of the subconti­nent, Sanskrit has enjoyed a disproportionately large share of cultural prestige, and so our point ofdeparture for representing what is "'classical" in Hindu culture is a set ofkey terms derived from Sanskrit that do not find ready equivalents in other linguistic and cultural systems. We invite you to enter 1I1to the Hindu world and explore it from the vantage points provided by these tem1S which serve as titles for the individual chapters of this book.

WHAT IS A HINDU WORLD?

The introductory chapter by Julius Lipner gives careful attention to the heatedly argued question whether the terms "Hindu" and "Hinduism" serve or rather subvert

- Sushi! Mitral and Gene Thursby

serious scholarship. Perhaps Powell's title The Greek World could pass without question, whatever a reader's attitudes toward things Hellenic or Hellenizing or Hellenistic. but The Hindu World as a title nms counter to currently influential modes of scholarly discourse. Poststructuralist or postmodem assumptions now in the ascendant are politically scnsitivc and insistently nominalist. They tend to problematize generalizations as signs of unwarranted reification and can be expected to generate resistance to the definite article and singular designation of our title. How is it possible. it will be asked, for a thoughtful person to write under the title The Hindu World') The introductory chapter by Lipncr invites the reader to consider the issues involved in the use of the teons "Hindu" and "Hinduism" and attempts "to provide grounds. in nonessentializing tcnns. for dcscribing Hinduism under its own rubric. Some such effort is called for in thc world of scholarship if wc are to justify a range of ongoing activities" (34n23).

Readers may know Lipncr already from his fine book Hilldus. Their Religiolls Belie# and Practices (199Ra [1994]). The banyan tree model that he introduced therc he develops further here and utilizes it to commend a polycentric approach that appreciates diversity within the Hindu world and the range of interpretive practices represented among the con­tributors to this volume. Although it will be helpful to keep in mind Lipner's mtroduction while moving through this book. it is intended as the first rather than last word. After aiL basic tenllS of inquiry in the social sciences and humanities, as Gananath Obcyesekere reminded us in The Work oj" eli/flIre (1990). are pcrennially contended, never settled. Readers are invited to compare Lipner's polycentric approach to "Hindu" and "Hinduism" with other perspectives (some of them addressed in his chapter) represented in two rccent handbooks: lilt' Studv oj" Hinduism (20(H) edited by Arvind Sharma and The Blackwell Companion 10 Hinduism (2003) edited by Gavin Flood.

Lipner poses questions about how to formulate and frame the activities of inquiry--in which one may engage with a full range of intcllectual passions~and these are openillK questions that invite repcated considcration in order to apprcciate the rich diversity within and among South Asian traditional communities. Here is an example. Lipner states the case f'or the heuristic advantage of acknowledging the normative status of the Veda in the Hindu world but leaves open several interpretive options such as how to understand where, when. and by what means the Veda was produccd. Who were the agents or Il1tcrmediaries in its early transmission? What is the range and extent of its various manifestations? What might quality as a veritable or virtual Veda? Could it be mediated by a languagc other than Vedic Sanskrit'? Other than by language?

Questions at the level ofwhethcr (and if so then how and when) the Veda can be dated. and the chronological placement of other fonllative features of the Hindu world, should not be expected to generate general agreement. Neverthcless. difficult questions of this kind are taken up again and again from different vantage points, in divcrse thematie set­tings, and with a variety of interpretive frameworks at several points throughout this book. Readers in tum will understand that questions that have established distinctive communi­ties and that set the ground rules for discussion or that attempt to reach and reflect the most profound features of reality have been at the center of debates within the Hindu \\forld for centuries. Such questions get treated by this book' s authors in ways appropriate to their assigned topics and as inf'ormed by their best insights, their o\\/n tradition of scholarship, and evidence currently available.

2

TEACHI~

\ ed;}, Itihasa epic ~ 1

\.1lmiki 1. and Pura~ t,f It long kept secre

"f It esoteric and d r.emg reduced to \\1

l..lllrie L. Patton op .ktl,'n. She goes on -,!l,m~ Within the tr ., her!.? the .\fallah/II} 1,In1!.?, L Fitzgerald

.! ...Ist rang!.? of tim

.",umed that lnultir -:bIrth-. Jnd that gi ..\:-1 e\ er: ,Iluati

"'.: :iL'ance that COllie

'.Ii, ~Il1J paradoxes.

':'''' e h)ped narrall \ '~-')llgh the kXt. dt -;;11eL'1- on gender I

The' R(llllaWI1U. ,

.' ':it.lln, ('I1e of th,

"ulhe'rland (ioldr ,'-:1' h.l' "qturatec .~~ ....Ilene(.!. ll1tern:

.~'.;nlj,litl~la In a \\a~

...... ;..... l"nl'r~l(,~ nf L'\ L'T

!...!eJ \ la tele\ Isior . : h.' nh1st lI1tract:

;' .. ~:!l1.1 literature IS

!"',, .wthontatl\ -:'c':1l.lnt\·· l,f Yed,

,-,: t>:e ,ec('nd <I\J

" ,::-!inct IIterar: ! \:,':11 '11 ,pac\.' anc

J'~'':'': ,'ral teach ".~..: ;.'\,knt an.' ni

-. ~..;:,' hackgft1ul1

~";\ 1,11..1..' f,'r gran " ':~1 Jffi('ng \~hlCl

~, (;.1\ 111 FI"i)('

~ _~, e' rele\ ant \(

.:'l,!ll\'n, i,f the d

ass without question, 'f Hellenistic, but The f scholarly discourse. c politically sensitivc 7ations as signs of to the definite article ked. for a thoughtful y chapter by Lipner . terms "Hindu" and tenns, f(Jr describing world of scholarship

'eir Religious Beliej.i 'cd there he develops appreciates diversity !lted among the con­jpner's introduction last word. After aiL

nanath Obeyesekere nded. never settled. du" and "Hinduism" sentcd in two recent I and The Blackwell

.. ities of inquiry-in d these are opening rich diversity within e. Lipner states the s of the Veda in the o understand where. liS or intermediaries anifestations? What language other than

\'eda can be dated, lindu world, should

.It questions of this I\erse thematic set­roughout this book, stll1ctive eommuni­md reflect the most he Hindu world for Ippropriate to their :ion of scholarship,

- Bhumikii

TEACHINGS, TEXTS, AND THEISTIC TRADITIONS

Veda, ltihasa/epic (the Mahiibhiirata. including the Bhagavad GUlL and the RiimdyalJa of Valmfki). and Pural}a comprise a vast and internally diverse corpus of oral teaching. some of it long kept secret within a few human and restricted initiatory traditions. some of it esoteric and difficult to understand. and much of it still undergoing the process of being reduced to writing and then reconstructed in critical editions produced by scholars. Laurie L Patton opens her chapter by placing the Veda in the ritual context of sacrificial action, She goes on to introduce the various strata of Veda, be lief and action systems, and efforts within the tradition to systemati7e its teachings, Like Veda. it is difficult to know where the Mahiihhiirala~one of the world's and longest epics~begins and ends. James L. Fitzgerald tenns it "a tradition ofreligiolls epic" and a "library" that extends over a vast range of time as well as of textual and cultural space, Hindus "classically" have assumed that multiple lifetimes get generated by unresolved actions productive of repeated rebirths and that gives the epic convention of starting ill medias res a multidimensional twist {:very situation and sentient life-fonn is endowed (and pregnant) with ranges of sig­nificance that could threaten to outstrip the imagination. This gives rise to mighty rever­sals and paradoxes. The frame story or boxed story-the story within a story~is a highly devcloped narrative convention in the Hindu world, too. Fitzgerald guides the reader through the text. describes difliculties in the project of producing a critical edition, and reflects on gender identities and relations in the epic.

The Riimiivcl(w, a relatively shorter epic rendered in Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit versions, contains one of the world's most widely known stories, Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman offer an apt liquid image. for indeed the epic tale of righteous king­ship has "saturated" most of Asia. The theme of the ordeal of love~destined. found, threatened. interrupted, regained, and then again in jeopardy~is developed in the Ramlimlw in a way that lends itself to ritual perf{mnanee and immediately connects with the energies of everyday life. too. In recent years. each of the two great epics has been seri­alized via television. and the main characters in the Rc7miinma have been implicated in one of the most intractable land disputes in modern India. Although the extensive corpus of Pural)a literature is less well known outside India than the great epics and may be regarded as less authoritative than Veda. Velcheru Narayana Rao makes a case for the "comple­mentarity" of Veda and Purana in Hindu culture (the first restricted to high-caste males and the second available to all. including low-caste males and women) and for Pural)a as a distinct literary genre that maps out a widely influential Hindu cosmography of vast extent in space and time,

These oral teachings continue to be recited and enacted in ritual dramas today and to a large extent are now available in print media as.·textual sources. They evidence a rich archaic background of poet-seer. bardie. prjestly. martial. courtly. and popular sources. They take for granted a great range of extrahuman. transhuman, and superhuman realities from among which a few have generated widely supported devotional and textual tradi­tions. Gavin Flood makes clear the multiple and complex features of Siva who is known by devotees as the great divine being~mahade\'G~and the extraordinary range of textual sources relevant to the task. Kathleen M. Ernd! introduces the theme of feminine mani­festations of the divine and those who are devoted to one or more of them~.s'akla~by

3

Sushi! Mittal alld Gene Thursby ­

establishing a background in tenns of relevant scholarly resources and basic concepts, then giving close attention to representation of the goddess in the popular text the Devi Miihiitmya as well as the identification of the sakti or power of the goddess with specific sacred sites in the subcontinent. Francis X. Clooney and Tony K. Stewart similarly intro­duce the complex figure of Vi~l)u, his multiple avatiira or earthly descent manifestations, and then select two Vaisl)ava subtraditiol1s for close attention: the SrIVai~l)ava of Tamilnadu in the south and the Gau~Iya of Bengal in the northeast. Finally. David N. Lorenzen approaches some of the same material from a different angle by focus on bhakti which includes personal devotion that may be directed to (and through) a saintly person or personal form of divinity. The conserving and the revolutionary potential of mtense devotion, including aniconic or iconoclastic devotionalism. are acknowledged by Lorenzen. Apparently poles apart from the esoteric and hierarchical exclusivism of Veda, Hindu blwkti movements energized regional languages and empowered conventionally low-status people, extending the range and variety of the Hindu world,

SOCIETY AND SACRED INTERSECT[ONS

There are four categories or life-ideals (c(l/urvarga or purusurt!w) that usually are said to provide the framework for classical Hindu society. Dharma, the first of the t(mr, functions as a kind of master trope and normative center to which nearly all major Hindu ideas. ideals, and practices repeatedly rcfer. Barbara A. Iloidregc characterizes it as "an encom­passing category that incorporates and at the same time transcends" other distinctions. She eonnects it back to Vedic rta, traces it through a long process of development, and dis­cusses its elaboration into "a pivotal category of Hindu identity" as \'ar(lclsramadharma which envisions a compartmentalized society composed of endogamous human lineages. social hierarchies based on ascribed status by birth. and a ritually guided life plan for high­status malcs. That life plan finds an approved place for investment in activities and things that produce wealth and power (arrha); in human reproduction, emtics, and aesthetic enjoymellt (kclllla); and liberation from endless action and rebirth (lI1ok~'a), In the course of his analysis of arllla, Hartmut Scharfe indicates ways in which the first three (termed trimrga when linked to the exclusion of lIloksa) may be involved in what he calls "a revolving hierarchy" and constitute a cluster of competing yet mutually overlapping norms, Dermot Ki lIingley carries his analysis of kama through ascending levcls of mean­ing from a root sense as "desire" and its various refinements right up through ritual, sacred, and cosmic levels as a world-generating cause of bondage and impulse toward release-­a source of seemingly endless suffering and delight. Where Killingley arouses the mind with the troubling thought that the entire cosmos "may be the unplanned result of an act which was prompted by kuma," Klaus K. Klostennaier marshals resources to enable us to consider a variety of ways that an ultimate resolution of this plight has been conceived 111

the Hindu world-by disciplined praetice, study, other forms of aetion, devotion, wisdom~as a human possibility.

The dramatic cosmography of the Hindu world. with its overwhelming variety of kinds and levels, is pervaded by threads of significance carried by notions of action and consequences. Hennan W. Tull describes some of the most influential ways in which the "ubiquitous" notion of karl/lall winds through the Hindu world like an attractive,

4

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~. -,,l ..... ..'-~." ~ ...::'='

~f"" :-,-" ~ ..~..: '-"', """,,'-.11

"-_: " ~~ I

~~..:: '-:~. l~J

'.f :~"~:"~ .....!' t,'\.r..:

.• :_ .:.:.. ..: -'::~.1'!:'

.• ·,·::".c·~ ,':1<.: I,ik,

"._, ' ..;' .11,.l m,

. ,';' :~ll',mlll

I ::~l,l h,l~

.~ .- ... h.l\ l' (.I

I basic concepts, then lpular text the Del'i :oddess with specific :wart similarly intro­.;cent manifestations, the SrIVai~l)ava of

~ast. Finally, David It angle by focus on Id through) a saintly Itlonary potential of re acknowledged by 'xclusivism of Veda. ered conventionally d.

ONS

It usually arc said to If the t()Ur, functions major Hindu ideas, ~es it as "an encom­ler distinctions. She ,clopment. and dis­\'urJuJ,l'ramadharma

lUS human lineages, :d life plan for high­:letivities and things )Iics. and aesthetic )ksa), In the course : first three (tenned d in what he calls Jtually overlapping ing levels of mean­'ough ritual, sacred, ;e toward release­y arouses the mind led result of an act n.:es to enable us to , been conceived in action, devotion,

ng variety of kinds ons of action and ial ways in which like an attractive,

- Bhamika­

dangerous, and yet unifying creeper vine. In tum the institution of a series of life-cycle rites or samskaras has been relied upon ritually to control and reduce unwanted traces and consequences of fonl1er actions. whether they occur here in this life or originate before or beyond it. Mary McGee provides a lively account of rites of the life-cycle, starting with the hinge on which they tum: the act of marriage which links families and leads to new generations. Traditionally the making of marriage alliances and other forms of social interaction have been guided by Hindu assumptions about separate human subcommuni­ties reckoned in terms of strands of characteristics that function somcthing like genetic material. McKim Marriott. a scholar long associated with a project that seeks to understand the Hindu world through Hindu categories. contributes a dense and discerning chapter on birth-status and human types under the aspect of i'ar~/{J and Jali. These are at once structural and dynamic categories. and their dynamic potential is made more evident by the traditional ideal of an orderly human procession through distinctive stages oflife or il.ITulI1a, a norm entailed in dharma, karma. and s(//!lskiira but also one that merits thc separate treatment given here by Walter O. Kaelber.

Sourccs of energy and modcs of vitality are univcrsal human concerns that have been given distinctivc cxpressions in the Hindu world, especially in the ways that food is under­stood. thcorized. and shared. As R, S. Khare makes evident, food is at the point of depar­ture for some of the most profound and powerful human classification systems. Not only are humans "made of food." so are societies, cultures. and civilizations, Until recently India was primarily a peasant civilization with a wide agricultural base and linked across regions by networks established in marriage and kinship, by genealogical record-keeping, by patterns of disposition of the dead, and by the impulse to visit great temples and othcr sacred sites, The role of the settled agricultural community-the village or grclIJllI-is

presented by Susan S. Wadley. She is an anthropologist who has a long association with a village in North India that has been intensively studied for two gcnerations. Vasudha Narayanan. a religious studies scholar with a background in South India. adds an analysis of c1Iam, great and small temple complexes. some of which comprise major settlements or the equivalent of small cities supporting ritual activities, the preservation and transmission of traditional learmng. and visits by pilgrims. James G. Lochtefeld and Surinder M. Bhardwaj expand this theme to take in an even wider range of traditionally acknowl­edged and attractive pilgrimage centers or tirthas. These have functioned for centuries as ways in which people in the Hindu world have experienced and expressed their distinctive identities and allegiances and also have sought to transform or to surpass them toward something greater.

LANGUAGE AND PHILOSOPHY

Whether one takes a social constructionist approach to the human enterprise of "con­structing" and maintaining a social and cultural world or instead accepts social and cul­tural worlds as .. language is a primary medium of expressing, if not generating, them. Worldview and ethos, patterns of belief and of action, are found to make sense and are given meaning through language. Traditional South Asia as it centers in the subconti­nent of India has been a rich source of linguistic diversity. How India's languages­bhiisas-have carried the concems and institutions of the Hindu world is explored by

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Sushi! MiNaI and Gene Thursbi'

Madhav M. Deshpande. Then John A. Grimes takes up one of the most important temIS in the Sanskrit lexicon--darsana-which refers to the intuition, insight, or illuminative vision that may have its source in intense thought deep reflection. or the immediate sight of a sacred or holy object The word also serves as the label for the whole range of intellectual activity to which the term "philosophy" may refer in modem English. The topic is exten­ INTF sive and can be managed only by schematic treatment here. If available space will not allow a longer treatment of dar~'ana, neither does it allow more than a respectful but brief exploration of the companion concept of time-kala-which is surely as formidable and dominant a category for the Hindu world as it was for Augustine in the West. A classical problem for the Hindu world, at a level perhaps more profound than for the high-speed modern urban person, is to fathom the mysteries of time. Randy Kloetzli and Alf Hiltebeitel illumine ways in which that great (t)rope strings us along so many yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. Their chapter brings the book to a close and prepares the reader to circle around through it and again with increasing discernment.

WELCOME TO THE HINDU WORLD

Although The Hindu World can serve as a general reference work. some previous study of India will help the reader to obtain maximum benefit from the book, It will be particularly useful to intermediate and advanced students engaged in regional and area studies of South Asia as well as in academic fields that range from anthropology, history. languages and linguistics, sociology and political science, to religious studies, Studcnts who arc pursuing a course of study in the world's religions, for instance, will recognize that several of our contributing authors have written substantial and sOllnd introductory tcxtbooks on Hindus and Hinduism, Along with Julius Lipncr's commendable and previously mentioned Hindus (1994), the student may refer to Klaus K. Klostermaier's A SUrl'el' ojliinduisl1I (1994 [19119]) and Gavin Flood's All introductio/1 to Hinduism (1996). as well as the chap­ter by Vasudha \!arayanan in Willard G. Oxtoby, cd., World Religiolls.' Eastern Traditions (2002 [1996]). The Hindu World extends the treatment of sevcral topics that are 1I1troduced in thosc tcxtbooks and ean serve to complement them in collegc and university courses of study.

Our deep appreciation goes to the authors of the book's chapters and to an even larger number of outside readers, All of them are professional scholars with expertise in the lan­guages and cultures of South Asia. Many of them have been contributors to the internatioNal juurnal oj Hindu Srudies (1997- ) for which Sushi! Mittal is the founding editor. The Journal has helped to foster an international community of inquiry and to estab­lish Hindu studies as a recognized area of scholarly research. Without the hard work and goodwill of these many contributors, this volume would not have been possible, Nevertheless the editors alone arc responsible for the final result that you have in hand.

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