- Text and tradition
The largest part of the book, “Text and Tradition,” systematically provides an
overview of the major textual traditions in Sanskrit and provides three
examples of traditions in Indian vernacular languages. On the assumption that
a textual source cannot be separated from the tradition of which it is a part, this
section gives an account of both major texts themselves and the histories of the
traditions that revere and preserve them.
Beginning with the foundations of the textual traditions in the Vedas and
Upanis.ads, Michael Witzel presents a comprehensive account of the texts and
their categorization, the ritual traditions of which they are a part, and the
historical developments to the period of the formation of the su ̄ tra literature. We
know much more now about this period, about vedic dialects for example, and
Witzel brings this recent scholarship to bear. Ludo Rocher takes up some of these
developments in his essay on Dharmas ́a ̄stras, the treatises on law, giving an
account of the texts themselves, problems of dating this material, and the
importance and impact of the Dharmas ́a ̄stras on the later system of law, espe-
cially during the colonial period. The great Indian epics are next accounted for
in John Brockington’s essay. We see how major themes in the traditions are
developed at a narrative level in the texts and their impact on the later traditions.
Many themes, deities, and stories from the epics are elaborated and developed
in the vast body of “ancient” texts, the Pura ̄n.as. Here Freda Matchett guides us
through a complex world of multiple narratives, quasi-history, and sectarian
divides and gives us an account of the history of their study. Some of the themes
and narratives of the Epics and Pura ̄n.as are also found in the literatures of ver-
nacular languages. The examples provided here are by Norman Cutler, who
problematizes the phrase “Tamil Hindu Literature” and goes on to develop a fas-
cinating account of devotion, poetry, ritual, and narrative in court, temple, and
village. Rich Freeman charts the development of Kerala’s Hindu literature,
showing how the Kerala cultural context transforms Tamil themes, and how the
texts reflect socioreligious practice. Moving into a very different world, Nancy
Martin provides an account of devotional literature in Hindi and the particular
form of devotionalism that developed in the north, focused on a transcendent
being without qualities or form. The famous poet Kabir is here placed in the
context of this devotional movement.
From particular genres, we turn to Gavin Flood’s chapter, which presents a
historical trajectory of S ́aivism. Flood shows how S ́aivas considered their reli-
gious practices and beliefs to be authorized by the Tantras, a revelation distinct
from the Veda, and discusses the relation between the S ́aiva and Vaidika tradi-
tions. In a similar vein, Gérard Colas gives a detailed account of the history of
Va i s.n.ava traditions based on Sanskrit and Tamil sources. He shows how devo-
tion to Vis.n.u articulates with the aristocracy, the yogic and ascetic traditions,
and discusses the forms of Vais.n.avism in the Pañcra ̄tra and Vaikha ̄nasa tradi-
tions, going on to discuss important later developments as well. Vais.n.avism (as
14 gavin flood