acknowledged as an important feature of Indian traditions, the way in which
the zodiacal signs relate to mathematics and temporal measurement is not often
explicated outside of specialist discussions. In his essay, Michio Yano explains the
way in which the science of heavenly bodies (jyotih.s ́a ̄stra) developed, how the
Indians adopted the Greek zodiac, and how this science relates to the measure-
ment of time. Shifting from language, mathematics, and the cosmos to the body,
Dominik Wujastyk takes up the inquiry, showing how an early science of
medicine developed in India, a science that is still practiced today.
Related to the discussion of the Indian sciences we have the development of
logic and rational thought which is often directed to a soteriological end in
the Indian context. Jonardon Ganeri’s essay takes us through an account of the
practice of reason and its application to the goals of life. The various systems of
Indian philosophy and theology developed assuming these formal structures of
argument. In his essay on “Hindu theology” Francis Clooney critically examines
this category and discusses some of the fundamental theological problems as
they are dealt with in the Indian sources. These include important questions as
to whether there is a transcendent source of being and questions about the
problem of evil and suffering, concerns shared by Western theology as well.
Clooney discusses responses to these questions through the practice of learning
from scripture, meditation, and reasoned reflection. This very rich essay also dis-
cusses theological language, the community in which theology takes place, and
the style of theological commentary. Related to both Indian linguistics and
theology, the essay by André Padoux gives an excellent account of the centrality
of mantra in the history of Hindu traditions. He discusses the origin and
meaning of the word, of notable importance being Abhinavagupta’s definition
of mantra as forms of thought leading to liberation. Mantras occur early in the
Veda but take on great importance in the Tantras, where mantra is related to the
structure of the hierarchical cosmos and to consciousness.
- Society, politics, and nation
The final part of the volume on “Society, Politics, and Nation” examines sociopo-
litical themes of particular relevance to the contemporary world. Having
provided great historical sweeps of the traditions we can now examine the devel-
opment of Hinduism as an entity in the last two centuries in more detail, the
central organizing principle of society, namely caste, the issue of nationhood,
and the issue of gender. Declan Quigley’s essay on the caste system raises import-
ant questions about the nature of social organization in India and asks the
central question whether Hinduism can be separated from caste. Quigley thinks
it can, but for interesting reasons that take us into problems of ritual and the
gift. The forces of modernity linked to European ideas of progress and rational-
ity have set themselves against caste. In his essay on modernity and the rise of
the Hindu reform movement, Dermot Killingley traces the nineteenth-century
history of Hindu reform with Rammohun Roy, the rise of the Brahmo Sama ̄j and
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