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This book explores the historical development of a Hindu devotional movement in early modern South Asia. Provides a rigorous philological analysis of Sanskrit texts, which is combined with a detailed examination of the specific historical circumstances which led to their formation.
List of contents
- Introduction
- 1: Historical Background
- 2: The Genealogy of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas
- 3: Bhagavata Theologies in Comparison
- 4: Baladeva's Govindabhasya
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
About the author
Kiyokazu Okita is an Assistant Professor at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research / Department of Indological Studies, Kyoto University. After obtaining his D.Phil. from the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, he served as a lecturer at the Department of Religion, University of Florida . Subsequently, he was a JSPS post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Indological Studies, Kyoto University (2011-13) as well as a visiting research fellow at the Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg (2012-13).
Summary
Focusing on the idea of genealogical affiliation (sampradāya), Kiyokazu Okita explores the interactions between the royal power and the priestly authority in eighteenth-century north India. He examines how the religious policies of Jaisingh II (1688-1743) of Jaipur influenced the self-representation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, as articulated by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (ca. 1700-1793). Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism centred around God Kṛṣṇa was inaugurated by Caitanya (1486-1533) and quickly became one of the most influential Hindu devotional movements in early modern South Asia.
In the increasingly volatile late Mughal period, Jaisingh II tried to establish the legitimacy of his kingship by resorting to a moral discourse. As part of this discourse, he demanded that religious traditions in his kingdom conform to what he conceived of as Brahmaṇicaly normative. In this context the Gauḍīya school was forced to deal with their lack of clear genealogical affiliation, lack of an independent commentary on the Brahmasūtras, and their worship of Goddess Radha and Kṛṣṇa, who, according to the Gauḍīyas, were not married. Based on a study of Baladeva's Brahmasūtra commentary, Kiyokazu Okita analyses how the Gauḍīyas responded to the king's demand.
Additional text
This book is an extremely lucid and rewarding
